Diabetes and I have been at loggerheads ALL week.
This is the first time I have had a chance to write anything for days. Lance has had one of his worst weeks in his diabetes history. I simply don’t know where to begin.
I actually meant that, I don’t know where to start.
Okay..well. He has 70 new holes in his fingers since I last wrote. He looks like he has had two small teething puppies chewing on his fingers for hours on end. For the first time ever, he is baulking at having tests. Because it hurts, and there is nowhere left on his fingers left to test. I have to move to the base of his thumb (the fleshy part on his palm) to test, which has gone down as well as a bunch of lead balloons.
Instead of being “Hypo-boy”, he has turned into a walking toffee apple.
All week long, Lance has been been living in the 20mmol/L vicinity. That’s the roughneck part of Diabetes town. Really hard to escape unscathed. I have thrown insulin pens in the bin, and replaced them with brand new ones directly from the fridge. Nup..the insulin wasn’t losing its potency. The due date isn’t until September 09. It’s NOT the insulin.
So it must be Lance. Something has gone beserk inside his body. He is well, fit, and shows no signs of infection or sickness. Growth spurt I hear you say? Maybe, although the last one has only recently died down.
I made a long appointment with our GP to discuss what to do. I can usually titrate and tinker around with a little bit of Novorapid here and there, however this week, he has been having 8 units extra, on top of his daily dosage. He has 16 units of Novorapid in total everyday, and it usually works like Pacman, gobbling up any tiny globule of sugar in his blood. It’s so good, it’s dangerous. Usually. This week, I could swear that I’m on Candid Camera..hey, have you guys done the ol’ switcheroo on us? Put water into his insulin pens?
No. Sigh. DAMMIT. It couldn’t possibly be something so simple.
Then there’s the never ending threat of DKA sneaking up and tapping us on the shoulder. I mean, Lance has spent so much time in the toilet this week, his body desperately trying to flush away this overload of sugar that has left him so weak, achy, restless and responsible for his washed out, puffy appearance.
Ketone strips line the inside of the bathroom bin.
I decided that I would introduce an extra injection at lunchtime. By crikey, I cracked the code.
The whole of yesterday and today have been just perfect. 7mmol/L or thereabouts all day through.
Only this afternoon have the rosy apples returned to Lance’s cheeks, He doesn’t look like a clammy, sickly addict from the ghettos of Diabetestown anymore.
Lance’s new pump is going to kick all of this seesawing to the kerb.
It’s just a matter of patiently waiting..waiting..waiting…
In the meantime, I am struggling with the many thoughts of what a week of constant hyperglycaemia has done to his organs, his arteries…I try to push these thoughts away, despite the toment and fear they instill in me…
It’s not like it’s raining cats and endocrinoligists here, either.
It’s not like I can get an appointment for tomorrow and plant the evidence of the past week in front of an endo and get some reassurance and explanations. I’d even settle for an understanding nod-of-the-head at the moment.
Our next appointment is over 2 weeks away, and I can’t do a thing to change it.
Despite my fears and mournful revalations, I am so grateful that the hurri(sugar)cane has passed.
The voracious consumption of water has died down.
I don’t have to cringe when the toilet flushes…Lance can actually celebrate the return of carbohydrates tonight, as they were enemy this week.
So now, we are up to 6 set injections a day.
7 new holes a week.
I don’t think I could bring myself to complain about a lil ol’ hypo for a while after this…
However, as usual, my boy smiles broadly at me, he hardly seems aware of the nightmare that was the past week. Despite the fact that he suffered, and had headaches, and legaches, and cried in sheer frustration, he is now at peace within his body.
Exhale.
nat said,
6 June, 2008 @ 10:32 pm
hi,
wow you have done a great job you both should feel verey proud!!!!
im sorry to hear lance is not well, lance when you get your pump you will fell so much better belive me, my little man has just started on his pump and he has only had one hypo and that is amazing becuse we were allways in hospital with hypos.
Its not right having to make them wait for a pump thats providing your in a health fund outher wise having to find the money and lets face it who can aford it with out going into debt its just not right.
lance i hope you fell beter soon and if you would like to talk about your pump or would like to know anything at all you could ask jackey i know he would love to talk to you by for now…….
Kezza said,
7 June, 2008 @ 1:03 pm
Wow, what a turbulant week.
Kate you must have been just about at your wits end, I’m glad you cracked the code and got things back under control though!
Lance, I know just how you must have felt, there is nothing worse than a thirst that wont go away and the million and one trips you have to make to the toilet as a result.
Well, now that you are both on top of this situation I hope you have a great (long) weekend.
Big hugs, Kezza