CGMs, Logging, and Too Much Information

I wrote this a long time ago; like almost a year ago. Since then, I've been diagnosed with anxiety and depression which explains a lot that's going on in this post. I'm still publishing this without any edits from the last time I worked on because while I know there are so many benefits of CGMs, I also feel that it's important to talk about the negatives, so everyone with or without diabetes can understand the big picture; so people remember that CGMs, pumps, and logging still aren't a cure. They can cause issues on their own. Mindy also has a ton of great posts about issues with CGMs, similar to mine, so I urge you to read her posts, as well.
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via Beyond Type 1

If you know me well, you probably know that I can get a little obsessive and I am quite the perfectionist at points. I'm pretty Type A. (I have a planner with 17 check boxes for each day that I can write in things down to the hour in, if that tells you anything.) Naturally, this can translate into my diabetes self-care. I never really realized I had a problem with it; I always thought that feeling burned out after a few weeks of writing down every blood sugar, every food I ate, how much insulin I gave myself, and checking my CGM many times an hour to watch for spikes (and obsessing over when I spiked below the yellow line) was just proof that I'm pretty much a failure and trying to make fine-tuned adjustments to get my A1C down to below 7 was a useless measure. That sounds dramatic, but it was honestly and truly how I felt.

It took about two years for me to even realize that my methods of logging and meticulous attention to every blood sugar that my CGM supplied to me was a problem. The first hint that this wasn't exactly normal was when during my first year as a CIT at camp, my clinician told me after seeing my logs for multiple that I didn't need to test my blood as much because camp was a time to relax on my diabetes management. I, of course, brushed it off and told him that I was fine testing more often because it made my blood sugars better. I also got compliments later that week about how good my blood sugars had been. I got home and told this story and honestly felt proud that I was supposedly "testing too much," since, after all, I did have some of the best blood sugars out of all the CITs. (Of course, they were also having a much more fun and relaxed week, which I would much have preferred looking back.)

I'm pretty sure my obsession with numbers began to manifest when I got my CGM. I loved the data and all the numbers it could give me, so naturally I took advantage of it and checked my blood sugar as much as possible on my CGM. I got my first CGM halfway through my freshman year of high school, which was about a year and a half after I had struggled with my own obsessions with wanting to be skinny, which lead to unhealthily dieting and counting calories in an attempt to lose weight. This gave me a sense of control over my life that I desperately wanted; getting a CGM also gave me a sense of control over my blood sugars, and therefore my life. Naturally I had to do all that I could to ensure that all 288 readings on my CGM were in between the lines. Looking back on it now, I didn't realize that this want to keep my blood sugars perfect all the time was particularly unhealthy. After all, who doesn't want to keep their blood sugars perfect 24/7?

My second realization of this lack of normality in my personal view of my CGM graph and logging strategies came at camp again, a little more than a year later. I ended my last summer before college at Camp Kudzu and was already a little exhausted by this point. I had just been traveling the week before and camp is also pretty fun, but pretty exhausting. On top of that I was stressing because I've always felt like I've been the odd one out amongst the CITs, so I was feeling left out (to no fault of theirs, I'm just not good friends with most of the girls because we didn't all go to the same sessions every year growing up) and the cabin I was working with for the week was also causing me a lot of stress. Add exhaustion, plenty of stress, and a lack of sleep due to my blood sugar going low almost every night until 1 or 2 am and you will get the perfect storm for a CGM induced breakdown from me.

I had my CGM with me at camp because I have always hated having to take my CGM off. Whenever I would run out of sites or my battery would die, I would constantly test my blood (until it got exhausting for me) because I was sure I was missing some low or high blood sugar that my CGM would have told me about. Having my CGM at camp made all of the crazy blood sugars that come along with suddenly being put in a very different environment for an entire week all the more visible and obvious to me. As a CIT 2 I was allowed to, for the most part, do all of my insulin dosing, blood testing, and typical camp diabetes care, as long as I checked in with my clinician in the morning and at night during the CIT meeting.

During our Tuesday night meeting, that perfect storm I mentioned earlier took place. I was exhausted after a stressful day of being at camp and my blood sugars kept going low for a long time, spiking up to the mid 200s then dropping back down and staying low. As I was showing my graph to my clinician, I began crying out of frustration. Seeing the graph go up and 3 or 4 times, despite my best efforts to stay around 100 was making me incredibly angry at myself for not being good enough to at least be flatlining. I was already making my clinicians a little annoyed because I was purposely running my blood sugars lower than what camp wanted me to be at (I was staying between 80-100, while camp wants 120+) and I think at this point they realized what was going on before I even did.

