So I am week three in my new college yr and have not been in college since 2004 so needless to say I am slightly rust on the who diabetes and college thing. Well I have my classes on tues and thurs 5 classes to be exact. this results in class starting at 8 am and last class being done at 7:55 pm. I thought this would work out great since it is all in 2 days and I would get the rest of the week for work and house stuff. Ohhh no was I wrong on could be doing something wrong not sure which yet. So it starts with a low or two during my first class which is 8am to 9:55 am I have tried changing the basal and maybe I should fix my correction dose or maybe my carb count for breakfast? then by noon food or not I am running 180 mg/dl or above. So lots more dosing going on from then on to try to get it to my target of 90 to 145. I sit and study or take exams or participate in discussions nothing to dramatic. I will say sleep has become A wish more then a fact. The classes are not hard in learning they just require study time. My sugar has forced me to step out of the class during a quiz to eat a snack and test again before going back in ( I am so glad I decided to talk with disability services to cover my butt when this happens ) I am not so much embarassed by having to take care of the diabetes it is more of the I so know how to take care of diabetes why is this happening issue!! My professors are all either nurses or doctors so I am covered in terms that they understand and work with me on this but I do not want this to be an ongoing issue. there has got to be a way to get this right. For goodness sakes I have had type 1 for over 16 yrs and been a medic for 8 so what is the deal already!! I am so frestrated by all of this. I have A pump and CGM so I am blessed with the tools I have at hand but come on any advice guys I know you are all diabetes professionals!! lol
i hate to maybe sound a little vague.
but i remember in high school in our final year.
that year we had a special student in our final year.
he had polio all his life, and was confined to a wheelchair.
he could only move his hands and head a little.
he needed help with everything, especially going up the stairs in his wheelchair.
his mother came at lunchtime everyday to help him.
thats three round trips everyday for her.
funny thing was that this fellow was the ‘nicest, non-complaining’ fellow I have ever met in my life - still to this day.
sure he may had ‘internalized’ everything
but boy o boy, do some people get dished up challenges
oh no I don’t mean to complain I am just looking for tips on how to get past these highs and lows. sorry.
i’m shedding a tear for you right now.
for both what my freind had to go through
and for what you have to go through
my ‘other’ friend is also a T1, diagnosed at 2 yo, started shots then, and is now 50 yo
I just want to say that this is ‘truly life’, and sometimes we have no control over the cards we were ever dealt!!
You, or both my friends for that matter.
I just want you to be ‘strong’ girl, and draw strength from the triumphs of others.
I have spent nearly fifteen years in ‘the University’ system.
My heart goes out to you, in doing what you are doing with D.
Really.
You are so brave.
So lets wipe the tears, be brave, and I wish you all the very best of luck in your studies and D control.
Go girl.
PS My mother has been a T2 for 25 years, and shots for the last 15 years.
Just in the last week she has been below 63 three or 4 times.
I know with your challenges, this sort of thing is the last thing you need.
So I just want to wish you all the best, offer you encouragement, and hope you sort it all out.
Thinking back to my days in high school and college…
12 straight hours of classes, two days a week? Wow, I never tried anything that hard.
I actually found it a huge benefit when I went from high school to college, because for the FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE I could check my bg’s in class and could adjust my meal schedule and insulin doses to match what I needed, instead of having to work around the stupid high school rules and schedule.
IMHO you need to look closely at your new schedule and figure out how to take advantage of it. Trying to make college be like high school would have been a mistake for me. You have to look at your new schedule and figure out how to take advantage of it.
Is 8AM a new “early start” for you compared to what you were doing before? For me my insulin sensitivity in the morning was always highest around that time of morning, assuming that I wake up and eat breakfast and go to school (now work) and start everything gung-ho. Not that I never have dawn phenonomena but that’s at 5-6AM and if everything is going right that has been long taken care of.
Whenever I change my schedule I often have to get used to having to run bg’s a little higher than normal until I get back into the groove of things. You might have to be satisfied with being above 145 at 8AM, to not hypo out before the end of your first class. Again, for me a gung-ho start to the morning gives me the highest insulin sensitivity.
