Yay me!

I'm feeling proud of myself today, and I wouldn't be fair to myself if I didn't write about it and give myself credit.

I had a pretty terrible winter in terms of taking care of myself. Exercise was scattered. Non-existent, even, some weeks. Truthfully, a lot of weeks. I made many bad food choices. Some were good. Probably about 70% good, 30% bad.

But for the past 10 days (after getting the Easter-chocolate binge out of my system), I totally deserve a gold star for my food choices and exercise efforts. Oatmeal for breakfast every day, for that slow carb release that prevents my blood sugar from spiking 2 hours after breakfast, when I typically have the most trouble with highs. Fruits and/or vegetables at every meal. Plenty of lean protein. Brisk walks in the evening (when it isn't raining) with my mp3 player blaring Madonna's Confessions on a Dance Floor (which, for me, has the perfect tempo to keep a good walking pace).

And I can totally see the difference in my sugars. Sure, there's the odd high signaling a site change, or low at the end of my walk sometimes, but overall, no complaints. My 14-day average is 6.4 mmol/L.

My goal is to lose the 10 lbs. I gained after starting on the pump last year before my next endo appointment at the end of May. I've already lost 4... 6 more to go. And I'm crossing my fingers that my blood pressure will have come down by then too.

Anyway, that's all I've got. To sum it up: Yay me! :)

Something I didn't learn during pump training...

Last night, since it was raining, I went to the mall to browse the stores a bit. This weekend, BF and I are going to a semi-formal dinner and dance, so I thought maybe I'd look for a new dress to wear (not that I really need to buy something new, I have plenty to choose from in my closet, but it's fun to do sometimes).

I haven't worn a dress in over a year. I've worn skirts a few times, but not a one-piece dress.

I started pumping last July.

See where I'm going with this?

As I stood in the dressing room of Le Château with a few of the latest spring fashions, it occured to me: where am I supposed to put my pump? My good friend, who has been pumping for 7 years and originally introduced me to the pump, told me that she wears hers in the cleavage of a dress. That somehow, she's able to position it to, in fact, enhance her cleavage. Huh? I don't even know how that would work. Besides... well, I won't divulge my cup size, but let's just say that I don't need any help in that department.

I always wear my pump clipped to the waist of my pants. I've read of some other creative places people keep their pump, like Kerri's in her sock. But I like wearing mine on my waist. Easy access. And mine sits in a black leather case, so most people don't even notice it (and if they do, I assume that they assume it's just a cell phone).

Anyway, if anyone can explain how the cleavage thing works, I would be ever so grateful (and preferably, in a way that will NOT increase my cleavage). Or offer alternate suggestions for pump/dress combos. Otherwise, it looks like I'll be wearing pants or a skirt on Saturday night.

Swing low, sweet chariot

Yesterday, by the end of the day I started humming the above song to myself in an attempt to keep my humour intact after a long day of lows...

(Just a reminder to multiply my readings by 18 to get mg/dL - my lows are anything under 4.0 mmol/L).

9:02 a.m. - 4.1 mmol/L
12:39 p.m. - 5.0 mmol/L
2:09 p.m. - 3.3 mmol/L
3:16 p.m. - 3.4 mmol/L
4:21 p.m. - 3.6 mmol/L
5:46 p.m. - 4.3 mmol/L
7:20 p.m. - 2.9 mmol/L
8:10 p.m. - 6.6 mmol/L

I had set a temp basal rate at 60% of my regular rate for the afternoon, but even that didn't help. I don't think I was any more active than I am on most weekends. It was really bizarre.

I've never had to use glucagon before (i.e., never become unconcious from a low). But has anyone used glucagon to help combat a string of lows? The nurse at my diabetes clinic suggested it once. I thought about trying it yesterday, but couldn't remember exactly what she had told me (I'm pretty sure she said to inject about half of the glucagon).

Correction

BTW, I didn't "buy" the meter in my previous post (it just seems natural to say that) ... it was a manufacturer's freebie of course. :)

New meter

I bought a new glucometer last week.

I don't know about you, but I always find it hard to switch. As much as I want to try different meters with different features, when I've had one for so long, it's hard to let go of the large bank of results and averages available.

But I forced myself, and I've been using my new meter for 5 days. It's the OneTouch Ultra 2. Nothing spectacular, I probably would have been better off staying with my old UltraSmart since there are so many more features, but the UltraSmart case is too bulky. At least I can still mark before and after dinner tests on the Ultra 2.

And the 5-day average reflected on the meter isn't too bad so far (7.9 mmol/L) considering all the eating I did over the Easter weekend ... turkey dinner at my mom's, ham dinner at BF's mom's, out for breakfast with my cousin, birthday cake for my friend's son, and chocolate the 'easter bunny' left.

I don't dare step on the scale. I don't need to. I can feel the slight snugness of my pants around my waist. *sigh*

Bits and pieces

Time

It's April 1st, which means Time and I need to have a little talk. I need Time to agree to co-operate over the next two months. The goal is to have my house on the market by June 1st and hopefully sold by the end of June.

We still need to re-do the basement after the flood last month, finish the drywall and floor in the back entrance, and landscape the back yard. BF also has to finish some work at his house before I can start moving my things over - installing and refinishing hardwood floors on the main floor, finish the kitchen, and install and paint baseboards and moldings in the living room, kitchen, and master bedroom. There is much more work that needs to be done on his house, but those are the priority in order to make it a liveable space again.

Roller coaster

My blood sugar has been on a bit of a roller coaster ride the past few days. Not sure if it's the stress of knowing this all has to get done in such a short period of time, or if I maybe had a bad site, or bad insulin. It seems to be better today since changing my infusion set yesterday.

Bruises

Right now, every single one of my fingers is bruised from testing. I have only tried forearm testing once; I became discouraged when I couldn't get my arm to stop bleeding. BFaid that maybe I should try my toes. I'm still not sure whether or not he was serious.

My knight in shining armour

Last night we went for a small walk from my house to his parents so that he could help his dad with some electrical wiring. It is only a 10- to 15-minute walk between our houses, and BF said that he didn't anticipate we would be there very long. I figured we would be back home before I would need to test again, and the walk probably wouldn't be enough to initiate a low, so I decided to leave my purse and glucometer at home.

The wiring did take a bit longer than BF had thought. Just as I was thinking to myself, dammit I should have brought my glucometer, BF asked, "Hey, isn't it time for you to check your blood sugar?" Just as I was about to tell him that I'd left it at home, he pulled my kit from his jacket pocket. He had grabbed it on our way out. "Gotta look out for my girl."