It’s Girl Scout Cookie time again and you will no doubt (a) be asked to buy cookies from your neighborhood girl scout, and (b) go door to door peddling them if you have a daughter in grade school. Here’s what happened to us last year.

She CAN Eat Cookies
originally posted January 21, 2011

As thousands (millions?) of other young girls across the country are doing this month, Q is peddling Girl Scout cookies.

Since she is a Daisy and this is her first year, I decided we weren’t going to go overboard and set too high a goal for ourselves. The troop leaders decided to set the goal at 42 boxes per member because that would be enough to have a pretty nice reward if reached. Maybe camping, roller skating, a movie, or the like.

Little did I know that we would reach 89 in one afternoon just by selling to grandparents and my coworkers. That’s right, we doubled that goal in a couple of hours. Q is a good salesperson (winning toothless smile). And honestly my office was a bit quiet on that Friday afternoon, so we will likely rack up a few more sales.

So I’m thinking we’ve done our part and can relax.

No.

Q wanted to sell door-to-door in our neighborhood because that’s how she envisions cookie selling.

So I told Q we would hit up the neighbors on our street. As we headed out I began to wonder who’s brilliant idea it was to encourage girls to go door-to-door in JANUARY! Though it was a balmy 24 degrees.

Remember, we only recently moved to this neighborhood and don’t know anyone too well.

First neighbor bought three boxes.

Here’s the conversation on the second neighbor’s doorstep.

Q: Hello. My name is Q and I am one of your neighbors (points towards our house). I’m selling Girl Scout cookies today. Would you like to buy some?

Neighbor: I can’t eat cookies. I’m diabetic.

Q: I’M DIABETIC TOO! Look. I have an insulin pump (pulls up coat and shirt to show her).

Neighbor: Oh, you’re diabetic too. You are so young.

Me: She has Type 1 diabetes.

Neighbor: I just found out that I’m diabetic a few months ago.

Long story short, the woman does home daycare and invited Q to come over and play with the kids the next day since there was no school.

So there we have it, we can’t even go door-to-door selling Girl Scout cookies without somehow encountering two misconceptions about diabetes: (1) that you can’t eat cookies and (2) that only old people get it.

So you might be wondering, did she buy any cookies?

Uh, no.

From the Girl Scouts website:

Q: Should people with diabetes buy or consume Girl Scout Cookies?

A: For consumer convenience, each of our two licensed bakers lists dietary exchanges on the cookie box and cookie order form so people with diabetes and adults with children with diabetes can make informed choices. The amount of sugar and carbohydrates is also listed. Dietary exchanges should always be consulted, even if a product is labeled “sugarless.” “Sugar free cookies” or “sugarless” are not synonymous with a “diabetic cookie” labeling because of the carbs.

My Answer: Yes!

Eat them, have insulin. If you don’t want to eat them, pass them along to someone who will. And if you really don’t want to eat them, you have the option of buying cookies and sending them to the troops overseas through Operation Cookie Share. That’s a win-win situation: you support the Girl Scouts and you do something nice for someone who might enjoy a little piece of home.

*Image from the Girl Scouts website.

If you are new to D-Mom Blog or to our family’s particular story, I invite you to read my previously written posts, which you can do by visiting the Archives.

Join me each Thursday as I highlight a post from the past.

{From the Archives} Girl Scout Cookies is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.

If you are new to D-Mom Blog or to our family’s particular story, I invite you to read my previously written posts, which you can do by visiting the Archives.

Join me each Thursday as I highlight a post from the past.

Pez, Oh Yes, We Have Santa Pez
originally posted December 21, 2010

So last year Q’s grandmother wanted to give her Pez. I said no because it was just more sugar to have to keep her from over consuming.

But I bet everyone reading this got Pez in their stocking as a child. Oh, the characters! Oh, the little tablets of pure sugar that tasted like absolutely nothing but for some reason were so fun to eat. Tilt your head back Santa, give me another piece!

