Munjeeta
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Back again! Day 2...
So today was a bit of a mishmash... A lot of it just felt like discussion, and a lot of tangents were followed, but I guess that's what happens when you get a group of diabetics in one room!
First up was the analysis of yesterday evening's food intake and insulin doses etc. Each of our logs, recorded on acetate was put up on an overhead and discussed and disected in minute detail. So useful, both to hear feedback on your own but also to hear everyone else's.
Then was the science bit. We were told all about insulin: what it actually is; what it does; how synthetic insulins are/work different/ly to the natural function of a healthy pancreas; the different type of insulins available and a bit of history too. All incredibly fascinating. I can't believe how much insulins have changed since they were first mass produced. And I also couldn't believe that man made insulin has only actually been available since 1982. The difference between modern synthetic insulins and natural insulin was interesting: certain amino acids are moved/ substituted to make the insulin get absorbed more quickly and levemir has a whole extra molecule attached to it to make it act more like 'normal' insulin. In a healthy body, insulin is secreted from the pancreas and goes straight to the liver where it does most of its work (preventing the liver from producing glucose) before being sent out to the periphery to muscles other cells. When we inject, insulin is already on the periphery so is absorbed very quickly. The extra molecule attached to levemir prevents it from being used where it is injected as it is too large and therefore must travle in the bloodstream to the liver where it mimics insulin in that of a non-diabetic person.
We then spent some time looking at and discussing pumps (I am by no means an expert as today was the first time I'd seen one!) - wow. A LOT of work, setting them up. They need to know an awful lot of information (target bg levels, type of insulin, your insulin sensitivity, you insulin:CHO ratios etc etc) in order to do their job but when they do, they look amazing! The fine tuning looks incredible and the canula wasn't nearly as scary as I was expecting it to be. The nurse was very candid though. They are a lot of work and a huge commitment and when on one you need to test your blood every 2 hours. Unlike a normal basal/bolus regime, where if you miss insulin injections you still have long acting stuff floating around in your system, if the pump fails and you don't get any insulin that's it; you literally have none. So ketoacidosis comes on very quickly if unchecked. I wasn't put off though. Fingers crossed...
Lunchtime was a more independent affair today; we trekked down to the hospital en masse, armed with scales and carb counting books and proceeded to weigh and calculate. So lovely doing it with people, even sharing ratios and injecting the same amount of insulin. So interesting to compare results too.
After lunch we looked at all the various bits of paraphenalia us diabetics need! Various pens were tested (a poor rubber duck bore the brunt!) and then meters too. I came away with a novopen that has half units and a brand new snazzy one touch meter - can't complain about that!
Finally some practical, and incredibly useful carb counting exercises. Firstly looking at plates of food and estimating the amount of Carbs on them and then weighing real food and working out actual carb values. So helpful as it's begun to give me a better idea of the actual portions I might eat.
Before going home, we had a final chat about what we were going to do of the evening: insulin and food-wise. Let's see what tomorrow brings! 🙂
So today was a bit of a mishmash... A lot of it just felt like discussion, and a lot of tangents were followed, but I guess that's what happens when you get a group of diabetics in one room!
First up was the analysis of yesterday evening's food intake and insulin doses etc. Each of our logs, recorded on acetate was put up on an overhead and discussed and disected in minute detail. So useful, both to hear feedback on your own but also to hear everyone else's.
Then was the science bit. We were told all about insulin: what it actually is; what it does; how synthetic insulins are/work different/ly to the natural function of a healthy pancreas; the different type of insulins available and a bit of history too. All incredibly fascinating. I can't believe how much insulins have changed since they were first mass produced. And I also couldn't believe that man made insulin has only actually been available since 1982. The difference between modern synthetic insulins and natural insulin was interesting: certain amino acids are moved/ substituted to make the insulin get absorbed more quickly and levemir has a whole extra molecule attached to it to make it act more like 'normal' insulin. In a healthy body, insulin is secreted from the pancreas and goes straight to the liver where it does most of its work (preventing the liver from producing glucose) before being sent out to the periphery to muscles other cells. When we inject, insulin is already on the periphery so is absorbed very quickly. The extra molecule attached to levemir prevents it from being used where it is injected as it is too large and therefore must travle in the bloodstream to the liver where it mimics insulin in that of a non-diabetic person.
We then spent some time looking at and discussing pumps (I am by no means an expert as today was the first time I'd seen one!) - wow. A LOT of work, setting them up. They need to know an awful lot of information (target bg levels, type of insulin, your insulin sensitivity, you insulin:CHO ratios etc etc) in order to do their job but when they do, they look amazing! The fine tuning looks incredible and the canula wasn't nearly as scary as I was expecting it to be. The nurse was very candid though. They are a lot of work and a huge commitment and when on one you need to test your blood every 2 hours. Unlike a normal basal/bolus regime, where if you miss insulin injections you still have long acting stuff floating around in your system, if the pump fails and you don't get any insulin that's it; you literally have none. So ketoacidosis comes on very quickly if unchecked. I wasn't put off though. Fingers crossed...
Lunchtime was a more independent affair today; we trekked down to the hospital en masse, armed with scales and carb counting books and proceeded to weigh and calculate. So lovely doing it with people, even sharing ratios and injecting the same amount of insulin. So interesting to compare results too.
After lunch we looked at all the various bits of paraphenalia us diabetics need! Various pens were tested (a poor rubber duck bore the brunt!) and then meters too. I came away with a novopen that has half units and a brand new snazzy one touch meter - can't complain about that!
Finally some practical, and incredibly useful carb counting exercises. Firstly looking at plates of food and estimating the amount of Carbs on them and then weighing real food and working out actual carb values. So helpful as it's begun to give me a better idea of the actual portions I might eat.
Before going home, we had a final chat about what we were going to do of the evening: insulin and food-wise. Let's see what tomorrow brings! 🙂
