A1C Time Again - Happy New Year

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Evidence of our family’s Christmas has been packed away until next year. I expect I will be chewing on the Extra Dessert Delights chewing gum that filled my Christmas Stocking for weeks to come.

The family came through our first holiday season with me as a diabetic. My loved ones did an amazing job supporting my efforts and I know I could not have done as well without their help. With their support it was not as difficult to stay on target as I thought it would be. To be honest, I have had more trouble staying on track since the New Year began. It is as if I breathed a big sigh of relief and went crazy eating ‘healthy’ food choices. A calorie is a calorie is a calorie. More on that another time.

During the holiday seasion of 2010, I learned more about my body’s responses to different situations. I had surgery in early December that raised my BS numbers as did a delightful visit from our daughter and son-in-law. This pancreas of mine still responds nicely to exercise. I was cleared to get back to cardio work yesterday - and I want to continue taking advantage of the benefits of physical activity in 2011.

On Monday I will have a new A1C test taken and find out the truth about how well I managed diabetes during the most recent 3 month period. In truth, I expect it to be higher than the last time but not much higher. I am still getting the hang of tracking my numbers and carbs. It is so much easier to write down the food as I eat it. And better still if I have the day’s meal planned before I have breakfast. My BS numbers range from 80’s to the highest of 182. My doc recommends I stay below 140 and that I do not swing more than 40 points in either direction.

I still don’t understand how I wake up with BS at 137, eat a “proper low carb breakfast” and find that my #'s go to high 80’s before noon. Then have a spike only to 140 and a drop to 90 again between lunch, snack, dinner. I don’t understand why I spike in the night while I sleep. However, I do understand this:

It is my responsibility to control my numbers as best as I can. Armed with a low carb food plan, my sugar free gum, a new pair of sneakers and a walk around the block before or after work, I will keep tracking, counting, and praying the big D will continue to be under control.

Glad to hear you made it through the holidays! It’s that darn need for constant vigilance (post-holidays, too) that is so tough! I had an A1C on December 28 and was quite happy with it, but can’t slack off now!

Here’s an article about what happens in type 2 diabetes overnight: http://bit.ly/ffJV6U

It’s usually not an issue of what you ate the night before–it’s the fact that the liver puts out glucose while the body is asleep (and not eating) even though there’s already more than enough glucose in the blood. Also, the normal hormone cycle at wake-up time (Dawn Phenomenon) can elevate glucose, too. Quite often a medication (usually metformin, then long-acting insulin if that’s not enough) is necessary to combat this out-of-whack hormonal feedback system. People tend to beat themselves up for not being able to “do it” with diet and exercise alone. But diet and exercise alone often aren’t adequate, especially over the years.

Best wishes for your new year and thanks for inspiring me to keep on keepin’ on!