In order to make life easier when figuring out insulin dosages, I put together this spreadsheet in OpenOffice.org Calc, a free, open source office suite that is an extremely capable alternative to the proprietary Microsoft © Office suite. I'm making the spreadsheet publicly available for download in both formats, so users of both suites will be able to use them, however I highly encourage you to check out the OpenOffice.org suite.
Download OpenOffice.org version
Download MS © Office version
Whenever we have a change in her dosages, I just plug in her new numbers, and print. The chart is very easy to use. just plug in your target blood sugar, sensitivity factor, and carbs per unit numbers, and the chart will calculate your carb dose, and corrective dose. It is based on the formula we use for Tori as follows:
corrective dosage units = (blood sugar - target blood sugar) / sensitivity
total dose = carb dose + corrective dose
Hope someone finds it useful...
Monday, November 21, 2005
Saturday, November 19, 2005
The 2005 Walk Awards
I'm a little behind with this entry, but such is life at my house, I'd be behind if I had a head start. Anyhow, we had our awards dinner this last Monday, and after a few battles with scanners, and my most despised software company's imaging software, I got the pictures scanned, resized, and uploaded to my server.
Let's start with the team awards, because if it weren't for everyone collectively, and by that I mean every single participant in the walk itself, we wouldn't have raised the $33,000 some odd dollars that we raised. My team rocked and rolled their way into second place in dollars raised, and yet still was able to raise the highest dollar per walker average.
Kudos to my whole team, and also Ashlen's team who rose to the challenge I laid out at the beginning of the walk to beat my team this year! On the left is the award for the team, and on the right is a picture of most of the team (not everyone was able to show up on walk day).
For my volunteer participation as the corporate chairperson for the 2005 walk I was pleasantly surprised to receive this certificate of appreciation as an award. Fitting, I thought, because I appreciated the opportunity to hopefully make a difference in my daughter's quality of life, as well as the lives of all diabetics ;)
In addition to the wonderful surprise above, I was also awarded the first annual traveling trophy for the top individual fundraiser. My heart and my thanks go out to each and every one of you that helped me bring this jewel home for the first year, and I hope to count on you next year, and every year until the day I can tell my little girl I don't have to give her an insulin injection ever again.
I may not have had the top team this year, but I'm not giving up. Ashlen's team, I'll be back next year to challenge you again! And as for the rest of the teams, the challenge remains for any and all of you to try and outdo me next year.
Let's start with the team awards, because if it weren't for everyone collectively, and by that I mean every single participant in the walk itself, we wouldn't have raised the $33,000 some odd dollars that we raised. My team rocked and rolled their way into second place in dollars raised, and yet still was able to raise the highest dollar per walker average.
Kudos to my whole team, and also Ashlen's team who rose to the challenge I laid out at the beginning of the walk to beat my team this year! On the left is the award for the team, and on the right is a picture of most of the team (not everyone was able to show up on walk day).
For my volunteer participation as the corporate chairperson for the 2005 walk I was pleasantly surprised to receive this certificate of appreciation as an award. Fitting, I thought, because I appreciated the opportunity to hopefully make a difference in my daughter's quality of life, as well as the lives of all diabetics ;)
In addition to the wonderful surprise above, I was also awarded the first annual traveling trophy for the top individual fundraiser. My heart and my thanks go out to each and every one of you that helped me bring this jewel home for the first year, and I hope to count on you next year, and every year until the day I can tell my little girl I don't have to give her an insulin injection ever again.I may not have had the top team this year, but I'm not giving up. Ashlen's team, I'll be back next year to challenge you again! And as for the rest of the teams, the challenge remains for any and all of you to try and outdo me next year.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Bittersweet fellowship
I got a sad email from one of the Walk committee members Friday (Nov 11). Her sister just returned from an area children's hospital where her three year old son was diagnosed with type I diabetes. Even though she was diagnosed at age ten, she doesn't have the insight of being diabetic at age three, nor the insight of a parent of a three year old.
I told her we would be more than happy to talk with her sister, having
already been in their shoes, and wishing we'd had someone to talk with when we were at that stage.
