tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54765942011-11-27T19:25:41.077-06:00an attempt at evolutionMelissaBLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16561177514252319276noreply@blogger.comBlogger201100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5476594.post-46415603813717541872010-09-11T10:40:00.002-05:002010-09-11T10:43:50.187-05:00

I will now be blogging at Sweetly Voiced.

MelissaBLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16561177514252319276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5476594.post-48082879721648695812009-10-21T22:54:00.005-05:002010-01-04T11:44:19.932-06:00

Get ready for the appointments.Type 1 Diabetes + Pregnancy = ($$$ x Time) - SanityWeekDoctor VisitsTri 1: 1fertility doc, CDE2HSG scan, fertility doc, endocrinologist3fertility doc4fertility doc56fertility doc (sono 1)7CDE8endocrinologist9CDE, OB/GYN (sono 2)10111213perinatalogist (sono 3)Tri 2: 14OB/GYN1516chiropractor1718OB/GYN, perinatalogist (sono 4)19CDE20endocrinologist21ophthalmologist22OB

MelissaBLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16561177514252319276noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5476594.post-63681398840984996162009-09-15T15:27:00.004-05:002009-09-15T15:33:19.861-05:00

My online friend Jess brought it to my attention that there are NO videos on youtube on the Freestyle Navigator, specifically the topic of sensor insertion. Since I am a HUGE fan of the Nav (and find the insertion simpler than Dexcom and Minimed), I'm setting out to change that, one video at a time.Here is a link to my first youtube video upload EVER!

MelissaBLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16561177514252319276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5476594.post-65607992240323694212009-06-11T12:37:00.008-05:002009-06-11T12:51:06.692-05:00

It's here. It's blue. And I like it.Several shots for size comparisons.PDM to palm ratioPDM to NavigatorPDM to Gen 1 iPhone and Gen 1 PDM

MelissaBLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16561177514252319276noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5476594.post-35446061827733891222009-06-11T12:32:00.002-05:002009-06-11T12:37:09.579-05:00

So those of you who live with beeping devices will understand.My husband awoke Saturday morning complaining of a high pitch frequency in the kitchen. A beep. A squeal. He searched everywhere. He went into the attic. He turned off appliances. He flipped breakers.Distraught after a good half hour's hunt, he decided to have a snack. He flipped open the lid of the trash can to throw away his

MelissaBLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16561177514252319276noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5476594.post-6947998140912071422009-05-04T00:42:00.005-05:002009-10-20T09:52:15.908-05:00

I've been asking my mom for the last year if she had any of my A1c values from when I was under their insurance... I can't believe what she found.I was diagnosed DKA in July of 1990. These are the numbers she had for my first ELEVEN years as a diabetic, followed by my more recent history. How am I still alive and complication free????08.20.90 - 12.911.05.90 - 11.402.04.91 - 12.308.05.91 -

MelissaBLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16561177514252319276noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5476594.post-21718256204712197572009-05-01T22:51:00.009-05:002009-05-01T23:29:10.225-05:00

I did it.  I bailed on Cozmo to make the switch to Omnipod.  It shipped out today and should arrive at my CDE's next week.  I'll get my training and get all set up before I head off to Disney World at the end of the month!  I can't believe it's happened so quickly!  Forgive the love fest here, but my CDE and the sales reps at Omnipod (Clarisse & Fernando) have been AMAZING.Here are some of the

MelissaBLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16561177514252319276noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5476594.post-8627934461386230932009-04-26T11:01:00.002-05:002009-04-26T11:06:56.497-05:00

So 9 months ago, I bought a Cozmo. I've liked it a lot. And they're claiming that they will support the device for the duration of my warranty - which will expire in July of 2012. I can get my cartridges from Edgepark and I use Animas infusion sets anyway. Looks like I'm all set, I guess.But then I imagine waiting until 2012 with no potential advancements, integrations, or updates to my pump

MelissaBLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16561177514252319276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5476594.post-7422907998292716622009-01-16T09:22:00.003-06:002009-01-16T09:38:04.432-06:00

My Cozmo pump has a feature called "disconnect" where you can anticipate the basal insulin you're going to miss during the time you're disconnected and take it ahead of time. For a shower, I usually activate the feature for 15 minutes. It alerts you when the time is up in case you were to forget to reconnect.This morning, I left the pump (in vibrate mode) on the bathroom counter and took a long

MelissaBLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16561177514252319276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5476594.post-90924195185241614802009-01-14T12:30:00.006-06:002009-01-14T12:48:06.555-06:00

I wish you could know how I feel today,I mean, how I wish you'd approach my diabetes today,and that it may change in 20 minutes,along with my blood sugar.I wish I could describe the tedium,the minutiae, the neverending carb count,the guesstimation of medications imprecise in their implementation,inconsistent in their absorption.I wish you did not presume my plate was your business -that I could

MelissaBLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16561177514252319276noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5476594.post-81827450290725949162008-10-04T00:02:00.001-05:002008-10-04T00:04:43.787-05:00

