Child Receives Advanced Insulin Pump, Not Artificial Pancreas

The human pancreas is shown in orange.
Have humans really created an artificial one
or are we getting ahead of ourselves?

I frequently wonder...where is the artificial pancreas already, and when can I get my hands on one?

The short answer is that Australian researchers recently announced a commercially available artificial pancreas! The long answer is that we're still a long way away. Confused?

A four year old Australian child has been fitted with an artificial pancreas to manage his type 1 diabetes, which has plagued him since he was just 22 months old (poor baby!).

The Aussies say it auto-regulates insulin output based on blood sugar levels to prevent hypoglycemic events (low blood glucose). This sounds amazing and is certainly a step in the right direction, but an artificial pancreas? I think not.

This "artificial pancreas" is essentially described as a super insulin pump with continuous glucose monitoring capabilities plus a smart software algorithm that is programmed to anticipate insulin needs and to shut off insulin delivery prior to the blood sugar going low. That sounds incredible. This is much different than the insulin pumps already on the market, which deliver a steady stream of insulin at a specific rate continuously regardless of blood sugar levels, requiring the user to be extremely hands-on in managing the pump.

This is absolutely a break-through in medical technology. It's sure to prevent dangerous hypoglycemia and make life with diabetes easier to manage, and I would love to try it. It does NOT, however, manage hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) without user input.

My opinion is that the term "artificial pancreas" is being used irresponsibly in an overly loose manner. It's far too powerful a term for a suped-up pump/CGM combo.

The news of this break-through new pump is being sensationalized by some news articles through the use of the term "artificial pancreas". It's eye-catching and eludes to a cure, so of course it's turning heads.

Other news articles are staying true to what the product is: a pancreas-like insulin pump. These different terms are both being applied to Australia's new invention, and while it's clear that "artificial pancreas" catches more headlines, I seriously disagree with its use. "Artificial pancreas" makes promises to diabetics that the actual pump can't deliver.

In my mind, an artificial pancreas would be defined as a device (whether internally implanted or worn externally) that monitors blood glucose levels, pumps insulin, and is smart enough to automatically manage ALL blood sugars real-time without user input. As a type 1 diabetic, if I had an artificial pancreas, I wouldn't want to think about it, ever, except for when refilling insulin or changing injection sites, if necessary.

If we're talking about a true artificial pancreas, it would also monitor and manage glucagon levels in the same manner, as the body's regulation of this hormone (created in the pancreas) is also defunct in diabetics. Science has yet to figure out a way to synthesize glucagon, so this point is moot for now.

I hope to try out one of these new suped-up insulin pump/CGM smart combos when it's available in the U.S. I just ask that the media and those in the science and medical communities please stop tossing around a strong term that suggests a cure when we are clearly far from it.

Sources:

ABC News Australia

IFLScience
Image Courtesy: Dream Designs at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Stress-Induced Diabetes Downers

The past few weeks, my blog has been silent. I've been having what I like to call Diabetes Downers. This is when I mentally go through a period of pretending that I don't have diabetes. And so, pushed my blog to the back of my mind.

Don't worry. I've been testing my blood sugar, pumping insulin and eating well. I'm still in good control and taking care of myself.

Getting my Diabetes Downers is usually caused by going through a stressful period of time when my brain is consumed by thoughts of work, finances and house work. At times, it feels that there are too many responsibilities and this is when I secretly wish that diabetes was not one of them.

During a Diabetes Downer, it's like the part of my brain that helps me manage my diabetes goes on auto-pilot. I keep doing everything I'm supposed to be doing, but I'm not really thinking about it.

I have no idea if other diabetics experience Diabetes Downers in the same way that I do. In the first years after I was diagnosed, moments like these made me depressed and angry. I still have bouts of this, but I've slowly learned to channel it into something else. Allowing depression and anger to take over always led me to a place where I was no longer healthy, mentally and physically.

As I've come to terms with having diabetes, this coping mechanism has morphed into something that ensures my health and safety. I'm thankful I'm able to handle my Diabetes Downers now. Acceptance has been difficult, and while it may never be 100% acceptance, I'm encouraged each time I come out of a Diabetes Downer. I've made it through this round, and will keep on keepin' on.

Mission: Accomplished

Six weeks, in the grand scheme of things, is a relatively brief period of time. I thought the past six weeks of tackling the Special K 6-week Challenge would be excruciating, but they've surprisingly sped by.

