From FatCatAnna

I had written a blog last year in January 2009 about a wonderful organisation that takes seeing eye dogs from 4 months to 1 year – and retrains them to provide medical alert assistance to Type 1 diabetics (Dogs4Diabetes or D4D).

This came across my desktop the other day about a 7-year-old Cardigan Welsh Corgi who goes by the name of King Tut who can tell when his owner (Marilyn Pharo) ketones are going low.  He's saved his owner a few times when she's had low blood sugars (hypos).

I still can't get over how sensitive dogs are to smell (I thought I had a good sniffer myself). To be able to smell the difference in the ketones that admit from the body is incredible!  I wonder if cats can sense the same thing?  Mine have never tried to pry my eyeballs open when I'm having a low at night (they only do this for food at 6:00 a.m. aka Garfield style).

Animal Planet is going to be filming Marilyn and her trusty King Tut at their home in Cape May, New Jersey this month and their episode will air sometime in the Fall.  So check back at this link - Dogs 101 to see when it will play (I know I want to see this).

To read the rest of this wonderful story - go to this link (or paste the link in a new browser - http://www.14wfie.com/global/story.asp?s=12534920 ).

I wish my husband would let me get a dog ....

From FatCatAnna

I use Novo Nordisk insulin for the control of my diabetes (NovoRapid here in Canada).  I just read online that the  Danish company is objecting to Greece's decision to decree ordering a 25% price cut in all medicines.

More than 50,000 Greeks with diabetes use Novo Nordisk's product, which is injected via an easy-to-use fountain pen-like device.  I love this device, as I'm sure many of you feel the same way.  To use regular needles is a pain in the bleep bleep bleep.

To read more about this story - which I felt deserved to be posted on my blog page - go to this link (or if you prefer - cut/paste the following link into a new browser window - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/europe/10189367.stm )

Oh, and to add more fuel to the fire - Novo Nordisk will compensate by making available  glucagen (used to treat low blood sugars in emergency situations only) free of charge.  I think with the removal of their insulin products, that diabetics maybe having the reverse - high blood sugars!

From FatCatAnna

From FatCatAnna

From FatCatAnna

Last week I went to visit my Mum and Dad in Ottawa.  It's only a 2 hour drive, I'm used to longer drives by myself, but this was going to be my first time ever driving, alone, without Salvador Dali aka my Animas 2020 being plugged into me.

Of course, being stressed out about this, my blood sugars (BG's) didn't start off that great in the morning.  Because I was afraid of giving too much insulin by MDI (multiple doseage injecting) I probably gave less then I should have, but I did not want to experience having a hypo on the road.   It almost felt like I was learning how to drive again, with the way I was feeling when I left.

I arrived at my parents home, and of course, they are all set to eat (my Mum eats by the clock - if she was a diabetic - she would be very well controlled).  My first thing I wanted to do, test my BG.  Of course, it was high and here was my Dad wanting to know if I wanted a pizza (yikes - high in carbs) or a tuna fish sandwich.  Like all we PWD's do, calculations are going off in my head as to how many carbs are in this, how much extra insulin to give for the correction.  At this point in time, I was wishing I had Salvador Dali with me - I was REALLY missing him big time.  Meanwhile, everything my parents are serving up screams carbs glorious carbs, e.g. did I want a V8 juice, apricots, biscuits.  I know they mean well, but it's too many carbs for me to handle when I'm high like I am and personally even if my BG's were alright, I just can't stuff that much into me.

The jist of my story is, that, yes, I do miss Salvador.  I find when it comes to controlling my BG's that I have better control with him.  Having to pull out the pen needle, find some flesh to inject, is abit annoying at times. With Salvador, he looks like a fancy cell phone / camera (I've had people comment about him looking like one).  No one really questions what I'm doing (is she texting to her lover boy?).  Bing, bang, boom, it's all over and done with.  With MDI, it's put on a new pen needle (31 gauge, 8mm length - sweet - no pain), and you know the rest if you've injected as long as I have over the years.

What I find funny now, is that before going on the pump, I never thought about what I was doing, but 3 years ago, before I started on the pump, I was often just guessing in the dark as to how much insulin to give to cover foods/correction.  I'm sometimes amazed that I had the A1C's back then that I did (I tended to be in the lower 7% range).

Week 2 is almost over - still have 3 vials of Lantus to "play with" - before I head off to give Levemir a go (am really anxious to try that out - heard so many good things about using that insulin compared to Lantus).  My BG's this week incase you are wondering - are not bad - considering I'm still playing around with my basal injections with Lantus and I'm averaging 6 mmol/l (108 mg/dl).