So as I was shopping for stocking stuffers I came across the display of Pez and actually turned over the package and read the label.

One roll has 9 grams of carbs. One whole entire roll.

Each roll has 12 pieces. That’s 0.75 grams of carbs each piece.

And they are gluten free, for those who can’t have gluten.

Has anyone EVER cleaned the dispenser before use? Nope, me neither.

I know you are beginning to think that I’m cramming sugar down Q’s throat this holiday season, but the reality is that I realized this year that she can partake in advent calendar chocolates, and candy canes, and yes, Pez, and it’s not going to break the carb bank or require a Huge Ass Bolus (HAB)^TM.

Further Reading

Pez, Oh Yes, We Have Santa Pez

Candy Canes: Not So Many Carbs, Either

Counting Down to Christmas

Advent Calendars: All the Countdown, Not So Many Carbs

Read more posts about Christmas

{From the Archives} Pez, Oh Yes, We Have Santa Pez is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.

If you are new to D-Mom Blog or to our family’s particular story, I invite you to read my previously written posts, which you can do by visiting the Archives.

Join me each Thursday as I highlight a post from the past.

Candy Canes: Not So Many Carbs, Either
originally posted December 19, 2010

We were delightfully surprised that the chocolates in the kids’ advent calendars had only about 2 grams of carbs each and could easily fit into Q’s snacks without the need for a ton of insulin, if any.

The kids have been asking for candy canes. Some companies do make sugar free or artificially sweetened candy canes. But you know my take on it: I try to avoid sugar alcohols and prefer the real thing with insulin to cover it.

I purchased these mini candy canes at Target. Three candy canes have 13 grams of carbs, so that’s approximately 4 grams of carbs each. Not bad!

Also, note that 1 gram weight equals 1 gram of carbs. Good to know in case we receive candy canes from someone else without the nutritional data. Granulated table sugar also has 1 gram carb per gram weight (source: Calorie King).

Further Reading

Pez, Oh Yes, We Have Santa Pez

Candy Canes: Not So Many Carbs, Either

Counting Down to Christmas

Advent Calendars: All the Countdown, Not So Many Carbs

Read more posts about Christmas

{From the Archives} Candy Canes: Not So Many Carbs, Either is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.

If you are new to D-Mom Blog or to our family’s particular story, I invite you to read my previously written posts, which you can do by visiting the Archives.

Join me each Thursday as I highlight a post from the past.

Holiday Decorating with Medical Waste
originally posted December 7, 2009

Alternate title: How to turn your used OmniPod’s into Christmas tree ornaments.

Daily care of diabetes creates a ton of waste. Between test strips, lancets, syringes, empty vials, and more, I think a diabetic could fill a landfill in her lifetime. Hardly any of these items can be recycled and it’s even difficult to responsibly dispose of used items, particularly syringes. (Our local hospital recently began a free program to provide sharps containers and collect them for disposal.)

Now that we are using the OmniPod insulin pump, our medical waste has changed, yet there is still a lot of stuff to get rid of.

I was inspired when I saw what Lorraine, the author of This is Caleb, did last Christmas with some of her son’s used pods: she made tree ornaments!

Since my daughter is always in the mood for crafting, I asked if this is something she would like to do. She said she would like to decorate the little tree that adorns her room with pod decorations.

Anything to make diabetes fun, right?

I spent $8.08 at the craft store on supplies, but honestly, this could be done for less. Maybe even for free if you have appropriate supplies laying around the house.

OmniPod Tree Ornaments

Supplies:
Used pods
Adhesive-backed felt or foam
Ribbon
Tape
Stickers

Instructions:
1. Remove the adhesive and snip the cannula from the back of the pods.
2. Trace the outline of the pod on the felt or foam, which will be used for backing. Cut them out just inside the lines you’ve traced. I found it easier to use a thin Sharpie and trace the felt side (not the adhesive side).
3. Cut equal lengths of ribbon, loop the ribbons to create an ornament hanger, and use a small piece of tape to hold in place.
4. Cover the back of the pod, including the ribbon, with the adhesive-backed felt.
5. Decorate the front of the pods with festive stickers.
6. Hang on your tree and admire.

