The only way I’d eat only 1/8 of a chocolate chip cookie:
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well my cookie WAS that big. and i ended up spiking an hour later to 200. but it was definately worth it. 
btw, we passed by JUNIORS in the car this evening and i thought: “if only i knew erics address, i could pick him up a cheesecake.”
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Well, this is brilliant! Sorry that happened to you, @daisymae!
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You can save yourself a test strip if you test the soda itself. Diet coke will come up as LO (or similar error message) while regular coke will come up as a high glucose value.
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how do you do this w/out a strip? i don’t understand what you mean.
The method described by Eric requires 2 test strips, but if you test the coke itself, you only have to use 1.
With our old meter (Aviva) we could test soda and get a reading. With out new meter (Onetouch Ultra II) testing soda results in an error, both regular and diet soda give the error so we would need to use Eric’s approach.
I have had some flakiness testing liquids directly. I guess it depends on the kind of meter.
i use the One Touch Ultra II as well ; its my favorite meter and i find it to be the most accurate of all the meters i have ever used when i compare it to my A1c.
well, enough about meters; lets get back to the topic at hand:
EXPERIMENT # 13
tried something new today, and i wish i had chosen another option. i did not get the results i was after. once i had no more IOB, i turned my pump down to 10% basal and bloused .6 units. my bg at the time was 140, and i didn’t want it to rise significantly before i got into the pool.
i waited 1 hour, and then i tested again. bg was 132. great, right? but i did a stupid thing: i got nervous about swimming so low, so i turned off the basal completely for another hour and a half.
my bg climbed quickly to 155, and then higher, to 190. i should have left things as they were b/c i’ve been on a TB of 120% for the past couple weeks and i’ve needed more basal on board. ok, so no biggy, right?
so here are the stats that prove that unequivocally eric is definately the genius of all things athletic that he claims to be. i shall never doubt his advice again 
.
2pm bg 190
2:30pm bg 193
3pm bg 166
3:30pm bg 168
4pm bg 165
all steady and stable, which is great for flatlining, but much higher bgs than i wanted…so i felt frustrated and wished i had left my TB at 10%. live and learn.
a little after 4pm, i gave myself a manual pump bolus of 1.5 units (replacement of missed basal and to ward off the incoming spiking from the exercise.) i just took a guess about the amount of this bolus. its a crapshoot. anything can happen. i’ll keep you posted.
and PS: i do know the difference in taste between diet Coke/Pepsi and regular; but obviously, not Tonic water. i will always look at the labels first in the future. these things don’t usually happen at home just in restaurants, etc. call me a ding-a-ling.
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Results you don’t like are valid experiments and informative. If it teaches more then it was worthwhile.
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thank you thomas. i really do have to remember that learning experiences come in all different forms. i just need to pay attention and to know that if an experiment seemed to not achieve what i wanted, that does not invalidate the effort.
DM, don’t worry. All this is good stuff. You are getting a good handle on it. Soon you will have the confidence to get in the pool at 130 or even less.
My thought for the day:
It’s not what your BG is that is important, it’s what it is going to be!
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to report about last night post swim: no lows other than 1 65. took a Gtab and went back to sleep. woke up at 69 and bolused (over-rode my pumps 70 or above ability to bolus) for bfast. ( i do not seem to have many problems with going low during my sleep so i haven’t yet lowered my overnight basal rate)
very very sore last night (i really pushed myself for the last 45 minutes of my swim yesterday). i had to take a super advil (800 mg). it took the edge off, but didn’t get rid of the searing pain. oh well.
slept very well. deeply. very refreshing. feeling really strong this morning. don’t swim over the w/end so i will be certain to fuel up and look forward to getting into the pool on monday at a lower bg. i want to prove to myself that i can remain level at around 130s w/out dropping/crashing. i have proved that this can be done about 4 or 5 times now; so, i just got to trust and DO IT !
