I think one of the things I hate most about my diabetes is that I never seem to follow any patterns. It seems like other people have these stable highs and lows, where it's so much easier to adjust basals or carb intake. But me...my body has a freaking mind of its own!
Before bed last night, my blood sugar was at 159. For me, I'm very comfortable with that number right before bed. It says that I won't wake up too high, but I probably won't drop in the middle of the night either. But I'd just jumped from 103 to 159 after a post-low snack (you know, the snack you eat after you've had the juice about an hour before). So I decided to bolus anyway.
About 4:30am, I woke up with a panic in my gut and a clammy feeling washing over my skin. The CGMS beeped at me LOW! I know! I tested. Sure enough, 60. I treated with 15 grams of orange juice and about 15 grams in graham crackers. Then I went back to sleep.
When the alarm went off this morning, I wasn't feeling that great. I wasn't sure if it was the middle of the night low or if my present blood sugar was running amok. I tested and came in at 239. I really didn't appreciate the number, but bolused and went on with my morning routine.
The CGMS wouldn't hear any of it though. It kept telling me that there was a CAL ERROR (which means that the number from my meter wasn't matching with the number it was pulling from my body). So I tested again (a whopping 20 minutes later) and I was 199. I ate breakfast, bolused like normal, and hoped for a lower number in a few hours.
After getting to work and settling into my desk, two hours had passed. I was feeling a little weak and nauseous. My blood sugar was 150. No bolus, just carried on with my day.
As work carried on, I still wasn't feeling right. I stepped away from my desk (leaving my meter behind), but I felt faint, panicky, and overwhelmed. I decided to grab a coke. Even if my blood sugar wasn't low, I could bolus for the carbs and feel a little more at ease knowing there was something in my system.
I drank the entire can and waited about 30 minutes. When I returned to my desk, my blood sugar clocked in at 58. I left it alone for another 15 minutes or so. Hopefully, the coke would work at some point! Yet I couldn't function properly. My hands were shaking, my mind was muddled, and the words coming out of my mouth weren't the words that I needed. So I drank another coke and waited.
I headed home (two hours after the first 58). As I changed out of my suit and started making my next meal for the day, I got that feeling again. My stomach was fluttering. I couldn't make my hands do what they needed to do. My head was spinning. So I checked my blood sugar again: 57.
Now I've eaten half a pizza and my blood sugar is at 173. I'm scared to bolus too much, since my body seems to be crashing today. But then I'm scared of the pesky high that will follow all those treatments (and take forever to get down).
I've been changing my basals a lot lately, lowering during the spots where I'm getting the lows and pushing back the times when some of my larger rates start. I keep hoping that I'm going to strike gold. I'm tired of the lows. I'm sick of dealing with the highs. I just want a stable pattern, something that says "Change basal here!" I want easier management!
