Control IQ Feedback

Y’all. It’s only been 4 days so far since I turned on the Control IQ feature -but I am LOVING it and can’t believe I’ve gone almost 28 years with diabetes and didn’t have this technology. It is amazing. When I was explaining to my 12 year old what it is he even asked me, “Why hasn’t that always been a thing?”

I have been in range the entire time, with the exception of a few blips here and there. The first night I dropped to around 70 at 3am and I got the alarm but it suspended my pump and I came right back up. I stayed awake for a bit just to see if I needed to treat it but I was good and woke up in the 120s.

A couple of times I have popped up a little over 200 but those times have all been food related and from bad food swags. #ithappens But the pump quickly corrected and brought me back down into range.

I have found that I am also taking less insulin as a whole during the day. I assume it is because “before” I might not correct soon enough and therefore my bg would be higher and would require more insulin. Now that the pump is catching the highs sooner, it requires less of a correction, therefore I am using less total insulin.

Also I have done a workout every day using the exercise feature and that has worked like a charm every time, too. I no longer spike up way over 200 then drop down an hour or so later. I’ve stayed in the 120-140 range during the workout and stay steady afterward.

I feel like I should hear angels singing or something ….

I have been stalking friends who have been using this technology and I kept thinking “Ok great it works for them but not sure how it would work for ME.” But let me tell you .. I am 100% happy I made the switch and have been VERY impressed with it so far.

Last night I met some friends for Happy Hour and I was tempted to see what it would do with a sweet drink – which I love but usually try to avoid because I don’t want to deal with the high bg’s afterwards. But I chickened out and went the safe route and had a Diet Coke and vanilla rum. No blip at all in my graph – boom. Next time I’ll try to be more adventurous, though. ;). Everyone is different but what I have found in the past is the juice will raise it but sometimes the liquor will drop it so it evens out -but I try to not do a straight up juice mixed drink because that’s gonna just make me skyrocket. #YDMV But if I do get brave, I’ll let ya know.

Below is my Dexcom graph for the last 24 hours. For those that aren’t familiar, the gray area is my ideal range. You can see that yesterday evening a little before 6pm I got up a little bit out of range, but then came back down (I think I had a snack I didn’t bolus for). It is perfectly normal to have some peaks and valleys within the range – nobody’s blood sugar stays 100% straight all the time – because aaaalll the things affect blood sugar. But as long as I’m staying in that gray range, I am golden. 🙂

Made the switch

Well, guys, I did it. I made the switch. This summer I started using a Tandem T:Slim insulin pump. I figured this is the best time since I am home all of the time (still) and eating pretty much the same things all the time (still) It would be much easier to make the transition now vs when our lives get crazy again. I was super nervous at first because it looked and felt so drastically different than the Medtronic pump I’d used since 1998. It’s been coming up on 3 months now and I truly have no real complaints up to this point. I don’t do well with change (it’s a mental thing, don’t judge me 😉 ) but this one has been very smooth. It might have helped that I had been back on MDI for almost 2 years so it was like starting on a pump for the first time vs switching pumps, not sure. In fact, the only issue I’ve had up to this point is placement of the pump- and that is only because I have so much scar tissue that I have limited real estate -same issue I had when I was pumping before.

One of my favorite things about Medtronic was their customer service- I have always been pleased with it and always felt like they went above and beyond. I wasn’t sure Tandem was going to be able to beat that because it was such a high bar. But the first time I had to call their customer service at 11pm one evening, I was not disappointed. I was changing my site for the first time solo (without the trainer, and yes I know it’s not ideal to change my site at 11pm) and I was watching the videos (yes, I’m that person) and doing all the right things. But the rep finally helped me troubleshoot that there was an issue with the cannula when it was inserted so the insulin was not being delivered during the fill process so he walked me through how to start over, then he said he’d send me a new infusion set. Even though the issue wasn’t likely with the set itself. In the mail a day later I had 2 new sets – that was unexpected and very appreciated.

