Almost 2012!

Christmas has officially come and gone... It was pretty good, lots of time spent with family, which is really what the holidays are all about! I was pretty sick the entire time, and spent Christmas eve/day with no voice! I'm starting to feel better today and hoping I'll be back to 100% by the end of the week. The dogs were so cute 'opening' their Christmas presents, and they were really good at my in-laws place for Christmas dinner as well. There were 5 dogs there all together, which was a little bit crazy, but a ton of fun! I love my hounds! Presents wise, Jamie and I really didn't go overboard this year, we have about a billion dollars on our credit card from the cruise and Las Vegas.

Diabetes wise, I had another follow up appt and my A1C is actually still 6.0!! I was really shocked at that, but pretty happy. I made a couple small tweaks to my basal rate and I'm hoping everything stays steady. I really hope I won't be pregnant over Christmas next year, it was so hard to keep everything under control with the food and the parties and the potlucks etc.

Anyways, new years eve is this weekend, I don't think Jamie and I will get up to much at all, I'm actually thinking we'll just stay in. We're old and boring now :)... Getting impatient for January, I just want something to HAPPEN. I feel like I've been planning and pushing back plans for so long, it's been a year now, and it's just hard to keep 100% on top of the diabetes and stay so motivated for so long. Really hoping things go as planned in the new year, fingers crossed!

Until next time :)

It's that time of the year...

Well, Christmas is coming, and as per usual I am completed unprepared. We have our tree, but haven't gotten around to decorating it yet! The rest of the inside is looking pretty completed, just not the tree yet - maybe I'll get to it tonight. Jamie finished the outside a few weeks ago, and we're getting there! Need to do a shit-ton of shopping still... Have 2 secret Santa's on Monday and have barely started shopping for Jamie! Sheesh.

The cruise was amazing, and I am very sad to be home! The weather was amazing, and I got a wonderful tan! My blood wasn't terrible, but not amazing either.

My pump had a little bit of a mental breakdown, and I am not thrilled with Animas' response when I contacted them about it. We woke up in the middle of the night to my pump beeping and vibrating frantically and it said 'no delivery, call customer support, remove battery to silence'... So I obviously didn't want to pay $12 a minute to call Animas from the ship so I pulled the battery and popped it back in. It gets almost fully rewound (because of course every time you take out the battery the animas pump needs to be fully primed)and then I got another error message. Starting to get a little nervous at this point, but the second time I tried it ended up working and I went back to bed. Everything was great until the next morning (about 30 hours later) when after breakfast, I got ANOTHER error message. Popped the battery (for the third time!!) and after another rewind it seemed to be okay, and it's been working fine since.

I called Animas when I got home, and they basically said that the first one was 'probably' was due to an occlusion. She asked if my blood sugars were high (they were on the lower end, between 3.1 and 4.5) and there was no reason why it should have been an occlusion. She said the second error was 'probably' due to pressure in the piston and that the third one was 'probably' due to another occlusion. They won't replace the pump because they are all slightly different error codes and to get a replacement you need to have the same error code 3 times in 30 days. So I'm stuck with a pump that has 'something' wrong with the hardware, but they don't know what. Ugh. Plus, I want to switch to a black pump, the paint is peeling off on the corners and I think if I had the black one, it would look better because it's black under the paint. Seriously though, THIS is the best technology we can get for $7,000? My cell phone can do 10000 times more things than this silly pump can. I guess it's got an important purpose, but it just feels like they could do better.

On another topic, Jamie and I have decided to start trying not on this next cycle (which should have started about... yesterday) but the next one, so about 6 weeks from now! I have another diabetes appt next week and it's time to get back into the swing of things, and being 100% diligent again. I'm excited to see what my A1C is now. I don't think it'll be that great, but I'm hopeful it'll still be below 6.5!

Until next time....

Almost time for another one...

And another what, 3 weeks go by without a post... Sheesh. Vegas was amazing, and Jamie and I had a great time... We were kind enough to leave a generous donation in the casino, and enjoyed some R&R (and cheesecake factory, best spinach dip ever!!)and overall just had a really nice time. Scary time too though... My period was 2 days late, and it was a pretty stressful time waiting for it to show up... As much as we'd love to have kids NOW, I'm still on my eye drops, and I had been drinking, so it would have been really bad timing.

Speaking of eye drops, I can't wait to be done with them... I think I have about 2 months left, and then it's done! I'm so glad I got the surgery though, it has been amazing!! Kinda sucks waking up with dry eyes in the mornings, but overall it's really not bad. So weird to just be able to SEE... And not need contacts.

So up next, we have a caribbean cruise, which we leave for on Saturday with my parents... I can't wait. I've been working out really hard at the gym lately too, and I hope it makes a little bit of a difference... I know I should have started a long time ago, but it's better than nothing!

After we get back, it's only a couple weeks until Christmas, and then we're off into a new year, which will hopefully bring us a positive pregnancy test sooner rather than later!! I can't wait <3

Bring on December!

Almost Vegas Time!!!

I really forget to post here all the time... So I'm going to try to update more often, but maybe not post as much. Jamie and I are off to Vegas on Saturday! I wasn't going to get a loaner pump, because I figured in Vegas it would be easy enough to get a pump to me should something go wrong. I called Animas to order an extra battery cap and cartridge cap, and mentioned that I was going to Vegas... Apparently Animas Canada does NOT ship to the States! Sooo, I ordered a loaner pump (for Vegas and the Cruise)and it should be coming tomorrow or the next day! I'm terrified that I will lose it, but it will go straight into the safe from our carry-on and it will be sent back to Animas as soon as I'm back from the trips!

I really want to get a one touch mini for the trips, but I don't think I have time to get one... I can always bring along my spare Contour meter, I think I still have 100 strips left over for it!

Jamie and I are going to get back on the TTC train before we know it, hopefully early in the new year... Just gotta get done with these silly eye drops! But I think I need to make another appt with the clinic and get everything back up to where I was operating before. January 1st is my turnaround day, and then it's all diabetes, all planning for baby. I will be focused!!!!! I've been really slacking on writing down everything (although my numbers are still really good) and the new year will be the perfect time to start buckling down. I'm going to technically be on the drpos until February, but it will only be 1X/ day from January 6th on... So I'm not too worried about TTC with the drops, and I will just stop them if I do actually get pregnant. But I'm going to google this a little bit more, those drops are a little bit scary. :)

Anyways, watching the biggest loser, so back to that!

