"Is this protein or carves?"

Lately my son has been hearing my husband and I discuss the importance of eating healthy ourselves even though he nor I have diabetes. We are a part of the generation of plenty I guess you can say where times are much different than they were when our parents were our age regarding family meal times. With so many fast food options on every street corner and the economy's hard times meaning two parents typically are working full-time outside of the home, so many of us are just grabbing what we can to eat. Thankfully, it seems gym memberships are now trendy as well, so hopefully our generation can fight off what we are eating by exercising. However, it doesn't always work that way. The gym still takes time...and money...and the decision of what to do about childcare while we are trying to fit that in. I know as a mother there is SO much "mommy guilt" surrounding us. If you don't believe me start up a conversation at your next Bunco game about whether it is best to be a working mom or a stay-at-home mom. Or private versus public school. Those tough decisions pull at our heartstrings! Often we feel like it is a lose-lose situation. If we put ourselves first, we feel bad. If we let ourselves go and only focus on running our kids back and forth to their soccer games, then we also feel bad.

But, I have been contemplating how important it is for us to set an example for our children. An example of how to lead a healthy lifestyle all the while teaching them how to survive in the fast food crazed world. Unfortunately, it may have taken my son's diagnosis of new onset diabetes to wake me up to this calling as a mother. And, I am for sure not in shape nor do I eat as healthy as I should. However, our kids are sponges! They watch what we eat, and they are also noticing you on the treadmill while they are busy playing with their trains and cars even though you might not think they are paying any attention.

Would you take on the challenge with me? The challenge to show our children that we can help set a good precedent for them to follow regarding taking care of themselves. Sure, it is easy to remind them to brush their teeth, but it is a tad harder possibly to carry along unsweetened applesauce in the insulin bag when you know you are going to have to endure a fast food lunch during your errands. Skip the fries! Be realistic..let them have the chicken nuggets! Life is all about choices, and it is up to us to teach our children how to make healthy food choices.

And, as far as choices go...choose yourself, moms! I know it might be hard to put yourself first, but remember! While you might be the one and only expert at caring for your child's diabetes, if you throw yourself so far into that job and let your own health go then you won't be around to take care of your child after it is all said and done! What good will that do? Start with yourself first; your child will notice and follow.

Just like my son...he is now obsessed with what is a protein and what is a "carve?" Yes, adorable, huh? A "carve" is a carb...so cutely renamed by my five-year old.

They need to know the difference in the food groups as one day they will be counting their own carbohydrates. A common pitfall in diabetics is that they get into their teen years and only estimate their insulin requirements...and often A1C levels creep up. Start now by teaching your child what is a carbohydrate and even mention why we need to know how many we are eating. You'd be surprised how much interest your child will have in the topic and most of all they will be thrilled to have the one-on-one time just chatting with you!

Running Low???

Are you finding that you are always running short on your child's diabetes testing supplies? This might happen if you are having to check your child's blood sugar more often or give more injections than the pharmacy label states. This could easily happen if your child has been sick or has been having irregular blood sugars. If your prescription isn't up to date with the most recent instructions from your doctor, call your Moye's Pharmacy and have them contact your physician to get updated prescriptions. Often, we as parents call our child's diabetes doctors and they might give us verbal instructions over the phone to test more frequently without the pharmacy receiving a new prescription stating that. This should prevent you from having to pay out of pocket for extra supplies at the end of the month if you are running low before it is time to fill your refill. We, your Moye's pharmacists, are more than happy to work with you and contact your child's doctor to make sure you have enough to get you through the month. We also are able to let your doctor know if they need to contact your insurance company to ensure the supplies you need each month are covered. For example, some children test up to 10 times per day meaning they need 300 strips a month. Most insurances require what is called a "prior approval" for that many strips. While we cannot guarantee your plan will cover the 300 strips needed, we can do everything on our end to ensure all steps are taken to try to get them covered through your plan.

Feel free to go to www.moyespharmacy.com to get the phone number of the Moye's location nearest you. You can also click on "meet the pharmacists" at that location as well so you will know who to ask for!

Easing the Pain

In my last post, I discussed how our children sometimes endure finger sticks to check their sugars up to nearly 3,500 times a year. That is alot, huh? Don't you hate seeing those black dots on their fingers? I know I sure do! Recently, though I switched over to a new lancet device, and while it took some time for me to get used to, I love it! We just switched to the Accu-Chek MultiClix device.

I wanted to share our experience with you for several reasons:
1. This device's "claim to fame" is that it is least painful; and my son says that is true!
2. I often have to do finger sticks in the most awkward of places, and the drum loaded lancets make it much easier to do them.
3. And, equally important my insurance company covered them!

The MultiClix device still has to be loaded with lancets, but instead only every six finger sticks! The lancets are stored in a plastic "drum" with six lancets being in each drum. You simply turn the top to load up the next lancet you need. It still has the depth settings and uses the same pull back method to prick the finger.

And, don't worry if you don't use other Accu-Chek supplies such as meters, etc. All that has to match up are the lancets and the device. For example, I use One Touch/LifeScan strips and meter, but with the MultiClix lancet device.

If you are interesting in checking it out for yourself, first you can always check with your child's diabetes doctor because they often have samples in the office so you can put your hands on it and test it out first. If you decide you'd like to try to get one for yourself, simply phone your local Moye's Pharmacy and ask a staff member to request a prescription from your diabetes doctor on your behalf. Once the prescription is received, we can try to bill your insurance for you and see if the lancets and/or device is on your plan. Another option is to call the customer service number on your insurance card as well to ask them about which devices and lancets are covered on your plan.

I'd love to hear from you! Share with us which device you use and your experiences with it! You never know who might read your comment and benefit from it!