I am still wearing a Dexcom G5 because I had a few sensors left and I didn’t want to waste them, but this week I got my G6 in and so soon I will be also implementing the Control IQ and I’ve gotta be honest, that one scares me a bit. I know that it’s incredible technology and it is one of the main reasons that I wanted to move over to Tandem – all of the feedback I’d read/heard/received from friends and articles I’d read about people who have used the Loop system vs Control IQ were unanimously in favor of the Tandem system. So that helped make my decision easier. It just makes me nervous to “hand over the reigns” so to speak. I have been in charge of my blood sugars and treating them for 28 years so it’s an odd thought to me to let a device make those decisions for me. I compare it to one time I was driving a rental vehicle, and when I started to swerve a little to the left the car jerked back into my lane for me- this was several years ago and at that time I’d never heard of such a thing .. and I didn’t like it. I didn’t like the idea of a vehicle making those choices for me. I was driving, so I needed to be the one in control.

I know that times have changed and again, it is incredible technology that we have that can enable us to not have to think about our diabetes 24/7. I have a very good friend who has a T1 daughter and she told me that has been the best part about her daughter being on the Control IQ system – they hardly ever have to think about diabetes anymore. (shout out, Suzanne!). I can’t even imagine at this point NOT thinking about it all the time – but I have to admit it sounds like a great thing. So that’s why I am making baby steps.

I will keep you all posted on how things go with the Control IQ but I have a great feeling about it. And I also feel like it is important that I say that it was truly a difficult decision for me to leave my Medtronic pump behind – they are a GREAT company and I always felt like my Paradigm was my trusty sidekick for decades. If you are deciding to use a pump for the first time I would highly recommend you consider Medtronic. For me, personally, it was more about the technology and enhancements – Tandem is just ahead of the game right now and I wanted to start making forward progress. I also liked that when they have pump software updates/enhancements, I can just plug my pump into my computer and voila, my pump is updated. With my old pump, I would have to wait 4 years for the software updates when my warranty was up and I was eligible for an upgrade.

Everyone is different and your diabetes my vary (YDMV) but I am so far happy with my choice and albeit a little nervous, I am excited about trying out the Control IQ next.

Keep you posted… stay tuned. 🙂

Sheltering in Place with Diabetes

Like the rest of the world I am working from home and have been for going on I think 5 weeks now?  I am home with my husband, who is self employed and our 3 children – the twins are in elementary school and our older son is in middle school (#goodtimes).

I would like to say that overall my diabetes is for the most part in good control and has been for a long time – I have days that are better than others, as I think we all do. But overall, before all of this happened, I had a fairly predictable day each day (I’m a creature of habit).  I woke up, checked my blood sugar, calibrated my Dexcom, took my Tresiba, helped my family get ready for their day, I grabbed a protein bar to eat on my 45 min commute to work.  Once I got to work, I would make a cup of Green tea with some Thieves and Lemon essential oils in it.  Lunch would depend on the day but it was pretty predictable, as was dinner.

Once the decision was made that we would begin working remotely all those weeks ago I thought wow this is going to be easy from a diabetes standpoint because everything will be the same, every single day, 7 days a week.

But for some reason my blood sugars didn’t get that memo apparently?   I’ve been running a lot higher than I would have thought I would. I’m not snacking an extraordinary amount – more than usual maybe but I’m for the most part bolusing for them and it’s not what I would consider a “lot”.   I’m eating pretty normal foods – still having my protein bar for breakfast, lunch and dinner vary, but if anything I’m eating more home cooked meals which typically yielded better results for me in the past because I knew exactly what I was eating.

I’m also exercising every day because .. well, because I have the time to do so. Consistent exercise always helps me have better control.

But again, for some reason my blood sugars aren’t getting that memo.

I am going to start writing down everything I am eating/snacking on, because maybe I’ll find that I’m snacking more than I think I am?  And for me at least, keeping a log of my food keeps me accountable. But something has to give. It’s worth a shot 🙂

It could be stress?  Trying to work full time while tag teaming school work with my husband for our 3 kids, while also doing “life” things (chores), that’s all a bit stressful. But I am VERY thankful to have a job where I am able to work from home during this time.