One of the biggest issues we've had to face was lack of support in our area. I've heard of a support group or two, but they're all for adults from what I've seen. Unfortunately, since children as young as these two (mine and the sister's) are in the minority numberwise, we don't seem to run across many other parents of diabetic children. Believe me when I tell you that we need others to talk with, and compare notes, and stories, and tips. It would even be nice now and again to be able to find out about diabetic-friendly babysitters that other parents have discovered.
Maybe this will be he start of something in our area, time will tell...
I told her we would be more than happy to talk with her sister, having
already been in their shoes, and wishing we'd had someone to talk with when we were at that stage.
One of the biggest issues we've had to face was lack of support in our area. I've heard of a support group or two, but they're all for adults from what I've seen. Unfortunately, since children as young as these two (mine and the sister's) are in the minority numberwise, we don't seem to run across many other parents of diabetic children. Believe me when I tell you that we need others to talk with, and compare notes, and stories, and tips. It would even be nice now and again to be able to find out about diabetic-friendly babysitters that other parents have discovered.
Maybe this will be he start of something in our area, time will tell...
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Daily numbers
Here we go, wheeeee...
Going forward, I'll be going on the assumption that the numbers presented are for the standard meals. Unless there is a low, and the need for a retest, or an evening/overnight test, I'm not going to put times for simplicity (time is too short). We are typically so religious with our mealtimes anyway, that they shouldn't vary by much. The pattern will be "meal - bs @ carbs"
B - 278 @ 48
L - 146 @ 40
D - 324 @ 42
S - 125 @ 22 (this is too low for bed @ 8pm)
RE - 63 @ 16 (going low like last night - 8:48pm)
RE - 118 @ 0 (going back up, will test before bed 9:15pm)
RE - 246 @ 0 (now we're rebounding, no need for a 2am test 10:30pm)
Another day almost exactly like yesterday. What gives? There is no indication of anything that should affect our numbers unless the morning NPH is hanging out too long.
Going forward, I'll be going on the assumption that the numbers presented are for the standard meals. Unless there is a low, and the need for a retest, or an evening/overnight test, I'm not going to put times for simplicity (time is too short). We are typically so religious with our mealtimes anyway, that they shouldn't vary by much. The pattern will be "meal - bs @ carbs"
B - 278 @ 48
L - 146 @ 40
D - 324 @ 42
S - 125 @ 22 (this is too low for bed @ 8pm)
RE - 63 @ 16 (going low like last night - 8:48pm)
RE - 118 @ 0 (going back up, will test before bed 9:15pm)
RE - 246 @ 0 (now we're rebounding, no need for a 2am test 10:30pm)
Another day almost exactly like yesterday. What gives? There is no indication of anything that should affect our numbers unless the morning NPH is hanging out too long.
Friday, November 11, 2005
daily lottery numbers
Today's numbers
275 @ 0652
114 @ 1140
268 @ 1732
110 @ 2000
84 @ 2026
110 @ 2055
154 @ 2244
As you can see at 2000 (snack time) Tori's numbers were lower than acceptable (goal is 170) for going to bed (she was also complaining of a pain in her stomach so she could be getting sick, and our numbers will go berserk), so we treated with a juice box, and checked again at 2026 only to find her going lower still. Another treatment with glucose tablets, and the 2055 numbers show she is finally headed in the right direction, although the 110@2055 is still too low, necessitating the check again before going to bed at 2244.
154 @ 2244 is a coin toss on whether to treat or let her go the rest of the night. We're discussing whether to test her again at 0200.
275 @ 0652
114 @ 1140
268 @ 1732
110 @ 2000
84 @ 2026
110 @ 2055
154 @ 2244
As you can see at 2000 (snack time) Tori's numbers were lower than acceptable (goal is 170) for going to bed (she was also complaining of a pain in her stomach so she could be getting sick, and our numbers will go berserk), so we treated with a juice box, and checked again at 2026 only to find her going lower still. Another treatment with glucose tablets, and the 2055 numbers show she is finally headed in the right direction, although the 110@2055 is still too low, necessitating the check again before going to bed at 2244.
154 @ 2244 is a coin toss on whether to treat or let her go the rest of the night. We're discussing whether to test her again at 0200.