For more images, view my Flickr photoset: OmniPod Ornaments.

{From the Archives} Holiday Decorating with Medical Waste is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.

If you are new to D-Mom Blog or to our family’s particular story, I invite you to read my previously written posts, which you can do by visiting the Archives.

Pass the Bottle, I Mean Cure
originally posted July 7, 2010

Enjoying the playground minutes later.

This week we traveled the 200 miles for our quarterly endocrinology appointment. We like to add in a little fun to the trips, visiting museums, the zoo, or other interesting local sights. At this point she thinks of her endo appointments as vacation time and I want to keep it that way.

You know how it is with young children: Are we there yet? How much longer? I have to go potty.

So to break up the trip we allow extra time each way to stop at our favorite rest areas that have good playgrounds.

As we were on the last leg of our trip, we stopped at my daughter’s favorite rest area. We popped into the bathroom before hitting the playground.

As she was going, she looked up at me and said the thing that I hate hearing most.

I don’t want to have diabetes.

I know.

I want to have the kind of diabetes that you don’t have anymore when you are a grown up.

Honey, you will always have diabetes. We can’t take it away.

I know, but remember when we were at Steak ‘n Shake that one time and we were talking to that lady and she said she had diabetes, but she doesn’t any more?

(Was this person type 2? I couldn’t remember the conversation.)

Well, I don’t know about her diabetes, but the kind of diabetes that kids get they won’t grow out of. Scientists (she has a thing for scientists) are working on ways to make your diabetes better and who knows, maybe the scientists could find a cure someday. (I don’t usually talk about The Cure with her.)

That would be good. As long as the cure doesn’t mean I have to drink 300 bottles of wine each day. I wouldn’t like that.

That made me laugh. I had just bought a couple of bottles of wine at Trader Joe’s and I think she was remembering a conversation from a few days before about wine being a “grown up” drink that she wouldn’t like until she’s old enough.

She finished her business and headed to the playground seemingly unphased by the conversation.

It wasn’t until over an hour later as we were nearing our home town that I realized what she was talking about.

One day last year she had a half day of school. As a treat I took her out for lunch, just the two of us. We went to Steak ‘n Shake and ended up sitting at the counter next to another family from the school.

As she chatted with the mother I checked her blood sugar and gave her insulin. She matter-of-factly told the mom that she has diabetes. Like she always does. (Read my guest post on Lemonade Life today.)

The mom told her that she used to have diabetes. She had gestational diabetes.

Q was excited as always to find a kindred diabetes spirit. She asked if she still has diabetes and the mom said no.

As I remembered this exchange I had a twinge of resentment toward this woman. I understand that she was trying to tell my daughter that she “gets it.” But on the other hand, does my five-year-old really need to know that some people can have diabetes and then not have it, but there is no hope for her?

{From the Archives} Pass the Bottle, I Mean Cure is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.

Thanksgiving is this week and we will all be stuffing our gullets. Here are some carbs counts of common foods. Happy feasting!

Remember that 1 oz. equals 28 grams by weight.  See the Equivalent Measures.

And skip the sugar-free Cool Whip and go for regular. Sugar-Free Cool Whip actually has more carbs (3 carbs per 2 tbs) than Regular Cool Whip (2 carbs per 2 tbs) if you can believe it!

{Food} Thanksgiving Carb Counting is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.

If you are new to D-Mom Blog or to our family’s particular story, I invite you to read my previously written posts, which you can do by visiting the Archives.

Join me each Thursday as I highlight a post from the past.