Diabetes Burnout

Ahhh, already I feel like I'm back in the world of diabetes burnout. I love my pump, and I love what it can do for me, but I find myself getting almost depressed over my diabetes at times since I've gone back on. Something about being connected to it 24/7 and maybe the fact that I've had a string of iffy infusion sets for the past couple weeks is really wearing on me.

It's hard, I know that pumping is the best thing for me. I love that I can sleep in, and when I have a baby in the future I will never remember to take my Lantus so it's great to have that.... but it just feels like I can NEVER get away from it. I was thinking about when we're going to Vegas again, and just the fact that I can't just go to the pool without something hanging off of me is a little bit grating. Same thing with the cruise... I'm not shy about my pump at all, I just kind of wish it's not something I had to deal with while out at the beach. I have all these cute dresses that I've bought recently and none of them look right anymore with the pump. There is always going to be that lump under my clothing. I know I'm probably the only one who notices it, but it still bothers me.

I dunno, maybe there's underlying stuff going on recently that could be bringing me down, but I feel very debbie downer about stuff as of late. On the other side, we have Vegas in 2.5 weeks, and the cruise in just over a month :) That is for sure something to look forward to.

I'm going to try to update this more, I've really 'fallen off the wagon'... I haven't been keeping track of my carbs or counting them as accurately as before, and I cancelled my most recent Dr's appt (because of a laser eye surgery follow up appt) and I haven't rebooked it. I've been going to the diabetes in pregnancy clinic @ the hospital for about the last 10 months, and I kind of want to just go to a normal dr's appt... I don't really feel like filling out these gigantic forms right now, as I'll have to fill them out religously for however long it takes for us to conceive, and then throughout my entire pregnancy as well.

Bah, sorry, I feel like I'm just whining in this post, not my style for sure. Hopefully Vegas will bring me out of my funk soon!

Moving along..

This is a short update - not much new to report! Pumping is going great, aside from a ripped out infusion set in the bed which turned out to be a bleeder... Yuck. Little bit of a shock for sure.

Life in general is plunking along, I have my pre-op for laser eye surgery tomorrow afternoon, and assuming all goes well (which it should) I will be getting the surgery sometime Thursday afternoon! After that, my Mom and I are going to Victoria on Saturday, she's doing the Victoria marathon, and I'm doing a wimpy 8km run while she's doing hers. I'm pretty excited though, we're going to go to the museum and fun stuff like that.

After that, of course it will be 1 month from VEGAS! And then 2 weeks til the cruise... I can't wait for the next few months, so much great stuff going on. After Vegas or the cruise (haven't decided excactly where yet), Jamie and I will finally actually starting looking at having kids again soon... We are ready anytime, but at the same time, we have no problem with putting it on hold, we're both so young, we have lots of time.

Anyways, I'm trying to burn a DVD from my video camera of Holly's first 6 months with us... I'm using the iMac to do it, and it is being prettyyyy dumb. You would think that a program called iDVD would be able to do a simple DVD, but it will only play one 'clip' at a time... There is no way to just make it play through! I gotta figure out some way to work around it, I'm not impressed!! Hopefully I figure it out eventually!

Batteries and Infusion Sites

Wow, time is really flying by! I am less than a week away from no more contacts! I have to wear my glasses (boo) for two weeks, and then it's pre-op and operation (assuming everything looks good in the pre-op of course). My Mom and I are enrolled in some wonderful running a couple days after the surgery as well. She's doing a full marathon (impressive!) and I'm doing an 8km run at the same time, because I'd feel lazy just standing around for 5-6 hours waiting for her to finish... I called the Lasik clinic and they said as long as I don't sweat into my eyeballs, I should be just fine for the run.

I had a little bit of a battery issue with my pump over the weekend... My battery was showing as completely full until late Friday afternoon, when it dropped to 2/3's. I figured I'd get about another 5 days out of it and didn't think anything of it. On Saturday after we got in around 10:45 my pump all of the sudden alarmed and said that the battery was low and to change now. I figured it was just getting a little ahead of itself and decided I'd deal with it the next day. I mean it had JUST gone to 2/3, surely I'd be able to get a few more days out of it. Not the case, Jamie woke me up at 3:30 because my pump was alarming its face off. Luckily he's a light sleeper because there is no way that would wake me up. Anyways, in a sleepy stupor I tried seeing what was going on with the silly thing and the screen is BLACK. I can't touch anything, and the alarm will NOT shut up. I don't know if my basal was still continuing or what. I went downstairs and changed out the battery (thank god I had some double A's sitting around!) and went back to bed, none too pleased. I got 4 weeks out of the battery, so that's not a big problem, but I really do not like that it just died within 36 hours, when it had been showing as completely full. My meter remote is a little bit sketchy too. The battery was showing as 2/3 on some screens and fully charged on some other screens. It started giving me 'change battery' messages, which I ignored initially because the screens still showed as fully charged. After getting the message 3 times (and still getting 2/3 or 3/3 on the screens) I bit the bullet and changed the batteries. I got the change battery screen about 4 hours after changing them, so I have no idea why that came up, as they are brand new batteries. Since then everything looks okay, but I am not happy with these battery issues. I'll see how it goes with what's in there right now and if it drops drastically again, I'm calling tech support. What if I wasn't home? It only gave me 3 hours before my pump was completly 100% not responding at all dead. That is unbelievable, and pretty dangerous if you ask me.

Other thing on my mind is placement of the infusion sets. I love my 'side' areas the best, on my love handles (haha) and my side-stomach essentially. I switch left-front, right-front, left-back, right-back each time. I have the most trouble with areas that tend to bend when I sit down. I put one in today and the adhesive kind of crinkles almost where my skin seems to be bending. I hope it sticks in there well, because I'm worried about it just peeling up. I would use pretty much the exact same spots every time, but I don't want to get any scar tissue. So far my sites look great (can only really see a tiny dot and only for a day or so after) but I'm just worried.

bah, stressful.

oooh, forgot to mention!

I must talk about our latest diabetes accident in the home!

Jamie was kind enough to help me change my infusion set last week, and he was pumping air in and out of the cartridge to lube it up before filling it with insulin. I was just walking over to tell him I didn't quite need the cartridge filled when all of the sudden there was a yelp and a LOT of blood... He was dripping blood all over the floor, it was pooling in his palm, it was pretty gruesome! Turns out when he was pulling air in, he somehow popped off the needle cap, and when he was pumping air out, he went through his ring finger and into his middle finger.