My clinicians promptly told me that they were taking away my receiver from me because I was having an information overload. They gave it to the head staff that stayed with CITs in our cabin and told me to take a break. Naturally, I did not want this to happen at all, as my CGM is my security blanket of control over my made up ideal of being able to achieve perfect blood sugars.

After not looking at my CGM for what seemed like a lifetime, (which in reality was less than 12 hours) I was given it back the next morning after promising to only check my CGM once per hour. This was an incredibly difficult challenge for me, as I was so used to checking my CGM every 10 or 15 minutes, but I did make it through. I began by choosing my one glance per hour carefully, in an attempt to get the most out of that one check. As the hours and rest of my week at camp went on, I began to realize that I had stopped checking my CGM and hadn't even noticed it. My blood sugars were a little higher than what I wanted them to be, but I wasn't spiking as much because I wasn't micromanaging my blood sugars every five minutes.

A few days later, I talked with Mindy about my CGM issues and what had happened and logging came up and I admitted that logging has always been an issue for me and she told me it was for her, too; in fact, she doesn't even log anymore because it has a similar effect on her as it does me. I was shocked and relieved to find out that I wasn't the only one that had issues like these. She also talked with me about my CGM and asked me a question I haven't quite got around to dealing with yet: does your doctor know about your relationship with your CGM? My answer was and still is simply a no.

I haven't mentioned it to my doctor at all because a) it's always awkward to randomly bring up my mental health in relation to logging and CGMs in conversation (especially when your parents are in the room) and b) I'm probably changing endos to an actual adult endo soon, so I don't see much of a point to bringing this up. I'll definitely mention it to my new endo, but I'm just not sure where to go from there.

I haven't logged since I got back from camp, besides when I upload to diasend to have two weeks worth of logs for the endocrinologist and I have been doing a lot better about not checking my CGM obsessively. My big question is where do I go from here? I would love to get my A1C down and to have better blood sugars, but I'm not sure what I can do without obsessing over every single number. Is there anything to do or am I just kinda stuck?
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You don't have to answer my questions, as I'm getting professional help for my anxiety now and we're working on my obsessiveness. Let me know if you all also have CGM issues in the comments, I'd love to talk with you!

I Guess I'm in College Now

Well hello everyone. Since I'm posting this you can now rest assured that I am still alive after my first (almost) month of college. Do I like it so far? Absolutely not. Will I survive anyways? Probably. My first weeks of college have definitely not been my favorite weeks of my life. Let's just say I cried and called my parents almost (sometimes simultaneously!) every day the first week. I still haven't finished my Diabetes for Dummies binder for my roommate and I'm running behind on everything else, too. That's college for you though, isn't it?

Rush week was exhausting, but also super fun. I was worried that I would be low all the time, since everyone is constantly walking to new houses in the hot August sun. Thankfully, there were snacks at all of the houses throughout the week, so that never happened and I got to stockpile a bunch of snacks. In case you aren't familiar with rush, it's basically a week of speed-dating to find find a group of girls you get along with and are similar to, so you end up in the right sorority. Rush days can run from 6 AM to 7 PM some days. To add to the stress, you have to be asked back to by the sororities, so there is a chance that even though you paid to participate in the entire week of rush, you may not be allowed to. I did end up getting into a sorority, which I loved, but I dropped out because I'm not all about the #collegepartylifestyle and the cost of being in the sorority was too much for me to justify right now. (Plus I don't have enough time at the moment.)

Besides rush and crying episodes, my life hasn't been too exciting. I missed my first 8 AM class Monday and I blame the fact that for the last month, my blood sugar has been low and it takes until 1:30 or 2 AM to go to bed, and then I'll get up and be low again. It's awful. My friends from camp recommended eating something with protein before bed and starting a -10-20% temp basal to make sure my bg doesn't drop, so I'll be trying that ASAP. Let's cross our fingers and hope that works because I'm exhausted by all of these lows. (I guess on the positive side, my A1C is probably great because I'm low all night...) Update: my blood sugar has now been running high for the last two days. Go figure.

The aftermath of a month of lows: juice boxes, granola bars, and two empty jars of glucose tabs.

I'm getting involved in UGA's College Diabetes Network chapter, as well as Wesley, choir, quiz bowl, viola lessons, and probably 20 other things I've forgotten, so I'll be sure to update you all on how those are going as time goes on.