I’ve also dealt with some pretty severe sciatic pain the last week or so and I have learned just recently that intense pain can increase blood sugars, because of the adrenaline that’s released while the body tries to process the pain- I never knew this ..but I’ve never dealt with pain like this, so that’s a good thing I suppose.

It could be a combination of all of those things but I’m on a mission to try and figure it out. Stay tuned. 🙂

Has anyone else noticed any differences – good or bad – from sheltering in place while managing your diabetes?

Postprandial Spikes

You’d think after 27+ years with diabetes, I’d have this figured out by now. But I clearly do not.  Most recently I am struggling quite a bit with postprandial spikes.  Roller coaster spikes most of the time.

My Endo put me on Farxiga a couple of years ago which definitely helps.  But it still doesn’t quite bring it down enough.  I can most definitely tell a difference when I forget my Farxiga in the morning, though, so I know it is helping.

He tried me on Metformin but that didn’t do anything at all for me so I stopped taking it after a while.

I already exercise almost every day.  I eat mostly low carb foods. Even with that, it spikes more than what you’d think it should. But if I eat a “normal” carb meal …. I’m chasing that high the rest of the day/night.  Every morning I eat the exact same protein bar – 18g carbs and I will spike around 1-2 hours later.

I’ve thought about other things that *might* work?   Should I try to wait longer after taking my shot before I eat? Back in the day when I was newly diagnosed I took Regular insulin and would have to wait 30 min until I could eat.  But now I take Humalog and in theory I should be able to eat right away, but I’m wondering if that could be part of the problem. Worth a shot to try waiting longer.

I am on MDI right now, too, and if I were on a pump I would try doing an extended bolus for meals.  So when I’m back on the pump I’ll add that to the list of things to try.

I am already considered “insulin resistant” based on the amount of basal insulin I need every day, and my carb ratio.  But I don’t know what to do to even that out, either?

I am open to suggestions if anyone has tried something that worked for them?  Thanks in advance!

Guest Post: My Mom

I recently asked my mom if she would be willing to write a guest post for me on what it is like to be the parent of a Type 1.  I wanted to hear her perspective on how that day in October 1992 felt like for her.  Thanks, Mom, for all you have done for me. Love you!

A Mother of a Child with T1D

My daughter has asked me what it felt like for me when she was diagnosed with diabetes all those years ago. It has taken me a while to respond because I have pushed those painful memories so far back in my brain, but here goes…

On that day in October of 1992, we knew something was wrong but had no idea what. She was drinking a ton of water, going to the bathroom constantly and losing weight. We were on a trip to East Texas with family when my cousin (whose husband had T2D), suggested we try some ketone strips just to rule things out. We got home, went to the store, bought some and it immediately registered as “black”. It was a weekend so I called the ER at Medical City to get advice on what to do. The nurse said to bring her in ASAP.

Then came the diagnosis…she had diabetes. NO!!!! She was only 17 yrs old! This can’t be right! But it was. I think we were both in shock those first few days, trying to absorb everything the doctors were telling us. They kept her in the hospital for a week trying to get her accustomed to what her new “normal” was going to be. I was with her every step of the way, but still couldn’t wrap my brain around it. She had such a bright future and all we were hearing was gloom and doom. So I would leave the hospital every night and have a good cry on the way home.

For me, I just wanted to take away her pain and confusion. As a parent, you want to shield your child from anything bad. I couldn’t do that with this and it literally broke my heart.

