Kayleigh's GTT

Kayleigh had her Glucose Tolerance Test yesterday at CHKD. After a nice run with some traffic, we got there 20 minutes early. They got her registered in and then admitted her. I was a bit shocked because I didn't know she was going to be admitted for the procedure. They sent us up to the Short Procedure Unit and we got comfy in a room with a nice view of the buildings and river below. Kayleigh was showered with a TV, movies and a Playstation. All she asked for was a blanket and some water! We quickly became "friends" with Nurse RB. She wasn't very familiar with Type 1 diabetes but she was fascinated as we educated her and I told her about all of my D-Mommas and D-Peeps on here. Nurse RB was AMAZING! I plan on writing the hospital to let them know how nice our stay was and how caring and compassionate she was to Kayleigh. When it came time for the IV to be put in, she made sure Kayleigh was as comfortable as she could make her and then she even sprayed the area to numb her so she didn't feel it. How cool is that?!?! She could have told her to suck it up like a big girl and stuck her without that. What was even cooler was she gave me 5 tubes of Emla cream to try with Kacey! She said they couldn't give the spray out but if she could make Kacey's life just a little easier then she was happy to give us the cream. Once the IV was in place, she was ready to start the test!

She was all smiles since there was no issue with the IV. It wasn't long before the orange glucose drink was sent in. She had to drink 75 grams of this sugary drink.

Was it gross? YES! It was nasty!! The nurse let me taste it so I would know how gross it really was. As Kayleigh drank, we passed the time talking about my blog, Kacey's diagnosis, Kayleigh's "episodes" and then my phone rang. It was SHANNON!!!! She was coming to visit with us!!!! We'd wanted to plan a meeting but it just so happened that I was going to be at the hospital so she came on over with Joshua to help us pass some time. When I got off the phone, I explained to Nurse RB that we were about to meet one of the D-Momma's and she was just as excited with us. It wasn't long before she popped around the corner with this precious blondie....

It was so exciting!! Joshua climbed right up with Kayleigh and he showed off his new alert bracelet. Shannon and I sat there talking like we'd been friends for years. Once Kayleigh made it to the one hour mark in the test then she was free to walk around the hospital but we had to come back every hour so she could have blood drawn. So we took that walk with Shannon and Joshua....down to the PICU where it all began. It was one of those bittersweet moments. Two Moms...with diabetic kids...taking that stroll down Memory Lane. As we walked back down that hall, I snapped this pic of Joshua. It's one of those times when you really reflect and this was one of those times. He went into that PICU so sick and literally fighting for his life and now here he was walking down that hall and you'd never know he'd been so sick.

We walked Shannon and Joshua downstairs to the front door and said our goodbyes. It was WONDERFUL spending time with them and Kacey was really sad she missed it but I told her that we were planning to get together this coming summer so she can't wait to hug his little neck!

Kayleigh and I took the elevator back upstairs. She said she felt really tired and wanted to lay down. She climbed back in the bed and pulled the covers up. Around the 12:20pm mark....3 hours into the test...Nurse RB came in to do a blood draw and Kayleigh was watching a movie. She was very still and not saying much. Not even 10 minutes later, she kicked the covers off and with tears in her eyes she said, "I feel like I'm going to pass out! I feel like I did that day at school! MOM! I'm sweaty!" So before I even called for Nurse RB, I grabbed the kit that she had in her purse.......***43***!!!! NOWAY!!!

I ran out to the nurse and told her Kayleigh just bottomed out and she was shaky and sweaty. She called the doc on call since our doc was out of town. No answer! Ummmmm....HELLO....JUICE would be nice! But since it was a procedure, she couldn't just give her juice. She had to wait for authorization to stop the test. I snapped a few pics to show Kay what she looked like during a low. By the time another Endo called back, Kayleigh's "fight or flight" instinct had kicked in. She'd gotten so scared that Mrs. Liver decided to spurt that adreneline (thank you!) She came up to a 69. We only had about 20min before the next blood draw so the doc asked Kay if she could push through it and she did! She came up to a 71. Dr. G ordered several tubes of blood to be taken for different tests since they had the IV in already. He ordered the A1c to be done and also the antibodies test since Dr. SS had forgotten to order that. So 4 hours into the 5 hour test, it was called off and she was allowed to finally drink some juice to bring her up some more before she ate her lunch.....approx 150 carbs. Nurse RB said that we wouldn't get the final results for about a week. She said with every blood draw, they were testing her insulin levels as well so they could see if her pancreas was spitting out too much insulin when it wasn't supposed to or if something was going wacky with it. DUH! Something is DEFINATELY going wacky in there!
Not long after she ate, she started with a sick stomach. Then came the headache. Then she got so sleepy she could barely hold her eyes open. So Nurse RB said that even though the test was over, they still had to keep her for observation and we still did finger sticks every hour to see what her body was doing. It wasn't til we got home that I thought....WHY in the world wouldn't they have placed a CGM on her during the test so they could WATCH what was happening? With all the technology, you'd of thought they would have done that too.

We were finally released 2 hours later. Kayleigh was feeling better and she'd gotten her color back. What a roller coaster! I helped the nurse keep a journal of her numbers while we were in there. Here is how the day played out.....

2-23-11

94 @ 9:00am- test starts- drank 75g glucose drink

105 @ 9:52am (blood draw results)

113 @ 10:24am (blood draw results)

137 @ 10:50pm (self meter check)- felt sick @ stomach

122 @ 11:23am (blood draw results)

49 @ 12:22pm (blood draw results)

43 @ 12:28pm (self meter check) sweaty, sick, dizzy

79 @ 12:45pm (self meter check)

69 @ 12:55pm (self meter check)

71 @ 1:20pm (blood draw results) TEST STOPPED

Lunch @ 1:25pm (approx 150 carbs)

220 @ 1:58pm (self meter check)

236 @ 2:08pm (self meter check) sick stomach, headache, tired

231 @ 2:38pm (self meter check)

146 @ 3:20pm (self meter check)

175 @ 4:08pm (self meter check) headache worse, still real tired

157 @ 4:48pm (self meter check)

138 @ 6:15pm (self meter check)

Dinner @ 6:30pm- NOT hungry- no dinner, sick stomach and headache same

83 @ 8:30pm (self meter check) Went to bed

She was so scared to go to sleep last night because she was worried that she was going to drop during the night. Ummm....GREAT! She wasn't the only one worried! She wasn't hungry and she said she felt like if she ate then she was going to throw up. So I didn't force it. I got up to do Kacey's 2am check and the thought of going in and testing her crossed my mind :( How sad is that?

So as you can see...it was a day of up's and down's! Now for a question...you'd think I should know this already but for some reason I don't. What is a normal level for a normal person to peak to after a meal? Should they bounce in the 200's after they eat? And if so, how long should it take to return to "normal" levels of 80-100? If Kay ate that high carb meal at 1:25pm and then she didn't come back into range until 8:30pm...somehow that seems like a LONG time to be bouncing around. And FYI, the 150 carbs was 2 juice boxes, a hamburger, a handful of fries, a snack pack pudding and a small brownie. It wasn't anything that should have kept her soaring like pasta.

I'm just scared! I have a million things swirling around my head. I'm going to be on pins and needles until I have that diagnosis. All of the "Could it be's" are bogging me down. Keep the prayers coming. You all have been wonderful through this journey and I'm thankful and so blessed to have each and every one of you! Once all of this is over, I think I'm gonna have that doc write ME a prescription....LOL! I will let you all know the results as soon as I do!

Until then....PRAY!

Love ya's, Mean it!!!!