Yuck. I had done that about 3-4 years into pumping back in the day, so I figured something similar would happen again one day, but not so soon, and not to Jamie!! Poor hubby :(

Luckily, he's all healed now, and at least it was a nice brand new sterile needle! I wonder what the next diabetic injury will be... I haven't pulled out an infusion set on a door handle yet, I'm thinking that's next on the list!

Oh insurance...

Finally I got that letter from Standard Life today... I could finally pay my Mom back for the pump, which she was nice enough to put on her Credit Card. I sent everything in probably 2 weeks ago... Today I open the envelope and a big fat "DENIED" written on the page. They even issued me a cheque for $0!!! Written on there it says that they need proof of payment, and that 'it isn't their policy to issue cheques directly to the vendor' something along those lines.

Now what I don't understand, is how my invoice with 'prepaid in full by visa' doesn't count as proof of payment. Bah, so annoyed. Hopefully I can call them tomorrow and they will open their eyes and realize that I DID send proof of payment. Or else Animas sent me the wrong receipt, which would be a whole other can of worms. I'm still waiting to hear back from them about ordering supplies, it's been close to a month I've been waiting for the girl to call me back. I've called and spoken to THREE other people as well who said they would get me an answer ASAP and still nothing.

I'm really hoping this isn't something I should expect from Animas in the future, and I get this all sorted out soon.

Other than that, life is good! I accidently disconnected my pump in my sleep Saturday night, so I ran high pretty much all Sunday morning... No idea how I disconnected overnight, I've never done that before! Other than that, my bloods been pretty good. I'm taking it a little bit more easy, because we've put off TTC for a few more months, but we'll see.

PS: ONE month til laser eye surgery!!!! Can't wait!!!

News

Well, still pumping away and things are going really well. The past week has been pretty good, there have been a few surprising numbers (as always) but I am really getting the hang of it! Jamie and I were planning on going to the waterslides last weekend so I tried sticking my infusion set in my butt cheek so it could be hidden by my bathing suit.... We ended up not going, but the infusion set worked pretty well over the weekend. On Monday it ended up getting caught on the inside of my work pants and almost pulled out, but it's not bad for bumming around at home! Didn't feel the needle at ALL, I guess a little extra padding helps!

What else is new...? Well, I had a consultation for laser eye surgery this morning and I am officially booked in to get it! It will be amazing to not have to wear contacts every day! I was a little bit worried because my prescription has changed SLIGHTLY over the past few years, but they said I'm a great candidate and that my eyes should be all done changing now. The only thing that sucks is that I have to wear glasses for 2 weeks prior to the surgery so that my eyes aren't misshapen at all. Small price to pay in the long run though! I'm nervous about being a 4 eyes though, I'm shy about wearing my glasses in public! I'm going to have to wear them to my management summit at the end of the month too, so fun. I'm half considering dropping an extra $80 and just buying a new pair of glasses that I actually like, I feel like mine are just so nerdy!

Of course, with the laser eye surgery comes a pushback on the baby making plans. Apparently you can't be pregnant during the surgery (something to do with the eye drops..?) so we're not going to have a May due date! We could potentially try in October, but I'll be fertile and likely possibly conceiving about 5 days before the surgery and because I'll be taking the drops for about 4 weeks, I don't think it's a great idea to risk it. That's okay though, we have all the time in the world to make a baby, and time will go by fast. I was not looking forward to never seeing my baby during all those middle of the night feedings too, because I'm not putting in contacts for that! :)

Other than that... Life is going great! I'm excited to keep seeing the improvements in my blood, and I'm going to stay on top of it as much as possible. I like writing down everything because it makes it so much easier to detect trends. Very exciting stuff!

Until next time...

EzManager Max... Not so easy!!!

I can't believe it's Monday again, and it's time for my Dr's appt at Royal Columbian tomorrow morning already. Jamie and I spent some time writing down the past month of test results for my appt tomorrow (on their old sheets that look like they're from the early 80's) and after that was completed, I thought it would be a good idea to download my pump data as I hadn't done that yet. So I followed the instructions to 'disconnect and suspend the pump, without letting it fall asleep' and plugged in the dongle to my laptop.

The first try it seemed to have a pretty good connection so I was checking other websites as it sat there and downloaded, no big deal. I checked it after a little while and it was stuck at 76% for a good 5 minutes until the connection dropped and try 1 was offically a failure. Little bit frustrated as this was after a little over 10 minutes, but I tried again and it SLOWLY got up to 30-35% before it again stopped and I got the wonderful 'lost link' message again. After try 3 (very similar to try 2) I was about ready to throw this stupid thing off a bridge and go back to my good old shots. I am due for my period this week, so I am either very emotional and PMS'y, or I am feeling the rage hormones of early pregnancy. Either way, I wasn't a happy camper at this point. I had been disconnected for close to 45 minutes now and overall it wasn't a great situation. On try 4, I plugged it in and left the room careful to not walk too close and accidently shake the table and break the connection. Took about 15 minutes, but the download completed, finally! Downloading the meter itself was easy enough, and I was ready to obsess over my reports and see if there are any other patterns I hadn't yet noticed.

First thing that seemed a little bit odd, is that when I tried to generate the 'bolus vs basal' report, there was nothing there. I looked at the full log and noticed that almost half of my blood results are duplicated (one showing up at 9:00 and one showing up at 9:01 for example) and for whatever reason, it chose to not download ANY of my basal information. I am so frustrated, both with the technology itself, and the results. I thought I was doing so great, but now all I can see are 2's & 3's and 9's & 10's. I am just really having an 'off' day. It was funny though, when I was using the good ol' dongle, Jamie and I were talking about how SMART technology is nowadays, however us diabetes are stuck using crap like 'dongles' to download all of our info. Our iPhones can pour tic tacs from one phone to another, (virtually of course) and tell where the other one is at all moments, and play music and set up PVR recordings for that night in case I forgot to record it ahead of time, but it takes almost an hour for a week of basal/ bolus/ glucose data to download and form a report?

So. Frustrated.I think it's bedtime!

Sleeping in without guilt!

So life is pretty good! I have been hooked up to insulin for several days now and so far the transition isn't too bad. I've had a couple difficult moments, but with testing frequently, I am able to correct highs or lows before they really become issues.

