Do you test your sugars while driving? I was just thinking about this today as...
1. at the first red light, I took out my supplies
2. 2nd red light, got a strip into my meter
3. third red light pricked and put blood on the strip
4. 4th, cleaned up the mess
It's the only time I hope for long red lights!
When we bought a new car a couple of years ago, I had to re-figure out where to place the supplies so they wouldn't fall under the seat if I turned a corner.
haha i do that.
Sarah,
I love red lights too! Because thats my chance to test if I'm on a long drive or something. I do this all the time too! I've even been known to do it when on the interstate =/
Yep, guilty as charged! LOL
I definitely do that. I also do it on the highway if the speed is relatively steady and the road is straight for long enough.
Definitely. You only really need to look to make sure it is ready to receive blood and to get the results. I also keep a single serving can of apple juice in the armrest between the seats. Warm apple juice is gross, but it does the trick, within reach, for an unexpected low.
i'm not old enough to drive and when i test i get car sick.
I do that all the time. Im surprised how easy it is to do.
Definitely do it too. I do the steady highway driving method too Rosemary. I feel like an a-hole when I do it, but oh well. I do it with good intentions.
I've also drawn up Lantus into a syringe and injected while on the highway. So stupid in retrospect haha.
I do it along with the delivery of insulin.
Testing is the easy part. Picking all the used test strips out of the carpet and from between the seats every few weeks is a pain. Eating one of those "slippery" fast food burgers or sandwiches while you're shaking without getting lettuce, tomatoes, onions, mayonnaise and ketchup all over your lap can be pretty tough. Confirming that you're low with a BS around 50 and then trying to make it to the next rest stop or exit with the whole world glowing and spinning, while you're sweating and shaking... that can be downright hair raising. (Thank you God!)
Man you dont want to see me behind the wheel in the morning on the way to work. I can test my sugar, send a text message, change the radio, smoke a cig while holding my coffee. Ive got a routine down. i use my knee to control the steering wheel while driving.
no red lights for me.
Guilty!!! Hahahahahaha.
You know, I just had an exchange with my significant other about doing D stuff while driving. He seemed to think it was a bad idea because I would either swerve or get accused by an onlooker of doing something illicit.
Let's see...I've checked, bolused (it's easy because I have a side button that makes unit increments...the pump vibrates/beeps, letting me know how much, etc.), um...changed infusion sites, reservoirs, let's see...done injections, and more...being low in the car is terrifying. I had a bad insulin reaction (38 mg/dl) one time going down the road. It was ugly. I don't always check when I am about to drive. That's no good, I know...
Ok, question. I've read a couple of times that driving with BS under 90 is legally "driving while intoxicated." Don't most people with working pancreases stay at around 85? What's up with that?
im trying to tell people. they act like people with diabetes are as good as drunks on the road. a drunk has more of a chance to crash passed out then we do.
I have to say, I'm guilty of all the same things as everyone else. It's a daily routine for me. My husband complains about it all the time and tells me I should pull over. But the way I look at it is, if I pulled over every time I had to test, bolus (with my pump), or figure out what was beeping (and respond to it), then I'd never actually get anywhere. Seriously.
Probably not the smartest thing, but I've learned to adapt to it over the years. I look at it as multitasking. Diabetics have to be excellent multitaskers.
Non-diabetic's pancreases stay at around 100.
When you read the research paper summaries for these numbers you usually get the 85 to 110 range. You need to also consider that the majority of research is aimed toward type 2 (unfortunately), because higher number of people. If you read the entire report you'll see the 85 number comes from fasting levels, pre dawn phenomenum, of non-diabetics.
I always hated Biology (no black and white answers only shades of gray of multiple answers), but you have to think about it to get an understanding of how complex the machinery of the body is.
In non-diabetics the pancreases releases insulin and glucagon to keep the blood sugar at 100. The insulin (beta) is transported to the blood stream via fat cells and the glucagon (alpha) is transported through the liver. Keeping levels constant at 100.
Insulin coats the surface of the cell which allows glucose to penetrate the surface membrane and be converted to energy.
Cells have short life spans. They replicate, replacing dying cells, while we sleep. The organs are not at their maximum efficency during this time, because the energy is being used to replace the cells (heart beat and breathing slows, temperature drops, etc) .
Once this regeneration activity is completed the pancrease (in non-diabetics) releases glucagon and insulin to "wake" the body up by giving energy.
The 85 fasting numbers for non-diabetics comes from this fasting level.
Katie, that would explain the dawn phenomenon and the high post-breakfast sugars many of us deal with if the body is releasing glucagon around that time...
Yep.
As diabetics we see these things in multiple ways. Another one is late night insulin insensativity (Ever had a high late at night and your insulin just won't bring it down? During cell regeneration it just floats in the blood and can't coat the cell walls.