Day 3

Yesterday was stupid.  Wednesday night they gave me a "low-dose" steroid to prevent nausea.  I told them my diabetes reacts badly to steroid (a common side-effect).  They say to wait and see how I'll react since it's supposedly "low-dose".  My pump wasn't able to keep up with my insulin needs and my glucose levels climbed into the 500's.  I finally switched to an IV insulin drip around 1600.  On the drip, my basal topped out at 16 U/hr (my pump stops at 2.5)! It lowered my glucose to 80 around 2030.  IRael and I ordered a big chinese dinner and I got another dose of steroids.  My glucose topped out around 350 overnight(no thanks to a bag of sour patch kids I ate around midnight) but was in the 100's by 0930.

So today I finished brunch at 1145 (2 U/hr), I get a glucose check at 1200: 156.  I stay at 2 U/hr until my next check at 1300.  Right now it is 1247 and I'm already at 207.  The drip is set up solely as a basal system (a certain dose is given as units of insulin (U) per hour).  I want to use a bolus system, so when my glucose levels are in normal ranges (80-140) anything I eat would be covered by a proactive bolus instead of waiting and adjusting.  I called my nurse and switched my rate to 6 U/hr at 1253.  She agrees with me but is informing my doctors, so we'll see what happens.  The drip also uses Regular insulin (switches to active form 40 minutes after injection and is metabolized completely by 6 hours) but I wonder why I don't use Humalog insulin (activates within 5 minutes and is metabolized within 2 hours.  Hopefully the doctors can stop by and I'll ask them.

Yesterday my vision really deteriorated.  Blurred vision is a common side effect with Cytarabine, but I worry it will lead to another permanent deterioration.  I think the high blood glucose I had yesterday played a factor, too.  It has now become difficult to see in my entire field of vision.  The nurses administer eye drops to me every 4 hours to help prevent dryness and chemical damage from the chemo.  Hopefully things will improve once the Cytarabine stops.

That and I lost my poker.  I hate switching to a new one.

My family just arrived so you'll get another post later.

Merry Christmas.