Having My Cake and Eating it Too!

So, like a lot of people, I tend to get higher blood sugars after breakfast (which I rarely eat) or morning coffee (which is a “must have” every day) than after any other bolus in the day.   Until about 6-12 months ago my post-meal highs were something like 150-160.  Lately, though with all the other variables I’ve introduced (post-pregnancy, nursing, hormones, stress, etc) it was getting to be like 250…even 300 some mornings.  I always felt guilty about it but did I give up my morning joe?  Heck no!  I’ve just been keeping the problem on the back burner for several months knowing I would eventually have to deal with it.  Now is the time.

Realistically, I need to reassess my entire insulin regimen including my basal rates (but for me that’s phase 2 after hormone-adjustment phase 1), so for now I’m experimenting with less conventional ways to bolus in the morning that might make the difference.  It looks like I may have found one!

Having my cake and eating it too

For the past several days, I’ve been giving myself a square-wave bolus over 30 minutes and then actually drinking my morning cappuccino starting at minute 45.  Look at these CGM results:  On this day, I took my bolus about 7:45 and drank my coffee about 8:30.  The little bump you see about 9:30 never got over 140.

It’s not the most ideal but it’s working for now so I’ll take it!  What do you do for post-breakfast (coffee) highs?

Please Sign this Petition Sponsored by Diatribe asking the FDA to Add a Patient Meeting on Diabetes to Their Current Patient-focused Meeting Docket

FDA Diatribe peition

Click on the image to be taken to the petition, where you can also read more information.

This is the comment I submitted along with my petition signature.  Feel free to use it (or something like it) if you like:

“I am a T1 diabetic and managing this disease requires extreme patient involvement on a daily (even hourly) basis.  Patient-focused drug development and therapies are a must!  Please add diabetes (either Type 1 or Type 2 and Type 1) to your docket for this program.”

Breastfeeding with T1 Diabetes for Over a Year: A Pat On the Back!

It’s official.  I quit nursing my son after 13 months.  Part of me wants to celebrate that my body is once again all mine and I have a little more freedom.  Part of me is a bit sad because I won’t be having any more children, so this was my last time to experience that special baby-mommy nursing bond.

What does the diabetic part of me think?

Well, research shows T1 mothers are less likely to long-term breastfeed successfully.  You read a lot of quotes in scientific journals like this:

Click on the image to go to the full article on PubMed.

Click on the image to go to the full article on PubMed.

I’m sure this isn’t a huge surprise to any of us, as most hard things in life are a bit harder with T1 along for the ride.  Nevertheless, I’m proud that I lasted this long (despite the fact that I’m guilty of “down-prioritizing my own needs”).

Research also shows that a longer duration of breastfeeding might help protect my children from potentially developing T1 themselves.   So, I’m proud for that reason as well. I really like to think that despite my broken immune system, I was still able to pass on to my little guy what he needed for his tiny immune system to grow big and strong (hopefully strong enough to know not to attack parts of his own little body!).

I’m also nervous.  I’ve been telling myself that when I finished nursing I would get back on the trail to emphasizing my own health, which means letting my body adjust to the hormone changes that come with quitting (and premature menopause) and then figuring out where my insulin requirements really stand now.  This is daunting.  So much has changed!  I weigh more.  My activity levels are different.  My schedule is more erratic.  I eat a little differently.  I was never afraid of a new variable before.  I watched my BG patterns and I made adjustments as needed.  But this?  This is a LOT of variables that have changed at once.  I almost feel like I’m starting from scratch.  Then again, I knew it was coming, so the jig is up.  I’m on my own once more with no excuses and it’s time to work on stabilizing my BG patterns.

D.W.T: Driving While Tabbing

Today on my lunch hour I headed home and loaded up my 6-year old daughter in the car to take her to her first day of lego summer camp (fun!).  Normally I would have checked my BG before driving at lunchtime but I’ve gotten kind of reliant on my CGM and it said I was fine at 87, so I didn’t bother with a finger prick.  We’re half way there and I start to feel just a little funny, so when we hit a stop sign I whip out my kit just to be sure…53.  Grr! Thanks for nothing CGM!

I suppose the appropriate thing to do would be to pull over, tab-up, and wait for my BG to rise.  What actually happens is this:  driveing-while-tabbing

That’s an open container of glucose tabs I’m holding while also shifting gears (no, I didn’t actually take the pic while I was still driving…I’m not crazy!).

Why did I drive-while-tabbing instead of pulling over?

Because in my world a BG of 53 (being treated) isn’t terrifying or dangerous.  In my world it’s just another, albeit wearisome, inconvenience.  In my world you don’t pull over (literally or metaphorically) for the big D unless you really have to….you just don’t.

Instead you adapt, and learn to overcome new challenges.  Dealing with D becomes part of life and you figure out how to get the job done anyway.  For me, popping a few tabs in the car occasionally, while not ideal, has become equivalent to opening a box of crackers for my kid while driving or feeling around on the floor of the car for the baby’s pacifier while driving (you know we’ve all done that one!).

You adjust to how your life is different.  Like when you have kids and your life changes.  It’s still “your life” but now it’s also “your life with kids” and this change brings with it lots of wonderful and not-so-wonderful moments.

My life isn’t only “my life” anymore, now it’s also “my life with diabetes” and my life with diabetes happens at home, at work, on vacation, and yes…sometimes even in the car.