For the past month I have been sticking to doing the following:
* Weighing/measuring/looking up ALL the food I eat * Staying below 30g carbs per meal and 10-15g for snacks
* Trying to stay at 100-125g of carbs per day (I need to work on this, I'd like to stay under 100g)
* Keeping my schedule virtually identical each day (as much as possible)
* Keeping my life stress-free (mostly in regards to a different attitude towards work!)
* Exercising 30 minutes a day (at the same time)
* Recording everything (glucose, insulin, food, exercise, etc.) in Diabetes Pilot
My blood sugars have been pretty great (for me) as a result of all of this. Not nearly what some people on this site can accomplish, but great control for me that, if I can keep up long-term I will be very happy. For the past week stats look like this:
Range: 2.3 - 13.7 (41 - 247) 40% of readings have been 4-7 (70-125)
83% of readings have been 4-11 (70-200)
7% of readings have been above 11 (above 200)
10% of readings have been below 4 (below 70)
My average blood sugar is 7.5 (135).
When I look at a graph of my readings it's still kind of depressing, but if doing all this work has shown me anything it's that my blood sugars do change without me doing anything at all! Actually, before this graph I had about four days of truly awesome control, then I started going high so I bumped settings up a tiny bit, had a day or two of great numbers, then I started going low but I didn't change anything because I wanted to see if it would last, then I was sort of ping-ponging between high and low, and now today I've been high all day. And all this is with the same schedule, same food, same exercise, even (for the most part) the same pump settings! Also, despite keeping everything almost identical from day to day my "modal day" graph still looks chaotic ... no high/low patterns based on time of day. My only guess is hormones, and I am recording all that information so that maybe someday I can sort of figure those out ...
There are still some things I would like to work on ... I would like to eat fewer carbs and exercise more each day. But I already think I am putting A LOT of effort into my diabetes and I don't think I could do a whole lot more without becoming totally obsessed about it. I think for now I am totally happy with this control I have and will just try and keep it going until my next A1c and see what it turns out as.Also, to motivate me towards my goal to exercise more (and lose weight ...) I registered for the Sun Run this year! I have never done this before so I'm really excited! I signed up for the walking category but I would love to be able to work on being able to jog part of all of it, even if slowly, so that is going to be my goal! I am going to start tomorrow by going for a long walk in my neighbourhood and try to do that a few times per week, and may join one of the Sun Run walk/run training programs if there is one near me. I signed up with a friend and knowing how competitive I am it will really motivate me.
Even without studying all the info you supplied , reading about you having registered for the Sun Run moved me to pieces ...just awesome Jen !! Maybe a Team Diabetes walk/run next , either in Vancouver or who knows where http://www.diabetes.ca/get-involved/events/vancouver-half-marathon/ ...register for a half M or 5 km ...I would love to pledge :)
Hmmm, so if they change without doing anything, would more basal be appropriate? Not a lot, just a whiff?
I totally recommend a training program for your race. I really enjoyed the program I did last summer. I shocked myself every other weekend all summer long, and into the fall, by doing things I hadn't imagined, running farther, running faster, running smoother, etc. I'm still pissed about my time in the marathon but most people, even experienced runners are like "who cares, you finished" which is also sort of true. I'm a Libra so I am always going back and forth with stuff.
Thanks for sharing these numbers. Looking at your numbers, I see a couple of things. You mentioned in my blog post that you did have some trouble keeing your variation down. It doesn't look like you are having trouble with daily variation. So, you are not bouncing from way low to way high on a daily basis.
The silly question is, did you have any site changes that might account for having to change your basal? Site changes are the one thing I can count on to throw my basals off like you are showing. I have 4 different basal settings depending on the absorbtion site I choose.
I guess the comment i would make if you are not having any luck tracking down a cause is that, when that does havppen to me, not if, I'll ride out the trend for a few days, usually until the next site change, before I change settings. If I see the same trend, maybe not the same absolute numbers, then I'll make a change to basals.
If that means my boluses are going to be higher for the time I'm riding high, or I'll be pounding Smarties for the time that i'm low, so be it. I find that if I screw with my basals too much, without knowing why the change in trend in the first place, I'll experience the exact same thing you are.
Keep up th good work and best of luck with the run!
Your effort is amazing, and quire frankly if we could all just wake up tomorrow and have EVERYTHING PERFECT, we'd all be perfect, right? It takes time and effort (which you've been putting in). You deserve tons of kudos!
Thanks for all the comments! I get motivated myself by posting here and getting such encouraging comments like this, so I'm glad this might motivate others, too!
I actually just put my overnight basal down a bit because I've woken up low three of the past four mornings. I did site changes on Jan 1, 3, 4, and 6, so am not sure if they correspond to the changes, but I could look back and see. I haven't been recording where my sites are, but I could easily start doing that and see if it correlates to anything.
As to my daily variation, when I posted to your blog FHS I used my 90-day variation, which is a LOT worse than these numbers! This is why I'm so happy with these numbers, this is great control compared to what I've had in the past. If I could keep this type of thing up forever I'd be very happy.
I think I probably will do a Sun Run training program since they are run by people who know what they're doing. I know at least three other people doing it, too, so might just make up something with them. Of course, today's motivation is going to be to actually go do a long walk around my neighbourhood--I kind of forgot that I live in VANCOUVER and it's pouring rain out there this morning!!
Holy crap! That race is HUGE! 60k people is a big crowd and should be a spectacular experience! I am not a big fan of running in the rain. Sprinkles in summer heat are ok but a winter monsoon is not a lot of fun.
I also applaud you for perceiving a change and grabbing the positive in it and keeping working at it. That's the way to get furthur!
I think entering a run is huge news. And I hope you realize that an average blood sugar of 135 mg/dl corresponds to an A1c of 6.3%. I am really happy for you.
Jen - I am continually impressed by the open book of your life that you allow us to be part of. I am encouraged to try harder myself. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Jen , I am sure you know about this ? http://www.vancouversun.com/2012sunrun/pdf/InTrainingClinicList.pdf ...and this ? :The Sun paper also has a weekly ( Mondays ) Sun Run page ; there is a Training Clinic here in SA ..owner sells me my fav shoes :New Balance ...yes , a big event the Sun Run in beautiful Vancouver ..lots of out of towners /out of country :)...PS we still have lots of umbrellas from the time we lived there ..we are blessed here in SA : we use the indoor hockey rink when roadways slick , safe and it's free
