Misconception

I feel that I am sometimes misunderstood in the DOC. Some people see our story and think I am over bearing and I need to back off. Anyone with or around a person with Diabetes knows, everyones Diabetes affects them and their family in a different way. Our situation is very different from other since Vince has become disabled. I know I worry too much sometimes and yes there are points in our lives when I can become overbearing but 98% of the time, I am needed and so is my help.

We are getting ready for our JDRF walk this Sunday and this is our 2nd time walking. Most of our family is joining us and we are so blessed to have the support we have. I can't wait to raise awareness for this horrible disease that is so misunderstood!! Pictures to come!

Under Construction

I have never had a good look that I really liked for my blog. So I am going to play around with it and add this and that. So bear with me while I reconstruct!

Guest Blog!!

Head over to www.diabetesmine.com to check out my guest blog post!

Type 1, Type 2, and “Brittle” Diabetes……………

Yes, you read that correctly. Brittle Diabetes. If someone told you that you are a brittle diabetic, what would that mean to you? Do you have Type 1 or 2? Is your Diabetes worse than another person’s?

Well, Vince has been referred to by more than one of his doctors as a “Brittle Diabetic”. Of course we absolutely love his team of doctors, so we let it slide. But how they classify “Brittle Diabetes” is my question. My best guess is that they see a Type 1 Diabetic with an assortment of complications and “Brittle” must be a commonly used term in the medical world.

Let me set the record straight however. There is nothing Brittle about one Type 1 Diabetic vs. another.  One may have Diabetes for a very long time and may or may not have developed some complications as a result. I don’t consider the Diabetic with complications any more “Brittle” than the one without. The complications can arise from any number of factors. I personally do not believe that one person has a more serious or more “Brittle” form of Type 1 than the other. Then I start thinking about how Vince’s body handles his disease. We know from a very bad scare that he cannot handle steroids. This is common amongst Type 1’s. After a doctor’s mistake in giving Vince steroids confirmed this, we were obviously very careful in that department. A while later, he tried a different brand of medication for his post nasal drip. Both brands we are told are very similar, almost the exact same thing. We were hoping in switching him to the cheaper, generic form. Well, a few days later, the BG’s started to rise and cause trouble. We realized it was the new medication so he went back to the name brand form. When I questioned our pharmacist and the doctor, they all agreed that the two medications were pretty much the same thing and were a little surprised that one reacted so differently than the other. So Vince must be extra sensitive to medications and steroids.

Does this explain “Brittle” diabetes? Doesn’t every Diabetic react differently to different situations? Some feel every low and high, some don’t. Some need higher or lower Insulin to Carb ratio’s than the next person. One person may have a different normal range than the next. And so on…

So no, there is no such thing as your diabetes being brittle, bad, worse, horrible, great, good, or indifferent…Just Type 1 and Type 2  J

Polypharmacy

pol·y·phar·ma·cy

Spelled[pol-ee-fahr-muh-see]

noun Pharmacology .

the use of two or more drugs together, usually to treat a single condition or disease.

Courtesy of www.Dictionary.com  

Here is a definition of Polypharmacy I found on Dictionary.com . I like this particular definition because it really defines how Vince’s doctor is using the technique. I found quite a few definitions that pointed more to the aspect of patients seeking out medications from different doctors and getting them filled at various pharmacies. Those definitions may be true however I personally do not know. I imagine from all the horror Hollywood stories of overdose on prescription medications, that this does happen. But that definition did not seem to be the real medical definition of the term, in our eyes. So I came up with the one above.

This has been on my anxious mind lately. We have talked about the subject with Vince’s pain management doctor many times. He understands our concern and will always take time to explain why polypharmacy is being used with Vince’s condition even though he knows he has explained it more than once. He has even agreed that it is good to be concerned and to ask questions in our situation.

 If Vince expresses that he feels the pain is starting to get a little out of control, his doctor will suggest changing the dose on a current medication or suggest adding a different medication that has not been tried before. This is what I love about this particular doctor. He is always willing to listen and try new treatments. He has even thought out of the box and tried medications that are not normally used to treat Neuropathy, and some have actually pleasantly surprised us. The main one that sticks out in my mind is when he gave him a spray that heart patients normally use orally. He instructed Vince to spray it on his legs and feet when the pain spikes. He did tell us to watch for low blood pressure but explained the proper way he wanted it used topically. Vince and I both left the office thinking this was crazy. How can this work when the medications specifically for Neuropathy don’t even always work. Well, it worked and it is actually one of the few medications that gives him real relief! This is why listening and never being afraid to try new and different things is such important qualities to us in a pain doctor. Not all doctors are this open minded.

The doctor also explained that the use of polypharmacy with Vince’s medications is helping to keep the narcotics at a minimum. Yes, he is a pain doctor and he prescribes Vince pain medications. They are however very controlled and are kept at a minimum as much as possible. He explained to us, that by adding all of these other various “neuropathy” specific medications, it is helping to keep the narcotics at a minimum. I liked this explanation. I never quite understood why they would constantly add more and more medications to his regimen. I thought, this can’t be right. This is getting a bit ridiculous. But after he explained in detail why he was treating Vince in the manner that he was, it made sense. I look back to all of the appointments where Vince went at his wits end hoping for some relief. If the doctor were to just increase the pain meds every time instead of looking for alternatives, it would have spiraled out of control. I feel a good pain doctor does not let this happen. To the contrary, he also doesn’t deprive Vince of medications and say tough luck as some do. He always has something new to try. To give him hope of relief. He seems to really understand the disease and genuinely wants to help Vince get out of pain.