I did it! Here's the stats.

• Days on the diet: 42
  
• Bowls of Special K: 84, give or take a few. (Cut me some slack. No one can resist pizza when everyone at work is eating it.)
  
• Pounds lost in the 1st 3 weeks: 4
  
• Pounds lost in the 2nd 3 weeks: 0
  
• Blood sugar changes: My BGs are consistently landing near my targets and are much more stable!

This challenge was easy. Even more importantly, I've learned tremendously from this experience. What did I learn?

• Small meals do wonders for my blood sugar. I'm going to stick to just 1 normal meal a day, with 4 mini meals.
  
• Mini meals between 15-25 grams of carbs seem to work best.
  
• My carb counting skills and my insulin dosages have been honed to near perfection. When your BGs are stable all day, you can get a better reading on how accurate you are with that normal meal for dinner.

Will I continue eating Special K every day? Probably not. But I do still like Special K. I plan to do my best with sticking to mini meals. The good thing is I know I can always count on that crunchy cereal if I fall off the wagon and need to start over, which will almost certainly happen.

Reflections At The SATs

5 times a year, I proctor the SAT Test at a local high school. It's pretty fun giving the test to a room full of nervous 17 year olds (although this morning I had a 7th grader in my class!) I've been doing it for 6 years now and it usually pays for all my Christmas shopping!

This morning was the first SAT Test of the year. As I was looking around the room, I started thinking about what it would have been like for me if I had diabetes in high school, or younger.

I was 18 when diagnosed and had just started college. It was a time of claiming my independence, which also meant learning how to be diabetic on my own. My parents and lifelong friends were hundresds of miles away.

High school is, for most kids, a time when being differenct is often not accepted by your peers. I'm glad I didn't have to deal with diabetes back then and I'm so curious how kids do it. Although I hope I never find out with my future children.

It seems to me that diabetes would be tough to understand as a kid. Of course, you'd have the help of your parents, siblings, and friends, but would that make it more difficult to be an independent adult diabeteic than if you are diagnosed as an adult?

I'm thankful I was able to retain my chilhood innocence by having a healthy childhood. I'm awed by the thousands of kids out there who are dealing with this very serious, grown up disease. I'm not sure I would have been strong enough.

Living On A Schedule

If you're like me, or most Americans, your schedule is overbooked. Between your work, your family, your kids, your pets, your friends, your hobbies, and your "free time", it's tough to find room to squeeze in your health. If you're one of the lucky ones, you've scheduled exercising as a regular activity. But what about the rest of your health?

As a diabetic, the "rest of your health" means managing three things: your blood sugar, your medication, and your food.

Managing blood sugar throughout the day can be tough. Your glucometer must always be with you, or at least close by. At work I leave my testie (check out my recent post to see why I call it that) in my purse under my desk. I pull it out regularly and whenever I have a chance between meetings. If there's a break during a meeting, I usually test it. I never want to be stuck in a meeting that you can't leave and find myself shaking and unable to concentrate.

Managing medication is a bit like your blood sugar. You've got to take it with you everywhere. Don't even consider it an option to leave it at home or in the car. I take my insulin when I eat, and when my blood sugar is high. And you never can tell when you'll encounter these two things, so it's safer just have have it with you.

I find managing food to be the toughest. First off, I'm extremely aware of where food is in my surroundings. If I walk into a building with a friend, I guarantee that my friend will first notice the color of the room, while I'm noticing the vending machine in the corner. Luckily my job has tons of food on hand, so I don't worry there, but at my last job I always kept one desk drawer stocked with snacks and sugar, just in case.

Food at home is another story. I was always paranoid that we'd be out of something I'd need or food wouldn't be regularly available. Recently, my husband and I decided to start meal planning (I know you're probably saying "Duh, Sarah"). Each Sunday we decide some meals to make during the week and create a shopping list. We're even picking out some new recipes out of cookbooks. Then I buy it all that day. So now, our fridge is always stocked and we have yummy food every night. Plus, we're saving a lot of $ by planning!

Suddenly the stress of managing food is gone, and it feels so good to cross this off my list each week. I'd love to hear how you manage your food!

Healthy Spring Cleaning For Diabetics

This past weekend was a flurry of spring cleaning at my house. I cleaned all but one room from top to bottom.