I find I get kind of lazy with my diabetes during the weekend... During the week I am always 'on' and I am so careful with EVERYTHING and sometimes during the weekend I just don't feel like dealing with it quite as much as normal. I know it's not a great way to do things, but it happens. At least I can now sleep in without feeling guilty for missing my morning Lantus! I had a loose infusion set last night which wasn't too much fun. I put it in around 10PM and right before getting into bed at midnight I looked down and it just wasn't sticking right. Replaced it and the new one seems to be much better. It's funny how fast time goes by. You go on an insulin pump and it's great to 'not have to do shots' but I feel like my life will forever be managed in 3 day segments when I need to change my infusion site again.

Joys of diabetes...:) On a wonderful note, I had my bloodwork done on Thursday and my A1C is back down to 6.0!!!! Such awesome news. On a not so great note, my pump trainer kind of offended me when we were meeting last week. I was showing her my logbook and I had a 13.0 and a few lows in there and after I mentioned that I had a pretty good a1c, she said 'well those highs and lows you have contribute to a good 'average' number on your a1c'... I mean I do a really good job, but I have type one diabetes. It is impossible to be perfect. There will always be highs and lows. There isn't anything I can do to get rid of them completely, because my body will always do what it wants in the end. I can only play mind reader to my hormones so much.

Oh well, Dr's appt this week, we'll see how it goes! I'm expecting a pretty good one, I'm excited :)

Training Done

Well, I did my pump training today! It went pretty well, it was really a lot of what I already knew. The basal rate my Dr. gave me is pretty much exactly what I was guesstimating, so that makes me happy!

My blood is still being difficult today, so I'm hoping I can start using an increased basal in the future to help me out. I hate bouncing numbers so much.

Jamie did a full infusion set change for me today, which was so sweet! He needed a fair bit of instruction (of course) but he did it perfectly! I'm lucky to have him.

Basal rate goes into effect tomorrow morning, fingers crossed for a good transition, I am sooo nervous!!!

I hate the second half of my cycle!

Every month, without fail, my blood gets difficult in the second half of my cycle. It's just... hard to control really. Today for example, I woke up in the 5's, perfect. I had my breakfast/ lunch (late) and checked 2 hours later and was a perfect 6.0, wonderful.... This was at 1:30 and when I checked again at 2:45 because I felt low, I had dropped to 1.7! I figured my meter was just screwing with me and checked again to get a good ol' 1.6, even better! I felt okay and a juicebox later I knew it would be on its way up, but I felt pretty crappy for the next few hours, just almost foggy.

So things stayed fairly stable after that, although I went to 8.1 after dinner, when I normally am about 6 after that kind of meal... Corrected that, and when I got home at 9:15 I was down to 2.4 (are we catching a trend here...?) I corrected that, ate some snacks, bolused accordingly and 2 hours later went up to 10... Corrected that (a whole .20 units, apparently I had iob) and now an hour later I'm at 11. I know it's not major fluctuations, but I just hate the lack of control. I am doing everything RIGHT, why is my body not listening to me? Every month it is so annoying until my period comes and then it acts like an angel for the next 2-2.5 weeks.

I guess the hormone fluctuations are good practice for pregnancy, I'm sure I will have a few frustrating days once I am at that point! And by a few, I mean a lot.

Bring it on!

PS - getting hooked up to my basal tomorrow, can't wait! I will officially be a true pumper again. I am in much less of a downer mood today, now my blood just needs to get along with me. Maybe I will be friends with an inflated temp basal soon :)

Monday Monday...

Well, it's midnight and I'm having kind of a debbie downer Monday... Although I'm starting to feel better. I was at the gym tonight and my pump just didn't want to SIT properly on my body... It was just poking out and bouncing around and overall annoying me. I had a little 'pity me' moment in the car on the drive home where I just wished I didn't have to be connected, and maybe I should just go back on shots.

Then I remembered how my average is 5.8 for the past week, and how I don't have to worry about out of range numbers as much, and I know how easy it is to correct out of range numbers... and it really brought it back into perspective.

So, I still love my pump. Just had a little bump in the road today about it. I'm excited to see how getting on a basal rate goes, although I'm kinda nervous... Things are going so well using Lantus... It's going to be a lot of trial and error to get on a basal rate!

It'll all work itself out... (with me putting in a lot of work!!!)

Another one!

Okay, I'll stop after this, promise! ... Maybe! A lot of these will probably be the same as my last post, sorry. :(

What type of diabetes do you have: Type 1 Insulin Dependent, or Juvenile Diabetes

When were you diagnosed: Somewhere between August 25th-28th 2000. I can't remember the exact date though!

What's your current blood sugar: I tested about 5 mins ago and I was 3.5. Methinks I need a snackie before bed!

What kind of meter do you use: I have JUST switched to a Onetouch meter that works with my insulin pump. I like the technology, but HATE the strips. Seriously, I need like a gallon of blood for every strip. I was on freestyle before that, which I loved. It had this handy little light on it which was great for testing at night. I also used a contour USB meter occasionally which isn't bad! I still have close to 100 of those strips. I'm going to use those up to clear them up and then switch primarily over to onetouch, with freestyle as a backup when I don't want to carry the massive ping meter!

How many times a day do you test your blood sugar: 5 as a minimum, and that's on a lazy weekend day where I don't wake up until noon. I would say 8-15 on average though. Going to be in the higher range now that my pump can remind me to test!

What's a "high" number for you: I consider a high over 8, but I don't get too concerned about it usually until I'm over 10. I never used to correct anything below 10 on shots because it was such a hassle. Now I'm going to correct pretty much anything over 7-8 down to 6.

What's do you consider "low": I would say 3.8, but I start to consider myself going 'low' at around 4.0

What's your favorite low blood sugar reaction treater: I like juice because it's quick and easy and I know exactly what I'm consuming carb wise. But sometimes at work I'll buy a thing of sour candies to keep in my desk if I'm low and that works pretty well too!

Describe your dream endo: I am REALLY happy with my current endo! I am probably the most annoying patient because I am always e-mailing between visits with questions and concerns, but oh well. She's pretty great.

What's your biggest diabetes achievement: My mountain trips. People seem pretty impressed by it, and I must say altitude mixed with blood sugars is NOT fun to handle! I also am soo happy that my A1C is staying stable, and hopefully with my pump I can get it below 6.0!

What's your biggest diabetes-related fear: Maybe I should be more scared, but I'm not. Occasionally I worry that I'm going to die younger than I should, but I feel like I'm too young to worry about that. All I can do is my best right now, and deal with whatever happens when it happens.