In the beginning...
In the beginning...
As with all other things, it had to start somewhere. In this case, the date was January 18, 2004, the date we found out Tori had diabetes. Tori is our daughter's name, short for Victoria as you probably would have guessed, and chosen because of our love for the mesmerizing sonic perfection of my favorite siren, Tori Amos. Someday I hope she gets to meet her namesake in person.
Her blood sugar was in the 800 range, and for those of you that don't know, adults with diabetes have a target range of about 80-120, and a child Tori's age should be between 100-200. From what I was told, we were lucky she was able to walk in to the hospital, not be wheeled in on a gurney in a coma.
I only remember bits and pieces of the time we spent in the hospital that week; sleeping on the floor with a couple of pillows, sleeping across three chairs lined up in a row. I call it sleeping, but there really wasn't that much sleeping involved. Waking up every time the nurses came in to check Tori's blood sugar, every time they had to check blood pressure, or get her to pee in a catch basin so they could check ketone levels really took it's toll on my body and mind.
I didn't mourn then; there was too much knowledge to absorb in a short time, learning how to do blood tests, how to count carbohydrates, and how to draw up a syringe full of insulin. And, oh yes, did I mention we also had to learn how to poke holes in our three year old daughter? I didn't mourn because I had heard of diabetes before, and I knew a few people that had diabetes, so I didn't really think much about it. After all, all you have to do is watch out for how much sugar you eat, right? Not to mention I have heard people talk about how “at least diabetes is manageable.”
I didn't know how wrong I was, and very quickly I began to learn how complex our lives had just become...
Diabetes is not about watching out for how much sugar you eat, it is a very delicate balance of counting carbohydrates, testing blood sugar, and calculating how much insulin the body needs. It is a constantly moving target, and the best way I've found to describe the whole process of “management” to anyone is that “It's like driving a car from the back seat, using rubber bands to steer the wheel.”
A Call to Action...
Last year I found out about the American Diabetes Association's "America's Walk for Diabetes," and jumped in full throttle. It was a way to make me feel like I was doing something, that I was somehow helping Tori. I was the top fundraiser in our area raising over $4,000, despite the short time I had between the walk date, and the day I found out about the walk. Additionally my team had the highest dollar per walker average, so as a result I was asked if I would volunteer to serve as the Corporate Chairperson for the 2005 walk, and dutifully I jumped at the opportunity to do something worthwhile and push forward on my quest to help my daughter.
Fast forward...
This year's walk was a smashing success, with over $33,000 raised, and 172 walkers in attendance, versus $21,000 with 75 walkers in 2004. I believe the success can be attributed to the motivated committee I had the pleasure of joining, as well as the media exposure we enjoyed because two of the committee members are employees at a local radio conglomerate of four stations that donated 75 minutes per station of public service announcements. Tori did an interview with one of the committee members who is a dj, and I have mp3's of the edited snippets that played on the radio here:
- 09-28-05_Tori_-_camp_grenada.mp3
- 09-28-05_Tori_-_describes_test.mp3
- 09-28-05_Tori_-_Diabetes_is_not_good.mp3
- 09-28-05_Tori_-_soundbyte_-_describes_shots.mp3
- 09-28-05_Tori_-_soundbyte_-_describes_test.mp3
- 09-28-05_Tori_-_soundbyte_-_diabetes_is_not_good.mp3
- 09-29-05_Tori_Mix_1_-_shots_and_school.mp3
Time for release...
A few nights ago at the dinner table Tori asked when her diabetes was going to go away, and we explained to her that it wasn't going to go away unless they find a cure. She replied questioningly “when is daddy going to have the cure for my diabetes?” I didn't think as much at the time as I was trying to make her understand that we did the diabetes walk in order to raise money for research, but later when I had time to think, I was thinking of the song “A Mother's Wish” (which to this day I can't hear and keep dry eyes) and mused to myself that there needed to be a song about “a father's wish” when I remembered her line “when is daddy going to have the cure for my diabetes?” and all I could think about was wishing I could fix her. It was at that exact moment in time I decided I needed an outlet for my frustrations, and the Diabetes Dad blog seemed like a good venue.
That's all for now...
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