Man It's Early
Well here I sit at 5:30 in the morning… awake and feeling pretty good, but I’d rather be in bed catching a few more Z’s before the alarm goes off. Unfortunately I don’t think the ‘feeling good’ will hold as I’ve been awake since 3:45. That’s when I fought myself out of a fitful sleep and realized I’m probably having a hypo. I traipsed downstairs and sure enough the meter popped up a 54. I’m now 216 with 30 minutes of insulin on board and a little frustrated that I once again over corrected. Fortunately I didn’t blow it badly, but still I overate.
Recently it’s come to my attention that I’ve gotten slightly sloppy with my diet and since we’re going to Texas to visit kin and friends shortly after Christmas I’m taking some time to focus on calorie/carb reduction. I think I’ve mentioned here before that I try to keep my TDD < 40. I use this as just a broad indicator that I’m hitting my reduced (well actually my daily goal) carb requirements. Yes I realize this is not a perfect system as it leaves very little room for stress or other non-food induced spikes and their subsequent correction boluses. So far this month I’ve done pretty well: 36.6, 35.7, 35.0, 33.7, 35.6, down from several weeks of 45+ TDDs. It will probably take a small correction bolus to bring me down into range this morning, plus I have a prayer luncheon today where I’ll have to monitor food intake closely.
Well hypos happen and I refuse to let them (or just about anything else) rob me of the incredible joy of life.
I see now that it’s slightly after 6:00a so it’s time to get this day rolling. Hope everyone has a totally awesome day!
posted by Keith @ 3:34 AM
12 Comments:
Whatever works, just do it regardless of it's efficiency.
And I love your attitude of not letting diabetes' effects dictate your mood and perspective on the upcoming day :)
Way to go!!
Traipsing downstairs to test?
Oh man, I could never do that. I Gotta have my glasses, my meter and a tube of glucose tabs by where-ever I may lay my head, each-and-every night.
Getting out of bed in the winter to treat a low is such a rough way to start a day!
Try keeping that meter by your bed... just a suggestion.
I too kinda keep track of my TDD to monitor my diet/weight. But more in an after-the-fact way. If I scroll through my pump and I see a bunch in the mid-20s I know I'm probably losing weight, in the upper 20s to low 30s, I'm probably holding steady, and upper 30s to 50s (!) I'm certainly eating too, too much!
I don't EVER let something like this factor into my blood sugar control, however. It's more of a barometer really than anything else.
Well, I'm sorry you had a sucky start to the day. I hope it gets better for you!
Shannon - Thanks for the compliment! Over the years I've found that keeping a positive attitude really helps keep me pointed in the right direction.
Kevin - Thanks for the suggestion. If this happened very often you can bet I'd keep a meter upstairs. As it is I now, I have less than one night hypo a month so I leave my glucometer in its drawer in the kitchen. I exercised very late last night and I realized this was a possiblity, but I guess in my naivete I thought it wouldn't happen.
Glad to find someone else that uses TDD to monitor weight/diet. You're right, I don't let it affect my control either, but I can certainly tell how I'm doing overall by this figure. Even though I continue to exercise regularly, I've noticed my clothes not fitting quite as well so it's definately time to do something about it.
Keith,
I look to you for examples since you are a sucessful D-Vet of 37 years!
My guess is, if it works for you, then it just WORKS!
Thanks for the post. I missed you buddy.
Keith-
What a way to start the day, glad you woke in time to treat it yourself. We have so missed your posts, I was starting to get worried.=) I too look to you, you are so disciplined, you are awesome. Hope the rest of the day goes much better.
Viv
Keith,
I too try to keep my TDD under 40, how strange! I had several weeks of 55+ TDD days…and I gained 6 pounds, go figure?
Gee guys thanks for the concern. Everything is OK here I just got really busy there for a while.
George - Sometimes I wonder how I've made it this far, but just like the rest of you I'm still learning and then when I think I've just about got it, things change.
TDD is certainly not gospel, but I know if I get much above 40 for several day's I'll start gaining weight. It makes sense though... I'm simply eating more.
Vivian - Fortunately I've not had much trouble awakening from hypos. There was one period just before I got my pump that my BGs were swinging wildly and I got very concerned about waking up DIB. ;-)
I'm not as disciplined as I wish I was and at other times I carry it too far. It's hard to reach that happy medium!
Sarah - So true! If the TDD rises, so do the numbers on the scale... Yikes!
You have really got the right attitude - not letting a hypo wreck the day ahead. We have to just keep going, keep trying, keep doing our best. Your attitude encourages me. If he can do it, hej so can you. We have to spread this stuff around! Thank you for your good spirit.
Christie - I believe in playing the hand I've been dealt to the best of my ability. I can't change it, but I can live a positive life while attempting to learn from my mistakes.
(Don't tell anyone, but I did get tired in the afternoon and to confess, I nodded off at my computer for a few minutes. The consolation was I really slept well last night!)
I'm late to the party here Keith - as usual I guess! I've been so busy lately that I haven't been able to keep up with you all!
I too use my TDD figures to keep a feel of what's going on. My TDD is always higher than I'd like. I just eat too much too often.
I too really appreciate your experiences, as you've made it a long time, seen a lot of things change, and are wise enough to know that diabetes is not to be figured out. Rather, we live and deal the best we can. Way to go man.
Scott - Don't worry about being late... I don't see how you visit all the blogs you do. It seems like I see your name everywhere!
Evidently when I made this post I jinxed myself as I've had a tough time keeping the TDD down ever since. You're right, it's simply too much food. It's especially hard this time of year.
Keith, just to let you know - I answered your comment to my blog, on my blog. I cannot figure out where to answer so that the the person who makes a comment on my blog really gets my return response. And thank you for wanting me here.
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