3 years went by and she was somewhat stabilized and she was off to college (3 hours away) with her pump. I drove down every chance I got to make sure she was okay. One weekend I was checking into a hotel in her college town and the clerk answered the phone, looked at me and told the caller that I was standing right there (I had gotten there a couple of hours earlier than planned). Turns out it was her boyfriend. She was at his house, throwing up and was really sick. Could I get there now? I raced over there and my poor baby was so very sick. She couldn’t even stand up by herself.  We got her in the car and I again raced to the local ER. Oh no! She had gone into DKA, and at the time we had no idea what that even meant. Another scary, heart stopping unknown. They put her in ICU for a week and kept telling me it was good I got her there when I did. Like I wasn’t scared enough 🙂   (This was not a planned trip so it was only by the grace of God that moved me to go that weekend). Side note: at that particular point in time, I was being told by Neurologists that I had a brain tumor and was also scheduled to place my Mother in a nursing home that week. But I wasn’t leaving Shannon for a minute  no matter what was happening in the rest of my life!! [We found out a few months later that I did not actually had a tumor, I was dx’d with Multiple Sclerosis, but it was still a very stressful time for all of us.]

They sent her home after the week was up and life went back to her new “normal”.  Then a few months later I received a call in the middle of the night from her college roommate saying she was back in the hospital with DKA. I jumped out of bed and literally raced those 3 hours to get to her. She spent another few days in ICU but had luckily caught it a little earlier this time so it wasn’t an entire week.

So if you wonder what it’s like being the Mother of a child with diabetes, it has it’s own special place in Hell. It’s a lot of crying, worrying, frustration and yes, survivors guilt as to why her and not me? She’s 45 years old now and I still carry that burden of worry and guilt.

While I couldn’t be more proud of the way she has managed her disease and her advocacy for helping others cope, I still pray for a cure EVERY NIGHT.

 

Inconsistencies with Rx’s

I currently take Tresiba for my long lasting insulin (I’ve been back on MDI for about 18 months now).  And I started on my current insurance plan in March 2019.  I was paying $24.99 per month for a 30 day supply of my Tresiba- not bad at all so I never complained.  I also take Humalog but I’ll admit (#dontjudgeme) I stock piled it when I went off of my last insurance because it was covered at a good price.  So I haven’t had to fill a Humalog Rx yet on my new insurance … but back to my Tresiba story.

Several months ago I went to pick up my Rx as usual at the same pharmacy I’ve used for years (I had a bad experience with mail order for my insulin in the past so I choose to pick it up at the pharmacy) and they told me it would be $225 – Whaaa?  I told the pharmacist that I have been picking up this prescription for years and I have been paying $24.99, so surely something was wrong.  She said she didn’t know why, but said this is what insurance was charging and suggested that maybe I had been paying the wrong amount before.   And since I can’t go without it … I had to pay it. But I’ll be honest, I didn’t have the money that month.   My husband had recently lost his job unexpectedly and it was a HUGE hit that I wasn’t expecting. I was sick about it. But again, I had.no.choice.

So the next month I went back and it was $225 again but we had prepared for it even though we still didn’t technically have that much extra in the bank to spend – we knew I had to have it so we cut back on other “less necessary” things.

Then I went back the next month it was back to $24.99 – what is going on ??  I was so frustrated. I told her if it was truly supposed to be $24.99, why did they charge me so much the last 2 months ??? They had no explanation.  So I paid my $24.99 and went on my way.

I happen to have a background in HR and I work in the benefits world, so I am all too familiar with “the system” and how it works.  So I called our Rx vendor that my company uses and she did some digging around. She told me that … get this ….. the $225 was the 90 day copay.  And my dr had written my Rx for a 36 day supply, so they couldn’t charge the 30 day copay amount and were charging me the 90 day copay. That is IN-sane. I told her that I wasn’t getting 90 days worth, so I shouldn’t be paying for 90 days…. ? She agreed and apologized and said it was in the PBM’s arena.  *sigh*. She also said she was concerned that we may have “kicked an anthill” and that the actual copay was in fact supposed to be $75 and not the $24.99 that I had been paying. She was assuming that the pharmacy had taken it upon themselves to apply a coupon, hence the lower copay.

So I had to call my dr and have him send in a new Rx and to make sure that the box of 3 pens, which is what I had been using all along was in fact written for a 30 day supply, not 36, so they would charge me the right copay – whatever that ended up being.

