Tagged: things i like

What the heck is an artificial pancreas…

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Big news came out recently.  News that I cried when I read.  News that will forever change my life: the FDA has approved the first artificial pancreas.  (You can read the announcement from JDRF here.)

And while this is exciting news that I have been waiting for, I want to explain why this is so exciting.  I want to help to do my part in getting the message out there about all the latest and greatest in type 1 research.

My current insulin regimen is delivered via an insulin pump (made by the same company that just gained the FDA approval).  I fill a reservoir with insulin that is delivered via tube to an insertion site.  The insertion site contain a tiny, plastic tube that lives under my skin.  All of my insulin is delivered to this site under my skin until I change the insertion set and change the site every 3 days.  Because of my insulin pump being connected to me 24/7, I only use a fast-acting insulin.  (Fast-acting means that it starts working about 15 minutes after injection and only lasts a few hours.  Other insulins can last for up to 24 hours.)  Every hour my insulin pump delivers a small amount of insulin.  This is referred to as my basal insulin: the amount of insulin I need to function properly, at least metabolically speaking.  Then, whenever I eat, I give myself another dose of insulin to balance out how many carbohydrates I’ve eaten.  This is known as a bolus of insulin.  Those are the basics of insulin.  But diabetes is never basic.

I still use a glucose meter to measure my blood sugars about 4 times per day.  The fun new gadget I have used for the past 3 years is my continuous glucose monitor (my CGM).  This device is also under my skin.  Using a tiny, flexible wire sensor, it measures my blood sugar every 5 minutes.  It is calibrated by the 4 finger pokes I still do every day and lasts for about a week.  The sensor connected to the CGM communicates with my insulin pump, giving me a reading of my blood sugars over a 3, 6, or 12-hour window (I can scroll through the windows to see how things have been going).  The most important (and most annoying) feature of this particular CGM system is that the communication with my insulin pump allows for the delivery of my basal insulin to be shut off whenever the sensor detects that my blood sugar is getting too low.  Life-saving, in theory.  Often inaccurate, in practice.  But, being the scientist that I am, I crave the data and put up with the incessant beeping of alarms and turning off of insulin at inappropriate times in order to scroll through those blood sugar curves.

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This isn’t my exact insulin (or my exact waist line) but you get the idea…

Now, why did I bother explaining all of this when the artificial pancreas will make this obsolete?  Because it won’t.  This system is essentially the artificial pancreas.  But there are a few tweaks.  I will still have to calibrate the CGM with blood sugar readings from finger pokes.  However, I don’t have to determine how much insulin I need for a meal.  The pump and the CGM will communicate and decide that without any of my input.  As my blood sugar begins to drop, I won’t hear the alarms.  The basal insulin will be decreased on its own, preventing low blood sugars.  In fact, the clinical trials have shown that with the artificial pancreas, binging to bring a blood sugar back up will become faint memories.  The data are staggering.

Basically, the artificial pancreas is nothing like a pancreas.  There are no cells.  There is no interaction with molecules that impact insulin secretion.  I won’t be making my own insulin.  BUT, this device will act like my pancreas, giving me better glucose control.

So what is next?  A similar system that won’t require calibration of blood sugars from a finger poke and won’t require me to click a button to say that I’m eating a meal.

What else is in our future?  Stem cells.  Using scrapings from my skin or a blood draw, my own cells will be reverted back to their origins as stem cells.  These are known as induced pluripotent stem cells (or IPSCs).  The IPSCs will then be washed in a bath of growth factors and other molecules to turn them into the beta cells of a pancreas.  The newly created cells will then be implanted.  Boom, actual artificial pancreas.  When this will happen, I’m not sure.  The immune system is a huge hurdle.  Only time will tell, but my hopes are high.

For now I’m beyond excited for the artificial pancreas.  Come spring 2017 I’ll be a fully automated diabetic.

Currently, I’m…

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Starting: an unintentionally large hoard of snacks at my desk

Reading: House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski; this is hardly an exciting update, or even an update, for that matter

Playing: Yahtzee!

