Middle of the week!!

Well, I survived half the week already. It's been a good week. Nothing major happened except my swing class. Did I tell you how much I loved it? Other then that, it has been pretty quiet.

My blood sugar has been pretty good. I'm always a little low in the morning but this morning was not good. I usually check first thing in the morning but this morning I did not. I was so tired and was ready to get straight into the shower. That was not a good choice as a few minutes into the shower I started to feel really low. I started to feel like I was on a coaster. :) I got out right away and tested. My blood sugar was 60! Thank goodness my Mom was right there and able to get me something to eat right away. I was shaking so bad I could hardly stand. I have been late to school before because my blood sugar has been low and it takes me a lot longer to feel better. This morning I was able to feel better pretty quick.

Well, not a lot going on. Happy about school, my life and friends. Not so much about Diabetes but it's okay, I'm still standing! Until tomorrow....

I Did It!!!

Well I had swing class today and I loved it. I realized you learn country, ballroom, and swing in this class. It's awesome. The whole class went well until the end when I was low. But, I stuck it out and finished. When I was done I was 70.......low!!! Thank goodness we were going to eat after. The good part is I got to eat dinner without taking a shot!! That's the best kind of dinner for me.


I don't know if anyone else my age goes through this but my Mom tells everyone I have Diabetes. When I go hang out at my friends house, birthday parties anywhere. Today she told my dance instructor. It makes me feel embarrassed. I know she loves me and I know why she does it. I just wanted to be treated like everyone else! How can I be treated like everyone if the teacher knows? Might he treat me different now? But yet it is a good thing he knows in case of an emergency.  


I am glad to know that so many people care and worry about me. Without them, I don't know what I would do. I am glad I am in a caring family. I know sometimes my family and friends get frustrated with me. That's why doctors and nurses say diabetes is not just a disease that affects one but all. Until Tomorrow....

Good Sunday!

You know what makes me crazy? All of these Diabetes commercials. Have you ever noticed that every Diabetes commercials has old people in them? I don't think I have ever once seen a commercial with younger kids in it. Why is that? The only kids in the commercial are their grand kids running around. This is what confuses people! Alot of people thinks it's an old disease and it just deals with people being fat and needing to stop eating sugar. It frustrates me. I think if more people knew it kills kids and it's an auto immune disease more people would want to help and find a cure. I think alot of people think oh if they just ate healthier they would be fine, Wrong!! I still don't understand why they don't have kids on the commercial. Maybe I can be the first one!!


I remember when I was diagnosed we saw a family friend. He knew that one of the kids had Diabetes but not which one. He grabbed my little sister Bella and told her he was sorry and she would be okay. I know now he grabbed her because she is bigger then me. Not so much fat but taller and looks older then me. He thought it was all about eating too much sugar and being fat. In fact, my Mom says I'm petite and very thin because of Diabetes. I think she'd right because the more kids I know with Diabetes the more they look like me. My Mom thinks I had Diabetes for years before I was diagnosed.


 I can remember my neighbor visiting me in the hospital and the first thing he said when he came in was your Mom gave you too much Halloween candy. I don't want to sound all mad because I'm just frustrated and tired of Diabetes. I want a cure and I know the only way we can get one is if people know the truth about the disease and we are able to get more money so they can do more research.


Other then all that my day was good. I start swing dancing tomorrow and I'm so excited!!! :) My Mom said I'll be perfect cause the boys can flip me around. My Mom always said being small will be a good thing. Until tomorrow....

TGIF!!!

Thank goodness it's Friday!! It's been a good week. Things are going well at school. My friends are awesome and support me. They all know I'm diabetic and accept me for who I am. They even run and get me a juice when I am low. It's nice to know they are always watching me and there for me.


I like the way my friends ask about my diabetes. It's funny because they say things like "do you mind if I ask you". Or people ask me all the time if it hurts taking a shot. When I was at camp we had a circle and my friends were telling things about themselves. One of the girls said she hated needles and the whole group looked at me like she had insulted me. I just laughed and everyone laughed with me.


I'm excited because i have a birthday party tomorrow and we are going swimming at a pond. My friend asked me if I was going to be okay going. I love that she asked but i want to prove to everyone i can do it and i can be just like them. I think the best part about diabetes is educating others about it. So they won't treat me like a type 2. Remember type 1 and type 2 are very different. In fact, they should not even have the same name!!! If you don't know what I'm talking about read my first blog.


