Outer reflections of our pain inside part 1

What happens in spring that makes everything come alive? Is it the warmer weather, the longer days of sunshine? I guess I mean what makes us as Human beings become more alive, all winter long I saw people go about their business and yet they all looked like they were numb to the world. Once spring hits you see people smiling, walking around greeting each other like life is beautiful. I know right now you are wondering how is he going to tie this to his blog post, well I believe they suffer from seasonal neuropathy. Is this a real disease, no but what it has done is cause a numbing of their emotions to the winter season and they all seem to draw inwards.

We as Diabetics with Neuropathy can have a similar condition, except ours is not controlled by a season. We do not need winter to appear to feel numb; Neuropathy can make us go numb at any point of a day. Our lack of feeling can cause us much pain should something happen that we are unaware of. We also have this emotional numbness at times; some may call it depression, numbness, apathy.  We deal with so much pain and other irritants that sometimes we just shut down completely and do not want to speak to the outside world.

I went on a church outing with my son a few weeks ago and while we were out I apparently hit something very sharp with my left leg. One of the guys asked me how my pants leg got ripped and then said the words I dread to hear “Are you bleeding?” Wonderful Neuropathy numbing strikes again; I never knew I got cut let alone the fact that I was bleeding and enough to stain the color of my jeans. So I am curious to find out what you all believe Pain vs. Numbness from the Neuropathy which is better?

Send me a response let me know what you feel. I am really interested how everyone feels about this. Do you feel the pain of Diabetic neuropathy is better to have than the numbness?

Reflections and Dreams Part 2

I sit here this evening thinking about all the items I want to discuss with everyone. I have a listing of differences in T1 and T2 diabetics, along with all of their similarities. I have found useful information on Lancet usage that when I first read it I had to admit I was guilty of the issue. Thinking over all of these plus about seven other new articles I would like to post I decided to do a little reflection and some looking forward.


What was 2010, was it a good or bad year? Well I started out the year with a determination to get healthier. Life is sort of funny in that aspect, the harder I tried to get healthy the worse I actually got. Through the first few months I worked hard at it and had dropped from over 330 lbs. (149.69 kg) to just a little over 290 lbs. (131.54 kg). This is a great way to start out, I was feeling great and my energy was almost unstoppable then the brick wall came. Oh, I don’t mean the diet wall I mean the laying on a ground twitching out of control wall. The unable to walk around my own home because my feet went from fire to needles in 0.01 seconds; say hello to my new best friend Neuropathy.

I know you are sitting there going “best friend,” do not worry I have my reasons for saying this. Have you ever had something bad happen that you turned to good? Well this is it for me, if it had not been for the Neuropathy I would not have become active in my community on Diabetic education. I would not have started a blog or met people from around the world who either have this issue, or a family member does. My respect goes out there to any one with Diabetes or Neuropathy, but I must bring four individuals up.

First of all Lee Nevitt, thank you for all you have posted over the year regarding your fight with our new partner. Your story and determination are a great example of never letting the Disease rule your life, Thank You man. Please visit Lee’s blog by Clicking Here .

To Kate and Demarco, I am not sure what I could say to show my appreciation for you both. Demarco the Strong is what I call him; he is a young man also struggling with Diabetes and Neuropathy. I posted his story last year and I go back to it at least once a week. I sit here when the pain is the most intense and I read his story and decide if this young man can keep going and keep trying so can I. Kate, you have been an inspiration to parents of diabetics everywhere. I have seen through your posts and your comments to others how much you care and how much they all care for you.

Last but certainly not least is Bec, view her blog by Clicking Here. You have been great to chat with when those opportunities had arrived. Your guidance when I first started on my insulin pump was great. I watch as she goes through each treatment for the Retinopathy another cousin of Diabetes. I have early stages of Retinopathy and while they do not seem like wonderful treatments, to be honest they scare me lol, I know by seeing someone else go through I can do it also.

The year ended with some major milestones and some major setbacks. With everyone I have met and all that I have done, I believe that even through the pain and the being ridiculed, and the “oh it is all in your head,” I had a great year.

The year ahead is starting to look good. On April 10th 2011, I will be hosting Galesburg’s first Step out for Diabetes. This is a walk to raise money and awareness for Diabetes. If you are in the area come on out, send me a message here and I will get you the directions. I will be meeting soon with one of our local Hospitals and making arrangements to take the helm of their Diabetic support group and try to reach and teach here in my own community.