Watching: the electric bill go up and the temperatures refuse to go down (Oh no!  It’s hot in SoCal in the middle of July!)

Trying: to keep better track of my water intake: sometimes I’m good, sometimes I’m terrible

Cooking: salad, because, quite honestly, I don’t have the energy to clean up the kitchen after cooking

Eating: peanut butter filled pretzels

Drinking: a chai latte (TGIF)

Calling: the sanitation department to get a new recycling bin, we do a lot of it ’round these parts

Pinning: cute shoes

Doing: crazy Pilates moves (and crying, but only a little)

Going: out on Friday night!

Loving: my facewash going on sale just as my current bottle is just about gone!

Hating: the price of plane tickets

Enjoying: kitten snuggles

Thinking: about eating more peanut butter filled pretzels

Listening: for the boss to leave early so I can sneak home too

Considering: what to buy a sassy 18 year-old for her upcoming birthday

Finishing: reading my first graphic novel; I just took my nerdy to a whole new level, y’all!

My 2015 reading challenge…

I love challenges.  I love books.  I love lists.  I found a challenge list of 50 different types of books to read in 2015 while Pinteresting, my new favorite.  And while 50 books is beyond my reading goal for the year (finishing 24 is my actual goal), I know that I can knock out a few at a time with only one book.  Multi-tasking (another thing I love).

So far this year I’ve finished three books:

  • Watership Down by Richard Adams (rated: 3 out of 5)
  • The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah (rated: 4 out of 5)
  • The Road by Cormac McCarthy (rated: 4 out of 5)

…and so far I’ve crossed a number of items off the list:

  1. A book with more than 500 pages
  2. A classic romance
  3. A book that became a movie The Road
  4. A book published this year
  5. A book with a number in the title
  6. A book written by someone under 30
  7. A book with nonhuman characters Watership Down
  8. A funny book
  9. A book by a female author The Monogram Murders
  10. A mystery or thriller The Monogram Murders
  11. A book with a one-word title
  12. A book of short stories
  13. A book set in a different country The Monogram Murders
  14. A nonfiction book
  15. A popular author’s first book
  16. A book from an author you love that you haven’t read yet
  17. A book a friend recommended
  18. A Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Road
  19. A book based on a true story
  20. A book at the bottom of your to-read list
  21. A book your mom loves
  22. A book that scares you
  23. A book more than 100 years old
  24. A book based entirely on its cover
  25. A book you were supposed to read in school but didn’t
  26. A memoir
  27. A book you can finish in a day
  28. A book with antonyms in the title
  29. A book set somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit
  30. A book that came out the year you were born
  31. A book with bad reviews
  32. A trilogy
  33. A book from your childhood
  34. A book with a love triangle The Monogram Murders
  35. A book set in the future The Road
  36. A book set in high school
  37. A book with a color in the title
  38. A book that made you cry
  39. A book with magic
  40. A graphic novel
  41. A book by an author you’ve never read before Watership Down
  42. A book you own but have never read Watership Down
  43. A book that takes place in your hometown
  44. A book that was originally written in a different language
  45. A book set during Christmas
  46. A book written by an author with your same initials
  47. A play
  48. A banned book
  49. A book based on or turned into a TV show
  50. A book you started but never finished

I would have to say that crossing off ten items with only three books is pretty impressive (pats herself on the back).  So here’s hoping that I keep it up because, let’s be honest, one can only read so many papers about the hindgut hypothesis before getting a little stir crazy.  Amiright?!?

My Kindle: is it love or is it hate?

For anyone that knows me well it comes as no shock that I am an avid reader.  I’m no Justine but on average I read two books a month.  Sometimes I read more (Divergent series, anyone?) and sometimes I read less (umm…remember that time in my life when I was running around the house like a crazy person trying to figure out the best way to test the changes in thermogenesis due to amylin agonists? No? Well, just ask my roommate.  The one who doesn’t use a litter box…).  But overall, I’d say that I read more than your average working woman.  So that’s why my Kindle is so great.  Finished a book waiting for the bus to come?  No problem, I’ve got a dozen more waiting in the wings to be opened and enjoyed.  It’s light, I love the case, and I can download books from anywhere.  What’s not to love?  There is also the added enjoyment of being able to check out library books.  What?  Checking out library books online?  To send to my Kindle?  And read for freeeee?  It’s the best.  (Also the best…no late fees.  And I’ve racked up my fair share of those in the past.)

