Monday 25 June 2012

Permanent Nights !!


What mischief are you going  to get up to tonight????????


















I often think that Type 1 Diabetes is like living with the Tazmanian Devil. It came into our lives and is for ever wreaking havoc.

As time has gone by, we have learnt many ways of "taming" the  Tazmanian Devil. However on many occasions we are left with the words "where did that hypo or hyper come from "? Test your blood glucose again that can't be right.That's putting it politely.

We are now 4+ years post diagnosis of Claudia being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and Coeliac Disease. Together we have faced many challenges and overcome many barriers. Which at times can seem endless. There have been many tears of joy and sadness.

Over the last 6 months I have found getting up through the night really tough and to be honest I am exhausted. We are fortunate and have a Medtronic Veo and CGM. (sticks in my throat using the word "fortunate" as they should be readily available to anyone who has Type 1 Diabetes and wants one!!)

Recently I have slept through alarms. How do you overcome the sheer tiredness and lack of energy? Especially when you have to get up in the morning and carry on as normal. Tips greatly appreciated.

I often find that Claudia is a "moody pants" in the morning. To be honest I am not surprised. Bless her whilst sleeping soundly, she is suddenly woken by me saying Claudia you are "hypo or hyper". Followed by: you need some juice, glucose tablets or I need to give you a correction. As for me I am a right old grouch in desperate need of botox.


 I can be a grouch without sleep.














Most challenging: making a decision during the middle of the night.
Do I put the full correction in ?
Do I increase/decrease the basal?
Do I need to change her cannula?
Did I wash her hands before testing ?
What to give, glucose tabs or drinks?
Persuading my little lovely to take the glucose?
Closing my ears to the barrage of complaints!
Staying awake for those 15-20 minutes to see if they have come back up
Staying awake for an hour to see if her levels are coming down
Trying not to wake anyone else up in the house.

I  wake in the morning wondering, how I made all those decision's!!! most importantly did I get it right. If I didn't did Donald.
On the occasions I have slept through an alarm I feel like the worst mother in the world. Yet in reality I am only human and I need sleep.

The expectations of parents and children living with Type 1 are exceptionally high and demanding.
Most medical professionals would find it difficult to live our lives, yet the majority of parents have no medical background. This I think makes us truly inspirational and our children exceptional as we are often met with daily challenges, yet one way or another we work around them.

Having said that, sometimes I feel an emotional wreck, get angry, cry, frustrated, confused & bewildered, yet when I look back on the previous years or days I am not surprised!

On my very tired days I have done the following:
TV remote in the fridge
Clothes on inside out
School shoes in washing machine.
Taken the children to school just wearing underwear, long coat and shoes
Turned up at the wrong location to meet a friend
Forgotten where I parked the car
Didn't put my lipstick on!!!

What have you done ??????


2 comments:

  1. I have lost count of the number of times I have gone upstairs for something and once there have no idea what I came for.I have also put moisturiser in my hair instead of conditioner!!
    No solutions for those night checks - I just need to remember my torch and glasses! Fortunately I can feed the little man juice without him waking fully and we have found some fruit gel/puree drinks(check in the baby food section)which are far less messy than juice.
    Best wishes
    Amanda

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  2. I can remember about 14 years ago I was going on a day trip to London with work colleagues & I had a hypo that morning & It wasn't till we half way there on the coach (wen I come round to a more concious state!!!) that I realised I hadn't put a bra on & I had a see through pattern jumper on.... so I couldn't take my coat off all day as more than spectators were bargaining for might be popping through the pattern- Ooooops. Many other incidents have happend but thats 1 of the funniest.

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