Moral of the Story: I'll let you know when college becomes fun.

Weird Dreams

Sorry for the lack of posts last week. I'm trying to begin posting weekly, but sometimes it takes to for exciting diabetes related events to occur...
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I should have known that a few days after reading Ally's post about having crazy, diabetes related dreams that I would have one too. I really should have. But I lack the foresight that hindsight bias thinks I should have, so here we are with a blog post about it instead. I digress. On to the dream.

In my dream, I was sleeping and then woke up with low blood sugar. (And as my friend and I talked about the other day, those are always the worst because you don't think you actually need to wake up in real life.) It was one of those really bad lows where I didn't even have the physical motivation/ strength to move the four inches to get my blood tester, so I was mentally yelling at myself to move and get up because I knew I needed to test my blood or things would have gone downhill.

After mentally yelling at myself, I woke up and was totally freaked out, thinking that I needed to test my blood because I was obviously low. It turns out I was actually in the high 100's and didn't have any blood sugar issues. It took me a few minutes to actually realize that most of what had just happened was actually a dream. I don't recommend having this kind of dream. It sucks.

I've heard of low blood sugar induced weird dreams, but I never expected to have an actual dream about something so real, if you know what I mean. It was definitely a chilling dream to have and I'm glad I don't have these kind of dreams often. (#fingerscrossed it doesn't happen again)

Moral of the Story: As soon as you read about it on another blog, it will happen to you.

I Feel Personally Victimized by Food

On the way home, I was thinking about Waffle House and how it ruined my BG the one time I ate there, and then I thought about all of the restaurants and foods that seem to always wreak havoc on my blood sugar. So I bring you my definitive list of places and foods I can't eat (at).
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Movie Theaters
Every single time I go to a movie theater, my blood sugar is high or it goes up really quickly. I blame the butter-filled tub of popcorn I enjoy eating and the strange movie theater carpets. I should also probably cover my popcorn before I eat it, not in the middle of the movie when I suddenly realize that I've forgotten to cover it.

Waffle House
I already don't like Waffle House because it's just kind of gross in there, but the following story definitely adds to my distaste for the place. The morning before my AP Macroeconomics exam, my class met up at a Waffle House near to school to eat and chat before the exam. I got a waffle and some eggs and of course put syrup on my waffle. Needless to say, my blood sugar went up to the 300's (even though I covered my breakfast) and stayed there until their convenient drop to the 100's right as the exam ended. My site may have also been bad, but I'm not 100% positive. Thanks Waffle House.

Pizza
No one likes pizza's strange effects on blood sugar. My sister told me that on her first day of camp this summer, pizza was served and all of the counselors and clinicians were not exactly happy because a couple hundred diabetic campers were about to have some weird blood sugars. I'm pretty sure way too much of the camp's supply of insulin was used that night. And I'm also pretty sure that I use up way too much of my own insulin on pizza night as well.

A picture from one of my many Starbucks runs. Also featuring the keys that are currently lost.

Frappuccinos
This is the most tragic item of all on my list. If you know me, you know that I love Starbucks and frappuccinos, so when my dad mentioned to me that I should consider putting them on my banned food list because I always complain about being really high hours after drinking them, I was not very happy. I'm still mourning it to this day. Now I enjoy Iced Chai Tea Lattes and Strawberry Açaí Refreshers with coconut milk to make sure I get my Starbucks fix.

Ice Cream
After years of experimenting with combo boluses, I've finally figured out how to bolus for ice cream. (I do a 60:40 combo bolus over 1 hour, but of course YDMV.) But before approximately a month ago, I would cover my ice cream and then go low an hour later. Every single time. (Who knew ice cream could actually lower blood sugar. Maybe I should eat it more when my A1C needs to go down...) My sister also complained about how that wasn't really a problem, but it stopped me from eating ice cream. And does a teenage girl deserve to be deprived of her ice cream? I think not.

Instant Oatmeal
This super easy to make version of oatmeal is not so easy to deal with when it comes to my blood sugars. It causes a major spike and then a huge drop all within a few hours after breakfast. The instant oatmeal phenomenon also affects my sister, and I'm pretty sure she's more hurt about it than I am.