Then I go back last month to pick it up …. and they said “That will be no charge, have a good evening!”  What?  Have you seen that Ikea commercial where the lady runs out to her car yelling, “Start the car! Start the car!” because she felt like she got such a good deal and wanted to get out of there quickly?  That’s how I felt. I thanked the person behind the counter and went on my merry way thinking surely someone had made a mistake and I wanted to leave before they figured it out.

Then whaddayaknow … I go back tonight to pick it up and they again said “That’ll be no charge, have a great night!”

I am so confused.   My pharmacy copays do not go toward my medical deductible. And they are based on a coinsurance so I expect that sometimes a copay will fluctuate a little here and there, based on drug cost (don’t even get me started on that … ) but this is ridiculous.    And no, I am NOT complaining about the zero copay. But what upsets me is all the times I paid $225 when I technically couldn’t and apparently most certainly should not have been paying that much.

Have I mentioned this is infuriating???    There has to be a better way to make sure that we can have our life support at an affordable cost.

Rambling Walk Thoughts …

I have been going to our local JDRF walk since 1993 – it doesn’t feel that long but sheesh this year will be what, 28 years?  Whoa.  I need to let that soak in for a minute. I’ve only missed a handful of years; the first two times I missed it was because I was in DKA, so I suppose that’s a valid reason, right?

I blogged about some walk memories in a post 8 years ago but I ran across an old t-shirt recently and reminisced some more and wanted to jot down some thoughts.

When my mom and I first heard about JDRF it wasn’t even called JDRF.  There was no ‘R’ yet, so it was just JDF.  It took me years to start saying JDRF – and now it’s the opposite when I say “JDF” it sounds weird … I have jackets and sweatshirts and t-shirts that still say JDF on them. (Yea, I know I need to purge things but those years are super important to me and I worked hard raising money to earn those walk prizes 😉 I have said for years I want to take the t-shirts and have a quilt made, but haven’t gotten around to that yet …)

Even now the walk isn’t called “Walk to Cure Diabetes” anymore… now they call it “JDRF One Walk”.  I love that it has become something that my family enjoys doing together.  Several years ago I started volunteering on the Logistics Committee that helps plan the walk – starting out on the Food Committee, helping to make phone calls and reaching out to organizations to get food donated for the walk.  Then I chaired the Food Committee, until eventually I was chairing the entire Logistics Committee and planning the walk for the Dallas area.  It was a lot of fun – we had a great team!  But after a couple of years, I realized I missed being able to enjoy the walk itself. My husband would come super early with me to help set up and my mom would bring our kids up after breakfast. Then my husband would usually take the kids in the stroller and walk, while I stayed behind to work. Then my mom would leave after they got back so I could stay and help clean up.    It really was a lot of fun, and very rewarding. But as my kids were getting a little older, I realized I wanted to enjoy the walk WITH them and not just see them before and afterwards for a few minutes.  So I stepped down as the Chair.

In 2007 I was pregnant with my now 12 year old during the walk.  And then he went as a baby until now.  My 6 year old twins love to go and love all of the activities they have.  They have always called it the “diabetes walk”. 🙂

I love thinking back about how my mom, her dog Gracie, and I went to that first walk in 1993 having no idea what we were embarking upon … to me going with my husband and children 🙂  And how all those years ago we had no idea that I’d still be as involved as I am with the organization- Not only with the Walk, but I’ve spoken at JDRF conferences, I’ve been the subject of a national JDRF campaign; I’ve been trained as a mentor to newly diagnosed families.  I love the partnership that’s been created over all of these years!  Very proud of all of the hard work this organization does, and how they are very transparent in saying that they hope to one day find a cure and put themselves out of business.  🙂

“Mom, why do you have diabetes?”

Tonight I took my 3 boys (age 12, and 6 year old twins) to dinner and then for ice cream afterwards.   While we were eating the ice cream, the two 6 year olds started asking questions so I decided to pull out a piece of paper and write them down so I wouldn’t forget. 🙂

Mom, why aren’t you eating ice cream with us?     Because my blood sugar is already a little high from dinner, so I didn’t want to make it higher by eating ice cream.