Let Them Eat Cake!
originally posted May 13, 2010

While we were in the hospital for several days after our daughter’s diagnosis with type 1 diabetes, our days were filled. Her days were filled with art projects in the playroom, strolls on the rooftop garden, and chats at the nurse’s station. Our days were filled with a crash course in endocrinology and nutrition.

We learned about counting, weighing, and measuring to accurately count carbs. To our delight (and to the chagrin of the teenager who was also diagnosed that day and sat through the classes) the diet they described was very in line with the diet that we had been feeding our daughter all along. We are mostly vegetarian, eating fish occasionally. We limited sweets and junk food. We got more than our fair share of fruits and veggies.

No, we didn’t need to make any big changes in her diet to follow what the dieticians described as healthy.

As we sat in our classes I realized that there were three birthday parties on our daughter’s social calender in the next 10 days: two friends plus her brother’s very first birthday.

I asked what we should do? Do we not go to the parties? Do we let her go but not let her eat cake and ice cream?

Do you know what they said to me?

Let her be a kid.

The nursing staff encouraged us, saying that all things in moderation are okay. They said that our not-even-four-year-old needed to participate fully in these upcoming events without worry or burden.

She went to the three birthday parties. I did my best with our new found knowledge to figure out carb counts and bolus accordingly. I did my best to let her be a kid at those parties, and not a kid with diabetes.

Q on her fifth birthday.

This post is on the topic “to carb or not to carb” as part of the Diabetes Blog Week 2010. For more participating blogs, visit Bitter-Sweet.

{From the Archives} Let Them Eat Cake! is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.

On World Diabetes Day, we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Banting who discovered insulin 90 years ago. Before this discovery, children diagnosed with diabetes were handed a death sentence. Insulin is not a cure for diabetes, but it keeps our children alive.

I thought it was appropriate to share this post with you again today. It’s a review of the book Breakthrough which chronicles Banting and Best’s discovery, which I wrote about on August 2, 2011.

“How do you feel about shots?”
“Will they make me well?”
“Yes, I think they will.”
“Then I’m crazy about them.”
(p.198)

She never looked back.
(p.224)

Last week, on July 27, 2011 the world celebrated the 90th anniversary of the discovery of insulin by Banting and Best.

I recently read the book Breakthrough: Elizabeth Hughes, the Discovery of Insulin, and the Making of a Medical Miracle by Thea Cooper and Arthur Ainsberg. I thought it was going to be one of those books that I should read that I would have to plod through like a boring text book on the history of medicine. But I have to say it was quite captivating!

(There is way more to this book than I can give justice, but here is a quick review of some of the things that I found interesting. It really is worth picking up and reading for yourself.)

The book tells the story of Banting, a Canadian who had a crazy epiphany about the pancreas in relation to diabetes. Even crazier, he thought he could just walk right into a university and demand funding for his research! Through persistence, he was able to obtain labspace, animals, and assistants and began his long work on figuring out how to isolate the substance needed to “cure” diabetes.

I say “cure” because in the early 1900′s, and before, diabetes was a death sentence. Though some people were put on starvation diets that might prolong their lives, death was inevitable. A discovery that would let people live was in essence a cure. I also find it interesting that today our definition of the “cure” for diabetes is drastically different and opinions on what constitutes a cure varies even between people.

You may wonder why the story focuses on one particular child when there were several patients who received Banting and Best’s insulin once it was isolated and they were able to produce it (with the aid of Eli Lilly). Elizabeth Hughes was not just another child stricken with diabetes, she was the child of a very important and wealthy businessman and politician, Charles Evans Hughes. It was Mr. Hughes need to keep his daughter alive that helped propel the discovery and distribution of insulin.

