[q2quest]

Hello-

I am a 41 year old man living in Santa Rosa, CA. I'm a police sergeant with the San Francisco Police Department and I have had Type 1 diabetes for over 30 years. I've thought about joining for years and finally just did. I hope to learn a few things, but primarily I joined to help others who are struggling. Let the blogs begin!

Paul Weggenmann

 

[Richard157]

Hello Paul, I am pleased you have joined us! How is your control after those 30 years? Do you pump insulin?

I have been Type 1 for 64 years and my control was awful for most of my life. I finally learned what I was supposed to do and how to do it in the mid 1980's. Now I am pumping and everything is great. I am very healthy.

You help protect the citizens in San Francisco and now you will help protect your fellow diabetics by giving them good advice and sharing your experiences. Your participation is much appreciated. Welcome aboard!

Richard

 

[q2quest]

Thanks Richard. I have spent most of my life trying very hard to keep my diabetes in tight control. I was fortunate enough to have physicians who were very knowledgable. My biggest challenge is with blood sugar levels skyrocketing while I sleep. No matter what I have tried over the years I am successful at having good control during the day, but about 3 to 4 hours before I wake up my blood sugar will just take off. I have resorted to somethimes setting an alarm clock to wake me up in the middle of the night to take 5 units or so of Novolog to combat the situation. It's extremely frustrating. I take Novolog at mealtimes and Lantus at bedtime. The only thing I have going for me is that I check my levels often and take booster injections whenever my sugars are out of bounds. My health is good and I'm not over weight. I have toyed with the idea of a pump, but it seems with my lifestyle that it would be more of a nuicance. I'll eventually get there. Do you ever have times when your body seems resistant to your normal doses of insulin? I'm experiencing that right now. I should have joined a diabetes forum years ago.

 

[Richard157]

This all sounds very familiar. Several years ago I was also taking an injection of Humalog at 3 AM to prevent a morning high (Dawn Phenomenon). It worked. but not as well as pumping. A pump allows me to use variable basal rates throughout the day and night. I set gradually increasing basal rates through the night and my fasting level is usually in the 90's.

Even though I avoid having many highs and lows with my pump, I still have some problems with scar tissue after all those years of injections. No doctor ever told me to rotate injection sites to avoid scar tissue. I now have permanent scar tissue on my upper abdomen and will never be able to use it again. The absorption of insulin is impossible there and my pump gives me "No Delivery" alarms. I rotate between my lower abdomen and upper legs to allow healing to take place so I will not develop scar tissue on other body parts.

You mentioned times when our bodies are resistant to normal insulin doses. I have that problem when the seasons change. The weather is changing now and I am having to increase my basals and carb ratios to compensate for higher blood sugar. I need more insulin in cold weather and less in warm weather. In California I have friends who tell me that the weather is much less changeble, so their dosages don't vary so much. It might be different in San Francisco because it can get very cold there. Is that correct? Variation in your activities on and off the job will affect affect blood sugar too.

 

[q2quest]

Richard-

Thanks for the detailed reply. I have definitely noticed a need for less insulin when very active. I often require only half doses on those days. Interesting about the weather, though. I have not noticed this. I live in Santa Rosa which gets very hot in the summer and mildly cold in the winter, but I've not noticed any changes in insulin requirements. I did come down with a cold today which might explain why my body was so off yesterday with the resistance to insulin. Today I woke up with a blood sugar level of 119. That hasn't happened in three years. And I did exactly the same thing the night before. Go figure.

Paul

 

[Dido]

Hello Paul
i hope you will enjoy it here in this community .. i think you are doing great efforts protecting adn saving people of CA , and God will also protect you from anything bad of diabetes , which i think you are too far from with 119

Dido

 

[Yuli]

Hi Paul, welcome!
Great to hear that your using your experiences to help other people.

 

[warrenh]

Hello Paul!

Great to see another Police Officer here! After I was diagnosed I found out that there were many others in my department that are diabetic as well.

I didn't have a clue so many others were, only knew about 1.

 

[q2quest]

Hello Paul!

Great to see another Police Officer here! After I was diagnosed I found out that there were many others in my department that are diabetic as well.

I didn't have a clue so many others were, only knew about 1.

As far as I know, I was the first diabetic ever to be hired by the SFPD. They tried to keep me out twice because of the diabetes, but in 1993 the ADA stated it would by against the law for them to discriminate. They were forced to re-think their position.

 

[Dido]

I think it would be unfair if they got you to quit because of your diabetes , simply because there is something called Type II , they can not be sure who will get it and who wont .. maybe all of the departement are going to be diabetes with Type II in the 40's or even 30's does that mean that they will take officers only when they go over 50 to make sure they wont get diabetes... so to me it is the same and it is most fair to be in the department because there is no difference

 

[q2quest]

I think it would be unfair if they got you to quit because of your diabetes , simply because there is something called Type II , they can not be sure who will get it and who wont .. maybe all of the departement are going to be diabetes with Type II in the 40's or even 30's does that mean that they will take officers only when they go over 50 to make sure they wont get diabetes... so to me it is the same and it is most fair to be in the department because there is no difference

Yes, that was my argument also. But I think what they were most concerned with was extreme insulin reactions. Most type II diabetics traditionally do not experience those types of dangerous lows as was not uncommon for type I diabetics years ago. I once responded to a call on duty of a crazed man running down the street after leaving his car running in the middle of an intersection. Sure enough we found him running around and away from us looking high on drugs. He put up his fists and wanted to fight me and my partner. When I pulled out my baton he finally surrendered and got on the ground after I told him to. I was handcuffing him when I noticed his medic alert bracelet. I called for an ambulance and the paramedics injected him with glucogon. Within 30 seconds he was completely normal and apologetic. He had taken his insulin and had fogotten to eat.

 

[Richard157]

Dido, both Type 1 and Type 2 can occur after 50. I read about two people in their 80's being diagnosed as Type 1. Whenever the pancreas stops producing insulin that is when Type 1 diabetes appears. That can happen at any age and can be caused by a variety of things.

 

[warrenh]

The only discrimination I've had at work was that someone complained to the Asst. Uniform Division Commander that they didn't like me sticking my finger and testing my BG. They told them that I should do that in private.

I wasn't in trouble, of course, but they passed on the complaint. I told them I will test my BG whenever and wherever I needed to, as long as it was safe and didn't interefere with the job. If a Police officer is grossed out by blood, it's time for a new profession.

I am also an Asst. Watch Commander, and other than two people complaining about that, I haven't had any issues. The first complainer whined to someone else, and they complained. It wasn't given much thought, since they are both serial whiners.

 

[q2quest]

The only discrimination I've had at work was that someone complained to the Asst. Uniform Division Commander that they didn't like me sticking my finger and testing my BG. They told them that I should do that in private.

I wasn't in trouble, of course, but they passed on the complaint. I told them I will test my BG whenever and wherever I needed to, as long as it was safe and didn't interefere with the job. If a Police officer is grossed out by blood, it's time for a new profession.

I am also an Asst. Watch Commander, and other than two people complaining about that, I haven't had any issues. The first complainer whined to someone else, and they complained. It wasn't given much thought, since they are both serial whiners.

It's funny because that seems to be the way the Country is moving. We have to be ultra sensitive to everyones feelings and change anything that might offend one person. No one has a sense of humor about anything anymore. I thought that was a California thing. I'm surprised to hear about that going on in a GA department. Take that person, sit them down and make them watch Saving Private Ryan. Then ask them how important their complaint is.