NO MORE INSULIN!!

I had to share the great news that I went to see my endocrinologist on Friday and was told that we were going to try not taking any insulin at all! My A1C was 5.4 and was low enough that he didn't think the 4 units of insulin per day were really doing that much! He thought my body was making enough on its own to try to do without! So, we shall see!! This is very exciting as I'm not a big fan of needles and a HUGE fan of sweets and carbs! :)

I also wanted to share the wonderful news that is coming about.... I have decided to start my own charity and really push towards the things I have wanted to accomplish since overcoming pancreatitis. So very soon there will be the angry pancreas foundation! (http://www.angrypancreas.com/). If there are any patients that would like to share their stories and journeys with the disease, PLEASE email me so that I can post them on the website and share with others! My email is nicoleabernathy@gmail.com

Today is a very sad day for me. Today I say goodbye to a dear friend whom has dealt with pancreatitis for the last few years. She had the auto islet cell transplant in May and we were getting through her recovery together. Unfortunately, she took her life on August 29th and today she will be put to rest. It's not something I've ever dealt with and the loss and feeling of guilt that I think accompanies the people that are still here is very hard. Her family and friends are all thinking of her and know that she is in a better place, but we will miss her terribly.

The loss of her has given a whole new light on my adventure with pancreatitis. There shouldn't be another person that loses their life to this disease. It's time we found a cure for it and the years of suffering with something so terrible takes a toll on even the strongest person. It's just not fair.

Her family is in my thoughts today and always.

I had to post a picture of my beautiful son to emphasize how lucky I am to have met Dr. Sutherland and to have had the AIT surgery in 2008. Without this surgery, I would not have my beautiful son and be pain free. What an amazing thing to experience thanks to Sutherland and his wonderful staff!

Results back from Minnesota

I got my lab results back from my trip to Minnesota. I was tested on my C-Peptide levels, Glucose Levels, Avg Glucose, and Albumin/Prealbumin levels.

The C Peptide test measures how well my body is producing insulin on its own. The fasting test was done and my level was .7 (normal range is .9-6.9) The doctor said this was fine and that it wasn’t anything to worry about. Then I drank a boost and they took another test to see how my body responded to it. My C-peptide was then 2.2, which shows my body’s insulin productivity responds well to eating and is functioning normally!

My fasting blood sugar level was 84 (normal is 80-120). 2 hours post eating it was 75! My 3 mo average blood sugar(A1C) was 5.7. Anything below 6.0 is not considered diabetic, so I am doing wonderfully in that area. The doctor would like to try me completely off insulin once my pregnancy is over.

The last test was the prealbumin and albumin. We did this test to see how my body was absorbing nutrition since I’m not on the enzymes anymore. I’m not anemic or have any vitamin deficiencies, but we wanted to make sure I was absorbing properly. The prealbumin test was 18 (normal is 15-45)! My body is absorbing perfectly normal all by itself! I was quite excited! The albumin test was 3.8 (normal is 3.9-5.1), so I just missed this by a hair, but again they said not to change anything because they believes it’s all functioning properly.

So, I just wanted to share the good news that everything seems to be working great!

A1C Results

I just got my A1C Results back! In November, my A1C was 6.2 and now it is 5.7!! That means that my average blood sugars are in normal range of a non-diabetic! So, it definitely sounds like a possibility of no more insulin once I'm done being pregnant! Woohoo!!!