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What is one of the foods/ restaurants on your banned list? Or do you have any bolusing suggestions for frappuccinos? (Because I really miss them. #addict)

#DBlogWeek Day Two: The Other Half of Diabetes

In the midst of graduation, my birthday (I turn 18 tomorrow), and all of the stresses associated with life, I was reminded by my amazing AP Language teacher from last year (the person that had me write this) that this blog existed and she encouraged me to start writing again. #DBlogWeek is happening at a perfect time because I have no clue what to write about at the moment, so I am super thankful for the week of prompts! Let's jump into my first blog post of the year! (Oops...)

We think a lot about the physical component of diabetes, but the mental component is just as significant. How does diabetes affect you or your loved one mentally or emotionally? How have you learned to deal with the mental aspect of the condition? Any tips, positive phrases, mantras, or ideas to share on getting out of a diabetes funk?  

Diabetes, thankfully, hasn't put too much strain on my mental health. I am so grateful that I was diagnosed at 5 1/2 years old because I don't have to live with memories constantly reminding me that I was once non-diabetic. I watch my little sister struggle sometimes with her diabetes and I know that part of it is because she can remember being able to eat what she wanted without covering her blood sugar or having to test her blood. While my mental strain is never too high because of diabetes, I do still have little worries here and there: the possibilities of complications; how annoying testing my blood is; and how easy it is to forget insulin are a few of these small worries that ebb and flow through my mind.

Unfortunately, diabetes does affect my emotions. A lot. High blood sugar = being annoyed at everyone, difficulty focusing on anything (which is especially fun while I'm taking tests or my AP exams), and me being a general pain for most people I'm around. Low blood sugar = being shaky, talking too fast and nonsensically for others and myself to understand, and staring down other people's food as I search for something to make my hunger disappear. After over a decade of diabetes (wow, that's quite a long time), I've learned that sometimes I just have to be patient. Trying to do a physics problem when my BG is 504 is just not going to happen. Eating only four glucose tabs will do the trick when I'm waiting for my blood sugar to go up, even though I feel like 8 is a better short term plan. Diabetes is a huge lesson in patience (and I've been in a love/hate relationship with patience for years). I've also learned that the people that make the most ignorant comments of all, often just need more education than your average person. There's no point in wasting my time or energy on being bitter and angry, when instead I could be educating and changing someone's view of the world.

Whenever I'm have a worry-filled day or just a bout of burnout, I try to treat myself. Whether I am watching my favorite movie, reading a new book, or just making some of my favorite tea, I try to do something for me to make myself feel better after having a rough day. Doing something for myself makes my day a thousand times better and gets me out of a negative mood (which I'm trying to work on). Talking with the #DOC, whether it is through twitter, blog, or video, always helps. Misery loves company and sharing your experiences with others that actually understand what I'm going through helps me get through my rough days and I'm sure it will help you, too.

Remember when times get tough, that you are more than your diabetes and that you always have the DOC, friends, and family to talk with.
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If you want to get involved with #DBlogWeek or read more posts about today's prompt, you can check out the link up to the responses to today's prompts here!

Necessary & Proper Adjustments

You know how there is always the tiny caveat in the fine print on the registration page for that new yoga class you're dying to take or at the end of that article you just read about running? The one that tells you to, "consult a doctor before participating in physical activity." Yeah that one. You know else they need? One that tells you to consult yourself before you participate in physical activity.

I'm enrolled in online gym and health (it's about as exciting as it sounds) because of scheduling issues at my school because I'm in chorus and STEM at my school. I'm required to keep an exercise log throughout the class which means that I actually have to do more than yoga, since I have to participate in physical activity that gets my heart rate to my 'target range.' Today I innocently decided to try running.

I put on an old t-shirt and my trusty (read: 4 years old) norts and laced up my Nikes (read: also old) to prepare for my run. I decided to bring our chiweenie with me, so I sneaked the leash past our fast asleep Yorkie and our preoccupied outside Heinz 57 and ventured outdoors with the dog. My blood sugar was 152 and my CGM said gave me a , so I assumed I was good to go. Wrong.

This may be completely irrelevant, but who cares? I like it.

I spent 34 minutes torturing myself walking and running with the dog and was exhausted/ hot/ sweaty/ thirsty/ miserable. I took a shower for obvious reasons (see aforementioned sweaty) and went to my room to call the local Apple-fixing store to see if they could explain an issue I'm having with an old iPhone. As I was struggling to read the IMEI number off of the back of the phone to type it in, I realized I was probably low. (I think Apple uses size 3 font on their phones.) I checked my blood sugar and there was an unpleasant number on my blood tester: 32.