Speaking of the bell toll of mortality,Donne proclaimed no man an island."Every man's death diminishes mebecause I am a part of mankind."I was not.I danced in the ether,swabbed and prepped and ready for piercing.I drank moonlight through juice box straws,awoken from sleep in trembled panics.I rode the waves of high and low like a carnival ride you can't disembark,the thousandth trip rocking your

MelissaBLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16561177514252319276noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5476594.post-69063373208612813052008-08-12T01:06:00.003-05:002008-08-12T01:14:49.016-05:00

I am so sick of the Cleo 90. How is it that the little bastards rub off like cheap band-aids (yes, my sugar is over 300 right now - what do you mean I'm being b*tchy? what's it to you?!), but the gray-gunk adhesive skidmarks stay forever?This is the third one I've had fall out and leave me dangerously high with no fricking warning - and I've only been wearing them for 2 and a half weeks! I've

MelissaBLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16561177514252319276noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5476594.post-28743380074831340872008-07-27T00:57:00.003-05:002008-12-09T12:44:27.233-06:00

So today I'm at my local Tom Thumb grocery store, scanning a loaf of bread at the self-checker. It's a busy Saturday afternoon and my husband is getting a haircut there in the strip mall, so I thought I'd go buy bread and lunchmeat. Harmless, right? Well, there I am, scanning away. A man crosses over to me, points his finger in my face, and says "by the way, YOU'RE AN IDIOT!!!!" so loudly that

MelissaBLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16561177514252319276noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5476594.post-65731114950849297322008-07-14T11:23:00.008-05:002008-12-09T12:44:27.252-06:00

We have a common misreading in American culture of Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken." Maybe it's our American pride, our blazing-new-territories kind of attitudes, our love of individualism. I don't know why, but we don't see anything but the last three lines of that poem. Every high school valedictorian, freshman English teacher, and pandering politician believes that the poem is

MelissaBLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16561177514252319276noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5476594.post-88485692265893182672008-07-12T12:15:00.006-05:002008-07-14T12:03:35.370-05:00

So Kevin and I went to a party Friday night. My friend Shanna celebrates her friends twice a year with a chili night and a spaghetti dinner. Last night was the long overdue spaghetti dinner. A vegetarian with fabulous recipes, her food is always so good that the carnivores in the bunch are convinced from the first bite (myself included). But still, as we all know, party food can be a horrific

MelissaBLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16561177514252319276noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5476594.post-85109687734074047672008-07-09T23:00:00.008-05:002008-12-09T12:44:27.816-06:00

Today was my first trip to the podiatrist. I actually had a good time. I had some x-rays done, met the good doc, then answered various questions about my medical history. I was really proud when the first few questions yielded good answers:Blood pressure problems? No, sir.Heart problems? No, sir.Smoker? Nope.Drinker? Not a drop.Retinopathy? *pause* In remission?Surgeries? Tonsils and

MelissaBLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16561177514252319276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5476594.post-42030666865154851532008-07-09T08:51:00.005-05:002008-07-09T10:02:32.936-05:00

Chronic. As a type I diabetic, one grows weary of this word.Every illness, injury, or condition I've acquired always seems to be accompanied by that word: chronic. It means that they can treat you, but they don't know how to cure you. They can improve your quality of life, but there will still be suffering and frustration from time to time.Do you remember when treat had a more positive

MelissaBLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16561177514252319276noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5476594.post-81660883860661075422008-07-05T23:40:00.006-05:002008-12-09T12:44:27.938-06:00

So they prick me, and so do I bleed.The thorns on the tender stem, protecting itself, reminding.My fingers prickle from injuries garnered twenty thousand times or more.They are too stubborn to recoil from the lance.I squeeze one more droplet, dark and red,from my traumatized fingertips,having learned to court the cactus flower.In my youth, roses were enticing blooms,climbing my neighbor’s

MelissaBLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16561177514252319276noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5476594.post-30146790175544137822008-07-03T21:54:00.008-05:002008-12-09T12:44:28.077-06:00

Today makes 18 years for me as a Type I diabetic and my first blogging experience as a diablogger. So I'd like to introduce my blog.There’s this species of mushroom, Armillaria mellea, that scientists kept finding growing along the northwestern seaboard back in the late 90s - mostly in Oregon. Anyway, they continually dug up the honey-colored stalks and killed them, hoping to save the trees

MelissaBLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16561177514252319276noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5476594.post-1856289681069992542008-07-03T10:05:00.008-05:002008-12-09T12:44:29.252-06:00

This is something I wrote in March of 2001 as a college student wearing a Minimed 508. Thought some of you might get a kick out of it.Insulin PumpSomeone in the U.S. dies every 3 minutes from diabetes and its complications.- American Diabetes Association*beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep*I look down.NO DELIVERYHere we go again.I have to stop whatever I’m doing…immediately.I go grab my little black bag,

MelissaBLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16561177514252319276noreply@blogger.com1