I'm getting tired and need my sleep for my big day tomorrow. Until tomorrow....

A Strange Day!

Well the morning started out fine i had a great day at school. My blood sugar was fine at lunch but when I got home I was STARVING! So i check my blood sugar and it was 150. which is normal! So I ate a 15 free. By the way a 15 free snack is a snack i can eat for free with out having to take a shot and why we call it a 15 free because if the snack is under 15 carbs. or less that means I can have it for free like i said above. so i had the 15 free. 20 minutes later i am still starved! So i had another 15 free expecting to be high so 15 later i was 180! So had 2 15 frees for FREE! BOTH OF THEM! So at that point I was still STARVED! So I took a shot for a bowl of cereal. After cereal i FINALLY wasn't hungry! So that is how my day went! Until tomorrow....

Good Day!

Today was a good day, no bad day. My blood sugar has been all over the map. For no reason! It started last night when my blood sugar was 380. My Mom gave me a correction dose. A correction dose is when you have to take insulin to get you back to your normal range. Normally when you take insulin you get to eat but with a correction does it's just a shot. Can't enjoy anything after the shot.

Anyway, after the correction does you are suppose to check your blood sugar again within 30 minutes. I fell asleep and my Mom had to wake me up. I know she does not sleep until she knows I am in a good number. Anyway, when she woke me up I tested again and was 400. 400!!! Insulin is suppose to bring you down not up. My Mom was too scared to give me another correction dose.I'm sure she checked me all night.

School went okay but then I was low. I was 263 right before lunch. So at this time I would take a correction dose plus ad up the carbs of what I will eat for lunch. I even have recess after lunch so I have to remember I will be exercising and will burn some energy and don't want to go low. So after lunch and recess when I go back to class I check my blood sugar to make sure I did my carbs right. I was 200. A little high but I can slide with that number. It was no more then 30 minutes later I started to sweat and get really dizzy. I was tripping because I knew I just checked. But, I checked again and it was 53 this time. Crazy!

I know alot of you think maybe it's my meter but it's not. My meter is accurate. One time, a few weeks ago, we were in the movies and we tried to calculate the carbs for the popcorn and candy i was going to have. Towards the end of the movie I felt high. My Mom and i went to the bathroom to check and my blood sugar was 305. My Mom gave me my correction dose and even a little more cause she said I could eat more candy if I went low. After the movie was over, an hour later I still did not feel well. I checked my blood sugar and my meter said HI. My meter has never said that and i was scared to death. My Mom had me check several times and the meter kept saying HI. My Mom told me to check her blood sugar to make sure the meter was working. It took her blood sugar fine and said she was normal. My Mom rushed me to the hospital and my blood sugar was 573!!! 573 even after the two correction doses my Mom gave me. I had to have an IV and stay several hours in the hospital to get my blood sugar under control.

While in the hospital I checked my blood sugar on my meter and the nurse did it on her's and they were the same. I learned that if my meter reads HI that is bad!! Very bad!!!

But everything turned out to be fine and I am doing the best I can to try and keep my body even. It is hard and I get frustrated. I sometimes wish I could have a day off. Just one day not to have to worry, take a shot or poke myself. But that's okay cause today is a good day and I'm having fun with my family. I love my family. We are gonna watch a show then go to bed. Until tomorrow...

Whew....what a weekend!

Sorry, I have not blogged since Thursday but it has been a very busy weekend.

The first thing that happened was my over night 6th grade field trip. We went to Clear Creek which is in the mountains of Scofield. The camp was awesome and a ton of fun. It was not at all what I thought it was going to be. We actually got to sleep in cabins and do lots of fun things. The whole camp and all of the games were about working together as a team. I had so much fun. Thank goodness my Mom went because I had no idea how much carbs were in the meals because they did not have a nutritional guide. Can you believe the school did not have a nutritional guide? I would have thought the school would have know I was coming and at least have something ready for me.

The most embarrasing part was taking my Lantus shot at night. I take my Lantus in my butt because it stings and hurts. So my Mom had to cover my butt with my bathrobe to give me my shot. It was so embarrassing! There was no where else that was private to take it. But, I took it and went to bed. We slept on bunks and my Mom slept right under me. I think she wanted to be close because she was worried. I was low before bed and had to eat a treat.

