Busy day tomorrow

Busy day on tap tomorrow.  Monday. First Monday of my terminal leave from work. That's not like it sounds. Basically I am retired for 2 months with the option of returning to work in Octcober or retiring for good.  

I plan on returning in October for one more year and retiring officially next October after 25 year of service to the people of NYC.

Anyways, run tomorrow morning.  I have my World Trade Center 9/11 medical in the morning at 10:30. Gym on the way home with Diabetes 101 class tomorrow night at 6.

The classes are required to get a pump.  I met with the dietician and RN last week and both said I will be bored because I have educated myself about T1 already.  I was alps told I am the only T1 patient who will be there. The rest will be T2's. Fun!

Tough time is planning meals. Have to bring lunch with me to eat on the way home before the gym. Early dinner because class starts at 6. Who schedules a diabetes class at dinner time?

Oh well. At least I don't have to go to work in the morning!

Treadmill yesterday

The weather here on Long Island has sucked this weekend. While still cooler then usual it has been rainy all weekend. Got up yesterday for my long run and it was pouring. I decided to wait and go to the gym with my wife Kathy and hit the weights and run Sunday morning because I hate the treadmill with a passion.

Then I remembered that we were going out to dinner later so I said "what the hell" and hopped on the treadmill when we got to our gym.

I don't like treadmills because I got hurt transitioning from mill to street a few years back. I tore a flute and that injury still plagues me today.  I do have the Gamrin foot pod which goes along with my Garmin Forerunner GPS watch for use on the treadmill.

After a quick battery change I was off and running. To my surprise I didn't hate it as much as I thought. It's not running outside but it served its purpose. I got to run alongside Kathy which doesn't usually happen because she doesn't run outside.  I kept the pace comfortable and finished 4 miles in 35 minutes.

After the mill I hit the weights and did some chest work.  Really looking forward to more weight workouts!

Of course for the rest of the day my sugars wee in the high 70's and 80's.  That's annoying because I like them higher but I know the exercise does that. 

Diabetes is a pain in the ass!

Running Schedule

Before 6/23 (the date T1 came into my life) I was running 5.6 miles Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Saturday was long day of a 10+ miler. Thursday and Sunday were rest days.

Since T1 I changed things up a bit.  I am now running 4.02 miles Monday to Friday. Saturday is still long run day however the farthest I have run is 7.02 last Sunday. That was a challenging run as it was up in Greenville, NY in the Catskill Mountains. I finished in 1:04:02 with almost 600 feet of elevation gain.

For a Long Island boy who has lived his whole life at sea level and ran on the flat road of the Island that is some elevation! My legs were screaming at the end!

My weekday runs are done before work at 04:10 hours. Yep, that's 4:10AM! What can I say? I'm a morning person.

Anyways, we had a nasty t-storm erupt right at the same time as my run so I took a rest day on Monday.  Yesterday and today were 4 milers finishing in 34 minutes each time.  Tomorrow and Friday will be 4 milers.

Saturday the plan is for 8. That will be the first time I carry my meter and test my bg during the run. My good friend is sowing a new pouch on my running belt to hold my meter, test strip, swan and lancet. 

I have already updated my RoadID bracelet to reflect my new health status - T1. RoadID is a great company! I have worn their "sport" bracelet since 2008 when I started running.  I just got my updated plate in the mail as well as a new "slim" style red bracelet that I wear all the time now.

My bg was good this morning out of bed. 94 before the run. I ate a quick granola bar before the run to keep the bg up.  After the run and shower and before breakfast it went up to 123 as usual. What stinks is it dipped to 74 before lunch.  I have been having that drop more or less every running day. Dr, Nurse and Dietician said it is normal due to the liver dumping glycogen during the run for my muscles and that it can take up to 24 hours to replace it!  Here is article I found about it: http://type1diabetes.about.com/od/technologyandequipment/a/Why-Blood-Glucose-Drops-After-Exercise.htm

Yikes! All three said to keep up the running as it is great for my and my diabetes.

