(I wish I would have been able to take a picture or two. By the time I thought about it, and had the opportunity, the moment had passed. You'll have to use your imagination.)
Last week I was at a church committee meeting. The meeting was very productive albeit a bit long; I was there for over three hours. Earlier in the day my husband and I had gone out to lunch. We don't normally have the opportunity, but being Veteran's Day we both had the day off. The lunch was wonderful (and the company even better). I wasn't sure how my blood sugars were going to react to the difference in schedule and menu. I bolused the best I could, but sometimes you just have to guess.
About half way into the meeting I started feeling.. weird. It felt like a low was coming on. I kept checking my CGM to see how I was trending. Everything there looked good. I was hovering right around 120. I checked my blood sugars to confirm, and the difference was only a few points off. I then checked my pump to see how much IOB (insulin on board) I had. That's when things got more complicated. I don't remember how much was on board, but I do remember it was a LOT more than I was hoping would be. I reduced my basal for the next hour and munched on 4 Starbursts. (One of each flavour. I have to keep the package balanced.) I kept checking my CGM about every 15 minutes to see if I had over corrected or started to drop. No change. I still hovered around 120.
At the point when my basal reduction ended I checked my blood sugars again. It still confirmed that my CGM was being super accurate. I also still had quite a bit of IOB. Another temp basal and four more Starbursts and I kept watching my CGM.
The meeting wrapped up and everyone was leaving. I had a little more business to take care of so I hung around. I was listening in on a discussion but checked my CGM a couple times. That's when it happened.
No, my CGM didn't show a drastic change. It was still showing a near perfect flat white line. One of the gentleman tapped me and quietly asked if I was okay. I assured him that I was okay, that it was just a rough evening.
Just a rough evening.
There was no proof of it being rough, unless you counted test strips and Starbursts wrappers. If you looked at my meter and my CGM graph you would have seen a near perfect 4+ hours. I had nothing to prove to anyone that it had been a rough time.
Nothing.
Yet, I was tired and worn out from it.
Diabetes is an invisible disease. People can't see it. They can see evidence of it, sometimes. They see the insulin pump clipped to your belt or the CGM sensor on the back of your arm. They see you pull your meter out at the lunch table. They see all the technology but they don't see diabetes.
And sometimes, even that same technology doesn't see diabetes.
It may be invisible but I sure feel it.
Showing posts with label blood sugars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blood sugars. Show all posts
Monday, November 17, 2014
Monday, March 11, 2013
Pain in the butt.. I mean hip.
You know those never ending cycles that annoy us all? The ones where if you do something it causes something else which makes you do, or not do, a third thing and that leads you back to the first thing which leads you back to the second and the third time and time and time again? Ya.. those.
Mine is this: I walk. My hip hurts. I stop walking. Blood sugars and mental state are affected. I walk. My hip hurts. I stop walking. Blood sugars and mental state are affected.. etc. etc. etc.
Let me explain...
I have trochanteric-bursitis in my left hip. It reared it's ugly head after my family trip to Disneyland in 2001. At first I thought I had gone on too many roller coasters and was dealing with sciatica pain. My entire leg ached all the time, and if I moved it just right (wrong) I would get a stabbing pain that ran down the outside of my leg, circled my knee and ended in my ankle. It felt like it 'twanged'. To get in and out of my car, I had to sit down and swing both legs at the same time. Quite the sight, let me tell you.
Figuring it was a result of too much roller coastering, I went to the chiropractor. I don't go too often, but when I do, I really enjoy it. The warm towels, the zappy muscle relaxer thingy (..side thought.. how does this interact with a Dexcom sensor? anyone know?) , the feeling better afterwards. Everything was good the first few visits. I still had the twanging though. One visit, it didn't go so well. One movement just to stretch my leg sent a twang that instantly brought tears to my eyes. I may or may not have screamed. OK.. I did. IT HURT!!