The next day we did lots of physical games like, dodgeball, volleyball and a ropes course. My Mom and I had to make sure my carbs were a little high so I could play and not worry about going low. We did pretty well with no major problems. The only bad thing that happened was I was bitten on the neck by a wasp. OUCH!!! It hurt so bad. I did not even do anything to agitate it! Mt Mom said it was a vampire Wasp. I still have the bump on my neck! I think my Mom was nervous that I would have some sort of reaction but I did not.

It was only over night so we came home on Friday. When we got home I was going to blog but I was so tired I took a nap and even went to bed early. I felt like I had been run over by a bus!!! But it was so much fun I would do it again!

Then, on Saturday my Mom surprised us by taking us to Lagoon. lagoon is an amusement park here in Utah. It has roller coasters and lots of fun things to do. I was worried because I was going to again have to count my carbs and make sure I did not go low. I knew they would not have a nutritional guide at Lagoon. So, I talked it over with my Mom and decided it would be best to pack a lunch.

On the car ride to Lagoon I felt high which meant I had to pee and felt very, very hungry and thirsty. But, I knew I wanted to be a little high that way I would not go low so I could feel comfortable riding the rides and walking the park. I did not tell my Mom because I knew she would worry.

We arrived  and started to ride some roller coasters. After riding a few of the coasters I felt very low and told my Mom I needed to check right away. Turns out, I was 220!! I was not low but just dizzy and a little motion sick. So just think how I feel every time I'm low. I know how to explain it now. I will just say it feels like I got off a coaster. I'm sure you all have had that feeling. The sucky part is that I feel that way at least one time a day....everyday.

We had an awesome day and had nothing major go wrong. Eating dinner was breeze and we rode the coaster Wicked three times in a row right before the park closed! Do I need to tell you when I got in the car I felt low! But I new it was not the diabetes but motion sickness. I held on to the McDonalds bag all the way home. Thankfully, I did not have to use it.

Sunday, again I felt like I had been hit by a bus. I laid on the couch all day long like a big ole baby. What I think I have learned is that Diabetes affects my whole body. I really have to watch what I do and make sure I get enough rest. I have to really take care of myself so Diabetes does not take care of me. That's what my Papa and Nona say all the time.

Though I do not like having Diabetes I am glad it I manage it and still do fun things. It could be worse....

Mom is yelling at me to go to bed now. I need my beauty sleep!! Until tomorrow...

Today is gonna be a great day!

As you all know I get to go on my over night camp tonight! I am way excited! The only reason I am is because of my great mother! I am excited we all get to share bunk beds! I got to got i think I am low talk to you all on FRIDAY! :D 

Crappy, no good , bad day!

So let me tell you what my day was like. It started out last night before bedtime. My blood sugar was over 285 the first time and I had to take a correction insulin shot before bed. Remember normal is between 100 and 150. I was tired and fell asleep but had to be woken up a half hour later to recheck my blood sugar. When I re checked it, it was still high. In fact it was over 300. So, I had to take another shot and be woken up another half hour after that. 


This is not normal every night but  I was high because I have a cold and when diabetics get sick our bodies does not absorb the insulin like it should. So that means, more shots. Blah!! I feel bad for my Mom cause I get mad at her when she has to wake me up and re test. And even more mad when I have to have a shot. What kids likes a shot and especially when your sleepy? I don't mean to yell at my Mom but I get so frustrated! No one knows how I feel. Then, on top of all that, I worry that with the extra insulin I take my body might kick in and make it's own insulin and I can go low. My pancreas still makes insulin somtimes on it's own. It has not died yet! The scare is I will go low during my sleep, fall into a coma and die! I know this scares the heck out of my Mom and she does not sleep.


