“A smooth sea never made a good sailor. A straight and level road never made a good driver.” Unknown
"Skiing combines outdoor fun with knocking down trees with your face." Dave Barry
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Friday started out as one of those smooth sailing blood sugar days, at least for the first part. Actually, I was running slightly on the low side during the day. Not super low, can't feel my lips or function low. More like always being hungry and hovering around 115 all day. Which is weird, because normally dinner time is when hunger really seams to strike for me. But not Friday, Friday, was snacking central! Still, no matter how much I snacked on Kashi bars, yogurts and grapes, my blood sugar at dinner was 74.
I made dinner (a Spanish omelet with one slice of Ezekiel toast & a small apple with peanut butter) bolused for my meal and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Two hours later I tested and my blood sugar was 250 - And you could have knocked me over with a freaking feather because I had absolutely no idea why! I'd literally put in a new infusion site the night before and it looked and felt fine. Plus, my numbers had been on the low side all day - I had no idea what was going on but I knew it was pissing me off, BIG TIME.
I did a correction bolus and 1.5 hours later I was 314, an hour after that I was 300. I had a meeting with myself and decided that I would change my 20 hour old infusion site, SWAGED an extra unit in my correction bolus and increased my temporary bolus rate by 25%. Then I waited... And waited.... And waited. After two more decreased blood sugars of 256 and 234, I ended up blowing a 177 before bed. Did I mention that my ears started itching Friday night?? Me thinks that my stupid sinuses might have been coming into play,but I digress.
Here's the thing, all day Saturday, my ears continued to itch and my blood sugars were between 160 an 245 all day, no matter what I did/ate and I was frustrated. I'd increased my temporary basal rate again was consuming 1.5 units an hour by dinner time, which is when my numbers settled in the 160 range for the evening. It was like my body was at sea level, but my blood sugars were in the mountains - not the Rockies (THANK GOD), more like the intermediate slope at Jack Frost Big Boulder. Still, they weren't where I wanted them to be.
If this was a weekend for Diabetes skiing, I wanted it to be a cross country slope, nice and level. A course that would build up my stamina and endurance, instead of a crazy mountain terrain. And HELLO, did I mention that physically, I was at freaking sea level??
I had so much to do and dealing with bitchy blood sugars was not something I needed on my proverbial plate.
I kept my increased basal rate all through Sunday and into Sunday evening,(and my numbers were good: 123 , 144, 140 200 , 170, 141, 149 & 160. So right before before I went to sleep last night, I suspended the temporary basal rate.
This morning I woke up with a blood sugar of 150 and 5 minutes ago I was 200. I just switched back to my increased temporary basal rate, but this time, I'm starting it at 1.4. I guess my body has decided it wanted to go all hotdog on the ski slope, regardless of how close this beachgirl is to the shore.
Sometimes when diabetes wants to ski all rogue on the blood sugar slopes, I have no choice but to ski the blood sugar slopes, come up from behind and take the lead, which might take a while. But at least I have the equipment to stay on course, get back on track & swooosh in at the finish line!
there is nothing more frustrating and maddening to me than unexplained highs! hope it gets sorted out soon for ya.
ReplyDeleteI've been Type 1 for almost 15 years, managing with vials and syringes all this time. I just got my first pump in the mail and I start pump training next week. Your post makes me a little nervous; it seems like there's a lot of math involved in correcting unexplained diabetes weirdness. I know that pumping will ultimately lead to tighter control for me and more freedom with my activities. I just hope the transition isn't too scary. Or too mathematical.
ReplyDeleteChristina -
ReplyDeleteEven with a few snags along the diabetes ski slopes -I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE pumping! Plus, my diabetes weirdness had nothing to do with me being a pump user, but it had everything to do with my diabetes being bitchy. I'm so thankful I'm on the pump because it gave me the tools to handle those stubborn bloodsugars!
Yes, there's some diabetes math involved with pumping, but as someone who received her degree in Literature and failed high school algebra, Diabetes Math is much easier! Your pump trainer will teach you how - and your pump actually helps you do the calculations. Pumping = knowledge & diabetes freedom, both of which = power! YOU CAN DO THIS!
Let me know how it goes next week and keep me posted on your progress!
Sorry to hear of your days on the slopes, except that it makes the rest of us feel not-so-alone! I get days --often a few in a row -- where I'm low and can't seem to do anything to make by bGs high. And then the days that are all too high, despite my best efforts. There have been some funny posts about diabetic math. It doesn't always follow those rules I learned in algebra class, for sure! Thanks and best wishes for nothing more extreme than bunny slopes in the days to come.
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