Today was another one of those weird diabetes days. As you may have read in an earlier post, I recently began using a Novolog Pen. This is quite a transition for me since I have had diabetes for 14 years and I have only used two different methods to control it. Well today, I learned a lesson with the pen. I forgot to do an "air shot" test. This is where you dial up a dose and then inject it into the air to make sure that insulin will actually come out. Instead of doing the air shot, I just dialed up the dose that I needed for breakfast and then injected myself and left for the day. After three hours had passed I was ready for another snack so I tested my sugar to see where I was at.

The meter read 340.

I reacted the same way I usually do whenever I have a stupid high like that. I took a breath. I tried to relax and then I buried my frustration deep inside. Then after I had calmed a bit I looked back and tried to remember what I did. I think I know what happened. When I hit the button to shoot the insulin in, the pen didn't inject anything. So I corrected with a big heaping load of Novolog the traditional way. I pulled my bottle back out from the fridge and drew up about 8 units to inject. I was very disgruntled and yet I knew that I had learned something new for the day.

I still have to be thankful for the technology that we have at our disposal. If it hadn't been for my meter and my trusty ol' bottle of fast acting insulin, then I would have most definitely been in for a miserable day. Instead, I continued on. I took my shot, ate my meal and then re-tested in another couple of hours.

The meter read 123.

I still plan on using the insulin pen. But I realize now the importance of the "air shot". I will continue to learn and get better with each day of diabetes care. In the words of Friedrich Nietzsche, "What does not destroy me, makes me stronger"!

Thanks for listening, -Andy.