I do apologize as I missed an important group that has helped me this last year. The folks and fellow Diabetics at Diabetes – The Patient Experience have been great. Please visit them by Clicking Here.

For tonight I believe we will stop at this. So to all you wonderful Diabetics and D parents out there remember this. No matter what the previous year brought you have the ability to set the outlook of the year ahead.

Short Break for laughter

Comedy happens in our lives when we least expect it. This past Saturday 1/8/11 I was cooking dinner for my family as we had a birthday party for my son who turned eight years old. I am rushing around my small kitchen trying to make ribs without a grill. So I improvised and boiled them then placed the bbq sauce on the ribs and placed them in the broiler to cook off.


Here is where life takes its twist. I realized we were a half hour from eating so I took my blood sugar using my One Touch Ping and then proceeded to dose myself from the Ping to the Pump. Take in mind I was still cooking, so the ribs had to be turned and the other side of them needed bbq sauce applied, and sure enough I dropped the meter right into the pan on the oven rack. I of course promptly grabbed it. While I was freaking my family was dying with laughter. The meter was sauced and the bbq was up into the test strip area. It was toast, so Sunday I called One Touch and the lady on the other side could not control the laughter either.

While I was a little irritated at myself for trying to rush and do everything and then causing the issue; her laughing only helped to irritate me more. I work in customer service daily and you are not supposed to laugh on open mic at the customer. On the other hand, what can you say when a customer calls in going “I ruined my meter due to user stupidity.” “I apologize sir what happened to your meter?” ”You did WHAT? LOL HA HA HA ROFL.” Ok after all of her laughter she explained that this is not covered under warranty, take in mind I knew this very well. She ended up thanking me for making her Sunday at work and for giving her a story that is so ridiculous that it had to be true. Then she gave me a courtesy meter which arrived on Tuesday this week.

To top the Saturday night off for me, I manually entered the BG into my insulin pump and set my bolus delivery. Fifteen minutes later I was taking a nose dive. No focus, shaking, sweating, I could not stand any longer. My legs were weak and I collapsed into the chair. I grabbed some cookies from our cupboard (candy Kane cookies from Archway) and ate a few to try and help raise the sugar levels so I could function. I did not stop to check this new item in my house first; it had coconut oils in it. So in a bit I am feeling good on shakiness, however my tongue is now swelling due to my allergy to coconut. It seems humility was the lesson of the day. My body made sure to remind me it can bring me to halt. Well everything was treated and my dinner made it to the table almost an hour late, but it was a success even with it being late.

So why share all of this on a blog about Diabetes and Neuropathy you may ask. Well it is to show everyone that our friend Diabetes can bring comedy into our lives. No matter what happens we need to ride out the highs and lows and sit back and laugh at life and yourself.

Reflections and Dreams Part 1

     Welcome to 2011 everyone. The New Year has a lot of possibilities for all of us. Life has been so busy the last few months that I seem to have been out of touch with everyone, for this I do apologize. I had three things happen in December to me, one not so good and two great items. First the not so good item, the Retinopathy has grown just a tad in my eyes. So for now since it is growing so slowly they have placed me in Bifocals.

     I had a great Christmas gift on 12/23/10 I was officially released from Physical therapy after almost a year of it. Now do not get me wrong I love the ladies who were helping me along, but now it is my turn to continue forward with my own health management. I also stepped up and did something that was a miracle to me. For those that don’t know a lot about me I love to sing. I even won several medals in competitions while growing up. Fourteen years ago I stopped singing in public due to issues in my personal life with deaths in the family. On December 5th 2010 I made my first appearance back to sing in public. While it was at my church during a service it is an accomplishment for me as I wanted to start back a year ago. However, my diabetes and the neuropathy had different plans for me. Call it humility or pride but I was not going to sing in front of any one jerking and twitching everywhere when the pain crossed my body like lightening on a steel rod.

     I stood there nervous as anything, and yet I sang and it felt so great to break that grasp the pain had on me. In fact I have been asked to sing again on January 30th this year. Now I am worried lol I have to find a song again. This is all said to encourage all of you. We have a disease that for a type 1 will never go away, and for a type 2 they can get rid of the symptoms but the disease is still in the back ground waiting. No matter what happens in your life do not let it steal your dreams. Those loves that make you who you are, the dreams that make you who you want to be.

