Swing Low, sweet chariot

Since my endocrinologist put me back on Novolog I have been exercising very tight control of my blood glucose. My goal was a pre meal value of under 100 and a two hour post meal “high” or 150. So far I had not experience any real lows and since I no longer get the sweats and shakes I test often. It had to happen sooner or later. I had a scary low.

I had hot flashes followed by rapid heart beat. I recognized the symptoms immediately and fetched my meter from the kitchen cupboard. My hand shook as I pricked my finger and squeezed a drop of blood onto the test strip. 63. Well…not too low. I called out to my wife and she got me a glass of orange juice. Within 15 minutes I was back to my old self. Shaken, not stirred.

Not sure what caused this one. Maybe too much Novolog. I had only three (3) units to go with the 46g of carb I had for dinner just a half hour before. I had mashed potatotos, Birds Eye Asian mixed vegetables, a grilled steak ( I fired up the grill just for that ) and some texas toast.

The Calorie King Exercise and Nutrition Manager shows that I had 48g or carbohydrate ( before the orange juice and BD Glucose tablet ). What caused a low so quickly after a meal? I am not sure, perhaps the fat (29g) in the meal slowed down the absorption of the carbohydrates or perhaps…who the hell knows. I hate this shit of not knowing what the heck is going to happen.

UPDATE: Checked my BG on two different meters around 8:15 PM. BG is 63 on both. WTF? So what’s going on here? These meters must be failing.

UPDATE: Check BG again on different meter at 8:45. 85. It’s climbing! Yeah. Now let’s wait and see what happens at 10 PM.

UPDATE: 10 PM: BG is 116.

Diabetes survival gear

Shortly after I was diagnosed I was given a free meter by the hospital. It was a big bulky thing that required a bucket of blood and a day to register a reading. Since them I have purchased the FreeStyle Flash Blood Glucose Meter (one for home and one for travel) from Abbott Laboratories. It take readings in about 7 second and require but a tiny drop of blood for a reading. My endocrinologist has software into which he can download the data and graph my blood glucose over time ( albeit snapshots in time ).

I also purchased a backpack in which I carry my Apple MacBook, FreeStyle test strips, FreeStyle Sterile Lancets, a Novolog Flexpen insulin pen, and NovoFine needles for the FlexPen. I use the OS-X version of the Calorie King Exercise and Nutrition Manager to track and chart my daily food intake and also lookup the occasional restaurant meal. My kids thinks it’s cool that I have a backpack just like theirs.

Checkup

Last week, I strolled into my endo’s office feeling good about my numbers and presented him with the news that I have been honey-mooning without insulin since my last checkup. At my last checkup ( sometime in January or February) he had instructed me to quit the morning insulin ( one unit of Novolog ). I was experiencing a lot of lows ( is 65 considered low?). He gave me a stern look and told me that the results of my last A1C were 7.1 and he would prefer my numbers were lower. My average BG reading was 114. I thought I was doing well.

So…I am back on the insulin. I started taking one unit of insulin before each meal. I fully expected lots of lows. Surprisingly I had the opposite experience. My blood glucose appeared to be bouncing around. I would test two hours after a meal and the BG would be 96. Then four hours after the meal it would be 150. WTF? So I started thinking to myself, “Is the insulin raising my BG?”. Irrational, I know.

I increased the dosage to two units and started getting the results I expected. The rational part of my brain continued to search for an explanation. Then today it dawned on me. In a few weeks it will be June 14; the anniversary of my diagnosis. Perhaps the honey moon ( what a stupid phrase ) phase is over. Perhaps I am entering the phase where I spiral down toward full insulin dependence.

This sucks. Sorry. That’s how I feel. I guess soon I will be shooting up Levemir as well. I just hope I don’t get the pens mixed up. One of the sucky things about taking insulin is storing it when I am not at home. I bought a backpack and keep my supplies in the front zippered and somewhat insulated compartment. But now I have to remember to carry it with me out of the car during the summer and winter. Insulin does not like extreme hear or cold. Well…neither do I.