But, do you want to know the best feature?  It has a little panel on the bottom that estimates the time left for me to finish reading not only the chapter, but the book.  I cannot get enough of it.  It brings joy to my life every time I flip the digital page and see the number go down.

But then sometimes it doesn’t.  And sometimes, like when I started reading Les Mis, it tells me that I have 59 hours and 43 minutes left in the book.  Seriously?  It can be a bit daunting to begin reading a huge book and while I knew this was a book that I would likely finish in more than a few weeks, I still took on the task.  But my Kindle is making it harder.  And I don’t like that.

I like the challenge of reading classics and sometimes struggling through the more boring and overly descriptive parts.  I like reading Jane Austen and immersing myself in a culture quite foreign to mine.  I love reading the books that inspired the authors of today.  But I don’t like being told that it will take me decades to read.  My only hope is that the calibration is off.  So that’s what I’m telling myself in the interim.  Because I don’t want to hate Les Mis and I especially don’t want to hate my Kindle over all of this nonsense.  That would be ridiculous…

I have a taped confession…

(That was for you, Justine!)

Actually, I don’t have a confession.  Or a tape recorder for that matter.  I just have a blog post that I’ve been thinking about for some time.  It does, however, involve a confession.  About my cat.  And how much I love him.  And how I made him love me.

He's very sophisticated.

A sophisticated gentleman.

As you may know, a little over a year ago I became the proud owner of my first official pet, Boo the cat.  In an exciting series of events (or emails, rather) Boo went from subject of pet sitting to fostered animal to fostered-for-a-longer-period-of-time animal to mine forever and ever.  It was an exciting time.

Also a superhero (mask).

Also a superhero (mask).

At first he hid under the bed except to come out twice a day to eat and use the little gentleman’s room.  Then he began to come out to peek in the living room during the evenings.  Slowly but surely, Boo would extend his time beyond the confines of the bedroom.  Then he began to sleep by my head.  And then he started sitting next to Dan to watch football.  Eventually he would be waiting in the living room, near the door, whenever I would come home.  So then I hatched my plan.  Each time I came home, I would pick him up and hold him for a bit.  The first few times the holding only lasted about five seconds.  He would panic and look about for the nearest place to leap safely away.  He then changed to an attitude of apathy; I was going to pick him up and he just accepted it (I also gladly accepted this change).  Now, when I come home I grab him and he nuzzles under my chin.  I ask him about his day and carry him around as I slip off my shoes.  He meows loudly when I don’t leave enough room for him to sleep by me (this is something I am told, I sleep through everything).  He even started throwing up his dinner because he would get so excited that I was home that he would eat too quickly (the vet said this is a thing; the most adorable gross thing ever, huh?).

Snoozing

Cuddling

Of course, Dan gets to share in a lot of Boo’s affections as well.  But I’ve gotta say, all my work has paid off and I could not be happier.  I love my tiny gentleman so much that I’m afraid to get another cat as his companion or even, gasp, have a child.  I just don’t know if I can spare any extra love right now.  Perhaps someday.  But right now, I’m okay being the creepy lady who only posts pictures of her cat and food on Instagram.  Now please excuse me while I go capture the most adorable nap ever being taken…

See what I mean?

A year in review…

…but not really because I am a bit too lazy for that.  Also, it has literally been over a year since my last post and I hardly remember what I had for lunch (hint: I actually remember and it rhymes with shmacaroni and shmeese).

So now I will try to give you a quick, month-by-month review of what happened in the world of Becca circa 2013:

January: Dan turned (gasp!) 30.  We celebrated first with his family and then in Vegas.  It was a glorious time.

The fun was real.

The fun was real.  So was Dan’s creepy photo-bombing.

