So pretty much after almost every endo appointment -- and all those pesky questions about how my numbers have been -- I think that I should get back to logging my numbers and my food. Well, mostly my food since my numbers are stored in my pump.
But having a food log in conjunction with my pump numbers and the copious information from Dexcom may help me and my doctors do some adjusting. And I'm quite certain it will help me continue to lower my A1C.
Ugh, just the thought of logging is overwhelming. I carry around a three-ring binder with all my "things" packed in it. It's like a mini briefcase. I'm much more likely to pay attention to stuff if I have to rifle through it every now and then. Carrying an actual briefcase left me finding important things shoved in the bottom way after they were needed.
Anyway, so way in the back of this binder are partially filled out logs from all the other times I thought about going back to logging. I'd get through a morning or all the way to dinner before giving up. And my doctor's office isn't asking for them, so that's another reason for me to think about not doing it.
Most of the time I just don't see what the benefit would be for me. I'm a grazer, so I eat a lot. And sometimes it's just a handful of something here and there. Sometimes it's pretty hard to really account for what I ate.
Yeah, yeah I realize that if I wrote down everything, even the handfuls of things, that I'd have a better handle on what I consumed all day, but it's just so tedious! And boring! And I really just don't want to.
I like to "graze" too, and I don't really know how helpful logging food intake would be except to show what you eat every day and how it might change from day to day or even around monthly cycles. It might shed some light for you.
I have read the comments of other women who state that their basal and carb and correction ratios actually need to be adjusted for certain times of the monthly cycle.
What I'm wondering is, each time you "graze" or even eat a snack, are you taking the insulin for it, no matter how small of an amount?
With shots it would be extremely tedious to do that, but with an insulin pump it ought not be difficult. Even if I eat three carbs, I bolus for it. And especially if I am going to eat a big meal, I know this is old knowledge, but I always check my sugar levels so that a correction can be made if necessary.
When I was last on shots (2006), my HbA1c levels ran between 6.9 and 7.5. Now that I have an insulin pump, I bolus each and every time I have a snack or a meal, and my HbA1c levels run between 5.7 and 6.7.
If you are going to log your food intake, then perhaps the best benefit would be to show it to a nutritionist for advice on food adjustments and alternatives -- I actually learned so much about food from a nutritionist, including "why" certain foods affect blood sugar levels differently, even if they have the same amount of carbs. I also learned some things about how a lack of certain nutrients can cause different types of cravings.