I have posted on this previously but I think it’s important. I used to think that was a crazy question. Now I’m not so sure. Tony at Dsainsights posed that question a while back and I told him I thought he had lost his mind. After paying attention for quite a few months now, Im not positive, but I think he is right. I have noticed that I do tend to trend upward pretty dramatically in the a.m. after drinking coffee. I can’t prove it 100% but it sure seems  like coffee is the cause of it…   Adrenaline and all that…...

Keep an eye out and see what you think. Watch it over time and see what your conclusion is….

oh yeah,   and chocolate mocha latte doesn’t count….  I’m talking coffee coffee….the straight stuff with just cream or sweet and low…
let me know …................

Well, I am glad to say that I am back in one piece after a wonderful week on North Captiva Island in Florida. After about day 3, I kept getting an alarm and my pump quit working. Oooohhh noooooo!!!! Now on any other trip, I have always remembered to bring an old one as a backup, NOT this time, dang-it.

I called Medtronic, and they over nighted me one. I am always amazed how something can get from California to an Island in Florida only accessible by ferry in less than 24 hours. Wow! Medtronic was great with their service as always.

I did however have to go on the needle for about 24 hours. Now the problem was that I only had fast acting Humalog, and nothing else. Every 3 hours, get up test, or check the cgms (which was also acting a little funny that day) take some insulin. Everything worked great until about hour 23 when I went down to the office to hopefully pick up my pump. They told me it wasnt there yet. Ok, no problem, it’s probably on the next ferry over.

That is the last thing I remember. I was almost blacked out on my way back to the house as apparently I was over injecting and was having a severe hypo. Thank God my son was driving around on his golf cart as he saw me driving at about 1/2 mile an hour with a blank look on my face. He got me home and my wife pumped me up with glucose gels, of course the inevitable super high followed.

However the pump came, and I was able to get back on a basal rate to get back under control. Lessons learned? Oh yeah, always bring a back up pump or some slow acting insulin when leaving town or being away from home. I already knew, that. Somehow, when things are buzzing along well, you don’t really think about the possibility of problems. I messed up and didn’t have a plan B. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

The good Lord and my family have saved my skin. Yet Again!

Keep going
Peace, Bob

I recently tried Apidra for about 2 weeks as my endo thought it might be helpful. I really looked forward to what i hoped would be faster absorption rates that I had heard about.   Sadly to say, after 2 weeks, I am back on Humalog as I didn’t respond well to Apidra.   My wife finally convinced me to go back on the Humalog after about the third or fourth extreme low that she had to resurrect me from. As one who is hypoglycemic unaware most of the times, I dialed back my basal rates and I took less insulin, but the lows hit me really hard and without any warning….rather reminescent of NPH.

I also definitely found myself to be moody and morose and felt my overall mindset was suffering. I dont know if it was from all the lows or what, but it was not a good experience for me.  I am sure others have had positive results with Apidra, and I recommend they continue with what works for them .  For me however, it was not an improvement in my control…..more of a liability.   Sadly, I had hoped it would be an improvement regarding absorption rates….ie improved control, but it didn’t work out for me….

Keep Going,..................................Peace,    Bob

We’re pleased to welcome Dr. Anita Ramsetty, Endocrinologist as the newest blogger for SugarStats!

We’re delighted to share her expertise and viewpoints with our community. She’ll be sharing her words of wisdom, her experience and professional/personal insights on diabetes with us regularly, so do stay tuned in.

You can address questions to Anita at: endodocs@endocrinehelp.com. On behalf of all of us here, thanks to Anita for her commitment and accessibiity!

Happy Friday everyone. Here are some cool thinking happening in the Diabetes world as well as some interesting resources:

The New OneTouch UltraLink Wireless Meter

For those who don’t already have one or haven’t heard of it yet:

“The NEW OneTouch UltraLink Meter wirelessly sends your test results to your MiniMed Paradigm® insulin pump, making bolus dosing easier and more accurate.