February: Stevie Mac joined us in Vegas from Australia and stayed for the next few weeks.  Engaging us in activities that do not involve sitting at home and watching DVR (we lead exciting lives, what can I say).

March: I had a few spring break visitors.  We ate exotic foods and played a bit in the ocean.  We got massages and manicures.  We had as much fun as possible without getting into too much trouble.  It was fantastic.

Oysters!

Oysters!

April: I am so thankful for my spring breakers because a few weeks later one of them passed away.  I lost one of the most important people in this world and cherish those memories with my grams more than I ever imagined.

May: Shocker above shockers, Amanda graduated college.  In four years.  With a job lined up.  Weehoo!

Seestors.

Seestors.

June: I, yet again, traveled home for the party of aforementioned Amanda’s graduation.  There was cake.  There was wine.  There were kazoos (it was Mom’s birthday).  There was dancing.  There was fun.

July: I turned the illustrious age of the same number of letters as there is in the alphabet.  Newsroom returned for Season 2.

August: I finished my first year of graduate school and finished classes.  Yay!

First and last day of class.

First and last day of class.

September: I prepared for my qualifying exams.

October: I continued to prepare for my qualifying exams.  And then left for Australia!

November: I continued to be in Australia and I GOT ENGAGED!  Then continued to prepare for my qualifying exam.

He asked. I nodded yes!

He asked. I nodded yes!

December: I passed my qualifying exam, passed out in the parking lot after having my wisdom teeth removed, and passed along my well wishes for a happy holiday season merry Christmas (Hanukkah is over, who am I kidding?).

I hope all is well for all of you.  I’m off to bake some Christmas treat and continue to stare at my engagement ring.  Hope you have exciting plans as well…

Cupcakerying…

Don’t be fooled, I made up that word.  But that doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t happen.  (Unlike fetch.)

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So last night as I was helping Mac with his math homework (what is it with kids refusing to write out their work?), we were talking about Barney (the kid is obsessed with HIMYM) and he decided to start writing a blog.  At the age of thirteen he does not have much (well, he has none) experience in such escapades as his role model writes about.  So I showed him my blog to give him inspiration.  Apparently I’m boring.  It’s hardly worth following my blog.  So I decided to change that.  And by change that, I mean that I decided I would blog today.  And add pictures!

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Last Sunday afternoon, Susan and I went to a cupcake decorating class.  We bought the Living Social deal a few months ago and were finally able to coordinate schedules.  Tis the life of two busy grad students!  (Ah, feels good to say that.)  So we went, we cupcaked, we sprinkled, we ate a lot of frosting.

Image Please ignore my crazy-glasses face.  For some reason I am even more unphotogenic when wearing my spectacles.  This had made me seriously consider taking a modeling class here in LA (I’m sure they occur as frequently as public urination in this city) in order to get over this hump.  But then I realized that my ego and my brain waves probably couldn’t handle it very well.  Perhaps an afternoon with YouTube will be the solution…

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So that was how I spent my rainy Sunday afternoon.  (Can we all just take a moment and sigh at the greatness that is a rainy weekend day?  If only it was acceptable to not wear pants and be wrapped in a blanket out in public.)  This weekend I have more sweets on the docket…attempting to bake some holiday treats for all the Cali-people in my life before (mini-dance) I leave next weekend for the Midwest.  Party!

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Our more-than-fabulous instructor.

Whoops…

I just wrote an entire post and in the midst of adding a link to finish ‘er off…BOOM, I hit a wrong button and everything is gone.  So I guess that’s bad news for me (having to re-write everything) but good news for you (the post wasn’t very good, so let’s give it a second go, eh?).  In a nutshell, I had a great week last week.  I started school, received my first paycheck, spent some quality time at Barnes and Nobel, convinced Dan to play Monopoly, won aforementioned Monopoly game, and watched the Hawks actually show up on Saturday (I was convinced they were going to lose, sorry guys).