I also did my own version of that old TLC show Clean Sweep, where they go through someone's stuff and separate it all out into four piles: keep, donate, sell, and toss. Although, my house did NOT look like one of those pack rat homes in the beginning. But everyone can use a little spring cleaning, right?

When starting a cleaning frenzy like this, diabetics have to be very aware of what all this activity will do to their blood sugar. While not typically thought of as exercise, house cleaning is just that. And it will absolutely affect your blood sugar. Constant activity while cleaning house usually keeps me on the verge of going low all day long, and I just might get there a few times.

In my experience, the best way to stay healthy while house cleaning is to test my blood sugar throughout the day and to set a periodic alarm for myself. I do this because when I'm knee deep in old photo boxes, magazines I never read, and costumes from my old sorority days, you tend to lose track of time.

I'm sure that you diabetics out there have experienced this once or twice too. Next time your at it, set little reminders like me on your phone to check your blood sugar every 2 hours or so. Not only will you welcome the break, but it'll help keep you from having hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) throughout the day.

A Love/Hate Relationship With My Tester

As a Diabetic, one of the things that I always have with me is my Blood Glucometer, a FreeStyle Flash.

Of course, I don't go around calling it my "Blood Glucometer," as I'm sure you don't either. It's had many names over the years and keeps on evolving - from Glucometer to Blood Tester to Tester to Testie to Testicle. The last one is a joke I have with my husband because it lives in a little pouch that goes everywhere with me. But mostly, it's my Testie.

I've had a few glucometers over the years, but this FreeStyle Flash has been my favorite by far. It's small, the poker is small, it has a light on the end so I can test at night, and, I'll admit, my husband bought it for me because there was a butterfly on the box. If you knew me, you'd understand.

While it's certainly the best one I've ever had, I do have a love/hate relationship with it. I mean, it's this thing that has to go everywhere with me and I have to make myself bleed with it multiple times a day. Who wouldn't hate that?

My solution to this "hate" problem was to try to turn it into something fun. Hence the nicknaming. Something else that helped was to accessorize it. Yes, I said accessorize it! I'm a girl who loves fashion. So, why am I carrying this thing around in a not-cute, nylon, black case that's unnecessarily big?

Enter Chinatown, San Francisco. While shopping through silk-embroidered handbags in a little shop there two years ago, I came across a pretty little red zippered pouch. Fashion crisis averted! For $1, this pouch was the solution. Albeit, my equipment barely fit inside, but I made it work. And getting a red one was great for two reasons, blood won't show up if you get some on it, and it's easy to spot from across the room when you're in a rush.

I went back to Chinatown after a year and upgraded to a slightly larger beautiful red pouch for $5 that's actually made my negative feelings toward my glucometer go away! Who would have thought that's all it would take!

If my Testie and I have to go everywhere together, at least we'll look cute doing it!

Sshhh, it's a secret...

Welcome to the secret world of diabetes! Well, I guess it's not exactly a secret world these days, considering that there are an estimated 20.8 million diabetics in the U.S. (according to the American Diabetes Association). Everywhere you look, diabetes is in your face - in the news, on TV, the Internet, and unfortunately, family and friends. The important thing is to realize that #1 - you're not alone, and #2 - living with diabetes is totally doable. You just have to live it one day at a time...or should I say one test strip at a time?

Now that we've set the record straight that there's no such thing as the "secret world of diabetes", I'd like to start over.

Welcome to the secret world of MY diabetes! I know, I know, how interesting can one person be. And maybe I'm not. But I do know that diabetes affects every aspect of my life every moment of every day. Sometimes it's a positive thing, sometimes negative, or annoying, funny, frustrating, challenging, motivating, time-consuming, depressing, nerve racking, exciting, painful, stressful...the list goes on. I'm sure that if you have diabetes too, or if you know someone well who does, then you know exactly what I mean. My personal world is constantly changing when it comes to how diabetes fits into my life, and it sometimes throws me curve-balls.

There's ups and downs, but all in all, diabetes is just diabetes. Something you control as best as you can so you can keep on truckin'. I try to take the emotional rollercoaster that comes along with it with a grain of salt. I'm not trying to make it sound less serious than it really is. I'm aware that diabetes is one of the top killers in the U.S. and I really don't need to be reminded. But I can choose how to feel about it and what I want to do with it. I choose to not let it hold me back.

So this blog is going to be my outlet to share what being diabetic means to me, how it's affecting my life and thoughts, and the fun I have despite it. Cheers!