Who's on your support team: Jamie knows my diabetes really well and always helps me with my math because I suck at doing it in my head (I'm loving the calculator built into the pump!!) and my Mom is not quite as knowledgeable on my diabetes as she used to be (for obvious reasons) but she still listens to me talk about it all the time, which I appreciate! I have a great clinic at the hospital that I'm attending to help me with preparation for pregnancy, and I know so many other T1D's that know exactly what I'm going though, which is also great. There is always someone to help out.

Do you think there will be a cure in your lifetime: Well, when I got diagnosed I always heard '10 years'... We're now at 11 and it doesn't look like it's working. I am doubtful because diabetes is a big money maker. How many people would be out of jobs if there were no longer $1 each test strips, $7000 insulin pumps etc etc. But who knows, maybe one day!

What is a "cure" to you: My pancreas working. I don't want to be hooked up to an 'automatic' insulin pump, that doesn't mean anything to me. I'm not cured if I am not living like exactly like a non-diabetic.

The most annoying thing people say to you about your diabetes is: There are many, but when people assume they know what I should be doing nutritionally it's pretty bad. I was talking about how energy drinks are bad for you and a guy I know said 'yeah, and it really hurts you more because you're diabetic'... Uhhh no. A sugarfree beverage doesn't effect my diabetes, thanks for coming out. I had someone ask me if I was going to leave the room to take an injection recently as well. Believe it or not, I'm not going to hide in the bathroom to stick a tiny 6mm needle in my tummy.

What is the most common misconception about diabetes: That type 1 and type 2 are the same thing.

If you could say one thing to your pancreas, what would it be: If you're not going to work anyways, can I just get rid of you? A pancreas has to weigh what, 5 lbs? That's an easy weight loss technique!!!

Something I found..

I found this on someone else's blog, and I just had to do it myself. I love surveys and talking about myself!

30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know:

1. The illness I live with is: Type 1 Diabetes, AKA T1D or as I call it, 'the beets'.

2. I was diagnosed with it in the year: 2000. Summer before entering grade 7.

3. But I had symptoms since: I had symptoms starting in July I would say, and I was diagnosed around August 27th-28th (can't remember the exact date)... I suspected I had diabetes because my cousin has diabetes as well, and I noticed that I was peeing every 5 minutes and that my thirst was unquenchable. My Mom took me for a blood test because I almost blacked out one day, and because I peed 2 times in a 20 minute mall trip, which was not like me at all!

4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is: Honestly, I can't really say that I've 'adjusted' because diabetes is all I know now. I've been diabetic since I was 12, I didn't really have anything going on in my life of too much importance before then other than just being a normal kid. I barely even remember life without it actually.

5. Most people assume: Ahh, there are a lot of assumptions. I would say the most common things people assume are: That I can't eat sugar, That I used to be fat, and that if I just 'change my diet, it will grow away'. I just love the fact all these stupid commercials about type 2 diabetes make people assume that they are one and the same. Not the case!

6. The hardest part about mornings are: I don't have too much of a problem with mornings actually. I used to be on Levemir and had a period where I would be severely low in the morning fairly often. I have the occasional low or high now, but overall it's pretty straightforward.

7. My favorite medical TV show is: I don't think I really watch many 'medical' TV shows. I used to like House though, if that counts!

8. A gadget I couldn’t live without is: Diabetes wise, a blood checker. Other than that, probably my phone. It does everything!!

9. The hardest part about nights are: Nothing really. Occasionally Jamie wakes me up because I'm low and clammy, but overall it's pretty good. I mostly just kinda get debbie downer if I wake up above 8 or 9, because then I wonder what was really going on all night long. Times like that I like the idea of a CGM!

10. Each day I take __ pills and vitamins.: Related to my diabetes... Nothing. I take good ol' insulin!

11. Regarding alternative treatments I: haven't thought twice about them, because that doesn't apply to me at all. No magical herb will make it go away, and I'm fine with that.

12. If I had to choose between an invisible illness or visible I would choose: Well, I'm looking at this a different way, but I have to say invisible, because if I had to choose a disease I would want diabetes. No one knows I have it unless I tell them, or if they see my insulin pump/ see me giving a shot/ see me testing my blood. I think everyone I know is aware of the fact that I have the beets though, because I do NOT try to hide it at all.

13. Regarding working and career: I am lucky to have a job where I am able to control my diabetes well at work. I always have all of my stuff spread out on my desk, and it's pretty nice to have. My only problem is that I'm sometimes late for lunch, that's about it!

14. People would be surprised to know: That nothing makes me prouder than when my diabetes control is great... I just LOVE throwing my logbook at Jamie and yelling at him to 'LOOK AT THE NUMBERS!! THEY'RE PERFECT!!!'

15. The hardest thing to accept about my new reality has been: Looking at starting a pregnancy has made me have some days where I WISH I didn't have diabetes. As much as I try to never let diabetes get me down, I am secretly (well not anymore) terrified of making it through a pregnancy without having to be induced early, or having a 15lb kid, or any other weird things. I am also scared of passing along my diabetes to my child.

16. Something I never thought I could do with my illness that I did was: I want to go cliche and say that I never thought I could climb Mount Kilimanjaro, hike to Everest Base Camp, or trek to Machu Picchu, but as soon as I heard about the trips, I was never worried about 'not being able to do it'. I can't really think of much that I thought I would never be able to do. Maybe drive, I was stupid when I was 16 and I wasn't testing my blood often so I lied about all my numbers and submitted those to my Dr. Luckily she believed me and gave the okay for me to get my DL, but I was worried for a little while!

17. The commercials about my illness: There are very few commercials about MY illness. But tons of them about T2D. And those anger me.

18. Something I really miss doing since I was diagnosed is: Haha, well this is completely unrelated to my diabetes but I miss being a kid at times! I never really went on sugar binges or anything before though.

19. It was really hard to have to give up: having a life without needles and testing. But you gotta do what you gotta do!

20. A new hobby I have taken up since my diagnosis is: haha pretty much every hobby I have. I was just a kid.

21. If I could have one day of feeling normal again I would: This is my 'normal'.

22. My illness has taught me: everything there is to know about diabetes!

23. Want to know a secret? I am obsessed with old episodes of full house right now. I love them!

24. I love it when people: Ask me questions about diabetes and actually LISTEN to my answers!! Or just take interest in what I'm doing. I love talking about all of my stuff!