In other news, it has been hotter than Hades here and, I’m sorry to say this out loud,  but I am ready for fall (please don’t curse me, gods of the beautiful southern California weather).  The start of the school year means scarves and boots and pumpkin lattes.  Instead, I’m sweating my face off waiting for the bus, guzzling water, and contributing to global warming with the electric bill this month (I don’t know if that last bit makes sense but my brain is melting, so pardon any inaccuracies).  But good things come to those who wait.  And I cannot wait for fall.  Summer was once my favorite season, most likely because my birthday is in July.  But now that I’m older I appreciate a more grown-up perspective (and I now consider July to be its own Becca’s-birthday season).  I love waking up to a crisp breeze through the open windows and wearing a cardigan throughout the day and not just at night or to cover up a lunchtime mishap.  There is something cozy about a brisk stroll down the street and warming up with some apple cider.  It’s also the start of a new semester, football season, and New Girl (I did pick out my new glasses to look just like Zooey Deschanel).  Ah, ’tis a magical time.

But for now I’ll be content with the sunshine overload and tanning at the bus stop.  However I may venture over to Target to check out their scarves.  I have a few gift cards from last season…

Back to reality…

Greetings Earthlings!  Long time no see (?).  I haven’t posted in months (literally) because of two reasons: a) because I have been incredibly busy with work and tutoring and 2) because I have read all seven Harry Potter and three Hunger Games books.  It has definitely been an accomplishment for me.  And it has been pretty life-consuming.  I am one of those people that becomes so incredibly involved it the stories that it breaks my heart every time I realize that I’m a muggle and that at no time in the near future will I be a national symbol.  (Nor will I write a book that changes lives.)

I was once a book snob, only reading the classics.  Then Harry entered my life and things were never the same.  But it is also nice to escape to another world.  A life full of Dickens, nonfiction, and scientific papers is good, but a life also containing magic and imagination is more my style.  Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy may be one of the greatest literary couples I’ve ever encountered.  However, I didn’t find myself rooting for them the same way I did for Katniss and Peeta (Team Peeta, obvi).  I even put down any Bill Bryson book to get my nightly eight hours.  I can’t even tell you how many hours of sleep I’ve lost over the past few weeks.  So now I’m getting ready to put on my pajamas, crawl into bed, and spend a few minutes with Jane Eyre before putting down my book at a (somewhat) reasonable hour.  Sorry for the lack of excitement in this long-anticipated (I’m sure) post.  I guess that I still haven’t fully come back from Panem yet…

On Following Trends and Being Thankful…

So it seems that November is a month of thanks.  I would like to participate, but let’s be honest with each other, shall we?  I won’t blog everyday.  But I will come up with thirty things randomly mentioned throughout the month (with some expectation of spillover into December).  At least I know myself well enough to prepare you (and to pre-allow myself to be lazy).  Thanks self!  (That was just a bonus.)  Now down to business:

In random order, I am firstly thankful for jeans and white shirts.  I wore that yesterday (with my Chucks) and it just made me feel good about myself all day.  I typically wear dresses, so the fact that such a casual outfit can make me feel so much like me while not being me is amazing.  Plus I once saw Jennifer Aniston wearing the same outfit in a movie, so I like to think I was channeling her.  Hey, a girl can live in her own fantasy world right?  I also have a smile like Halle Berry, in case you weren’t aware 🙂

Today I am thankful for my friends.  It has taken me some serious growing up to realize that there are different sorts of friends.

There are your best friends, the people that no matter how much time has passed you know that you will always be in each other’s lives.  You can pick right back up at the drop of a hat and things are amazing.

There are also the friends that are always there for.you.  Come hell or zombie apocalypse, they will pick you up when you’re down or just pick up a bottle of vodka.  It’s nice to know someone has your back.  And sometimes your front.

There are also the people called “friends.”  It has been a long journey to realize that not everyone loves me as I love myself (whodathunk).  And that’s okay (now).  It’s nice to know there are fun people out there with whom I can have fun from time to time.  And who doesn’t love fun?

Then there’s family. They’re friends because of genetics.  Lucky for me, I like them.  So I guess that all worked out.  Plus they’re pretty good people.  Even you, Amanda.

Looks like even after only two days I have some pretty good stuff to be thankful for.  Plus I’m wearing my favorite boots today.  Seems like another excellent start to the day…