What was amazing to me as I read the book is that some of the authors’ descriptions of Elizabeth’s diagnosis in 1919 still hold true today:

“It is an extremely difficult regimen to maintain outside of a clinical setting,” Allen replied. “There is food preparation, the weighing and measuring, monitoring of blood glucose levels, urine testing, the schedule of meals and exercise, all of which must be followed to the letter and carefully recorded.” (p. 24)

The lives we live managing our children’s diabetes is similar in that we count, weigh, and measure food, schedule meals, test blood sugars, and urine (for ketones as needed). The routine care of a child with diabetes hasn’t changed all that much in the past ninety years. Even if the technology and tools of the trade have improved, what diabetes management requires has essentially stayed the same.

“Surely there is someone somewhere working on a cure,” Hughes said.
“There are many people working on a cure. In fact, many of the leading experts believe that we are very close to discovering a cure. This is precisely why I urge you to do all that you can to keep your daughter alive. A cure could come at any time.” (p. 25)

I have heard over and over that parents are told at diagnosis that a cure is on the horizon, a mere “10 years away.” We were not told that, rather were told that a cure could come in our child’s lifetime but that the tools for management are rapidly improving.

The rise in diagnoses fertilized a burgeoning business of fad diets, patent medicines, and hope cures hawked by unscrupulous opportunists, hucksters and self-described healers. (p. 26)

We haven’t escaped this in 2011! How many times do you see magazines in the checkout line touting a “cure for diabetes?” Have you seen the big bottles of cinnamon nestled between blood glucose strips, lancets, and glucose tablets on the shelves at the pharmacy? Haven’t you read that certain celebrities have cured themselves and are no longer dependent on insulin?

Instead of being a victim of diabetes, Elizabeth became a student of diabetes. Elizabeth embraced the study of diabetes as if her life depended on it, which it did. (p. 82)

I see so many of the children that I have gotten to know through their parents online in Elizabeth. I see my daughter’s strong spirit in her. I see it when these modern D-Kids change their insulin pump by themselves for the first time, learn to count carbs, raise awareness and money, and exclaim that they can do this and you can too!

Just before he injected her he asked, “Will you promise me one thing, Miss Elizabeth Hughes? Will you promise me that if you get well–when you get well–you will grow up to be whoever and whatever you want to be and you won’t let anyone persuade you to do or be something or someone else? (p. 198)

Our children have the benefit of modern medicine, current technology, and 90 years of fine tuning the only treatment available to people with diabetes: insulin. Our children, like Elizabeth, will grow up to be whoever and whatever they want to be and nothing can stop them…not even diabetes!

Synopsis

BREAKTHROUGH: Elizabeth Hughes, the Discovery of Insulin, and the Making of a Medical Miracle

(From the publisher: )

“It is 1919 and Elizabeth Hughes, the eleven-year-old daughter of America’s most-distinguished jurist and politician, Charles Evans Hughes, has been diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. It is essentially a death sentence. The only accepted form of treatment – starvation – whittles her down to forty-five pounds skin and bones. Miles away, Canadian researchers Frederick Banting and Charles Best manage to identify and purify insulin from animal pancreases – a miracle soon marred by scientific jealousy, intense business competition and fistfights. In a race against time and a ravaging disease, Elizabeth becomes one of the first diabetics to receive insulin injections – all while its discoverers and a little known pharmaceutical company struggle to make it available to the rest of the world.

Relive the heartwarming true story of the discovery of insulin as it’s never been told before. Written with authentic detail and suspense, and featuring walk-ons by William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, and Eli Lilly himself, among many others.”

Purchase Breakthrough from my affiliate Barnes & Noble. It’s also available as a NOOK Book.

Further Reading

IDF: O is for Outrage Even though our children have access to life-saving insulin, there are many children of the world who do not. After 90 years, this is unbelievable to me.

Read more book reviews on D-Mom Blog.

World Diabetes Day (official site)

All World Diabetes Day posts on D-Mom Blog

More Diabetes Awareness Month posts

{Diabetes Awareness Month} Dr. Banting on WDD is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.

Halloween is our family’s favorite holiday. I hope you enjoyed this past month as I shared some spooktacular posts to get you ready to go haunting. Blood-thirsty for more? You can read all of my writing on Halloween.

