Pink Panther

We've got a diabetic sick day going on. Daniel came down with the wicked stomach flu that has ravaged our household. I dug out the good old Pink Panther book, which so wonderfully explains what to do when ketones approach.

Daniel is hovering just over the range of normal -- he's been in the 140's all day, but has recently inched up to the 170's. His latest test for ketones found some in trace to small levels. So he just had some ginger ale with an insulin chaser, and we'll see what happens next.

As we've each gotten sick, we've all gravitated to a corner of the big green couch, curled into a comma shape, and covered up with a big, furry blanket. It must be the most comfortable spot in the house. I wish it had magical healing properties, too.

Red Sky in the Morning, Sailors Take Warning

Do you know that old rhyme?

Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning
Red sky at night, sailors' delight.

That's what I learned when I was a kid. It had to do with the weather. If the sky was red in the morning, you could expect rain. If you had a red sunset, then fair weather was ahead.

We had a red sky this morning. Although the weather outside stayed clear through the day, we still had to take warning. Daniel woke up with a blood sugar of 458 today.

So I ask -- what the hell is "free food?" The nurses said that free food is carb free, and can be eaten without bolusing. Pickles! You can have all the pickles you want! Daniel was like, woo hoo pickles (as opposed to WOO HOO! PICKLES!). But meat... ahhhh, here we go. Meat. It's something he sinks his teeth into. It's carb free! It is a manly food! But take it one step closer to perfection -- add cheese. Meat and cheese! What could be better for my growing teenager? He just loves the stuff.

Yesterday was Valentine's day and instead of getting candy for each of the kids, I made heart shaped cheeseburgers. Dominic and Nora got some candy (I bought the bag of all green m&ms) and I made the gluten free brownies for a treat for Daniel. I sat down to my tofu and watched the kids devour red meat.

Nora had a cheeseburger. Dominic had 1 1/2. Daniel had 4. Yes, seriously. He had 2 at dinner with the buns, along with a few strawberries and his brownie. He bolused for this. Then, an hour after dinner, he was amazingly STILL HUNGRY. It's a curious thing, watching a teenager eat. Human vacuums. The food disappears at an alarming rate. So he started picking at cheese sticks, and then found the leftover burgers. He ate 2 without the buns.

He was already a bit high at bedtime, so he corrected AND ATE SOME MORE. He had 2 empanadas.

I know that growth spurts can cause teenagers to eat almost anything in their path. I also know that growth spurts can cause crazy blood sugar numbers. This morning, I had a grumpy, snappish, thirsty male with mild ketones and a crappy attitude. He didn't want to eat breakfast. I got an egg into him and kept him home for a little bit so I could see if his blood sugar was headed back down again. It was, so my husband took him to school and I called the nurse to give her a heads up. She called me at lunchtime to tell me his numbers were back at 89.

Later in the day he's back in the 200s, even with bolusing, correcting, and 30 minutes on the elliptical. It's definitely been a stormy day, diabetes-wise. I hope we can steer into smooth sailing soon!