Pancreas Transplants

They're getting close. However, I've been hearing that they've been getting close to a cure since I was diagnosed in 1988. Last night I researched the Mayo Clinic website. They have a branch in Jacksonville called St. Lukes that has performed pancreas transplants. I am not very knowledgeable on this procedure but from what I read, it seems some people have walked away from Type 1 diabetes completely after having this surgery. There are a lot of risks with having extreme hypoglycemia's (low blood sugars) afterwards. If you're interested you can read a summary about the procedures HERE.

I wouldn't qualify for this procedure because I have no long term complications... yet.

In general, candidates for pancreas transplantation include:

Pancreas transplant alone
Diabetics who have early or no kidney disease but need a pancreas transplant to improve blood sugar control and/or prevent the onset of diabetic complications (including progression of kidney disease).

Pancreas-after-kidney transplant
People with diabetes who have received a kidney transplant in the past and now need a pancreas transplant to improve blood sugar control and prevent other diabetic complications.

Combined kidney-pancreas transplant
Diabetics with kidney failure in need of a kidney transplant. These patients have the option of also receiving a pancreas transplant.

I have only bits and pieces of information right now, but honestly, I did not know this was even being done in the United States yet.

I've begun my first photography project that I linked to via Bernard's blog. It's called Diabetes365. I have added a banner in my sidebar where you can link to the photo pool as well.

I will add one photo for 365 days documenting snip-its of living life with Type 1 diabetes. Hope you keep up with it! I have some neat ideas in mind.

Here is a LINK to my first two photographs. The first is of Gabriel's birthday cake. I thought a little poetic irony would be nice to start things off. The second is of my digital piano with my testing strips and meter on the keys.

Happy Birthday Baby!

My baby boy turned 3 years old today. I can't believe it. He was a 4 lb. little premie and has blossomed into a 32 pound 3 year old with the biggest vocabulary you've ever heard on a kid. I swear he never stops talking. We have many upcoming changes for our family and I look forward to the day when Gabe starts pre school. Even though I'm a little sad that he's getting so big, so fast... I know he will LOVE the interaction with other kids, structure, and learning that great pre schools offer!

I weighed myself today at 139. That's 6 lbs. lighter than a week and a half ago. I am committed to getting these last pounds off! I've been doing The FIRM video every day and started jogging with DH last night. I've decreased the amount of insulin I take per day by almost 20 units. It feels wonderful.

My New Toy... SEVEN.

On Christmas morning I awoke to several paramedics standing over me. I was having a diabetic seizure due to extremely low blood sugar. On the 29th I had another seizure in the middle of the night. Both times were terrifying for both myself and my family. Now I will never have to worry about that again thanks to a new technology by Dexcom.

I just bought a new Dexcom Seven system. It is a Continuous Glucose Monitoring ("CGM") device for people with diabetes. It basically takes a glucose test about every 5 minutes throughout the day and night, allowing users to see trends and patterns in glucose readings. It also has an alarm that goes off when your sugars hit below 70 and above 250. This feature will be lifesaving for me.

The Seven Continuous Glucose Monitoring System consists of 3 parts:
Sensor
Transmitter
Receiver

The sensor looks much like an insulin pump infusion set and lasts for 7 days. The transmitter connects to it and send the info wirelessly to the receiver base. There are many ways to view the data on the transmitter. It can also be downloaded to a computer with Windows for viewing on the Dexcom software.

The rep who helped me was extremely helpful and answered ALL my questions. I had to pay in full for this product since it is a brand new technology. After I receive it they will automatically contact my insurance company with a claim and a letter of medical necessity from my doctor that they have on file. There is no guarantee that the insurance will cover this, but hopefully they will!! In total I paid $718 for the system and six sensors. This also includes training in my home next week by a tech rep. Refill sensors come in boxes of 4 and are $240.

Hopefully you found this article informative! Please check back in a couple weeks for my reviews of this product after using it for a while!

For more information please visit the Dexcom website by clicking HERE

More Giveaways...

Along with my giveaway, I know of a couple other great ones going on! Valerie is doing an AWESOME StampinUp/Scrapping giveaway and Becky is giving away a Yada Yada Prayer Group book giveaway. Check out links to their blogs in my side bar!

MY FIRST GIVEAWAY!

I have a strong passion for ministering to and mentoring teenage girls. My husband has several copies of a fantastic resource from Women of Faith called Revolve. (He was a youth minister) It is a complete New Testament designed for teenage girls that is attractively designed to look like a teen magazine. It has supplemental columns in it with godly advice on getting along with parents, friends, and relationships. For my FIRST blog give-away ever, I will be giving away 3 copies! To enter, please leave a comment and share quickly about why you'd like to win one! I will draw the winners on Saturday, January 12th! Good luck!!

Bargain Lady

Ever since I ceased teaching piano lessons last year I have been sorta bummed about not being able to contribute financially to our family's income. So, I started researching internet sites that were helpful to our budget. Coupons, bargains, etc. THIS site was very helpful to me at Christmas time and saved me TONS of money on gifts. This is a SAHM who finds amazing online and in store deals and shares them on her blog! Check it out and visit her often!