Mom, why do you have diabetes?  Well.  I’m not really sure.  But it’s basically because my pancreas stopped working when I was in high school.  Do you know what a pancreas does?  No, what is it?  It is an organ in our body that produces insulin. You each have one, and it releases insulin and that helps break down food that you eat. Mine doesn’t work at all.

How do you get diabetes? You can’t catch it from anyone, it just happens to people sometimes when your pancreas stops working the way it’s supposed to. I didn’t do anything wrong to get it.

Why did God let you get diabetes?  Well, I imagine it was because He knew I could handle it. And I think it is because He wants me to try and help others that also have diabetes.

Is that why you go to diabetes conferences?  What do you tell people at conferences? Yes, that is why I go, to talk to other people about diabetes, and also so I can learn more about having diabetes.  There is a lot to know and it’s good to always learn new things.

[Mom, if you aren’t going to eat any ice cream, does that mean I can have more?]

Mom, is diabetes bad?  It can be. And it’s something I work really hard at to make it not bad.  [My 12 year old chimes in, “It’s bad on your wallet, that’s for sure.”  #Truth.]

Mom, is YOUR diabetes bad? I wouldn’t say it’s “bad” necessarily but …  then my 12 year old chimes in again and says, “It’s definitely not a good thing to have it.”

Mom, it’s like you’re stabbing yourself with a light saber.  (#boys)

Mom, how did you know you had diabetes?  When I was in high school I got really sick and didn’t know why.  Nonny took me to the hospital and they found out I had diabetes.

[Mom, seriously, if you aren’t going to eat ice cream can I have some more?]

Why do you tell other people about diabetes? Because for a very long time after I found out I had diabetes, I didn’t know anyone else that had it. So it’s important to me that I talk to people who have it so they don’t feel alone and they will know someone who understands what they’re going through.

Why is sugar bad for you if you have diabetes? Well, sugar isn’t necessarily good for anyone, even if you don’t have diabetes. But when you do have diabetes, too much sugar can make your blood sugar go really high and that makes you feel pretty yucky.  So I try to not eat too much but I can still have it 😉

[Ok, mom, for real….. am I going to have more ice cream or not?]

I was pretty impressed by the questions they were firing off at me, and even more so because they were thoughtful questions and they were paying attention to my answers.  I want them to grow up seeing me not just living with diabetes, but thriving with diabetes. They watch me take my shots and check my blood sugars. I don’t hide it from them.  It is just part of their mom and I’m proud of that 🙂

 

DPAC Champion

I was recently asked to contribute to an update that DPAC (“Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition”) sends out to showcase what their Champions have been up to.  I was honored to be included in their update and wanted to share the story with you that they sent out this month.

DPAC CHAMPION MONTHLY HIGHLIGHT 

Shannon Marengo

When I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 1992, as a senior in high school, I did not know anybody else with diabetes. No friends had it, and I only had distant older relatives with Type 2 who lived in another state.  The only reference I had was in my Orthodontist’s office I remembered one day a young patient was selling candy and a staff member told her, “Oh, I have diabetes. I’m not allowed to have sugar.” So that was one of the first things that I thought of when I was diagnosed. Clearly I soon learned that is not true, but at the time that was my only reference.  And I spent 20 years not knowing anyone with diabetes, with the exception of a person here and there that my mom would introduce me to. All of whom were adults – so I didn’t know any other young adults that understood what I was going through 24/7 every single day.

Then one day 9+ years ago a friend whose daughter was recently diagnosed with T1 told me she had found some blogs on diabetes and suggested I check them out. I did, and I realized I had found “my people”. I started almost obsessively reading blogs. Then I realized I could do that, too. I could be that voice of someone who “gets it” and might have something to say that someone else needs to hear. So I posted my first blog post. And people actually started to read it! Not just family members and friends. ☺  It became almost therapeutic for me. Even in the posts where I didn’t have anything “big” to talk about – some days it was just talking about insurance issues, or about how my crazy blood sugars that day.    