So, my day started bad because I was so tired. It did not help that one of my friends was mean to me and the cafeteria food was gross today and I did not know until I started to eat it. That's a problem for me being diabetic because before I eat lunch I have to count carbs and then eat everything I took a shot for. So when I go and eat and the lunch is gross I have to eat it or take the chance of going low. Who looks at their food and decides before they eat it how much of it they will eat? It sucks! Sometimes I'm more hungry and sometimes I'm not as hungry as I think I am. So if I want second's I have to take another shot. If I'm not as hungry as I thought, I have to force myself to eat. So when you eat dinner tonight look at your plate and decide how much your gonna eat. See if you eat exactly what you think. You can think of me while your doing that. :)


So, because lunch sucked I did not eat it all and was low.Being low is terrible. It makes me feel crappy. I had to drink a juice today after lunch when I did not even feel like it. That's the other sucky part is when your low and feeling horrible you have to force yourself to eat or drink something. But it also sucks being high because when your high you get very hungry. I mean very hungry. You feel like you can eat everything in the whole world....but can't. It's such a game and I always have to play even though I'm sick of it and don't want to play anymore.


But, there are two good things. Tomorrow my 6th grade class is going on an overnight field trip. I only get to go because my Mom is going with me. So I won't be able to blog tomorrow but will be excited to tell you how it went on Friday. I'm not nervous to go because my Mom will be there. I would not be able to go if she did not go because there is no nurse and no one else knows how to help me.


The other good thing is that tonight I get to go to church for activity days and make pillows. I'm excited.


I think I'm gonna go take a nice hot bath to make me feel better. Baths are a treat cause i can't take them all the time. If you are in a hot bath or spa for too long it can make your blood sugar go low very fast. So, as always, I get to test my blood sugar before i get into the bath to make sure I can take one. So see you on Friday.

Welcome to Diabetes!

Hi and welcome to my blog. My name is Avery and I am 11 years old. I am in 6th grade and have Type 1 Diabetes. I decided to make this blog to share my life and battle with Diabetes. I know there are alot of kids out there with Diabetes so i hope to share stories and give them comfort as well as educating those who do not have it.

I was diagnosed Novemeber 17th, 2010. I had been sick for at least a year but the doctores kept telling my mom I had mono. My Mom knew something else was wrong. I had been sick for a week and everyone kept telling my mom it was the flu. On November 17th, I can remember being so sick and my mom scooping me out of bed and taking me to the doctors. It was then they told me my blood sugar count was 789. To those of you who don't know, that's high because average is around 120. My Mom started to cry because she knew Diabetes was tough and bad news.

I was admitted to the hospital with DKA (Diabetic Ketoacidosis), which is when your organs start to fail and you are badly dehydrated. I just remember being so sick then feeling better after they gave me insulin. I did not even mind the IV, that's how sick I was. My Mom and I had to stay in the hospital 4 days and were filled with so much information. I have to be honest and say I was scared and did not want to leave the hospital. I did not know how I was gonna go on.

You see, Diabetics don't have normal days. We have to poke out fingers several times a day to regulate or blood sugar. My pancreas no longer makes Beta cells and that's what your body needs to make energy (sugar). So, it's my responsibility to keep my sugar between 100 and 150. I'm not gonna lie, it's hard. I can't just go to the cupboard and eat a snack. I have to test and maybe take a shot before I eat it. This is hard when I go out to eat or go to a birthday party.

The biggest misunderstanding people have about Type 1 Diabetes is that I cannot eat sugar, which is wrong! I can eat sugar I just have to count carbs in everything I eat because your body breaks down the carbs and makes it sugar (energy).

I don't know much about Type 2 because I don't have it but I know they still have the Beta cells but their body cannot use them that well because most times they are overweight and the fat is the cause. That is why Type 2 Diabetics can take pills and I have to take shot. My shots are filled with Novalog which is not a cure but helps me maintain and saves my life. I have to take Novalog before each meal and sometimes with snacks. I then take Lantus at night. It is another kind of insulin but it's 24 hour lasting and helps me through the night. I don't like Lantus because it HURTS and STINGS!! :( But, I have to do it or I could die! If my blood sugar goes too high it hurts organs and cells in my body. If I go too low, I shake, sweat and get confused. If I go too low I can go into a Diabetic coma and die! Scary!!

I have to admit, I cry sometimes because I get so frustrated. People tease me, look at me weird and think I have something they can catch. I say people and not kids because alot of adults have no idea either. That is why I decided to blog. I want to not only vent my frustrations but i want to educate others and be a support to other kids with Diabetes. I feel weird sometimes and can't understand why. My doctor does not even understand. Though he is smart about it, he has never had it and does not understand what I go through everyday emotionally and physically. That is why my Mom said to Blog it.