Living with Diabetes

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  • Amy’s gone a bit further on the Sharps issue

    Diabetes Mine: All About Sharps Disposal

    I’m glad the issue hasn’t “bitten” her as hard as it has me.

    It’s getting to be a daily issue for me again, since the Symlin is an injectable.

    I’m also worried about it for next school year. Last year, in another state, a teacher lost his job because a student stepped on a sharp that he had dropped on the floor.

    I’ve kept a sharps container in my room since I was diagnosed, keep a close eye on my stuff, and have warned students on the first day and a few times after, that my desk is off limits due to the medical equipment I have to keep.

    I’ve also told the Powers that Be, because of the medical equipment issue, I can’t float, though they keep assuring me that it isn’t proper to ask someone with as many years in the district and building to float. Floating means you go from room to room.

  • Amy’s gone a bit further on the Sharps issue

    Diabetes Mine: All About Sharps Disposal

    I’m glad the issue hasn’t “bitten” her as hard as it has me.

    It’s getting to be a daily issue for me again, since the Symlin is an injectable.

    I’m also worried about it for next school year. Last year, in another state, a teacher lost his job because a student stepped on a sharp that he had dropped on the floor.

    I’ve kept a sharps container in my room since I was diagnosed, keep a close eye on my stuff, and have warned students on the first day and a few times after, that my desk is off limits due to the medical equipment I have to keep.

    I’ve also told the Powers that Be, because of the medical equipment issue, I can’t float, though they keep assuring me that it isn’t proper to ask someone with as many years in the district and building to float. Floating means you go from room to room.

  • Tight Control

    Tight Control article

    Now that I have my summer back …

    I tried the MDI (Multiple Daily Injection) method of tight control and it almost made me nuts. I could not keep a constant schedule. Summer was the utter living end of that for me, especially the teacher workshop thing.

    Oh, and the school year where they changed our lunch periods every 4 weeks.

    I can’t imagine going back to shots and keeping this tight control. Today is a good example. Let’s say that I ended up burning more blood sugar than I had planned. Now, while I might be able to figure out I need 40% more insulin than usual on a workshop day, and I could probably do a rough estimate and give myself a bigger long acting insulin dose, there is no way to guarantee WHEN that insulin would get released. Also, there is no way to change my mind once I give it.

    With the pump, if I had checked at 10:00 and saw I was going towards low, I would have eaten a Snicker minature and then turned off the temporary basal. If I did it the shot way, I’d probably have to eat a large Snicker’s minature, causing some weight gain.

  • Tight Control

    Tight Control article

    Now that I have my summer back …

    I tried the MDI (Multiple Daily Injection) method of tight control and it almost made me nuts. I could not keep a constant schedule. Summer was the utter living end of that for me, especially the teacher workshop thing.

    Oh, and the school year where they changed our lunch periods every 4 weeks.

    I can’t imagine going back to shots and keeping this tight control. Today is a good example. Let’s say that I ended up burning more blood sugar than I had planned. Now, while I might be able to figure out I need 40% more insulin than usual on a workshop day, and I could probably do a rough estimate and give myself a bigger long acting insulin dose, there is no way to guarantee WHEN that insulin would get released. Also, there is no way to change my mind once I give it.

    With the pump, if I had checked at 10:00 and saw I was going towards low, I would have eaten a Snicker minature and then turned off the temporary basal. If I did it the shot way, I’d probably have to eat a large Snicker’s minature, causing some weight gain.

  • Workshop IS over!

    I survived. And I figured it out.

    A 40% basal rate change kept me pretty stable today. I was between 120 and 150 all day, which isn’t bad. Personally I like to be a bit lower, but I could function mentally.

    Now if I can only remember to actually SET the basal rate two hours before the workshop, and for the entire duration.

    I am now returning to my regular summer.

  • Workshop IS over!

    I survived. And I figured it out.

    A 40% basal rate change kept me pretty stable today. I was between 120 and 150 all day, which isn’t bad. Personally I like to be a bit lower, but I could function mentally.

    Now if I can only remember to actually SET the basal rate two hours before the workshop, and for the entire duration.

    I am now returning to my regular summer.

  • Fabulous article on Tight Control

    RNweb – Tight insulin control: Making it work

    Tight insulin control: Making it work

  • Fabulous article on Tight Control

    RNweb – Tight insulin control: Making it work

    Tight insulin control: Making it work

  • I think I know part of what happened….

    It hit me in the afternoon, that my “diet coke” from McDonald’s tasted funny. Good thing I didn’t throw it out, because I tested it in the car. Yep, with my blood sugar meter, dipped a strip in, and sure enough it was high. Hit the “C” button so it won’t show up in the logs.

    However, I don’t think +40% was too high. I was nice and stable all afternoon. Was 125 when I got home and I even did 25 minutes on the treadmill.

    However, I AM taking tomorrow off exercise wise. One more day of workshops and I’m done until school starts.

  • Stabalizing

    I am doing better this afternoon. I am very shocked that it is taking such a high basal rate to compensate for the workshop. I’m at 40%!

    kweaver – from my Treo