Some advantages of the UltraLink:

• Wireless communication of test (more…)

Gestational Diabetes, Pre-Diabetes and Endocrinologists versus General Practitioners for addressing diabetes.

Interview with Dr. Anita Ramsetty, Endocrinologist Part 1
Interview with Dr. Anita Ramsetty, Endocrinologist Part 2

SugarStats’ host interviewer, Nedrra Lanakila, continues her talk with Endocrinologist Dr. Anita Ramsetty of EndocrineHelp.com. In this third and final post from their first interview, Dr. Ramsetty talks about Gestational Diabetes, signs of pre-diabetes and some of the factors to consider when determining your physician of choice to provide medical diabetes care.

N (Nedrra Lanakila): You mentioned about gestational diabetes. How do you treat your patients diagnosed as gestational diabetics?

A (Anita Ramsetty): We always end up in a somewhat odd situation because these women are split between the endocrinologist and their obstetrics teams. It can be a little bit dicey at times, trying to get all the communication loops closed but it gets done and quickly.

As an example, my case of gestational diabetes was fairly mild. I was pregnant with twins at the time so I sort of saw it coming. Between having the twins, gaining lots of weight and then having a strong family history I had seen it coming from afar and wasn’t too surprised.

In my case, I ended up checking my blood sugars very (more…)

Blood Sugar Testing, Food & Physical Activity Tracking, Diabetic Athletes, Children and Students

Please find part 1 of the interview here:
http://www.sugarstats.com/2008/03/10/interview-with-dr-anita-ramsetty-endocrinologist-part1/

Also Part 3: hhttp://www.sugarstats.com/2008/04/09/interview-with-dr-anita-ramsetty-endocrinologist-part3/

During the month of March SugarStats is posting segments from a series of interviews between Nedrra Lanakila, parent of a Type 1 Diabetic and partner of SugarStats, and Dr. Anita Ramsetty of EndocrineHelp.com, an online medical practice specializing in endocrinology and diabetes.

Nedrra Lanakila (N):As the endocrinologist, how often would you like the diabetic to test or put their stats into their SugarStats management and tracking service? How many times a day or a week would you like to see those stats entered?

Dr. Anita Ramsetty (A): It sort of depends on the situation that the patient finds themselves in. This [blood glucose self testing] is what I would ask them to do in person as well.

Some individuals are newly starting out. The term ‘mild diabetes’ isn’t really a term, but it’s probably the best way I can describe it. They don’t have huge fluctuations in their glucoses during the day, they still have a decent amount of their own insulin production, they’re not on a lot of medication and numbers don’t bounce around too much.

For those individuals I generally ask them to check their blood sugars maybe twice a day, ideally three times a day. If they can put it in daily I think is a great habit. Then it becomes like brushing your teeth: you’ve got your (more…)

Please find part 2 of the interview here:
http://www.sugarstats.com/2008/03/14/interview-with-dr-anita-ramsetty-endocrinologist-part2/

We’re honored and proud to have Dr. Anita Ramsetty as our first featured expert blogger (more highly talented expert bloggers to follow, so stay tuned foks!).

This is the first of that series to introduce Dr. Ramsetty’s expertise and online practice to our community.

Nedrra Lanakila (N): We’re thrilled you have this wonderful service called EndocrineHelp.com. Please take a few minutes to introduce yourself and describe this service to our community who really needs your expert guidance online.

Dr. Anita Ramsetty (A): I am so excited to be a part of this exciting community, and I thank you all for welcoming me.
This is really wonderful for me personally, but also for our practice that is trying to do something a little unusual.

My name is Anita Ramsetty. I am a mother, wife and a physician. My field of specialty is endocrinology and diabetes. (You can learn more about her medical training here: www.endocrinehelp.com/index.php/Contact-Us). www.Endocrinehelp.com is a site that we started late last year. (more…)