Since I raised the Metformin to 500 mg on Thursday, I've seen some interesting effects. First, my stomach is having a little bit of trouble off and on. I'm trying to tough it out though and find ways around it (eating small snacks regularly, taking a fiber supplement, and downing Pepto when necessary). Secondly, my blood sugars are showing signs of "improvement."

The past week, I saw near perfect numbers. Waking up in the 120 to 130 range. Coasting after meals to 170. An average down to 164. But since Thursday, I've also seen some lows that I'd rather not even get close to. They've only been in the 70s and 80s and nothing severe. But definitely needing treatment and leaving me anxious about where my blood sugars (and weight) might trend.

The problem is that I'm also seeing numbers in the 200s sporadically. I think I'm able to pinpoint why these numbers are messing up my perfect range though.

For instance, Friday evening I was 289 before dinner. I'd somehow missed a second bolus at our company Christmas party for a piece of pecan pie that I'd eaten (I believe gifts were to blame). I took a correction, ate a light dinner, and ended up at 76 later that evening.

Then Saturday afternoon, I spiked to 220 (still a little unclear why). I took 1 unit of Humalog to correct, worked out, and ended at 248. It later came down, but still shows that workouts are definitely causing some issue.

Sunday was a repeat of that. I started my workout at 160. Ended at 171. Perfect. But by the time I'd showered, I was up to 250. Again, I corrected and dropped to 78. That ended up in a late night 275 because of an over correction/under bolus of the low/dinner.

There are obviously some highs that are my own fault. The 289 after the party being the biggest one. I'm not perfect though and sometimes life just gets in the way and for one hour I'd rather be a non-D than leaving the party to shoot up in the bathroom.

But other highs around my workouts are puzzling. It's happened after every workout for the past week so I'm pretty sure I'm ready to call it a "pattern." That means that I need to consider how to overcome the spike even if I'm in a decent range before and immediately after the workout. Correcting it once I see it isn't helping (obviously) and taking a unit after the workout doesn't appear to work either as the spike hits sooner than the insulin.

My fear is that I'll take a unit of Humalog before the workout and end up low on the other end. I suppose it's trial and error though. This week, my workouts will all happen later in the week as I'm busy with Marvin and his out of town friends and then leaving for my mom's house. I will try 1 unit of Humalog immediately before my workout and see if that stops the spike. This probably only works when my starting numbers are 150 and up.

I'm proud of myself for the past few weeks of hard work. I'm working out regularly and it's showing (lost a steady 3 pounds and an inch or so). I'm checking my blood sugar more often than I have been in recent months. I'm actively thinking about my insulin and trying to readjust my carb and correction factors (raising my correction factor as 50 didn't seem to work- 40 is probably better). I'm also watching for trends and patterns which are becoming more apparent now that I'm checking and keeping a steady schedule.

I'm giving myself a few more weeks before I kick it up again. I want to make sure that I've solidified my habits before adding anything else into the mix. The Metformin is my biggest hurdle and I'm taking that one day at a time. Just like everything else.