I freaked out and ate about 90 carbs consisting of two juice boxes, a slice of peanut butter toast, a banana, and an unknown amount of pringles, in that order. That probably wasn't the wisest of decisions, but at the time it felt right. (This sounds like someone explaining a bad decision. Oh wait...)

What I'm trying to say is: adjust your insulin or eat something before you decide you're going to start your next health kick. Otherwise, you'll end up, as my mother so eloquently puts it, "inhaling everything without covering it."

Moral of the Story:  +  = 

Most Used Word in This Post: Whoa

I hope you weren't expecting anything magical or mind-blowing post-wise now that I've said I will attempt to start blogging again. Nothing astonishing is happening in my life diabetes-wise. I go low and high sometimes, but whats new? I'm finally getting a new medic alert bracelet. (Mine has rust on it, so it's probably time to get a new one...) Is that exciting enough for you? And while I'm on the topic of getting a new medic alert bracelet, do you think I should get the blue, purple, or black version of this bracelet? I'm leaning towards purple, but I'm always indecisive, so your opinion would be appreciated. (Unless you find a better bracelet that I don't have to take off in the pool or when doing physical activity. Then suggest that.)

I'm currently listening to music and attempting to figure out what important, relevant things I should type. So far I've come up with nothing. I'm currently flat lining at 167 and not covering it since my blood sugar ends to go done overnight and if I cover anything below 200, I tend to go low. I should probably either lower my nightly ISF or basal. Since it goes down even when I don't cover, I might lower my 12 AM to 6 AM basal. 

I also finally got a new pump clip for my pump. Animas's pump clips break a lot (at least for me,) so we have to order them frequently. You would think my dad would have ordering supplies from Animas down to science since I've been diabetic for ten years now. WHOA. WAIT. THAT'S WHAT I SHOULD TALK ABOUT.

I've been using all of this stuff for a long time.

I have been diabetic for 10 years. A decade. 2/3 of my life. WHOA. That is a long time. We don't remember the exact date I was diagnosed since I was diagnosed when I was 5 years old. I just remember that it was during winter break and I the one thing I remember is forcing the doctors to let my mom give me my first shot. It's ind of insane that I don't remember life without diabetes, but I think that is probably a good thing. After all, I can't remember what being "normal" feels like, so I have nothing to look back at a remember how great it was being non-diabetic. I guess diabetes is pretty much part of my personality since it's been around most of my life. 

If you do the math and assume that I test my blood 6 times per day (which isn't true, but works out for days when I tested more because of lows, which balances it all out,) I have tested my blood 18,980 times.I have changed my pump sites 1,096 times.That is a lot of plastic and needles. I guess you could say that diabetes isn't really helping America's excessive trash problem. 

It amazes me that during my ten years of being diabetic, I have only been to the hospital twice for diabetes. I was in the hospital once for my diagnosis in kindergarten and then in the hospital in fourth grade because I was throwing up and had ketones. (Thankfully I have zofran to avoid that situation now.) I remember a doctor or nurse telling me that she was impressed with me because I haven't been to the hospital as a teen for diabetes, since so many teens go to the hospital for having excessive highs and ketones. That has stick with me and makes me kind of proud. (But don't feel bad if you have been to the hospital as a teen for your diabetes; I completely understand the suckiness of diabetes burnout and sometimes diabetes is just really annoying.) That's all that I can really put into words for now.

Moral of the Story: WHOA

Life Lately

I went to the endocrinologist on Wednesday and found out my A1C was 7.3 %; it went down .6 % from March and I think it went down .5 % from June, if I remember correctly. I was truthfully expecting my A1C to go up because I had been going high a lot in the afternoons, so that was a pleasant surprise. Kerri, my amazing dietitian, was who I saw on Wednesday. (I usually see my actual endo once or twice per year.) She told me I was doing a good job with measuring food and covering it, but I need to cover lunch 15 minutes before I eat at school so I avoid spiking after lunch. She also told me that I need to start exercising because, well, it is healthy to do. She said that if I have time to text my friends or go on the internet, then I have time to exercise. So now, I am being a good little diabetic and walking on the wondrous treadmill for 45 minutes every day. I'm multitasking by reading my blogs for 30 minutes than looking over notes for 15 minutes. Multitasking also distracts from the fact that I am being very gross and sweating, so it's all good. We also adjusted my basal so I wouldn't go high at night because that had been happening a lot lately. My basal adjustments lead to the fin experience I had last night. (1000 % sarcasm when dealing with the word fun, at the moment.)