I have known for a very long time that I want something good to come out of me having this disease. I don’t want to just survive with it, I want to help others any way that I can. When I was diagnosed, a doctor told my 17-year old self that I should never have children because “Diabetics shouldn’t have babies.” And I have gone on to have 2 successful and healthy pregnancies, the most recent of which was with twins. So I love when I can be an encouragement to girls who want to have a family one day, or even to moms who worry about their T1 daughters having a family in the future.   I also have recently found a passion for advocacy and last fall was invited to attend a DPAC event in DC to speak on Capitol Hill about diabetes. It was an incredibly impactful weekend for me and I came home wanting to do even more, even though I didn’t know how yet to channel this newfound excitement. So I decided to stop saying I wanted to do more and actually start doing more.  Since the DC trip, I have spoken on advocacy in a breakout session at our local JDRF chapter’s TypeOne Now Summit.  And I have relaunched my blog and increased my social media presence, committing to posting more frequently. I am also working closely with NDVLC (“National Diabetes Volunteer Leadership Council”) which has become incredibly rewarding – I have connected them with my employer, which could potentially impact thousands of others employers and to know that I can possibly play a small part in helping others be able to afford their insulin and/or diabetic supplies by simply making an introduction, that is an incredible feeling.

If you’re considering starting a blog and you are thinking “I don’t have anything important to say” – you could not be more wrong. You DO have something to say. And your story is just as important as the next person. And if nothing else, you could be like me and it could become therapeutic for you to actually write down what you are thinking/going through.   I write in a journal every day and I write 10 goals. 2 of my goals for the past 6 months have been 1) Become a leader in diabetes advocacy and 2) my blog will go viral and I’ll be able to help others living with diabetes. I have a great feeling about 2020!

Bad Swag

I am by no means an expert on swagging my carb counts (for those that don’t know, that’s a coined term for guessing how many carbs are in a food item/meal). But I can usually get it pretty darn close. And it helps that I’m pretty much a creature of habit and eat a lot of the same things – that just makes life a lot easier for me so I don’t have to guess. And so I don’t have to go through what happened today ….

I woke up today again with a magical unicorn number. And then we went to have breakfast at a local cafe which we frequent often. My usual meal there is very low carb – eggs, fruit, and bacon.  I usually don’t even bolus for the fruit because it’s such a small bowl. And my blood sugar is usually pretty spot on afterwards. But today my husband had ordered pancakes and asked if I wanted to share.  Normally I would say no because I do eat pretty healthy most of the time but today I decided it was bolus-worthy because these were super yummy homemade pancakes.

I looked online to see how many carbs would be in that size of pancake it was around 35 carbs pretty consistently on all the sites I checked out.  Took my shot and devoured the yumminess.

Then this happened …..

 

 

I then remembered ….. this had happened once before about a year ago, and that time I had asked the restaurant to find out what they put in the pancake mix that makes them so good. And it was ……. drumroll please …….. Sprite.  Ruh roh.   It’s super unfortunate that I had forgotten that because a) I could have skipped it all together, or b) I could have taken more insulin.   So I fought through the usual high blood sugar symptoms for a couple of hours – extreme fatigue and thirst and frequent potty breaks … until the correction dose I took via syringe kicked in – and boy did it.   I am currently back to normal at a beautiful steady 95 but it wears you out having that high of a spike.    It’s my responsibility to know what is in the food, but it made me also think of how it would be awesome if restaurants could provide carb counts like they do calorie counts (this particular restaurant does post the calories on the menu).   I know that would be an expense for restaurants to do that but if they’re already posting the calories, really how much more work would that be?

Something I am thankful for, though, is that since I had my Dexcom on, I was able to catch this high as soon as it started spiking which created an opportunity to give myself a correction much earlier than I probably would have if I didn’t know.  I usually would only test before meals and sometimes 2 hours afterwards – but I knew this was happening before I had even gotten home after eating breakfast.