25. My favorite motto, scripture, quote that gets me through tough times is: Don't have one.. Maybe I need one!

26. When someone is diagnosed I’d like to tell them: You will live a PERFECTLY FULL LIFE!!! And you will not just waste away because of diabetes. You'll be fine. :)

27. Something that has surprised me about living with an illness is: How much of a community the diabetes world is. Between camp, the trips I've gone on, and online I know sooo many diabetics and I love that. I was not expecting that at all when I got diagnosed. I kind of always thought I'd be the odd one out.

28. The nicest thing someone did for me when I wasn’t feeling well was: I am sure there have been many of them! Jamie takes good care of me when I'm low most of the time though, I know he hates running to the kitchen at 3AM to get me a juice box!

29. I’m involved with Invisible Illness Week because: Ahhh, this doesn't really apply to my post!

30. The fact that you read this list makes me feel: Like you must be very patient! WELL DONE!

Transition period

I'm still super excited about being on my pump, and I love the tight control I will be able to obtain and more importantly maintain. There is this one small part of me that is still just scared about it though. I went off the pump for a reason (mainly because I was lazy with my control)and it's just really scaring leaving the world of MDI (multiple daily injections) and going back to pumping. I've been trying to break down what I'm scared of, and I think it's mostly with placement of the pump. I work an office job, and so I wear a lot of dress pants and 'longer' shirts. I have a few shirts where I can hide it in my bra, but with my lack of boobs I'm pretty much confined to clipping it to my waistband, which sometimes creates an odd 'bulge' under my clothes. I know I can't worry about vanity when it's something that is saving my life, but it's something I still think about.

How am I going to wear it while I'm wearing a dress? I think sticking it on my bra is the best bet, but that creates a stupid bulge in 90% of the dresses I have.... Other option would be to attach it to my underwear, but then I'm stuck again with a bulge, as well as my underwear falling down. I have a 'thigh thing' and I guess we'll see how that goes. I think it's still going to create a bulge, but it's worth a try.

What else am I nervous about? I changed my infusion site today and it was a little daunting thinking that I need to do this every single 2-3 days... forever. I know I've been on shots 5-10 times a day and that was forever, but this just seems different. It feels so permanent.

Overall though, I'm really excited. I will find ways to make it work with all aspects of my life, and it will be FANTASTIC!

I got in touch with my trainer today and she and I should be meeting early next week to set up a basal rate. She's just got to get in touch with one of my Dr's and we're good to go!

Anyways, exciting stuff still, and I'm feeling really good about things! I think I'm just a little bit anxious on my own, and I tend to overthink things!

PS, I am SO happy it's Friday tomorrow, finally almost weekend time!!!

Still love it :)

So I'm still not up and running on basal, but I am LOVING this thing for bolusing. My blood has been amazing! I love that it reminds me to test, and I love that if I need more than 6U and less than 7U, I can go ahead and give myself 6.35U, so much better than whole units! My blood has just been fantastic, I am so happy with it every time I check now! I can't wait to be hooked up to basal though, although things are working well with Lantus. I could probably be a part time pumper and work just fine that way, haha. Okay, maybe not.

My replacement pump came today and the screen looks much better. "Annie" (creative name, I know) arrived bright and early this morning and it didn't take too long to get everything reprogrammed and set to my liking. The new pump came with an envelope to put the old one in to send back via Canada post. Easy peasy! As far as the training goes... Well Animas originally said I wouldn't be able to get training until my rep (Anthony) is back from vacation (August 28th I think)which really doesn't work too well for me. I e-mailed my Dr to see if she could give me a starting basal rate and she said that it's best to wait until August 28th, as she is also on vacation until that time.. Aaahhhhh. Animas called today too and said that they have a trainer who wants to meet by the end of the week, so I'm hoping I can get this show on the road. I doubt the trainer can go anything without direction from my Dr. though, this is frustrating! I think I'm going to just try my 1U/hour and see how it goes. Checking my blood nonstop will help keep everything under control, I hope! Fingers crossed at least.

And lets end this with a picture of the pump and meter in their matching black skins. Cause what's wrong with switching up the colour every once in a while?

Day 2

So, I ran in the 2's-3's all night and woke up a few times with that terrible clammy, too hot, sweaty, shaky, low-middle-of-the-night feeling. I tested at 3AM and 6AM and downed a bunch of dex tabs both times... Woke up at 10 AM still low, and decided I'd had enough of doing my own basal rates. I was a genius of course and didn't think that overnight I would STILL HAVE my previous days Lantus in my body helping everything out, so of course I ran low. Seriously, I am too smart. Either way, to avoid worrying the Animas rep who called today to tell me she's sending me a new pump, I decided to cut out the basal rate to 0.00 and continue using Lantus as my long acting and just use the pump to bolus until I'm gone through training. I had nightmares all night long that I... Inserted something wrong in the pump (or something, it was kind of like a memory card) and I voided my warranty and this all could have been avoided had I just gone through training first! I also dreamt that I found a pregnancy test in my closet so I peed on it and it was like double lines instantly. Of course that made me assume (in my dream) that I was further along than I thought I was, and that my last period wasn't really a period and that because I'd been drinking since getting my last period my baby would be born with FAS because I'm terrible. Gotta love dreaming when you're low, makes for an interesting morning!

Anyways, I should get ready for work, and I'm looking forward to getting my new pump tomorrow morning! Those Animas people are quick at getting things out, I'm really impressed!!!

It's HERE!!!!

It's here it's here it's here! My pump (and boxes of supplies) arrived at my office around 10:30 AM, which was amazingly fast! I was hoping for it to come today but didn't have my fingers crossed at all. But here it came, bright and early this morning!

All of the supplies are great, I have way more stuff than I will ever use. I still haven't heard from my trainer, so I have taken it upon myself to learn how to figure out my basal rates on my own. I called and left a message for both of my Dr's but hadn't heard back and I figure I don't need to wait for the formal training... I know the basics, I know HOW it works and what to do, I really only want the training to see if there are any special features of the pump I am not aware of.

Anthony had told me to take my normal 'basal' rate of Lantus and cut it to 80% and spread that out over my day... That worked out to 24U a day, so a simple 1U/hour.... I decided to cut that down slightly overnight (at least for tonight) so that I don't end up low all night long. I am ready to test every 2 hours overnight though, I'm not expecting too much sleep! So I am on 1U/hour from 8AM-10:30PM and .90U/hour from 10:30PM-8AM... We'll see how it goes and adjust from there. I'm sure my Dr will call tomorrow with an idea of where to start, but I think I have a good jumping off point here.