     Diabetes and its mean cousin Neuropathy can be tough to live with and we must always be ready in case a reaction happens. However, don’t let it stop you from having fun. Get out in the world fight the issues you want to fight against. Till next time please have fun live your life and teach others about the Diabetes truth not the myths.

Your Friend,

John Anno

One Last Christmas - Matthew West Official Music Video

From Living the High Life to Surviving the Low the Life.

Well today it has been officially three weeks on the insulin pump; and I have had many scares since I started on the pump. The first scare was day one with hitting the tabs to stab myself in the gut for the first time. Think about it how many of you still even today hesitate when using a lancing device to stick your finger to take your BG? Now imagine that with a longer needle that jabs into your stomach or whatever area you are using as a site that day.


The next scare came from my supply company. Just five days into using the pump I realized the supplies I had were not going to make it through for a month. I called the supply company and they advised there was nothing they could do as my insurance would not allow more supplies than what I had already received. Here is the problem; most pump users change their sets once every three days. I however have never in my life claimed to be normal. My insulin to carb ratio was a 1:2 meaning I needed 1 unit of insulin for every 2 grams of carbohydrates. This is a very high ratio; my insulin to glucose ratio was 1:7 meaning 1 unit of insulin for every 7 points of Blood Glucose above my goal range. All of this was said for this reason; my body is so insulin resistant that my dose and bolus ratings were making me go through a tube of insulin per day. Each time a tube empty’s is a complete new set change from stick to fluid.

The wonderful ladies from Animas once again saved the day by providing me with enough extra supplies to get me through the rest of the month. They also held a meeting with my doctor to discuss my insulin consumption and what must be done to manage it better. My Doctor decided to place me on U500 insulin; this is 5 times stronger than normal U100 insulin. Now in the defense of Animas this is an off label use of the pump and they do not recommend this as a form of treatment. Doctors’ orders however are orders even when off label.

Before we could get me started on the new insulin my body decided it was time to make sure I understood who was in control. Wednesday October 6th I started having chest pains and Meredith took me to the St. Mary’s emergency room where they admitted to the telemetry wing of the Hospital and there I sat in a place I so did not want to be. All of my tests came back fine and I was released to go home on Thursday morning. It is interesting that I went into the hospital reasonably healthy and when I came home I spent the next 5 days sick with the flu.

Friday was the day I went on my new insulin and all I can say is wow that stuff is potent. My first insulin to carb ratio was 1:10 and my insulin to BG was now 1:35. I do great during the day I am averaging a nice 110 mg/dl (6.1 mmol/l) between 5 AM and 9 PM. The night time however is scary; I have had several lows over this last weekend during the night including a 51 mg/dl (2.83 mmol/l). Several adjustments later I survived my first night without a drop in blood glucose last night. When I went to bed I was at 101 mg/dl (5.61 mmol/l) and I woke up at 89 mg/dl (4.94 mmol/l) this morning.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback they sent me on what they know about Neuropathy. I am working on a post with information to really get behind the question “What is this thing called Neuropathy?” Have a great night!

Today is an Input day. Speak up everyone

Hello everyone, I have been thinking of writing for the last few days but could not settle on a subject. I know I have promised information on the pump system, however it does not feel right at this time. So I have decided to discuss what is currently on my mind. Today I answered a question on one of the sites I follow regarding Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (DPN). The site was asking how many of us suffer from DPN and if we discuss it with our doctor.


I can honestly say I do discuss it with my Doctor in fact I was just in his office yesterday letting him know the medicine is no longer covering the pain. I sit here today with my feet on fire and my arm tingling down to the fingertips. I am exhausted from the pain and yet I have no break. In less than an hour I will clock back into work and sit for four hours and listen to customers be upset over the issues while I try to sound like I am smiling and not admit I want to cry.

All of this aside I realized other than discussing my pain I have not asked if any of you know about Neuropathy. So today is a fill in day for you let me know what you understand about the disease that is Neuropathy.

Part of what I want to do is educate people on both the Diabetes and the Neuropathy. So please even if you do not have either condition let me know what you know about the subject. I want to see what direction we need to go to teach everyone what people with Neuropathy truly deal with.