It's not just a CGM picture today!

Last night, at around 10, my blood sugar was 63. I had a juice and Larabar and covered about 2/3 of the Larabar. I went up to 76, so I had some apple cider and covered it. I tested again and I was 70. I ate a another Larabar and covered some of it. Then I went down to 56. I stayed under 80 for another hour and I ate 112 carbs with no insulin (including disconnecting from my pump for an hour) before I went up to 110. I waited a little longer and then was 146. I was later awoken at 6 in the morning to my CGM beeping because my blood sugar was 372, so that was fun. I was pretty much expecting that because I ate 198 carbs total before my blood sugar stayed in range. I brought my basal down .025 from 9 -12 PM because of this lovely incident.

Moral of the Story: That was 1 glass of apple cider, 2 juices, 3 Larabars, and 8 glucose tabs. I was very full after that.

A Scary Low

I woke up today feeling really high; I tested and my blood tester said I was 72. I tested again to make sure it was working and I was 70. A few minutes later, I went to get some juice. I drank some and then my mom asked me to unload part of the dishes. I already felt bad, but once I started unloading, I had to lay down. I told my mom I was low and lied down. I tested again and was 70.

I felt like I was in the 20's by the time I had gotten in the car. I could barely sit up, so I was lying down in the seats. I had a second juice and could barely eat the quarter of a cliff bar and cereal that I did eat. I literally had to force myself to speak and eat anything. I turned my basal off for 30 minutes then completely disconnected my pump for about an hour. I even asked my mom if we could give me a mini-gluc. (Basically, you use a regular syringe to draw up the amount of units of glucagon needed, which is one unit per years of age. For example, I'm 15, so I would get 15 units. This is only for kids 2-15 years of age.) She told me to wait 30 minutes and not eat anything, since I was 79.

These are not innocent numbers anymore. The 70's are not good, at all.

I finally started to feel better after just sitting for a while. I tested and was 110. Before eating a snack 2 hours later, I was 316.

I have no clue what happened and it was one of those really scary lows that I just want to forget and have never happen to me again. I was wondering if I needed to go to the hospital and how they would treat my blood sugar.

Moral of the Story: Weird things always happen when I'm not wearing my CGM, so if I don't get my sensors tomorrow, someones going to get hurt.

Thoughts While Low

I've seen people do this before, so here are my completely arbitrary thoughts while being low:

Why did the glucose tabs get smaller?

It is really hard to type; my fingers are shaky and I can't type quickly or accurately 

How am I supposed to get inspiration to type up blog posts?

Why did I just hear a large "thud?" I better turn off my music

I can't believe my CGM hasn't beeped to tell me I'm low yet; then again I'm 78.

I'm tired.

Maybe I should go to sleep.

 Moral of the Story: Low people make no sense.

Normal

My blood sugars have been weird lately. "How have they been weird, Sarah?" You ask. Well, they have been...

NORMAL

I had been skipping breakfast because I didn't think I had time to eat anything. Tuesday morning (One day after having a horrible stomach ache/ nausea. Note: Thank you to the chemists that created Zofran. Another Note: The endo gives all diabetics Zofran prescriptions; no one wants a vomiting diabetic. Vomiting + Diabetes = DKA), I decided to eat some breakfast, chex mix and soy milk to be exact. Suddenly, I stopped having my morning spike. I also remembered to cover after school snacks/ pre-cover food, and now my blood sugars have been great.

I should probably change my sensor, but I'm lazy. Can you tell?

And by great, I mean not high. I've been constantly hovering in the 70's-80's. Sometimes, I will go low, I'll get to 80, then I'll go down again. My blood sugars won't go up for anything. Today, I went to the nurses office with a BG of 73. I went because my high school has two campuses separated by a practice football field; walking across a football field with an almost-low BG is not a good idea. I drank a large juice box, a caramel Level Life (I'm not endorsed by them, I swear. We were sent free ones because my Dad signed up for them to send us a free sample.), and peanut butter crackers. I had 63 carbs, covered none of it, and I only went up to 103. Don't ask me how stuff like this works because I have no clue.

Moral of the Story: Normal is really weird.

HWAMC Day Three: Wordless Thursday

So, obviously I missed yesterday's post. I was too busy playing pokemon and animal crossing and blogging about both  too busy doing important stuff...

Here's the prompt:

Post a picture that symbolizes your condition and your experiences. 

This pretty much sums up diabetes...

