Who takes a day off from checking their blood sugar?? who eats whatever they want for just one day??? this Diabetic book i read said to take one day off from worrying about it. i was just wondering who here does that???
Wow that sounds pretty crazy to me. But who knows, maybe people do that. That would be pretty nice, but i think I would still worry about it. I would probably get in trouble too!
I do believe in giving yourself respite and a break in the stress of life, but as a Type 1 I wouldn’t go as far as not testing my blood sugar or using insulin for a day. Nope, not worth it!
I sometimes have the ‘eat whatever I want’ days…but that means being even MORE diligent about bolusing, checking blood sugar, being on top of other things in general, etc.
If I just ate whatever I wanted and didn’t check my blood sugar I’m pretty sure I’d end up feeling crappy (sick to my stomach, headache, etc.) or even putting myself in danger of DKA.
I’m guessing that book was written for type 2. Still a bad idea.
My answer = never.
I agree with the others. I have days that I’ll do a 100 carbs, not sure if thats high or not, for me it is. But I can’t imagine taking a day off from checking my BGS.
Vacation?? NO!! Never.
Just a thought: You said “a day off from worrying about it”. That you can do. Worrying is very stressful and not necessarily productive. I definitely agree that you can eat well, test your blood sugar and bolus accordingly while not worrying. Enjoy your life, kick back, break free, and don’t focus on diabetes. Sure. That’s all good. There seems to be a school of thought that says we are worrying too much about diabetes or about “numbers”. I agree. But that doesn’t mean we go “whoopeee” and just toss it all away. That would be pretty counter productive, no? But worry? Obsess? Those we can lay aside.
My day off from diabetes is not working in it (I work as a diabetic mentor). It’s nice for me to take a break from constantly checking for latest medical updates, etc. that I have to Tweet / Facebook / forum post, etc. Actually taking a holiday next month where I hope to not have any WI FI connection at all - so I’m completely out of the loop in the D-OC! LOL Though I will be meeting up with some friends who are diabetic from Germany and maybe Italy and Spain!
What’s the name of the book and the author Iala_wolf if you don’t mind me asking - I’m a cat \^,^// - always curious 
- it’s in my nature - like a dog with a “squirrel”
Not worrying about diabetes & not testing & eating whatever are different. Nope, I’ve never taken a day off from testing.
I definitely have days where I eat whatever I want – they are mostly celebration days like my birthday, and going to eat with friends, but even there, I tend to limit it. I don’t have a big enough stomach to truly go “hog wild”. And I definitely test and bolus, and the net result is that I take more insulin than usual, but my BGs stay in pretty good shape. Except when I went out with my brother for my birthday, and fully planned to eat a good meal with rice at a Thai restaurant, and forgot to bolus, and went up over 350. That really wasn’t in the plans.
As far as not testing, I have a CGM, and it’s very easy to frequently take a glance at it. The numbers are not exactly accurate, but it’ll tell me if I’m going up or down, and then I can test if I need to and correct as necessary with my pump. I think everyone on insulin should have the chance to have a pump and CGM – it has made a drastic change in my life.
And now to be honest: Last year, I was majorly depressed, and binged on carbs, and didn’t test, and often didn’t take boluses (still had my basal going, and didn’t have the CGM, not that I would have used it), and my BG just went up and up, and I ended up in a coma that almost killed me. So I don’t WANT to take a day off from testing. I wouldn’t say I worry about it, exactly, but it IS on my mind every day, because I NEVER want to go through that again. It’s amazing how it can just sneak up on you.
So I guess I’m saying what other people seem to be saying – do have an eat what you want day, but cover it by testing and taking your insulin, and enjoy!
Sure, I have a cake and ice cream for lunch day every now and then. Or the pizza buffet binge. Afterwards I usually wonder why! Was it really worth not feeling “good” afterwards because your sugars go high and you have to keep chasing with insulin, or because you covered to much and have eaten enough to live on for at least a week and you still have to eat more? I agree with Zoe, don’t focus on diabetes. Don’t let it control you, learn to control it. Being diabetic has not stopped me yet. Little slower maybe, but not stopped! But never a day off from testing and insulin.
That sounds like a recipe for ending up in the 30’s or the 400’s. Eeek.
I might tell myself, “I’m not going to worry about it today,” but that doesn’t mean go hog wild with no testing, not with insulin injections to manage.
I do. And I regret it! Not a good idea!
I try to limit carbs, and take days off from that, but agree with an earlier comment, that I usually end up testing more. I have only been at it for a year, but I think I would break from restraints if I were to have 25 carbs and did nothing within reach of pen or a meter. I do however leave my supplies at home sometimes when I am out for a few hours. Yes I have issues, but I also have an A1c under 6. I don’t think I would be damaged from just a day, but I also don’t think that intentionally avoiding what needs to be done is worth the guilt. Screwing up is one thing, but I wouldn’t do it on purpose.
In college I took many (TOO many) days off. I used to get stressed out by high numbers and, at 18, the most logical solution was to not test. Right? Nope! It makes me want to go back in time and kick myself; I honestly don’t think I could do it again. The stress of being without my meter for a few hours when I forget it – even with a cgm – is way more than the stress of having to test constantly. I now feel more comfortable knowing that I’m high or low, and knowing that I can treat it effectively, than not knowing at all (other than what I ‘feel’). Honestly, I think it’s TERRIBLE advice. I think the main focus, especially in younger individuals but for almost everyone, should be taking the stress out of testing. That means realizing that there are no ‘good’ numbers or ‘bad’ numbers. Yes, we have targets, but ANY number is better than no number because once you know you can take corrective action. That’s the whole point of testing. If we were always in range then there would be no reason to test. It’s too many times that I talk to people like my brother that think of it like it’s some kind of exam – ‘nope, can’t test because my doctor will how bad I’m doing…’, 'nope, I know I’m high so I don’t need to test…"
As a type 1, I would never go an entire day without checking. Not knowing my glucose would make me more stressed out than the routine checking! I get peace of mind seeing my numbers, knowing how things are affecting me.
One day off per what? I didn’t check my BG very consistently while on a weeklong vacation but I’m not on insulin, I maintain pretty consistent eating habits, and I have an A1C of 5.6, so I wasn’t putting myself at any particular risk.
Vacation from worrying about it? YEP!!
I just got back from a vacation in Aruba and I tested just like I do at home. Ate well, but didn’t “pig out” and my BS was fine, except for the day we flew home. My eating got a little off track. Back on track now.