She has sugar...

It was just another day at the office... Work, check blood sugar. Work some more, light up Dexie's screen to make sure all is good on the 'betes front. You all know the drill.

Then I discover treats!! Homemade Rice Krispy Treats, and I'm a sucker for Rice Krispy treats. I eat a couple.... and forget to bolus. No big deal. It happens to the best of us. We just take a correction bolus and life goes on, blood sugar goes down, blah blah blah...

This was toward the end of the day,  and when my blood sugar is high, I just can't eat.  Not because it's high, but because I'm just not hungry.

As I continue about my day, the lady who made the Rice Krispy Treats started passing the last few remaining in her tupperware. I politely declined. She tried pushing it, and I again said no.

Just then a co-worker decides to speak for me... "no, she doesn't want any... she has sugar." The Rice Krispy Treats lady's eyes widen, and she says, "oh no! Then no more for you," and walks away. I just smile while clenching my jaw.

My parents taught me to respect others, especially people older than me. And since I'm fairly new at the job, I decided to keep my mouth shut. But my blood was boiling; I wanted to tell this co-worker off!

First of all, what the *bleep* does having sugar mean?

Second of all, this is NOT the first time this person tries to be a diabetes police officer to me. Who the *bleep* gave her a carb counting, blood sugar monitoring bagde?

Third of all, I'm old enough to speak for myself. I say yes when I want to and no when I don't.  It's as simple as that.

Fourth of all, I have been living with diabetes for 2/3 of my life. I am alive. I am healthy. I have no complications. I have a decent A1C, and pretty good control of my diabetes. There is no "type zero" on this planet who can tell me what I can or cannot eat.

I understand that in her way she is just trying to watch out for me. But at the end of the day, this is my disease. I will do with it as I see fit. I know what I can or cannot do.

Diabetically Un-educated

Recently I've been wondering if I need to go see a diabetes educator, but then I think to myself, "what can they teach me? I live with diabetes everyday, and unless I find one who has it, too, then I probably don't need one."

Well, today  I did learn something new from a type zero (a person who doesn't have diabetes), and I found myself thinking over and over, "Gosh, I do need to speak to a diabetes educator, after all." The woman works for a major medical company who makes insulin pumps, so she is pretty knowledgeable about them.

I thought I was pretty knowledgeable when it came to the 'betes and being a pump user. Well, I got news for myself: I have tons to learn still. After being on the pump for 10 years (yes, you read this right, I did say 10 years and I'm still learning), I just learned the difference between a dual (or wave??) bolus and a square bolus. Knowing the difference will really, really impact my blood glucose when I go to parties where I eat here and there, as opposed to sitting down for a meal.

During dinner on Christmas day, I had no idea how many cabs I had eaten or would continue to eat. It wasn't a sit down and eat kind of dinner. It was relaxed, everyone grab their plates and eat what and when they wanted. Snacks were everywhere. So, I just kept eating and figured I'd correct later. Can anyone guess my bg after all was said and done? Ya, umm, it was in the 400s. Thus, if I had known what a square bolus was and how to use it, I would have given myself between 3-5 units of insulin, throughout a 3-4 hour period. (I could have used a dual wave combo bolus, but I am re-learning everything regarding pump and diabetes, after I opened up my eyes and realized I was most likely on a downward spiral towards complication after complication by ignoring my diabetes).

So, what is a dual/wave/combo bolus? You split the amount of insulin you want to take for a meal. A couple of weeks ago, I ate Chinese for dinner (now that isn't, nor will it continue to be, a frequent thing and I'll explain why another day). If I remember correctly I ate about 74g of carbs. Due to newly learned information, I knew that Chinese food was full of fat and that would slow down my digestion/absorption of carbohydrates. So I split the total amount of insulin I would be taking. The pump calculated the total of insulin I needed to take: 74/15=4.95 units. I decided to experiment with the combo bolus. I chose to give myself 30% before I ate and 70% in the space of 3 hours (as a result of slower digestion due to fat in the food). Therefore, I took 1.48 units immediately and the pump gave me the rest, 3.47, little bits at a time. It did work out well. I didn't measure my blood sugar before bed because I went to sleep less than 2 hours after dinner, but my blood sugar was 123 (or something in that range) the next day.

Combo Bolus

The square bolus is slightly different. Say I'm about to eat a bowl of cereal (I hate milk, therefore I don't really eat cereal, but this one is hypothetical), but I'm also doing a million and one other things at the same time. Maybe my 5 year old nephew is visiting and keeps asking me to play with him as I eat my cereal. I can set my bolus to dispense insulin slowly throughout 30 minutes, as opposed to taking all the units I need before I eat, which could result in a low blood sugar later.

Square Bolus

Now that I know exactly what these two types of bolusing do for me, I will be sure to use it more in the future (I have never done a square bolus, ever "/).

You live and you learn, and I will call up the diabetes educator that my endocrinologist recommended to me  first thing tomorrow. I thank the Guy up there for looking out for me while I was being negligent with my 'betes. Every night before bed I thank Him for giving me another day on this Earth, especially another day with no complications. I am slowly changing my diet and trying to learn all I can to control the 'betes, not let it control me.