I went to an orthopedic to determine the real problem. That's when I was diagnosed with trochanteric-bursitis. I tried telling the doctor that I was too young for hip problems, but he just laughed. I think he said something like, "Well.. you're just mature beyond your years." We also discovered that my legs are different lengths. Not by much, but enough to cause the problem. (My left leg is about a 1/4 inch longer than my right.) I have an insert I put in all my shoes to help compensate. This had helped immensely! I can really tell if I haven't been using it. I also take naproxen sodium twice a day to help with the inflammation and pain. If I don't take it.. it is only a matter of 2-3 days and it hurts to walk, sit, drive, move, etc. There are different exercises and stretches that help.. and I do them. They make me look like a pretzel lying in the middle of my living room, but they help.
Now jump forward 12 years...wait.. don't jump, it'll hurt. This pain has been rearing it's ugly head again. I am still taking the naproxen and still doing the stretches.. but the pain is back. I have been walking more, and really enjoying it. The walks help clear my head and get me through the afternoon at work easier..not to mention they do GREAT for my post lunch blood sugars. But are the walks causing the pain? According to everything I've been reading.. and remembering.. yes. So here's my dilemma.. do I stop the walking to stop the pain? Do I dose up on more naproxen, or something else (not a good choice for my working organs)? I don't consider either of these options workable. I'll be meeting with my doctor the beginning of April. Hopefully she will have a suggestion.
In the meantime, I sit here on a block of ice (..having insulin home delivered is beneficial, those ice packs come in handy..) deciding if my lunch walk today is worth it.
Mine is this: I walk. My hip hurts. I stop walking. Blood sugars and mental state are affected. I walk. My hip hurts. I stop walking. Blood sugars and mental state are affected.. etc. etc. etc.
Let me explain...
I have trochanteric-bursitis in my left hip. It reared it's ugly head after my family trip to Disneyland in 2001. At first I thought I had gone on too many roller coasters and was dealing with sciatica pain. My entire leg ached all the time, and if I moved it just right (wrong) I would get a stabbing pain that ran down the outside of my leg, circled my knee and ended in my ankle. It felt like it 'twanged'. To get in and out of my car, I had to sit down and swing both legs at the same time. Quite the sight, let me tell you.
Figuring it was a result of too much roller coastering, I went to the chiropractor. I don't go too often, but when I do, I really enjoy it. The warm towels, the zappy muscle relaxer thingy (..side thought.. how does this interact with a Dexcom sensor? anyone know?) , the feeling better afterwards. Everything was good the first few visits. I still had the twanging though. One visit, it didn't go so well. One movement just to stretch my leg sent a twang that instantly brought tears to my eyes. I may or may not have screamed. OK.. I did. IT HURT!!
I went to an orthopedic to determine the real problem. That's when I was diagnosed with trochanteric-bursitis. I tried telling the doctor that I was too young for hip problems, but he just laughed. I think he said something like, "Well.. you're just mature beyond your years." We also discovered that my legs are different lengths. Not by much, but enough to cause the problem. (My left leg is about a 1/4 inch longer than my right.) I have an insert I put in all my shoes to help compensate. This had helped immensely! I can really tell if I haven't been using it. I also take naproxen sodium twice a day to help with the inflammation and pain. If I don't take it.. it is only a matter of 2-3 days and it hurts to walk, sit, drive, move, etc. There are different exercises and stretches that help.. and I do them. They make me look like a pretzel lying in the middle of my living room, but they help.
Now jump forward 12 years...wait.. don't jump, it'll hurt. This pain has been rearing it's ugly head again. I am still taking the naproxen and still doing the stretches.. but the pain is back. I have been walking more, and really enjoying it. The walks help clear my head and get me through the afternoon at work easier..not to mention they do GREAT for my post lunch blood sugars. But are the walks causing the pain? According to everything I've been reading.. and remembering.. yes. So here's my dilemma.. do I stop the walking to stop the pain? Do I dose up on more naproxen, or something else (not a good choice for my working organs)? I don't consider either of these options workable. I'll be meeting with my doctor the beginning of April. Hopefully she will have a suggestion.
In the meantime, I sit here on a block of ice (..having insulin home delivered is beneficial, those ice packs come in handy..) deciding if my lunch walk today is worth it.
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