So, I started on the Minimed CGMS last Wednesday. It's been a pretty telling experience so far. I've learned that my morning commute really makes my BG spike. I did some experiments to see if it was actually coffee, or the stress of driving in a fairly congested area (Baltimore). There are some other factors (a really bad car accident on January 7th - more on that later) that cause me driving stress, but I know the traffic and "bad drivers" is a significant variable.
After having some bad reactions to the IV3000 tape used to secure the sensor and transmitter, I tried Nexcare Tegaderm, and it seems to be working well. Although my CDE said that I can leave the sensor unsecured, I just don't feel comfortable with that. So, if I react badly to the Tegaderm, it's back to the drawing board for me.
Now, on to the drama from last night. My husband and I went to dinner pretty late, which I always hate doing, but somehow Saturdays seem to get away from us. We got to the restaurant at 8:30ish and finished eating by 10:00. I did a dual wave bolus for dinner. When we got home, When I went to bed around 11:30, I was pretty high (high 180s), but I assumed that the second bolus wave would get it.
As I'm sleeping soundly, I hear this faint beeping, but choose to ignore it. Finally, at around 1:30am, I'm awakened by this siren-like alarm. It's one I've heard a few times over the past few days. My husband rolled over and asked "what the @#*&^ is that?" My reply? "It's my thing . . . " I'm not good when I wake up abruptly - I can't even form complete sentences. However, I guess my reply was sufficient because Brian just rolled back over and went back to sleep. I, on the other hand, cancel the alarm and take a peek at my pump (which is also the receiver for the CGMS transmitter). Well, lo and behold, I'm at 248. What the . . . !?! How did that happen? To confirm that the sensor was working properly, I grab my meter from my night stand. Using the light from my pump (which always goes out when I need it most), I insert a test strip, prick my finger, and wait. Sure enough, I'm 235 (the sensor has been pretty accurate so far).
So, I do a correction bolus, and go back to sleep until I hear the dreaded beep-beep-beep a few hours later. My first thought was that I must be going low because of the bolus, but that wasn't the low alarm, it was the high one. I grabbed my pump, checked the screen, and sure enough, I'm 198. Now, I'm really confused (and completely awake). I grab my meter, which proves sensor correct once again. Thinking something must be wrong with my infusion site, I head into the bathroom to take a look. Everything seems fine, so I bolus lightly and go back to sleep.
Beep-beep-beep. Okay, at this point, I was annoyed (and completely exhausted). I looked at the clock to see that it was 6:30am (I get up at 6am during the work week). Uh-oh, I knew that all the pets would think it was time to get up if I even moved, but I knew that I had to see what was going on. I checked the pump, which showed my BG at 184. Here's the thing - I knew I was supposed to change my infusion site at that point because it was probably bad, but I was just too tired. Instead, I bolused again, grabbed a juice box from my nightstand drawer (just in case I drop unexpectedly), and had to fight a dog and a cat for my place on the bed. The other two cats just looked at me expectantly, but I was NOT getting up for anything.
Finally, I wake up (on my own) around 9:30. My husband had been up for a while, and managed to clear all the animals out of our bedroom when he got up (he's really good about that). First thing I did was look to see how I did the rest of the night (morning). After that last bolus, I gently managed to drop down to 102 by 9:00am. I guess my infusion set wasn't bad after all, so why was I high all night?
After almost 10 years of living with this disease, I've come to the conclusion that some things are beyond my control. This drives me absolutely crazy, though. It should be simple math - eat X number of carbs, take Y units of insulin, but we all know that it doesn't work like that. Frustrating, but true . . . I just need to get a better handle on this if I ever hope to achieve that golden A1c (low 7s to mid 6s) needed to have a baby.
Has anyone had any experience with a low-carb diet (like Atkins)? I'm just worried about the possibility of lows associated with doing this. My doctor is not opposed to it, but I would really like to "real world" opinions.
After having some bad reactions to the IV3000 tape used to secure the sensor and transmitter, I tried Nexcare Tegaderm, and it seems to be working well. Although my CDE said that I can leave the sensor unsecured, I just don't feel comfortable with that. So, if I react badly to the Tegaderm, it's back to the drawing board for me.
Now, on to the drama from last night. My husband and I went to dinner pretty late, which I always hate doing, but somehow Saturdays seem to get away from us. We got to the restaurant at 8:30ish and finished eating by 10:00. I did a dual wave bolus for dinner. When we got home, When I went to bed around 11:30, I was pretty high (high 180s), but I assumed that the second bolus wave would get it.
As I'm sleeping soundly, I hear this faint beeping, but choose to ignore it. Finally, at around 1:30am, I'm awakened by this siren-like alarm. It's one I've heard a few times over the past few days. My husband rolled over and asked "what the @#*&^ is that?" My reply? "It's my thing . . . " I'm not good when I wake up abruptly - I can't even form complete sentences. However, I guess my reply was sufficient because Brian just rolled back over and went back to sleep. I, on the other hand, cancel the alarm and take a peek at my pump (which is also the receiver for the CGMS transmitter). Well, lo and behold, I'm at 248. What the . . . !?! How did that happen? To confirm that the sensor was working properly, I grab my meter from my night stand. Using the light from my pump (which always goes out when I need it most), I insert a test strip, prick my finger, and wait. Sure enough, I'm 235 (the sensor has been pretty accurate so far).
So, I do a correction bolus, and go back to sleep until I hear the dreaded beep-beep-beep a few hours later. My first thought was that I must be going low because of the bolus, but that wasn't the low alarm, it was the high one. I grabbed my pump, checked the screen, and sure enough, I'm 198. Now, I'm really confused (and completely awake). I grab my meter, which proves sensor correct once again. Thinking something must be wrong with my infusion site, I head into the bathroom to take a look. Everything seems fine, so I bolus lightly and go back to sleep.
Beep-beep-beep. Okay, at this point, I was annoyed (and completely exhausted). I looked at the clock to see that it was 6:30am (I get up at 6am during the work week). Uh-oh, I knew that all the pets would think it was time to get up if I even moved, but I knew that I had to see what was going on. I checked the pump, which showed my BG at 184. Here's the thing - I knew I was supposed to change my infusion site at that point because it was probably bad, but I was just too tired. Instead, I bolused again, grabbed a juice box from my nightstand drawer (just in case I drop unexpectedly), and had to fight a dog and a cat for my place on the bed. The other two cats just looked at me expectantly, but I was NOT getting up for anything.
Finally, I wake up (on my own) around 9:30. My husband had been up for a while, and managed to clear all the animals out of our bedroom when he got up (he's really good about that). First thing I did was look to see how I did the rest of the night (morning). After that last bolus, I gently managed to drop down to 102 by 9:00am. I guess my infusion set wasn't bad after all, so why was I high all night?
After almost 10 years of living with this disease, I've come to the conclusion that some things are beyond my control. This drives me absolutely crazy, though. It should be simple math - eat X number of carbs, take Y units of insulin, but we all know that it doesn't work like that. Frustrating, but true . . . I just need to get a better handle on this if I ever hope to achieve that golden A1c (low 7s to mid 6s) needed to have a baby.
Has anyone had any experience with a low-carb diet (like Atkins)? I'm just worried about the possibility of lows associated with doing this. My doctor is not opposed to it, but I would really like to "real world" opinions.
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