Some days are good.
Some days are not as good.
But if I can learn something for the next day, that’s good, right?
Control
Things That Go Bump In The Night
Add ‘my diabetes’ to that list.
Speaking of list, I had no idea that phrase was referenced so many times.
Dexcom Software 505
Learning How To Walk
By no means am I an expert on this diabetes thing. I have a grasp of the basics: food makes my blood sugar goes up, insulin down, exercise helps, these are the facts, yet this sentence is a lie. But I’ve found that almost everything I thought I knew, took for granted, or even assumed about my diabetes management prior to starting on an insulin pump is a distant memory spent counting insulin pen needles. It’s not that everything I knew doesn’t translate to pumping insulin, it’s just that everything I knew on multiple daily injections doesn’t translate to pumping insulin.
Trust the Pump
“Your BG is Above Target. Add Correction Bolus?”
Trusting the math within the configuration of my insulin pump has been a big challenge for me. Ordinarily when I would opt to take another insulin injection to get my blood glucose back in an acceptable range, my insulin pump has a more prudent approach to things.
Image (linked) via giphy.com
Prior to pumping insulin, I never consciously factored in the time it takes for insulin to do its thing after I’ve eaten. I know that insulin is required to cover meals, but I rarely thought about the time it takes for that coverage to take place. Now, my insulin pump kindly reminds me that I have 4.02 units of insulin in my system for another 3 hours, and does not recommend any additional insulin.
Pumping Ain’t Easy
I know, I’m burning this post title awfully early in the grand timeline of my wearing an insulin pump, but enough has happened already – in just 48 hours – that I’m going for it.
I’ve had an eventful start.
- My first night on a pump, we had pizza for dinner – like you do – celebrating my ability to program a legitimate extended bolus.
- Somewhere in the process of living my life, my infusion set went wonky.
- Despite the wonk, corrections had some effect. Which (incorrectly) led me to think my pump settings were off. Because I would know things were wrong after my first-ever 20-hours wearing this thing.
- After continued blood glucose tests, failed corrections, and general frustration, I did a full site change. Infusion set, insulin cartridge, everything.
- The next 12 hours involved staring at my iPad (monitoring my Nightscout site) as the number slowly fell back into range.
Resuming Insulin
Today officially marks a new era in my diabetes management.
This should be…fun? Scary? Promising? Interesting? All of the above?
A Consequence of Hypoglycemia. 