In A1C, Lows and Severe Lows.
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If you had to name the biggest reason for success, what would it be?
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What an amazing week! I am so pleased for you!
I also know how much and lack of sleep it must represent. You are paying for each fraction of a percent in range. To you and Erin Elizabeth, kudos and warm hugs.
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A few things that have worked for us to help tighten our control and avoid severe lows and highs:
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Not being afraid to experiment. Without experimentation, we’re stuck in a limbo type space where we hate what’s happening, but nothing is changing. With that fear removed, we’ve learned much more and tried many new things that have resulted in tighter control for Liam.
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MAKING SURE that his “low” alerts are set at 100 during the nights. We used to go low SO MANY times PER NIGHT, but after changing the low alert to 100 we’ve only gone low a couple times during the night in the past month.
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Extended bolus + temp basal. This probably isn’t going to be for everyone but it’s working fantastically for us. Extended bolus allows slow, gradual bolus over a period of time that will not make him go low. This is what we use to reduce the lows during the day. To reduce the highs, we use (and suspend as necessary) the temp basal (50% more or 95% more depending on the meal he’s eating, and the time of day that he’s eating.)
4 - and very important for me) Ask questions on FUD and listening to the answers that people give and test, test, test (see #1)
I know our methods won’t work for everyone but that’s why we all test different methods so that we can find that magical area - even if that magical area disappears after a few weeks/months.
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@ClaudnDaye, this is a wonderful curve!
Great tips, thanks.
We have also found that experimenting is the only way to learn. Many experiments fail, of course 
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Yes, my oldest son reminds me constantly that Thomas Edison didn’t fail 100 times…he found 100 ways how NOT to create electricity, then he found the winner! (Of course there’s huge debate around him, Tesla, etc., as to who actually created electricity, but I digress.)
In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, when we’re rolling on the mat and we get tapped out by someone more superior in the art, we are told regularly “We don’t “lose” in Jiu Jitsu; We win, or we learn.” There is no losing…I feel the same about Diabetes.
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How old is your oldest boy? He sounds like a lovely spirit.
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He’s 14 and way too smart…I’m constantly reminded how little I know (or how much I’ve forgotten). He was reading a 1 1/2 years of age and he’s been a Mensa member since age 3 when he tested in the 99th percentile. We expect a lot from him - we’re constantly reminding him that intelligence isn’t enough…he has to bring hard work and dedication into the equation for success.
Our favorite quote that we say over and over to him is “If you set your goals ridiculously high and you fall short, you’ll still have fallen short above everyone else’s success.”
We’re glad he’s our oldest because he’s always been an amazing big brother and a great role-model for his younger brothers. Anyone who has multiple kids knows how it goes…your oldest looks up to you (as the father or mother), but all the ones under the oldest look up to their oldest brother and follow his cues. So when you have a great oldest child it really makes all the others easier to manage also.
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It sounds like he has empathy too. This is something you can’t learn.
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He is an amazing kid for sure. He’s the one that had cancer when he was just a baby. When he was 1, he was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma and he had to go through chemo and eventually surgery. During surgery they nicked his aorta and he lost a lot of blood. Fortunately, @ErinElizabeth had donated for him just in case something like this were to happen. Since the surgery and removal of the remaining dead tissue, he’s been in remission since age 2.5.
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You and @ErinElizabeth are an amazing family, You have gone through so much, made it and making it, and keep on going to even more success with unquenchable spirit.
I need to learn from you two! Your spirit is inspiring to me.
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Thanks @MaryPat! What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger, right?
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@ClaudnDaye Well done Harold. But I’m jealous. Wish I could post stats like that!
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Uh huh. 
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I think you are forgetting one:
- Liam’s awesomeness and his willingness to teach his mom and dad how to get it done.
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This conversation makes me think about my favorite quote about success:
“Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”
That one has tided me along a lot, as I think enthusiasm is one of the things that I personally maintain as a way to get through the day-to-day. I tried to look up and see if it was actually attributed correctly, as I have always thought that it was said by Winston Churchhill, but that wasn’t correct! It has also been attributed to Abraham Lincoln, and other people over the years. Turns out, they’re not really sure where it came from. 
In case you were curious. And since nobody knows who or how it was first said,I feel okay to have changed it to something that makes it work better for me.
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