Insulin update

Thursday was Toni's first full day of insulin injections and it immediately became apparent to us both that the dosage they had her on was way too high. After doing the initial morning injection, her blood sugar dropped after breakfast into the 40's. For those of you not familiar with this, anything around 80 is normal before you've eaten and under 120 is where you should be 2 hours after eating. Toni's level in the 40's was actually so low that if she had been at a hospital having blood taken, they would not have let her leave until it was over 75. Luckily she was able to increase it by eating but the diabetes Doctor has lowered her morning dosage to half, left her dinner dosage at half, and completely removed her before bed dosage. Toni is going to call him on Monday with the results so there's even a chance that it will be lowered even more.

Friday we had our Dentist appointments and everything went well there. They skipped the Xrays for Toni because of the pregnancy and our next appointment will be in the middle of August, several weeks after Peanut arrives. :)

This week should go quickly. I'm off work a couple of days to run errands (get a new drivers license, inspection sticker, and auto registration). Friday we have another appointment to discuss amniocentesis for Peanut. Looks like very soon we'll be finding out if Peanut is a 'he' or 'she'. I think it's gonna be a girl, Toni thinks it'll be a boy so I guess one of us will be right. :) Friday night or Saturday morning we're making a trip to Brownsville for Toni's dad's 85th birthday and then we're coming back on Sunday in time to see the Super Bowl.

Diabetes 101...

Today we spent a good part of the day at Alamo Diabetes Center. From 1-5, we met with 2 different Doctors. The first Doctor we met with discussed how diabetes works and how insulin helps regulate blood sugar. She also explained the different types of insulin and gave Toni a new blood glucose monitor that keeps better stats and is a lot more advanced than the one she currently has. While testing the new monitor, Toni's sugar was pretty low (she hadn't eaten since breakfast) so we went to the office building next door to get something to eat for her. After that quick break, we went back and the Doctor explained the insulin injection schedule and how to administer the shots. Toni's on a schedule of 3 injections a day - 1 in the morning and 2 in the evening within a couple hours of each other.

After the first Doctor, we met with a Nutritionist. She laid out a very structured diet plan and went over Toni's meal plan and times of day that she needs to eat. She also explained portion sizes and had Toni write up a lunch plan for tomorrow that followed the rules to see if she understood the diet. She passed with flying colors and seems to have a good grasp of the diet. I thought the diet sounded too complicated but as long as it makes sense to Toni, that's all that really matters. We left armed with a lot of information, new equipment, and a whole helluva a lot of needles.

Tonight Toni had to start the injections of insulin. For all of you who know me well, you no doubt know that I have a big problem with all things needles and blood. I've passed out having blood taken in the past, nearly passed out after cutting my finger with a razor blade while removing carpet at my sister's house, and even felt light headed watching video of the circulatory system in the 6th grade. Needless to say, I'm the last person I ever thought was built for helping Toni through this trying time. I can happily report that I've somehow managed to put my phobias aside and was able to give Toni her first insulin injection tonight. No passing out, no feeling light headed, just the last person you'd ever expect giving his wife a shot. :)

And the 2nd Trimester begins...

This week's appointment didn't go as we hoped. While everything with Peanut is still looking good, some of Toni's tests revealed that her diabetes will require her to go on insulin. The Doctor is going to setup a home health care visit so a professional can sit with her and teach her how to administer the insulin. While it's not the news either of us were wanting to hear, there may be some good from it. Toni's been pretty sick from the pills she has to take so hopefully the insulin injections will help her to at least feel better on a day to day basis.

We didn't get a picture again this week but the Doctor told us that we'll get quite a few for the rest of the pregnancy. We did hear the heartbeat again and found out that we can rent one of the machines to hear the heartbeat off the internet for around $29 a month. We're thinking about renting one soon.

Other than that, things are going well. I've dropped another 4 pounds so far this year and I've started adding weight training into the mix with the new Bowflex we got 2 weekends ago. This week we have our Dentist appointment on Friday and then the following Friday we have another appointment with the Doctor so maybe we'll get a new picture then. :)

158 BPM's!

Today we had our third Doctor's appointment and although we were disappointed that we didn't get another picture of Peanut, we were able to hear the heartbeat thumping along at a cool 158 beats per minute! :) Everything sounded fine to the Doctor so we are both very happy about that. Toni's sugar levels are also doing good and there's even a chance she won't be put on insulin so we got good news pretty much across the board today.

Happy New Year!!

2007 was a year of great change for Toni and I. The biggest being her pregnancy and coming in at a close second was our weight loss. After learning that Toni was diabetic, we both changed our lives for the better. Toni has lost 15 pounds since last year and I've lost 31.

Hopefully 2008 will be another year that we can continue taking care of our health and bring great changes to our lives. This picture is a comparison of me from 1/1/07 and 1/1/08. Hopefully by 1/1/09 I'll look even better! :)