Tim.
For me, I am less sensitive to insulin early in the morning and must have a higher bolus and basal rate. Med 464 rescue: I know it is hard to take new classes and then go and try to check basal rates, and you do not want to tumble too low either. I have found that the during classes , the stress of sitting , trying to comprehend, interacting, and taking notes also keep my blood sugars higher than I would like, Particularly in the AM… Can you try a slightly higher basal rate for the morning times you are sitting. taking notes, interacting for long periods of time? You may also need to very slightly and progressively lower your insulin sensitivity ( take nmore for bolussess) for the morning meal.Let your meter and CGMS be your guide.You can lower the basal for afternoon activities, as necessary.
Hope things start working better for you. I know how frustrating those “I am doing evey thing I can and my blood sugars are STILL not in range” periods can be. But hang in there. This too, shall pass.
God Bless,
Brunetta
I would be fine running at 145 in the morning to knock out those lows since I have exams every thur. in that class I don’t want to risk A lower test score due to a low blood sugar. 8am is not early for me at all I have been getting up at 5am for over 8 yrs so I can hit the gym and get ready for the day. I think the morning I:C ratio needed to be adjusted. I do love the no high school thing trust me I never want to have to wait to test till the teacher says its okay or fight A low till they let me treat. I take it as A blessing to have the freedom to test as I please and eat as needed but man I swear I am going to start packing on the pounds if I don’t get these morning lows under control. So tomorrow I am going to switch out the I:C ratio and drop the basal by .025 an hr before at 7 am and see if that helps. as for the highs guess A bump up is needed which I so hate I just got my insulin TDD under 28 units! oh well I would rather take more and stay healthy then to fight complications later.
Thanks Michael I know I will get it worked out just thought I would see if anyone had any tips I hadn’t thought of.
It sounds like you’ve got a lot going on, so try making one change at a time. First try to figure out what is causing the low in the AM. If it’s a simple change, like changing your correction factor or carb ratio, then it might take a few (exhausting) days of working that out but then you’ll be set. That in turn might prevent you from needing to snack or reduce basal which may then correct the lunch-time high without any other changes. Whenever I have a BAD day and I’m bouncing all over the place, it usually stems from a single event (over-treating a low or over-correcting for a high) that spirals outward…
Good luck, you sound ambitious so I know you can do it!
I am a college student as well and it seems that every new semester it takes me a couple of weeks to get the kinks out of my blood sugars because of the time changes in when i attend classes. I try to get a routine of sorts figured out and that really seems to help me to figure out how to adjust my sensity level and carb ratios. I have noticed that stress of school at times can send my blood sugar up or down. I also have the student disablities have also arranged for me to take tests in their office where i can stop during a test if i have a low blood sugar and have extended time to take care of any Diabetic related issues. Not sure if you can get this at where your attending but it has saved me several times.
I think you are right about the treating the low in the morning might be causing the high in the afternoon I am going to try and workout the morning issue first as it seems to be the one that can cause the most potiental problem with test and quiz’es and then go from there. If that is there problem then I won’t have to mess with the afternoon basal or I:C ratio either! thanks that so helped!!
Wow they gave you that option? I just show my professor my bg number on the meter or cgm and he lets me take care of it but I just hate losing my train of thought and getting the low feeling during an important test or quiz you know? I am going to see if they will give me that option because I feel like when I have to up and see him and then leave to handle it I am distracting the class. thanks for the advice
I just discussed my on going issue with hypoglycemia unawareness and they decided that i should not be testing in class because of the risk of it imparing my ability to test as well as other students. I feel fortunate that they have helped as much as they do. I did have to give them detailed reports of ambulance visits, and times i passed out at work and home. I had some issues in my previous semesters with professors. My professor are not happy about it but the student disabilities office thinks its a needed accomidation.
I was the same way when I went through the chemo and we had to make major adjustments to my pump to keep it down. My oncology team worked closely to keep me on target it was A lot of hard work but it worked