Field Trips

Field trips are hard enough for teachers and parents just because going to a new place with a bunch of kids/ teenagers isn't most people's cup of tea. (Except for the other kids/ teenagers on the trip.) If you throw diabetes into the mix, you have a recipe for disaster.

Elementary school was full of so many restrictions when it came to my diabetes. I couldn't carry around my blood tester or insulin, I had to go to the nurse every time before and after meals, and if I needed to check my blood sugar because I felt low or high. I probably lost at least 24 hours of the school year sitting in the nurse's office. (Needless to say, I was friends with all of the nurses I had in elementary school. They still remember me when they see me out in public...)Whenever we went on field trips, a parent had to go because the nurse couldn't just take time out of her day to go with the one diabetic child on the trip. (Obviously, this makes sense because there were tons of other kids at school.) On the 5th grade field trip, my mom had to go with me because we were going to the Tennessee Aquarium, and elementary school kids with diabetes were NEVER going to go out of state without a parent.

In middle school, I got more freedom. I could carry around my supplies, but I still had to go to the nurse's office for lows, highs, and after lunch to cover it. BUT, for the first two weeks of school, I had to go to the nurse's office for every test, and etc, so she knew I could be trusted. I wasn't in the nurse's office nearly as much anymore, and the nurse and I weren't exactly friends. (I'll save the story behind that for another time.) I still wasn't allowed to go any overnight trips without my parents because I was diabetic. (SURPRISE! I bet you didn't see that one coming.) I went on two field trips during the day without a parent, and that was it.

High school came, and now I have tons of freedom. I met the nurse at the beginning of the year and I only go to the nurse's office when my blood sugar is really low, or if I need to do a site/CGM change in school. This year was also the first year that I went on an overnight field trip without a parent chaperoning, and it made me nervous at night. (It didn't help my worrying when my mom told me to pack a glucagon, for the first time ever, to bring with me on the trip.)  I was rooming with my friend I've had since 6th grade, so she knew I was diabetic, but she didn't know all about my diabetes like my parents do. I packed eight site changes for a three day, two night vacation. I only used one of them. I took a full bottle of glucose tabs and a box of clif bars everywhere I went. When my blood sugar was low, I would have mini panic attacks because of all of the possible things that could have gone wrong. "What if I faint and no one finds me?" "What if I need a glucagon and no one knows how?" Those were thoughts I had during my lows; they were obviously invalid because I was in a room full of people, so someone would see me. I had also told my friend how to use the glucagon, so that was irrational as well. I obviously made it through the trip and came back alive; it ended up being lots of fun. (I went to the FIRST Robotics regional competition in my state. I had tons of fun and cannot wait to go back next year.)

I guess the moral of this story is: I wish the schools gave me more freedom when I was younger, so I didn't freak out as a high schooler on an overnight trip only an hour away from home. I'm not sure how anyone can prepare for this, but I feel like if I had experienced leaving my parents overnight beforehand, I wouldn't have freaked out as much.

Dexcom Trial: Day Two

Today is day two of my Dexcom trial; let's just say that it has been an interesting day...

Last night I was awoken twice by the Dexcom because I was under 80. It seems like the Dexcom wants to wake me up whenever I am drifting off to sleep. At 3 in the morning-ish I was hovering at 73, so I took 4 glucose tabs and went to bed. I awoke at 7 and checked my graph. I went from 73 to 146. I continued going up to about 230 and didn't go down until lunch.

* later that day *

I was going to get ice cream, so I tested my blood. I reached down to grab my Dexcom from my belt loop, and it wasn't there...

It's just a small gap...

I ran around the house frantically screaming for five minutes, but then I found it on the floor in my room. I had been disconnected for and hour and 41 minutes.

Let me say what we are all thinking at this moment:
Way to go, Sarah.

Moral of Story: I think I need a new storage unit for the Dexcom...

Shout out to Erin:
You rock!~

Shorty Got Low. x8

Yes, that is from some obnoxious song that was popular when I was in 5th grade. I distinctly remember dancing to that song at the 5th grade dance with a broken left ring finger.

So why am I reminiscing about that song?
Because I am short (4' 11" and 3/4) and my blood sugar got really low today; 30.

I really don't know why it happened.
I woke up at about 5:30 AM because I felt low, and I was 67. I had 4 glucose tabs and ate the most disgusting cereal ever, wheat and barley cereal, but I added bananas to make it bearable because I was having a low blood sugar cereal craving.