Read the tips and tricks from several of your favorite D-Moms and D-Dads (including me!) on A Sweet Life. Not to mention there are some adorable D-Kiddos in their costumes. Read Halloween Tips From Parents of Children With Diabetes.

We have a few strategies for making Halloween less about diabetes and more about the fun. Head on over to Diabetes Mine where I guest posted last year. Read Tricks For Treats.

Did you happen to read the article Enjoying Halloween When You Have Diabetes in the October 2010 issue of the American Diabetes Association’s Diabetes Forecast Magazine? I offer a few tips there as well.

Did you rise to the challenge of making Halloween decorations with your used OmniPods or other medical waste? Read how you can make Spooky sPODers and PUMP-kins.

A fun holiday game we like to play is called Guess the Carbs. Oh wait, that’s not fun at all. It’s tricky to count carbs at parties.

When my daughter was still doing injections, going to the annual haunted zoo made me really upset. Read what triggered my tears in Boo to Injections. It’s been a breeze the last two years with the insulin pump.

There are so many alternatives to giving out candy. See what we like to give out: All Treat, No Sweet.

Need to know carb counts of the Halloween haul? I have a list of common candies by size and weight. Information includes links to the manufactures’ websites.

And don’t throw out all that candy, save the high sugar candies such as Smarties and Skittles for treating low blood sugar. Did you know that Smarties and glucose tabs have the same first ingredient dextrose?

{Halloween} It Doesn’t Have To Be Spooky! is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.

If you are new to D-Mom Blog or to our family’s particular story, I invite you to read my previously written posts, which you can do by visiting the Archives.

Join me each Thursday as I highlight a post from the past.

Forbidden Fruit or Good Hypo Treatment?
originally posted May 11, 2010

When our daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, we stocked up with juice boxes, glucose tabs, cake icing gel, and of course Glucagon.

We almost always reached for the juice box when we needed to treat a low. I think I have given my daughter one glucose tab in the two years since diagnosis.

But then last Halloween during our trick-or-treating excursion, which included both excitement and lots and lots of walking and running, Q went low. She asked if she could have some candy and I reached into her heavy pumpkin-shaped bag and found a treat I thought might be acceptable.

Mind you though I can name serving sizes and carb counts of hundreds of items in my sleep, I don’t know the carb counts of candies.

Later that night when I sorted through her stash of goodies, I pulled out many items which were high in sugar content and seemed like they would be fast acting. (Chocolate is usually not recommended to treat lows because the fat content makes it a slower acting carb.)

I realized that Smarties have basically the same ingredients as glucose tabs, dextrose being the first ingredient. The next trip to Walgreens, no doubt to refill one of our many prescriptions, I compared Smarties and glucose tabs side by side. I decided that get get more bang for your buck with Smarties and a whole lot more fun. (One roll of Smarties has 6 grams of carbs.)

Image: Smarties

(Tip: make sure kids wash their hands before rechecking in 15 minutes. We’ve gotten some crazy high numbers that were a result of Smarties dust on her fingertips.)

So here’s the conundrum: We spend so much time trying to avoid high sugar items for our type 1 kids, yet they need sugar to treat lows.

Do we let them have a little bit of fun by allowing them candy for lows since they can’t eat it freely at other times?

Or should we stick to healthier choices such as juice (which I never had in my house before diagnosis)?

Seeing a number in the 60′s on the meter, my daughter once exclaimed with delight, “Yesss! I can have some candy!”

By treating lows with candy are we sending the wrong message encouraging kids to want to be low in order to eat forbidden candy fruit?

And by the way, Skittles totally make my daughter spike!

Additional Resources: D-Mom Blog features carb counts of many common candies.

This post is on the topic “making the low go” as part of the Diabetes Blog Week 2010. For more participating blogs, visit Bitter-Sweet.

{From the Archives} Forbidden Fruit or Good Hypo Treatment? is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.