So, I've pretty much dropped off the internet Earth :P College has started back up and I'm already swamped with work while trying to achieve my Doctorates of Physical Therapy. I started insulin pump therapy one week before school. The first few days were fantastic! My sugars were just perfect; between 90-120. My ideal range!!
Then..things started to go haywire. My gym that I go to has been under construction for improvements so I haven't been able to work out in about a week and a half and I'm at college for the majority of my day. I don't necessarily feel stressed, but it's highly possible that I'm severely stressed. It could also be that I'm use to incredible amounts of stress that I just block out the emotional factors. So back to the main point; my sugars have been INSANE. After the initial 5-6 days, I have been lingering in a range of 190-250!! I'm really not use to being that high and it has really wore on my emotional and physical well being. I'm just confused whether this is a basal rate issue or a stress issue. Either way, it's been an interesting first two weeks of school.
I've heard the first few months of pump therapy can be intense and emotionally tolling. I just didn't imagine it being this hard. This makes me wonder, is stress and BG BFFS or worst enemies? They seem to love to cause havoc together while hating each other at the same time.
So sorry I have not been around much, TU! I know I joined only recently before I vanished, but I hope to be more active on the site as the year progresses.
PS, I am working closely with my pump therapist to resolve my basal rate issue. It's only been about two and a half weeks, so I'm sure I just need to be more patient :)
I'm not on a pump, but I think a lot of pumpers go through this at first, plus staring school and not exercising could be part of it. Can you go for a walk where you live? Or just get a small stair stepper for at home- I find walking always lowers me, 1-2 miles at least. I'm sure you'll get this figured out soon and welcome back to to Tu :)
Most exercising weirdly raises my BG, so it's not so much a direct BG factor as "hey this makes my whole body happy" deal which indirectly affects my BG. Plus, my neighborhood right now is totally sketchy, so I'm not too big on walking in it :P I'm leaning towards the crazy BGs being a combination of both!
oh, too bad.. that happens to me on occasion and it happened tonight.. I went from 98 to 127 after a 2 mile walk, lol. oh well.. yes, don't walk in a sketch neighborhood. I tend to walk at night and I carry mace and an alarm in an ok area. I guess you will have to get sadder to get your bg down then :)
Hi, Ashley. I just recently joined TU, and was reading thru some blog posts when I came across yours. I've been pumping for about 18 years now. I remember having issues way back then, and I still experience issues to this day. It's never going to be perfect...just keep doing the best you can. :)
Stress blows my BG out of the water. When I have a very stressful day at work, my BG tends to run higher and my insulin seems to be less effective. If you are having a stressful day, you might want to consider increasing your basal rate 0.1-0.2 additional units/hour higher than your normal basal rate to help out (run this past your doc, tho). Make sure you always have glucose tablets handy in case you overdo it. Stress impacts your body by telling it that something is wrong, and your body's response is to naturally elevate its glucose levels via secretion of glucagon to "be ready" for whatever it thinks is going to happen. It thinks it will need energy to deal with a situation, which really is just an issue of stress on your mind. It's crazy how the human body works. For me, exercise (vigorous, I like to lift weights or do cardio for at least 30 min/day in a gym) does WONDERS for helping to keep my glucose levels in check. Actually, I find myself dealing with low BG more frequently when I exercise. I find that when I keep up with exercise (and don't slack, which is easy for me to do), I tend to only need about half the amount of insulin that I normally would need throughout the course of the day. I find that consistency is the best practice for me. You'll get through this as you make your way. Be patient. You will be ok. :)
Exercise really helps keep my body happy which directly affects my BGs. The weird thing is, I find I spike more than drop (BG wise) when intensely exercising. I'm unfortunately still in the phase of pump training where my instructor only wants me to listen to the pump's advice unless things are BAD. To correctly figure out my basal rates and such. As soon as training is over though; I'll totally keep that in mind that I should increase my basals a tad when I'm really stressed ;)
