Stressed to the Max!

Now for more information than anyone ever wanted. This is our baby book, so I want to write everything down, but you can feel free to just skip right over this informational post.

We got home Wednesday just in time for supper and all that goes along with it: blood sugar check, scrambling to fix something Noah can and will eat, breathing down his neck while we ensure he eats all his food in 30 minutes or less, calculating exactly how much insulin he needs depending on how much he eats, and then the dreaded shot. We were both anxious about the whole process, but we had been well-equipped at Children's. Plus, they assured us all would be well: his sugars were somewhat stable and we should never see the dreaded ketones in his urine. No need to worry.

First blood sugar at home: 413 (His range should be 100-200.)

We have to test his urine for ketones if his blood sugar is greater than 250. What do you know?! Trace to small ketones. We panicked, to say the least.

There was a mad scramble to find emergency phone numbers and our flow sheet telling us what our next step should be. We were to pump our kid full of calorie-free fluids, as many ounces as he would hold, to flush out the ketones. Thankfully, he loves Chrystal Lite and guzzled it down. When ketones are in his urine, he has to remain still because being active will further break down muscle and fat, resulting in even more ketones. So all four of us sat on the couch in a row, drinking Chrystal Lite and praying for wisdom. Oh! And don't forget the extra-big insulin shot he got that we were hoping would bring his sugar into the normal range.

Two hours later, we checked again. His blood sugar actually went up to 443 and there were still trace ketones present in his urine. More frantic phone calls ensued...and stressed out tears started to flow. The doctor told us to keep Noah awake until 10:30pm, drinking, drinking, drinking, drinking. He was exhausted, and after already drinking 30 ounces, not the least bit thirsty. So we did our best. And gave more insulin, a shot in each leg this time. Praise the Lord that the ketones finally went away, although we put him to bed with a blood sugar of 407.

Jeremy and I fell into bed exhausted and stressed and oh-so-worried. Is this what life is going to be like now? Constant on-the-edge-of-our-seats drama that majorly affects our baby's health? We just cried and prayed and tried to sleep...at least until the next blood sugar check. Thankfully, his sugars were in the high 200's all night. Not great, but definitely better!