How’s everyone holdin' up? T3G's therapeutic mental health and general chat thread.

Tyler said:
Last year, we grabbed a hotel near Tucson for a shower/laundry reset during van life. The shower wasn’t usable because the water was too hot to handle. I called the front desk to tell them that I think the shower water is broken. Then I learned it’s not that it was broken, it’s that the water itself is that hot before it even gets to the shower and there’s nothing they can do about that.
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Thankfully we don’t have that problem, so next time you’re in the area our shower is available.
 
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Tavel helps my depression. Camper vaning for the week. I do get tired of having to haul my grand assortment of required meds everywhere. You always get weird looks when taking insulin in public
 
solscooter said:
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Tavel helps my depression. Camper vaning for the week. I do get tired of having to haul my grand assortment of required meds everywhere. You always get weird looks when taking insulin in public
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Wait another diabetic? I always tell people who look weird at me "if I break out the spoon and the lighter, you should be worried. If not mind your business"
 
TCOTUE said:
Wait another diabetic? I always tell people who look weird at me "if I break out the spoon and the lighter, you should be worried. If not mind your business"
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My endo calls it type 1.5. Insulin dependent. Sucks
 
solscooter said:
My endo calls it type 1.5. Insulin dependent. Sucks
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Always been told I was Type 1, but a recent test at my endo she is calling me a insulin resistant type 2. Which I'm sure is the same thing as you. Are you on a pump? I highly recommend Omnipod, I'm on Dash right now about to move over to Omnipod5. I already have a dexcom.
 
TCOTUE said:
Always been told I was Type 1, but a recent test at my endo she is calling me a insulin resistant type 2. Which I'm sure is the same thing as you. Are you on a pump? I highly recommend Omnipod, I'm on Dash right now about to move over to Omnipod5. I already have a dexcom.
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Yeah probably the same thing. Nah no pump. Managing with a daily dose of basalgar. And metformin. And a weekly dose of ozempic. Got my a1c down to 6. Using freestyle libre.
 
Just had an informative phone conversation with KU about my transplant. I finally finished all of my testing for Kidney and Pancreas transplant back in May. Been getting the run around for the last month 1/2 on who has what records, and what records they still needed. Finally got somewhere today. Called the VA (for the 3rd time this week) to check status, they advised they sent everything May 31st and resent it all again a couple weeks ago. They advised I call KU to discuss options on how to get them my records. We'll I'll be damned if I didn't call and they had received some of them. The nice lady on the end of the phone said they were reviewing what was sent, and said they would reach out with any further questions. 20 min later she calls back to do the initial phone interview, took maybe 15 min. Dozens of questions, easy enough. We talked for a few about what they were missing and she recommended I call the hospital and request my records for myself. Again easy enough, go online, fill out document, sign it and now I wait 5 business days for it to come to my email box.

Shortly after the nice lady conversation I get a call from KU again. Awful service at work dropped the call, so I call back. She asks about recent bloodwork that was completed, then proceeds to tell me "I'm sorry sir, you are not a candidate for a pancreas. Would you like to be on the list for just a kidney?" Me awe struck, I agree to her terms.

So what's it all mean? Kidney/Pancreas list is arguably the shortest list you can be on. Usually once officially listed could hours/days and you'll get the phone call. Since I'm no longer eligible, the kidney list is MUCH longer. Could be in terms of YEARS. I'm exhausted, physically and mentally. Dialysis is not fun, and I've been having issues the last couple weeks. I'm tired, very little sleep and I'm still working a full time job. I'm trying to hold all of my leave for when my transplant happens. Soooo ughhhhhhhh anyone wanna donate a kidney? A- blood type lol
 
TCOTUE said:
Just had an informative phone conversation with KU about my transplant. I finally finished all of my testing for Kidney and Pancreas transplant back in May. Been getting the run around for the last month 1/2 on who has what records, and what records they still needed. Finally got somewhere today. Called the VA (for the 3rd time this week) to check status, they advised they sent everything May 31st and resent it all again a couple weeks ago. They advised I call KU to discuss options on how to get them my records. We'll I'll be damned if I didn't call and they had received some of them. The nice lady on the end of the phone said they were reviewing what was sent, and said they would reach out with any further questions. 20 min later she calls back to do the initial phone interview, took maybe 15 min. Dozens of questions, easy enough. We talked for a few about what they were missing and she recommended I call the hospital and request my records for myself. Again easy enough, go online, fill out document, sign it and now I wait 5 business days for it to come to my email box.

Shortly after the nice lady conversation I get a call from KU again. Awful service at work dropped the call, so I call back. She asks about recent bloodwork that was completed, then proceeds to tell me "I'm sorry sir, you are not a candidate for a pancreas. Would you like to be on the list for just a kidney?" Me awe struck, I agree to her terms.