1yr follow up- 2/10/09

My appt went great in Minnesota!! It was so nice seeing everyone there again. It's amazing. The woman that drew my blood remembered me from last year because she drew my blood one morning in the hospital. They just remember everyone and are so sweet there. I got to see Dr. Sutherland and he was so proud of how well I'm doing! He wanted to try to get me off insulin completely, but I told him the big news and he wanted to wait until after the pregnancy to do that. He thinks my levels look great and things are working well, so it could be a possibility. So, I drank the lovely boost and did the bloodwork after a couple of hours and then we were on our way to shop! Mom and I spent all day tuesday shopping and hit every inch of the mall of america! We are so talented! We then were beat and ordered in pizza and hung out in the room that night. It was funny. the IU basketball team was actually staying on our floor! How crazy for them to be in minneapolis the same time we were! Our flight home on wednesday was pretty rough from all the bad storms and there was a time that I thought my stomach wasn't going to cooperate with me, but we landed and made it back safely! Overall, it was such a fun trip. I got to meet a girl I'd been emailing with and talk to her about the surgery. She is a sweetheart. I had such a fun trip with mom and it was just so awesome to spend those days with her and be completely relaxed this time! I love her dearly! It looks like I won't see Minnesota for another year too! woohoo! What a fun milestone this was!

HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO ME!! Today marks one year from the day of my surgery. I talked to mom and james this morning and we were reminiscing on the mixed emotions on this day last year. I was such a mess that morning and doubting going through with everything and I can't imagine if I hadn't. As stressful as today was for everyone, I think everyone would do the exact same thing if they had to do it over. It was the start of my new life and the pain and suffering was worth it. So, I'm going to celebrate and enjoy today as I look back and remember all those memories from Minnesota. This time tomorrow I will be at the airport heading back! I got lots of emails from Dr. Sutherland last night and he is always so helpful! He saw that I was on his schedule this week and sent me some more information I requested and told me he looked forward to seeing me! What he doesn't know if that I have even more good news for him too! As if things weren't going well enough, James and I are expecting our first child in July, so I've decided to hold off and tell him in person! :) I so look forward to this trip!

Heading Back to Minnesota!

On Monday, mom and I will be back in lovely, freezing minnesota!! I have my one year follow up on 2/10. It is exactly one year and 2 days after my surgery, so it'll be very neat to go back up and see Dr. Sutherland again. Can't say I'm thrilled to have to experience that cold weather again! I would never go to class if I went to school there!

I've been lucky enough to talk to quite a few patients of his that are considering the surgery and I have to say, it's one of the highlights of my day. I absolutely love talking to them and trying to help in any way I can. It's rough going through something like that. I am lucky enough that one of the girls I've been talking to has an appt an hour after mine and is staying in the same hotel! I am very excited to meet up with her and hear how her appt went, but to also be able to put a face to the name! I am very excited for that!

I am hoping some of the nurses I had will also be there as I plan to stop by the transplant floor and say hi! It's always fun to go back and see everyone. Unfortunately, last time, I didn't get to see Liz, who took the most care of me. Hopefully this time I will!

Other than that, mom and I will leave Indy at 1pm and get to Minneapolis at 5pm, so we'll have plenty of time to get settled in and grab some dinner and stuff. After a year, I think I can handle applebees again! It was a little much since it was the only thing in the hotel that I could eat last time! Then tues, I see Dr. Sutherland at 8:30 and then mom and I have the rest of the day to shop at Mall of America! We'll be home around 6 on wednesday night! It'll be a fun girls trip!

I'll try to hop on when I'm there to let you know how the appt goes, but I'm almost positive I'm going to get nothing but good news!

Dr. Corbin Roudebush

I recently found out that my amazing endocrinologist passed away on New Year's Eve. The surprising thing was that I just found out he passed away from pancreatic cancer. I saw him in the last few months and he seemed to be doing quite well, so it came as quite a shock.

My office will be hosting its 1st charity card event this tuesday, the 27th, and the first charity donation will be going to Dr. Sutherland. We plan on making the next donation to the American Diabetes Association in honor of Dr. Roudebush. He will be dearly missed.

Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Follow Up

I just scheduled my yearly follow appt to MN! I can't believe it's been a year already. Things are great and just keep getting better, so I'm thrilled to go back and see Dr. Sutherland and see what he has to say. Mom and I are flying up monday night, 2/9 and coming back the afternoon of 2/11. My appt is on 2/10, which is just 2 days past my year anniversary. Mom and I are going to spend the day up there and shop at mall of america since i'm actually feeling well this time. It'll be a fun girls trip! I'll let you know how everything goes!