A Good Day for Carbs

There are days when I am convinced my body must be producing insulin. Days when I feel as though I have been miraculously cured of my Type 1 diabetes and that somehow, someway my pancreas has come back from the dead to help me out. Yesterday was one of those days. My CGM hovered around my “low alarm line” of 70 most of the day and despite over-treating for lows, I never saw a blood sugar above 82. 

My BG Numbers for the Day.......

7:01am                 80           Great!

7:45am                 48           Ugh.

11:18am               81           Huh, surprised I didn’t rebound from that AM low…

12:07pm               42           After lunch…really?!?

2:01pm                 78           Still not climbing after waaay tooo many pretzels…..

4:51pm                 81           Eek-will I be able to workout today?!

7:04pm                 82           After an apple and spinning class…not bad…

8:27pm                 77           Guess I will have some fruit before bed….

Of course I am almost certain my pancreas did not have a change of heart and it’s likely the impact of my triathlon training is at least partially to blame for this crazy day of lows.  I worked out hard this past weekend, specifically on Sunday when I swam in the morning and went for a long run in the afternoon. I am sure my new workout routine is bringing my numbers down and changing my insulin requirements and I have been working to offset this by adjusting dosing and ratios. Still there have been days like this in the past, where exercise has not been as large as a factor, and I feel as though there must be insulin being produced somewhere in my body. It is not so much a “honeymoon period” because it only lasts a day or so but it leaves me exhausted, skipping workouts, reducing insulin intake and eating any carb I can get my hands on.

A year or so ago as I was having one of my “insulin producing” days, I found myself in the unlikely situation of sitting in a Dunkin Donuts eagerly scarfing down a blueberry AND a chocolate chip muffin. Usually straying away from donuts, bagels, and muffins since they typically send my BG through the roof, I walked away with a BG no higher than 150 or 160. Pretty much a medical miracle in my mind.

I will never be able to explain what was going on with my sugars that day or what caused all my lows yesterday. It could have been exercise, hormones, or maybe a pancreas beta cell giving a last chance effort.  Maybe it is a little of all three. That is what keeps diabetes interesting I guess. The only thing I really know for sure is that my brief period of lows will likely not last too long. I'll try to enjoy it, cause sooner or later a big fat 287 blood sugar will show up on my meter when I least expect it- reminding me that, yep, I still have diabetes.  I will slowly back away from the baked goods now.

Back From Vacation

Since my guest post on Kerri's Site about being the "perfect" person with diabetes, I have been well... far from the "perfect" blogger.  I wish I had found more time to write over the past two weeks since there has been lots going on, but somehow every time I sat down to write, something (including vacation) seemed to get in the way.

I first want to mention that the whole guest post experience turned out to be even more exciting and meaningful to me than I had ever thought it would be. I can't even describe how wonderful it was to read all the super nice comments I got on both her site as well as my own, from people saying they enjoyed the post and could relate to where I was coming from. To even just hear one person say that reading my blog made their day made my whole week! I am so appreciative to Kerri for helping me further connect to the Diabetes Community.

I  got back on Saturday from a week long vacation with my boyfriend in Clearwater Beach, Flordia. We were lucky enough to have a really great week- full of wonderful weather, time on the beach, a day trip to Busch Gardens and a few Phillies Spring Training games.

In terms of my diabetes while on vacation, I did have some highs, likely due to some splurges (homemade ice cream one night and some beers on the beach and at phils games- beer typically makes my blood sugar skyrocket) but overall my numbers were pretty good. My numbers typically tend to be better while on vacation because I am up and moving around more (versus sitting in a chair all day) and I am overall more relaxed and free from stress. It usually works out pretty nicely- the less stress and more activity helps balance my vacation indulgences.

While I was on vacation, I was also lucky enough to reach my fundraising goal for my Team In Training Triathlon. My family, friends, and co-workers have been BEYOND generous and supportive and I am so very appreciative. It means so much to me.  I very excited to be able to help the LLS raise this money and to be able to help this worthy cause. Thank you to everyone for their kindness and support!!

My Guest Post on Kerri's Site!

I am super excited to have a guest blog post up on Kerri Sparling's Blog Site sixuntilme. Kerri is a huge inspiration for me in terms of being a mom with Type 1 diabetes who uses her voice to advocate and share her story with others.  She is a very talented writer and has a huge following in the diabetes community.

I had the chance to meet Kerri this past summer (the way I reacted you would have thought I just met Brad Pitt!) and I credit her with inspiring me to start a blog of my own.

Thanks Kerri for letting me guest blog on your site! It is truly an honor! :)

You can check it out here: http://www.sixuntilme.com/