Whew. It’s over. I saw my CDE, I faced down my A1c, and I finally feel like I have some clarity on my numbers. And most importantly, I have some concrete things to try that should help me even out some of this swinging.
So let’s start with the big reveal – what was this number that got me so upset in the first place? 7.1% A full .5% UP from my last one in January that was a more comfortable 6.6. And as I said in my recent post, I can’t believe that ME of all people is having this problem. I’ve got all the tools that one needs to be successful in managing diabetes, and here I am feeling like I lost the road-map.
One thing I have always appreciated about my CDE is that he understands that people with diabetes have one major uncontrollable that often wreaks havoc on their numbers. And that uncontrollable would be life. Life happens, no matter how good your carb count or your titration is.
Recently, I’ve been under a lot of stress – there’s been some personal stuff going on, work changes, and oh yeah – Tour de Cure San Diego that was taking up a ton of my time (and ability to keep a regular schedule). My CDE offered words of comfort for the disappointment I have in myself. He reminded me that diabetes is just one slice of the Life Pie, and that I can’t hold myself accountable for things that are out of my control. And he encouraged me by reminding me that there are lots of things that I do have control over, and those I can work on.
First, I’m going to start using the square wave feature more often on my pump. This will help me time my Symlin and insulin better at mealtimes. Second, instead of looking at the whole BG picture and being so overwhelmed I don’t know where to start, he suggested I first work on any lows that I’m having. They’re more acutely dangerous than highs, and once I work on getting some of those out, he bets some of the highs will be gone too because I’ll be swinging between extremes much less. I can address any other highs that seem to still be around after that.
I really like the idea of not trying to figure everything out at once, because I was totally overwhelmed with the logbook numbers I’ve assembled over the past few days. It was all over the chart and made me feel like I didn’t know where to start. Finally, I need to test my morning basal rates. Highs late in the morning cause me to go low in the middle of my lunch because I treat them to close to my mealtimes, stacking my doses.
Just talking these issues through with someone who has so much experience helped me tremendously – and right away. My CDE is an essential part of my health, and I can honestly say I couldn’t do it without him. But I didn’t always have a great health care provider in my corner – it took years before I found a CDE that inspired me to try and understand better, and to take control. If you don’t have an awesome health care provider on your team right now as part of your support system, I encourage you to seek one out. Sometimes you have to try for a while to find the right one, but there are great providers out there. Keep looking until you have the right fit, and don’t settle for anything less than awesome!
I blogged last week about keeping a log book for my CDE appointment, and I’ve bitched blogged many times about all the crap people with diabetes have to carry. Recently, there’s been a fair amount of buzz about mobile applications for smart phones that “help” manage diabetes. Sounds like a good idea right? A way to organize your ‘betes info in one place with meaningful results is awesome in theory. But are any of these applications actually helpful? I’m not on board yet.
