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Posted 3/2/2006 9:28 AM (GMT 0)
I just thought I'd share a few tips as I recently changed the care of my diabetes management.

I'm type 1, and on the basal bolus method so my tips may not work for everyone but I think some of them would be good for both types.

I've been finding my blood sugar readings have been very high recently for a number of reasons, but after yet another trip to the hospital I felt really encouraged.  So that's my first tip - get as much help and advice as you can.

Secondly, although I keep a monitor diary for my blood glucose readings I've never kept a log of the food I eat (even though I kept meaning to!) so I started one this week.  I was surprised at how much I actually eat to be honest, but that's not the main point of it.  I've kept a note of EVERYTHING that I've eaten, no matter how small or insignificant it might seem.  When I compare it to my blood glucose diary I can then say exactly what has caused the highs and lows (of course, there can be other factors but if I look at the same food a couple of times on different days and compare to sugar level readings I can work out the average).  This can then be used for me to work out a food diary which tells me how different foods affect me and what insulin dose I should work out for myself.  I mean to keep a diary that I can just keep adding to, so as time goes by I should have a huge variety of foods noted to refer to.

My last tip for now is that if you do a blood test before your meal and then two hours after the meal you will know you've had the right dose of insulin if the 2nd reading is within 2 points of the first (so if your reading was 7 originally the 2nd reading should be between 5 and 9 - sorry, not sure what the American numbers would be).

Basically, I wanted to share this with anyone who needs it as I've been quite confused about what to do to sort out my readings and started to let despair creep in a little!  Now I feel that it's me in control of the whole thing and that I have the means of getting things back on track. 

Please note, I'm obviously not a doctor so check with your hospital/doctor first!

Claire x

Posted 3/2/2006 1:56 PM (GMT 0)
Claire,

Thank you for your insight. Seems when my readings are high it's always because I'm doing things wrong... I'm seldom shocked at a reading if I've been 'bad'. I know it's coming... just like to play ostrich and pretend...

I didn't know that you had to keep adjusting your insulin for every meal... So you have to take insulin and then eat exactly what goes with that? No wonder you get confused and discouraged. I can barely count my foods and match it with my exercise needs and food intake along with my once daily Lantus injection!
Posted 3/2/2006 3:26 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Claire,

From what I remember of your profile we are pretty similar, diagnosed at 11, type 1 (I'm on 4 shots a day) and I believe we're both 26 now.

I have palm pilot and it lets me enter my blood sugar, food (and look up carb values as well as input from labels new info) exercise and medication and then it will give you mini reports on it. I think it's brilliant, it can give me range reports, a glucose graph, it totals my calories (so I can either plan out a day or keep a running total to see if I can indulge at dinner or a snack through out the day) and after I input my ideal match between carbs and Meds it will tell me how much I need to inject for the food I'm taking, and for blood sugar how much I need to take to get me back into the ideal range. I realise this is all stuff I can and should at least know how to do myself but having something do it for me, lets me stress over it less.

The web site for it is www.diabetespilot.com and they have free demos, you can also just get it for your desktop but having it on my plam lets me fill it in as I go. Now that I'm in the habit of it it's really easy to keep up with. Right now in Canada, almost all food requires a label, makes everything sooooooo much easier to handle. I'm very grateful for the info at hand.
Posted 3/2/2006 11:04 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the info, but my dietician has me doing those things anyway. When I first became type 2, I was told to keep a food diary. I list the foods eaten and the amounts. I also have to put the time of day, and total the carbs eaten for each meal.

My dietician then reviews it and tell me if i took enough insulin before each meal. This has worked for me and sometimes I am really shocked that I ate so much. I take 1unit of humalog for each 10 carbs eaten. I also take lantus at nite. I haven't had any problems since following this method.
Posted 3/3/2006 2:08 AM (GMT 0)
I have to admit, I'm totally in awe of you peeps who are doing this insulin-food juggling act! And I thought I had it rough! You are awesome!
Posted 3/3/2006 10:54 AM (GMT 0)

Thanks everyone for replying.

Jeannie, yes it can be difficult trying to balance how much insulin to give myself - no two days are the same unless I eat EXACTLY the same food (which would be boring for a start) and even then that's not including the excercise I may be doing or any other factors.  But then the point of the insulin regime I'm on is to give me more freedom, and it does - it means I don't have to eat at exactly the same time each day and and I don't have to be too rigid with my diet (although it's best to stick to it as much as possible). 

Gracie - thanks for that, I'll make sure I have a look at that!

jtu91952 - thanks, also.  I originally kept a food diary when I was diagnosed way back in 1991, I stopped doing it a while ago in my rebellious teenage years!  My dietician doesn't ask that I keep a food diary and I consider myself to be pretty clued up on how food will affect me but it's the fact that I get so much different info from all different areas that I want to work out for myself what works for me and what doesn't.  I think, with diabetes, once you understand fully yourself how things affect you as an individual you are winning the fight!

Claire x

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