So what's it all mean? Kidney/Pancreas list is arguably the shortest list you can be on. Usually once officially listed could hours/days and you'll get the phone call. Since I'm no longer eligible, the kidney list is MUCH longer. Could be in terms of YEARS. I'm exhausted, physically and mentally. Dialysis is not fun, and I've been having issues the last couple weeks. I'm tired, very little sleep and I'm still working a full time job. I'm trying to hold all of my leave for when my transplant happens. Soooo ughhhhhhhh anyone wanna donate a kidney? A- blood type lol
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So. Don't be too discouraged. A pancreas transplant is not a cure-all. Your own pancreas having problems can be a complete disaster, much worse than what you're going through now, and a transplanted pancreas problem is catastrophic. A transplanted pancreas is much more prone to arterial inflow problems, venous outflow problems, and leaking of the duodenal-bowel connection necessary for a pancreas transplant, all of which lead to pancreatitis (of the transplanted pancreas), and terrible, unremitting, life long pain.

Your wait for a kidney may be longer, but once it's in, they really do great, with very few complications. Will be praying for a successful and quick kidney to become available.

And fyi, for credibility's sake, while I'm not a transplant surgeon by trade, during my general surgery training I performed >30 kidney transplants, 12 livers, 3 kidney-pancs, and 3 hearts, so I've been around the block a few times in the transplant world.
 
Biohazard said:
So. Don't be too discouraged. A pancreas transplant is not a cure-all. Your own pancreas having problems can be a complete disaster, much worse than what you're going through now, and a transplanted pancreas problem is catastrophic. A transplanted pancreas is much more prone to arterial inflow problems, venous outflow problems, and leaking of the duodenal-bowel connection necessary for a pancreas transplant, all of which lead to pancreatitis (of the transplanted pancreas), and terrible, unremitting, life long pain.

Your wait for a kidney may be longer, but once it's in, they really do great, with very few complications. Will be praying for a successful and quick kidney to become available.

And fyi, for credibility's sake, while I'm not a transplant surgeon by trade, during my general surgery training I performed >30 kidney transplants, 12 livers, 3 kidney-pancs, and 3 hearts, so I've been around the block a few times in the transplant world.
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Thank you for explaining a little bit. Still bummed, as being a diabetic is no easy task. Constant checking of blood sugars (my dexcom has been a game changer). Plus with the advancements on insulin delivery with T-Slim/Omnipod5 makes it more easily manageable. I just know the wait will be worth it, just dialysis is killing my quality of life. Would love to get on the lake or in the pool. Although people do it, I just frankly don't feel comfortable with it. It's not worth the peritonitis.

I think we will end up submitting to another transplant hospital to increase chances.
 
Does everyone listen to song lyrics? I have a hard time understanding the singer in a lot of cases (bad hearing), so I usually don't pay attention to lyrics. However, I'm learning that the right song with the right lyrics can be very therapeutic if you pay attention.
 
TCOTUE said:
Constant checking of blood sugars (my dexcom has been a game changer).
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I just recently got a Decom G6... Holy craps!!! Game changer is right.

From my first trial week with it, it changed a good bit. From the look of things, I was having minor hypoglycemic episodes on a near nightly basis. Now that I have that better sorted, it's really helping me get everything else under control.
 
fourgotten said:
I just recently got a Decom G6... Holy craps!!! Game changer is right.

From my first trial week with it, it changed a good bit. From the look of things, I was having minor hypoglycemic episodes on a near nightly basis. Now that I have that better sorted, it's really helping me get everything else under control.
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It really helped me quite a bit! Watch for the last week or so of the transmitter life. You'll start getting some really strange readings. I usually keep my meter on me daily to double check weird numbers.

Congrats!
 
solscooter said:
caught COVID. feel like absolute shit. I'm sure it was somewhere on the trip.
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I hope that you are doing better...
TCOTUE said:
It really helped me quite a bit! Watch for the last week or so of the transmitter life. You'll start getting some really strange readings. I usually keep my meter on me daily to double check weird numbers.

Congrats!
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Thanks for the tip! I will keep an eye on it...
 
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Tyler said:
Does everyone listen to song lyrics? I have a hard time understanding the singer in a lot of cases (bad hearing), so I usually don't pay attention to lyrics. However, I'm learning that the right song with the right lyrics can be very therapeutic if you pay attention.
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Yes, I pay attention to the song lyrics. A lot of times I wonder "what the hell does that lyric mean". Bruce Springsteen is one of the best lyric writers in my opinion.
 
TCOTUE said:
Checkin in on everyone! Hope y'all are doing ok.

Got some good news yesterday. I made the list for transplant.

My dr's at KU fought to get me listed for both a kidney and pancreas.
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Nice! I'm sure that's a huge relief.

I also have good news. I landed a promotion to a permanent position, which is a lot less stressful than being funded by soft money. With that I should be able to change my health insurance to one that will cover a treatment for depression that isn't simply pills. As it stands I have the worst provider for this new treatment, and I actually would already qualify if I had any other plan. Having a more challenging job will help keep me motivated and my mind off things, too.
 
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