I later told my dad to go buy me some cereal because I would die without it.

At 8:30 AM I tested my blood before I ate a *SUPER* healthy school breakfast of Eggo Cereal and Apple juice. I was 156. I covered it accordingly, 18 carbs for one mini bowl of Eggo cereal (the school requires you to buy two,) and an apple juice for 30 carbs.
8.25 units.

This is only 3 away from my lowest low, 27.

I was feeling low at 11:20, so I tested and I was 30.
I had 8 glucose tabs, and 1/3 of a Clif bar, for a total of 47 carbs.
I also suspended my pump, and forgot to resume it until it beeped at me when I didn't get my basal.

I have no idea what I did wrong.

Moral of Story: Short people do get low.

P.S- The name of that song is Low by Flo Rida. (Look it up at your own discretion, It is rated PG-13.)

Good Poetry.

3 clocks at different times; I need to change my cartridge; I have only 9 units; this is a good picture.

I woke up as usual, *la la la la la, I'm a person*
took my Synthroid; 125 mg to be exact.

I went to school, and before eating a highly nutritional meal of eggo cereal and apple juice,
I tested my blood.

I was 286 at 8:56;
I figured: It's just the occasional high, just eat breakfast and cover it.

I had 68 carbs.
I covered 12.25 units.

I then realized: my pump site leaked.
I told my teacher and went to the nurse.

I replaced my site,
and it bled.

I was forced to call my mother,
because APPARENTLY having a spot of blood on your front-upper thigh is unacceptable.

I replaced my stained grey pants with teal ones,
and covered 6.15 units to cover half of what I "gave."

I was hungry at 11:38, so I ate
a clif bar.

It was yummy, but I realized I should test my blood.
I was 434.

Apparently, I covered 6.15 units again.

It was lunch time, 1:32 PM;
I was 405.

I was going to go up to the nurse, but I didn't want to test for ketones, or change my site,
so I covered 30 carbs and my blood sugar before lunch.

I didn't realize until science that I needed to cover the rest of lunch,
so I did.

Did I mention that in the middle of math, my pump beeped because I had less than 30 units in it?
It was during a test.

I tested again at exactly 4:30 PM,
I was 81.

I ate some food and didn't cover it.
I was 108 1 hour and 59 minutes later.

I had PB & J at my friends house.
I forgot to test my blood.

I have a robotics competition tomorrow,
and that's it.

Apparently this blog is my silver award project.
There is also a tornado warning here.

I hope you enjoyed my poetry.

I've got it now.

The last two days my blood sugars have been pretty steady. I went low once yesterday because I forgot to brink a snack and I went high before dinner tonight. Otherwise, my bloods sugars have been great! My basal rate is .600 units per hour. (all day)
Wednesday night I went low and had one of the rare, but heard of often: My low blood sugar is making me extremely hungry right now. I basically had a bunch of cereal, sun chips, and some rice cakes. (At least I didn't eat a bunch of sugary stuff.)
Well, off to bed.

Lows, lows, and more lows..

I have been low all day. In fact, I am munching on glucose tabs as I type.

At 12 AM last night, I was 67. I had 4 glucose tabs and retested in 15 minutes. I was 61; I had more glucose tabs. I stayed up reading and tested an hour after(1:49) that because I was really shaky and nervous. Guess what I was? Low! I was 58, so I had more glucose tabs and moved into my parents' room to sleep because I heard a weird crashing noise. (Turns out it was the wind..) 15 minutes later, I was 63(at 2:01). I had more glucose tabs and consulted my mom. She told me to suspend my basal until my BG came back up. I went to sleep because at that point I was very tired. I woke at 5:20 feeling low and I was 46. Keep in mind that my basal had been suspended for three hours and I was getting no insulin.. I had more glucose tabs and resumed my basal.

At 11:19 AM, I woke up at 48! Yay! (More glucose tabs.) At lunch I was finally around normal (143) and covered my lunch. At 4:43 I tested and was 76. I had some wheat thins and did not cover them. 30 minutes later I was 50! (Insert more glucose tabs into mouth.) At dinner I was 106 (Yay, normal!) Now, an hour later I am 43. (Well, actually that was 15 minutes ago, now I am 70 [Barely in my range. :P])
My basal rate has gone from .775 to .675 because of all my lows. (It went down to.75 at 5 AM and down to .625 just now.)

And of course, the doctors won't talk to us because there are only two on call right now, since it is still winter break. :P

It's been fun, folks. < insert sarcasm here