Okay, when your blood sugar goes high, what is the first thing you think? I will sometimes get really angry at myself because I let it go high; that's usually when I've been running really good for a while, and then it suddenly pops up. Sometimes I will forget to bolus, and I get frustrated with myself.
I just wish it were easier to keep the scales balanced all the time. The pump helps a lot, but I wish it were easier still.
The first thing I think is "CRAP!" Then I try and figure out why it would high. Then I bolus and drink a lot of water.
When my blood sugsr goes high, i get really nervous. (I once read in a book that if ur sugar stays high 4 a while it starts 2 distroy ur innerorgans and kiddnies.) I get with my parents and have a small conversment about why could it be so high, and of corse i take insulin. Then I eat my food! Hurrrray!:]
The first thing I think it probably something I should not type here. Then I just take a deep breath. Calm myself down because I am frustrated and take my insulin and drink some water. Usually when I get high its because I may have forgotten to bolus or ate something higher in carb or fat and that really makes me mad because I was careless.
My first thought usually rhymes with "run of a lich" or sometimes with "luck"... But I test often to catch early and correct so I never completely feel that I'm off plan.
Like I said in the tech rumors group - I am really rooting for the Smart Insulin! :)
"run of a lich?" I see Paris, I see France, I see A&D's D&D Geekpants.
Ha, nerd.
I usually think, "Zounds, foiled again," followed by a hiss...just kidding. Then I think, "Once more into the breach, dear friends..."
It's weird...but here goes. I wish I hadn't checked. I say to myself, "Now I know exactly how lousy I should feel right now." Weird, though...to continue...I've been completely blessed with the sensitivity to high blood sugar thing. I feel rotten with them. My skin crawls.
In terms of symptoms, here's a few high bg symptoms: absolute slap-happiness, followed by about-to-slap anyone around me.
I do some insulin (maybe a little over what my meter/pump suggests if it's really nasty ie. 350+), and then I scrounge for loose change to locate a diet mountain dew. That's not the most healthy remedy, but it quenches the thirst better.
A-D mentioned smart insulin: I am wondering, if it isn't too much trouble, may I have some? I am in definite short supply of smart insulin. My insulin has an I.Q. number equal to that of a respectable earthquake. It tries, though...really it does.
Ana,
Thanks for knowing exactly what I was talking about <eg>
Cheers,
A-D
The first is usually an expletive!!! Ha!!
Then I check my pump, infusion sit, last bolus time, or amount of food intake! (Not necessarily in that order)!!!!!!
Usually I can figure out the problem pretty quickly.
What is bolus?
dvfrfsh,
We diabetics treat with insulin to cover two different needs. There is a basal dose/insulin that is used to cover the glucose released by the liver throughout the day. Lantus, other long acting insulin (NPH), etc. may be used for this, or a slow continuous infusion of a small amount of fast acting insulin through a pump.
The second need is for situations where the blood sugar is about to go up or has gone up either due to eating, an unanticipated lull in activity or some other cause (I like to blame sun-spots). This dose is called a bolus. It is used to cover a specific point-in-time need. So a bolus is this single dose of insulin.
If I screwed this up or made it too muddy, I am sure someone will step in to improve/correct... :)
Cheers!
A-D
A-D,
Thanks, I treat mine with old fashioned Regular Insulin and NPH insulin. Is the Bolus thing something that you can take if lets say you realize you ate too much or exercise can't be done. I guess I should ask my doctor, but I always feel with Kaiser and HMO's they keep new treatments secret cuz it costs them more money. Thanks for the response.
It's funny, I think we all react the same we way. We get really frustrated, then realize it won't really help, and then take logical steps to correct it and possibly prevent the same mistake by analyzing things. The first thing that pops into my head are the complications associated with high blood sugars.
dvfrfsh,
My experience with Kaiser was that their front-line medical staff was undereducated and out of date. I don't believe there was a conspiracy just a lack of good diabetes information. My primary physician there kept telling me there was no reason for me to see an endocrinologist and that they were entirely unnecessary. I did ask her to call my endo and let him know he’d spent all those years in school for no good reason, whatever…
That said, yes, you are getting the general idea. It is harder to pull off some of the other treatment approaches using Regular and NPH, they’re just slower and NPH is less predictable. But the shot you give before a meal is, in fact, a bolus. And you are (likely) using your NPH for your basal. The newer analogs take some transition, training and guidance if you decide to move that way. Before you consider doing anything to change your doctors or your treatment regimen, however, I would recommend you read the following two books:
Think Like a Pancreas by Gary Scheiner and Barry Goldstein
Pumping Insulin by John Walsh and Ruth Roberts
Even if you aren’t thinking about moving to the pump, the information in these books will give you some better background with which to ask questions and advocate on your own behalf within Kaiser.
Cheers,
A-D
Im curious...why do you drink water when your sugar is high? I actually hardly ever drink water...would that help lower my sugars?
Hi venere1,
The thing with drinking water is that your kidneys are having to deal with all the excess glucose in your system. It needs water, which it usually obtains from your blood and internal organs, to aid in this. (Actually, the extraction of water from your internal organs is what leads to the increased thirst that you'll no doubt have experienced prior to being diagnosed. It leads to dehydration.)
Mick
x x x x
x x x
P.S. Please don't be offended, or alarmed, by the "x's". It's simply a logo, of sorts, that I've used for some 30-odd years now.
I get pretty nervous when my blood sugar reaches a dangerious number. Actually my mom freaks out the most so I find myself trying to hide it from her because I know what to do to bring it down. Whenever it is high though I compare that number let's say 350 to what it was when I was diagnosed which was 1,400. That makes me feel a little bit better because I know I am still pretty far away from where I started.
I don't have the pump but then again that might be because I am still in sports and stuff. Maybe in 5 years when I go to college I will get one. I really hate logging my blood sugars in my log book. I never do it until the day before my doctor's appointments. They get pretty angry with me. But I know they are trying to help but honestly do half of them even understand what's going on with us? most of them do not have to do that so they have no idea.
Kristin,
I agree about some of the doctors. I have had 3 different ones and the first 2 had NO CLUE! However, I was lucky enough to find my new doc. He actually has Type 1 and is on the pump, just like me. He's awesome! Hopefully you can find one that knows what's going on!
Nikki :)
WOW! You are so lucky to have a type 1 doctor! I am jealous.
... I want to be a doctor with type 1 one day... :)
I get sad when my blood sugar turns up being high. :(
***I saw your other post about mental health, and I think that this is may be one of the causative factors of depression in diabetics.***
...Then, I get myself back together and I fix it.