Deliciousness

When I woke up Saturday morning, I had no idea what to anticipate my BG as.  I've actually been waking up quite well lately, (and I'm sure that will change now) but the "oh no what will it be" is apparently automatic right now.  I was 152 mg/dL, which is darn near perfect for a day of skiing.  When you stick 11 people in a hotel "room," breakfast is a little chaotic.  But I grab a bagel and I'm totally all set and diabetes is great.  Our goal was first chair, and we were almost successful.  We got second.  And at the end of that run, I felt low.  So I took out my pump, pushed the basal down to 70% and went on my way.  And after the second run, I still felt low.  Grab the meter and I'm in the 60s.  Scoff down some tabs (of which I didn't bring enough, but wasn't about to admit that then and there), and take out the pump again and push the basal down to 50%.  And I was on my way.  No more feeling low for this girl! And we skied about half the mountain.

As a ski family, we've always taken snack breaks.  A few people have even mentioned that.  So when a few of us were in need of warming up and energizing, we stopped in at the lodge.  Now I still remember the days when the food was homemade, and the eternal optimist in me still believes that I might walk in one day and it will be there again.  But on this day, it was nearly true.  I grabbed a hot chocolate, and my cousin even showed me the container of marshmallows.  And then I turned around and saw the cinnamon buns.  I ran over to my mother and asked if she wanted to share.  I don't remember why she didn't want to, but I decided to go for it anyways.  And I felt better because said cousin was also getting one.  Not only did it at least look  kinda homemade, it was giant and it was swimming in syrup/frosting.  I am not sure what I bolused for this delicious treat, but I do know that it was definitely bolus-worthy.  And then I was wondering whether I would need a temp basal for the rest of the ski day.  I decided to reset the temp basal, because I could always do another bolus if I didn't need it, and a high BG wouldn't stop me from skiing.  The whole family skied around a lot of the mountain, and then the cousins took off to ski some more.  When we went inside at lunch time, I was 179 mg/dL.  So I probably didn't need such an extreme temp basal, but things definitely could've been worse.  We went back out after lunch, with another temp basal, and at the end of the ski day, a 70 mg/dL was staring me back.  Not so bad either.

The reason these temp basals are perplexing me is because when I first got the pump in 2002, I needed temp basals while I was skiing.  And I of course always thought I would.  And then I slowly needed more and more insulin during a ski day.  But now, I'm needing more extreme temp basals during my ski days, making for some trial and error days.  (But maybe that's all diabetes ever is?)

Morning Commute

As I was getting in bed on Tuesday night, my BG was 395 mg/dL.  Um, helloooooo...where did you come from?  There's something in me that "knows" my site is okay.  So I get out my pen and I take my correction, and I add an alarm to wake up at 3AM.  That beep beep beep woke me up so suddenly that I thought it was my morning alarm.  I turn on the light, and realize that I'm 53 mg/dL.  So not only did the correction work, but my pump is also working.  I grab 2 juice boxes and suck those down, and roll over and go back to sleep.  When my alarm goes off at 6AM, I'm 56 mg/dL.  So now I need to walk through the apartment for juice since I used my others during the middle of the night.  And then I hear the thunder and remember that I'm in the middle of a snow storm.  And I look out the window and my street isn't even plowed yet.  I mentally prepare for the walk to work.  But I'm coming off of at least three hours of being low, so I have twice the amount of oatmeal I usually do.  I pack a backpack of everything I'll need for the day (including an extra change of clothes, and my phone charger), and I get bundled in ski clothes as I get ready for my walk.  On the news, it seems like all they're talking about is how no one is on the road, which is good since there were some white-out conditions at times.  As I'm getting ready for the walk, I set a temp basal of 40% for one hour (hoping beyond anything that it doesn't take longer than an hour).   I was 143 mg/dL before I left.

My walking outfit

As I started on my walk, I was paranoid I was going to be plowed.  But it was so beautiful.  I even got about a half mile of high knees in before I decided to screw the sidewalks and walk in the road.  As I was on the sidewalk though, I came under attack.  And I went into fight position to the best of my ability.  But what actually happened is that the tree I was walking under decided to let me have his snow.  I looked around to see if anyone saw me, and then started laughing, and appreciating the beauty.  I walked halfway to work, when I got a text from Mom Genius that she found a ride to work, so to call Dad Genius to see what he wants to do.  I step onto a side street and give him a call, and he decides he'll call again at noon after the storm is over to decide if he's going to work.  So I turned around and walked home.  

walking back to my apartment on the "busy" road

As I was walking, there was a woman waiting for the bus. "ISN'T THIS BEAUTIFUL?!" And I yell back "YES!"  I mean, not having the ability to use my car kinda stinks, but walking through something so beautiful is incredible.  I get back to my apartment, de-snow gear myself and test.  And I'm 137 mg/dL.  And the thought: How the hell did I do that?  Wait, I did that?  I'm amazing! And there must have been something magical about yesterday's snow because I stayed below 150 mg/dL all day.

Morning Gym Routine

A gym routine shouldn't include this much:

• At 8:30 AM, test BG before driving Girl Genius to school
• After dropping Girl Genius off at school (9:00 AM) test again and set temporary basal for 1 hour, 30 minutes
• Test when I get to the gym
• Change & make sure I have water & glucose
• Start cardio workout (usually the elliptical, but if I don't have a post-breakfast high, then I do the bike)
• Usually only make it about 20 minutes before going low
• Take glucose
• Stretch
• Test BG
• Shower
• Test BG
• Go Home/back to work

Pumpkinfest

 

Goffstown had it's annual Pumpkinfest this weekend.  Mom and I walked down on Sunday morning to watch the pumpkin dropping.  We got downtown, and walked over to the town common and saw the giant pumpkins, which ranged from 300 pounds - 1200 pounds.  These were pretty darn impressive.  We saw our hair dresser with her adorable daughter, then walked over to the high school hockey tent for lunch (Mom works with one of the moms).  The pumpkin dropping was down the road, so as the crowds started flocking & gathering, we followed.  I found a sweet rock to stand on, where I spotted the giant pumpkin hanging from a crane.  We talked to a few people and found out the pumpkin was 1400 pounds.  As more and more people showed up, the excitement grew and finally the crane started to lift.  They pulled the rope, and....nothing.  They repeated this process a few (4) times and on the fourth try, the pumpkin finally fell 75 feet into the pool.  (I am totally embracing my townie personality here) but it was so cool.   They weren't allowed to drop it into the river because of the tidal wave it could produce, so let's just say there was a huge wave, and water everywhere, and the pumpkin shattered.  It's one of those things that I never thought I would experience, mostly because I never thought this existed.  We left there and walked through Main St. and the gift shops and as we were coming towards the flower/coffee shop, I started to feel low.  I wasn't in the mood for tabs (I am getting quite sick of their chaulky texture and if mom knew I was feeling low, it would change the mood of our day), and there is a sign for pumpkinfest drinks.  These included a pumpkin latte, a caramel apple latte and a pumpkin spice smoothie.  I opted for a combination of a temporary basal at 50% with a side of caramel apple latte.  I was able to continue walking around town, including seeing pumpkin catapaulting, a mini pumpkin race, and finishing off the day with a pumpkin regatta (where the fire department boat almost set the giant pumpkin eater on fire).  We finished our day by walking home, and I was a little high (171), but the combination of the temporary basal with a delicious fall flavored latte was the perfect cure for a perfect fall, small-town day.