Frustrations of the day...

First, I noticed that the pump screen seems to be 'off' a little bit... Almost like it was placed too far to the left.

So I put that aside (for then) and focused on just learning about the meter remote. I'm still not crazy about 1 touch strips (and having to get enough blood the first try, every try) but I am getting used to them! I actually really like the poker they gave me, I barely feel it at all, I can even test on my pointer fingers, which I usually HATE testing on! I don't like the case they give you for the meter remote, because it's all plasticy feeling, there isn't a good spot to put my log book, and it doesn't fit the meter when it's wearing a skin. After dinner I went to Walmart and found a little pink and brown makeup case to put everything in, and that is working wonderfully so far, I am pretty happy with it!

I called Animas earlier in the day about the screen issue and had a callback within a couple hours, not bad at all. The lady was great and said she'd forward my complaint on to Animas Canada and they would arrange to ship a new pump to me. I hate feeling like I'm 'complaining' but I mean I JUST got the thing, and I can't stop staring at the fact that the screen is off kilter. Although now I'm staring at the screen and can't see it at all, of course. Speaking of the screen, luckily they send out the pump with a screen protecter, because somehow I've already put a huge dent in the screen protector, no idea how! I also had one hell of a time getting in an infusion set, it did take me 3 tries... The first one wouldn't go in, no matter what I pressed on the inset thingy, so I said that it must be defective and threw it out... The second one I tried and tried and tried and eventuallly thought that something must be wrong with the box. I loaded up a third from another box and started dialing Animas... I tried with the 3rd and realized that I was pressing the wrong spot on the inserter, OOOPS. I'm pretty sure I tried both on the first infusion set, but who knows. I felt kinda dumb, I had been texting Jamie expressing my FRUSTRATIONS at how STUPID it was being for not working, when I was just being an idiot. Oh well! :)

Overall, I'm pretty excited. I'm looking forward to talking to my Dr or at least a trainer to make sure I'm doing things right, and getting through reading all this stuff that they sent me. I have my 'pump drawers' all organized and full so that's great, I HATE being unorganized!

I'll update again soon, once I am more into the swing of things, but I am so excited! I can't wait until I am a master of this thing, and that will come shortly. It's still so new to me though, but I'm figuring it out.

It's coming soon!!!

I can't help but post my excitement about my pump being here either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow! I really hope it comes tomorrow, because I'm working 1-9 on Tuesday so I won't be able to play with it until way too late! I'm reallllyyyy hoping it comes tomorrow! But not crossing my fingers yet, I'm just going to wait until it's here!

YAY!

An update, finally!

Well, yesterday I emailed the Animas rep to see if there was any way that I could speed up the process, and today I got in touch with her over the phone. She said that I could go ahead and just pay up front (as my insurance company does it on a reimbursement basis anyways) and order right away. I was a little bit worried, because what if there was some chance that they didn't cover it? I was hoping they'd cover the majority of the pump, and figured I'd be paying approx $1500 out of pocket for it, and I was hoping the supplies would be covered 80%. The lady at Animas said that she didn't see any reason why it wouldn't be covered, but of course they can't guarantee anything.

So, she called Standard life and we got a rep on the phone who confirmed that YES my pump is covered (approved yesterday) and that they are covering it 100%!!!! I am totally blown away by this, and I am so excited. I have it ordered along with a ton of supplies, although I need to change that order a little bit. I have things like a tamper resistant case coming, when I don't need that one, I'd rather have a bra band or something. I'm going to try any get in touch with her tomorrow and go over everything while I'm on the website and make sure that I have the things I actually want/ need.

Exciting stuff, it should arrive Monday or Tuesday! YAYY!!!!!!

Still impatient!

So it's Wednesday and I'm still not pumping! I'm trying hard to be patient, but it's tough... I'm getting towards the end of my novo-rapid, and I hope I don't have to stock up again before my pump comes. I was really looking forward to being hooked up before my triathalon this weekend, but I don't think that's going to happen :( Oh well, I'll have a long time with it soon, I can wait a couple more days.

Standard life apparently takes their sweet time to approve the insurance stuff, so I'm thinking we'll just buy the pump now (because it's on a reimbursment basis anyways) and deal with the insurance stuff as it comes. I can't see any reason why they wouldn't cover it, I have the letter of medical neccesity and all that fun stuff. Only thing I can see holding me back is that I already have a decent a1c. If they deny me based off of that, I will LOSE IT!!!

I've tried to stop doing shots in my stomach, because it will be getting a beating until they fix my pancreas. Which means it'll be a long time. I'm nervous, but hope it all goes well. I'm even getting mildly excited for the one touch meter. I can still use my old freestyle when I don't want to carry the big one, but I think I'll primarily use the one touch.

Anyways, enough for now. Hopefully I'll get the new pump (and all my free supplies) ordered tomorrow and off to me EARLY next week!!! Fingers crossed!!

Memories

Can't believe it's already been 2 years since the last Team 1 trip!

I just found these videos on youtube. I love them, that was such an experience...

SO IMPATIENT!!!

I have been away from my trial pump for a week now, and I miss it! I sent in all my information to the lady at Animas who said she would get my insurance coverage figured out, but I haven't heard back yet, hopefully sometime early next week. Once that's all finished, I should get the pump itself within 2 days apparently! I hope I'm on it before the triathalon I'm doing on August 6th! I am so excited for the closer control! Just today I had lunch and then I wanted to eat something else, but didn't because I didn't want to have to give another shot. Just a simple extra bolus will be so nice! And not even that, the small doses will be amazing! I never realized how little flexibility I had with just whole units, this will be a whole different world for me!

On another note, also about impatience, I feel like I am completely infertile because we're not pregnant yet. I am due for my period on Saturday and have already tested twice, no luck yet. I know it's not completely over this month, but still, I feel discouraged :( At least we're heading to Osoyoos this weekend and can have a great time!

Anyways, enough now, I just hope my pump comes soon!!! Did I mention that I'm impatient?!