Anyways I checked my bg graph and in my first month with T1 my bg average is right around 100 with some highs and lows.  More lows then highs though.

Enough for now.

Mike

Hello my name is Mike and I am a diabetic.

Wow. Blogging again.

I have started and stopped blogging so many times that I have lost count.

This time I really feel like I have something to blog about. That thing is Type 1 Diabetes.

Let em start by saying that I am new to the world of diabetes.  You see up until June 25, 2014 I never considered the possibility that I could ever be a diabetic of any type.

You see in May 2014 I was 43 years old, 190 lbs and had just ran the Long Island Marathon and the Brooklyn Half Marathon within two weeks of each other.  The Long Island Marathon was my third "full" marathon and I set a new PR of 3:46:11.  I then finished the Brooklyn Half Marathon in 1:44:39.

I was running 35 miles per week.  I kept a healthy lifestyle with my only vice being craft beer.  Yes, I am a beer geek! More on that later.

Then it happened. I lost weight. At first the normal 10 lbs I lose after a marathon during training. My daughter told me I was too think and look like a skeleton.  I didn't believe her because I d not weigh myself often.

I did have to admit that my clothes felt big. Especially my shorts and even my underwear.  I then began to get leg cramps during the night that were painful.  In early June my mouth turned very dry.  Only drinking water all the time kept my mouth hydrated.

I continue to run but noticed I was "bonking" on several runs.  I grew concerned but didn't tell anyone.  I even weighed myself and to my horror I was down to 175 lbs. I began to eat things I hadn't eaten since I lost 80+ lbs in 2008 (more on that later). Pizza, donuts, bread.  I ate all these things in a vain attempt to gain back my lost pounds.

By this time the end was near.  I stepped on the scale during the third week of June and was again horrified that my weight had dropped to 168 lbs.  I felt weak and tired and nearly fainted a couple of times.

the finals straw was on Sunday June 22.  We had a party at my house to watch the USMNT play Portugal in the World Cup. While setting up i was light headed and faint.I kept my mouth semi wet by constantly drinking water. My guests came and several asked me if I was OK. They told me I was "too thin" and I "needed to gain weight".

At this point I was scared! OI told my wife that I was going to the doctors the next day. I thought I had some kind of cancer and that this was the end.

the next day I went to my  doctor and told him my symptoms. The nurse tested my blood and the meter just read "high". no number. Just "high".  The doctor told me that I had diabetes and I had to go immediately to the hospital ER.   He asked if I ha d family history of diabetes or any auto immune disorders.  Both were "no". He asked if I had been really sick lately and that was also "no".

When I got to the ER they tested my blood in Triage and the nurse calmly told me my sugar was 432! Four times the "normal" levels. She was shocked I hadn't passed out. I was admitted and spent the next 36 hours as a guest in Winthrop Hospital.

The next day my lovely new Endocrinologist came in with her cheerful smile and in the gentlest way told me that I had Type 1 diabetes and would be insulin dependent from this point in life on.  She actually said it was called LADA (Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults).  Basically my immune system produced an antibody that destroyed my pancreas' ability to produce insulin.

I was mad. I had done everything to live healthy. I was a marathon runner! I was crushed. For 24 hours I was filled with anger from God on down. The next day I got out of bed and walked around the hospital and realized that although diabetes will be a challenge I would not let it beat me or change my family's lifestyle.  I swore then and there that if I had to be a diabetic I would be the best diabetic ever.  I would learn and adapt.

I would run and go to the beach and live lif eto the fullest with my awesome family.

I have been on insulin since June 24th, 2014. 

I will use this blog to document my thoughts, struggles, battle and victories over this disease. My posts will NOT be as long as this one.  I will do my bets to keep them short and to the point with some humor along the way.

My name is Mike and I am a Type 1 diabetic but that is not who I am! I am husband, father, friend, runner, bagpiper and so much more!