One thing that annoys me

Okay, this is a quick post, but it needs to be done! I am so annoyed of commercials that advertise diabetes care, when it is all about type 2 diabetes! People just don't understand the difference between T1D and T2D!! I wish I could just drink a glycerna (or whatever it's called) shake for breakfast and that would level off my diabetes perfectly. I wish I could just 'eat better' and my diabetes would go away. It's just not that easy! I am stuck with this for life, just as every other type one diabetic like me. I almost wish Type 2 had a different name, because they are very different conditions! I am not diabetic because I ate too much sugar, or because I didn't get enough exercise! I did nothing wrong to get this, and a magic drink in the morning will not take it away.

Anyways, I just had to get that out. I don't mind being diabetic, I just hate that we get lumped in with Type 2's so often. It's so different, people just don't understand.

Silly.

More backstory

Well, I should probably start with where this all started... I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in August of 2000. Coming up on 11 years with it now, I've almost been diabetic for half of my life! I was originally on 'N & R' which was a kind of insulin where I had to follow a really strict diet. I took... 4 shots a day I believe (morning and dinner) and had to eat at the exact same time every day, and follow a meal plan. For example, I was allowed '2 starch choices, 1 fat choice, 1 protein and 2 fruit/veg' for breakfast every day. I could eat different food items, but it had to be within those guidelines. I had breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and dinner all premeasured. This went on for a little over a year, when I switched to an insulin pump.

I had my pump for... probably 4-5 years when I went off of it and switched to a different type of insulin. At the time, I was a stupid teenager and I was getting really lazy with the pump. I didn't feel that there were any consequences for not taking my insulin properly.. I would eat whatever I wanted, and then half an hour later, just bolus 10 units to try and make it up... Meaning my blood would spike high, and then drop low all the time. I wore my infusion sets for far too long, and overall... I was just lazy with it.

Now after that, I have no idea exactly when I went back on shots, but it must have been sometime in 2005 or 2006. I was originally on levemir and humalog, and since then I have morphed into what I'm on right now, Lantus and Novo-Rapid. Lantus is a long acting insulin which doesn't peak. It should last for 24 hours, and has worked GREAT for close to 3 years now. Just recently however, and maybe this is due to me going off birth control, it hasn't been as great. The second half of my cycle is becoming very hard to manage, and I've had to start taking an extra dose of Lantus at night on top of my morning dose. Novo-Rapid is a short acting insulin, which is pretty much out of my system within 4ish hours. (I'm not sure of the EXACT details, I'm no Dr, I'm just explaining how this works for me) So I take my shot of Lantus in the morning (usually around 8-9 AM) and every time I eat I take a shot of Novo-Rapid (NR). I also take a shot of it when my blood is high to bring it back down. What I'm doing right now, has been described as the 'poor man's pump', which is funny. It worked great for me, I don't mind taking shots and I loved being free from the pump. But things are changing, and hopefully fast!

Jamie and I decided over a year ago that we would start trying for a baby this year sometime. We're hoping for a spring 2012 baby, so we're working on it! Conceiving with diabetes isn't as easy as just 'making a baby' though. My Dr. has been absolutely amazing, and I've been attending a diabetes in pregnancy clinic since the beginning of this year. I've been working hard on getting my A1C below 6.5 (done!) and I've been meeting with a nurse, dietician and Dr about every 6 weeks until now, when I am meeting every month. I was very resistant to going on a pump, I had considered it back in late 2008, but just didn't like being hooked up again. A couple weeks ago after my Dr's appt and an interesting day where I mixed up my insulins, I decided that it was time to make the change. I need to do what will be BEST for the baby, and a pump will help with that. Lantus is great if there are no hormonal changes (which is why it worked so well when I was on birth control) but it is hard to make changes day to day. Once you give that dose, you're stuck with it for 24 hours. With an insulin pump, I can change everything hour by hour. For example, if I'm going to the gym, I can set a temporary basal rate to say... 60% of my normal rate so that I don't go low after working out. Not to mention during pregnancy my doses will change drastically. I should expect to go LOW for the first... about 12 weeks and then from there my insulin needs will steadily climb until a few weeks before delivery. I should expect to be on 3 times the insulin I'm on right now. A pump will make that so much easier. As much as I don't mind taking shots, I don't want to spend all day doing that.

The new insulin pumps are amazing. The infusion sets are tiny, and I can wear the pump under my clothes and bolus from my meter without even having to bring out the pump. I am SO excited for the level of control I can acheive with it. I am so anal about my diabetes now, and I love that if I happen to sleep in, I won't be forgetting my dose, my basal rate will keep going until I decide to wake up.

I am a proud diabetic, and honestly wouldn't trade it in.. I have met some amazing people, and had some amazing experiences because of my diabetes. Without it, I never would have gone to diabetes camp, Mount Kilimanjaro, Everest Base Camp or Machu Picchu. I truly belive that it has shaped who I am, and I'm glad for that... I have no idea who I'd be without diabetes!! :) There are some days where I am frustrated and I wish I could get rid of it, get rid of the constant worry, and just be 'normal', but it is what it is.

With the conception stuff... Jamie and I are in our second cycle 'trying' and my period is expected next weekend. We are doing it the old fashioned way and I don't want to get too caught up in it all, it will happen when it happens, I'm not worried. We're both healthy, I have regular cycles - we should be just fine. Of course stuff happens, but we'll handle that hurdle if we need to.

Anyways, I know this is SUPER long and it's a lot of information that probably doesn't make sense for a lot of people, but I'm going to keep doing it!

Enough for now :)

Some info about my pump to be!

So, on youtube there is a lot of 'easy' information about the kind of pump I'm getting, an Animas Ping! Mine will be exactly like this, except mine will have the same colour screen on the meter as on the pump! I don't know if that's a difference between Canada and the US or what, but I'm happy!

Here's some videos for some quick information on Ping, and how it works for diabetics, like me!







So excited!

First post!

Hi! Well, this is my first post on my new blog, which I'll use to talk about my diabetes and how it is affecting my pregnancy. First step of course is to get pregnant, and we're working on that one! I will be getting an Animas insulin pump hopefully within the next 2 weeks and I can't wait! I have loved my shots and they have worked very well for me for over 5 years now, but it's time to switch it up. Adding a baby to my body will mess everything up, and the pump will enable me to adjust things on the fly easily. Lantus is great, but the dose lasts 24 hours (ideally) and with my normal day to day changes it can be hard to keep up. Once I'm brewing a baby, it will be even harder, so I want to make sure I'm doing what's easiest and what will be the best for my long term care and the health of my soon to be fetus.

I think I'll start by doing a big post of how I've been doing things up to this time, and go from there... But it's dinner time, so that will have to wait!