Eric has brought me this far; now i go to make it a reality.
anyone out there who has found this method to work for them or their children? please check in. would LOVE to hear your stories 
.
what does anyone know about neuropathy? i know this is kind of off topic, but i was just wondering if anyone else experiences this while exercising.
after about 1 hour in the pool, my right hand gets numb and prickly. i have to take a moment out and massage it for a while before i continue swimming. i also will get neuropathy in my lower legs and feet sometimes, and when this happens i can’t walk w/out feeling i am missing a leg. do any of you runners (or any other sports where you are dependent upon your legs) ever experience this, and if so, what do you do to handle the situation?)
I don’t have any experience with that, sorry! Maybe @britt_j can give you some info.
refueling for swimming and taking a chance with exercise and food:
EXPERIEMENT # 14
preparing: 10:30am lowered temp basal by 20% (for walking over bklyn bridge to chinatown and back and all around brooklyn, but stopping in chinatown to eat brunch) bg when starting 108. at 12:30pm, bg was 127. post over bridge, in restaurant, 1.5 mile walk, bg 128, pre bolus for 65 gm carbs for 20 minutes (a complete guess) , eating VERY large bowl of rice stew with chicken (kind of like an American Porrage) and chunks of fried bread. (its called “Congi” ) ate, then walked back over the bridge to bklyn, tested bg at 3:20pm and was 201. tuned off TB. went walking another few miles in and around neighborhood and then back home. tested at 4:40pm and bg was 49. ate 2 G Tabs and piece of chocolate. now am waiting to go back
up. will test in 1/2 hour (boy i love chocolate .)
i am including this on this thread b/c i want this chinese meal to be a part of my refueling for my swim tomorrow. but i also want it to be included in how i am learning to take risks with foods and with basal rates when i don’t know the formulas. when i am nervous about making a “mistake” but still plowing forward and learning as i go. i am not certain how i would have changed things to be better the next time i take this adventure, but i think for the first time doing this specific experiment, i did a pretty good job; i must say, though, that my hands are shaking from my low bg as i am typing this. i am having the sweats while i wait for my bg to elevate back to target range. i don’t like feeling this way, but i know that i am home, safe, and have access to plenty of sugary yummy things. basically, i am not in harms way. and, just as an aside, when we first left the house, we left with plenty of juice, candy and Gtabs. we left prepared. (just like when i leave for the pool, i have my Baby Ruth candy bar, Swedish Fish, and G Tabs)
i am also including this experiment b/c i want to show anyone out there who is afraid of taking risks with their D, that its ok to take risks. eric always says: “don’t let your D rule your life.” and that is exactly what swimming has been teaching me; each trial is a learning experiment and i don’t have to be held hostage or be a victim of D. i feel that swimming has empowered me in ways i did not expect. i feel stronger for it, one day at a time. one experiment at a time.
will continue to keep you posted. AND, for those of you who have opinions regarding how i could improve this adventure, PLEASE chime in !!! i need all the suggestions you can offer. your experience helps mine .
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Hey, DM,
I think your past two Monday’s you’ve been higher than usual, right? Maybe because you didn’t swim over the weekend…
So for the Sunday night basal and tomorrow’s (Monday) swim, keep that in mind!
what do you suggest i do to keep my bgs in line for my night, overnight, and day tomorrow? would you do an elevated TB of maybe 10% - 20% ?
after i had my low today (49) and i took 2 GTABS and a piece of chocolate, 1 hour later i was 99; but 2 hours later, my bg was 136. don’t know if i am still going up, b/c i ate and then did a correction through my Wizard. i will have to wait until about the 2 1/2 hour mark to retest and see where i stand. if i am not in my target range, i will consider my options and make my best guess. what is your best guess and potential suggestion if i am still high?
If your BG is slow to come down before bed and is still high, correct that and go with the higher TB, like 20-25% more. Remember, last Sunday you had high BG too. Just feel which direction you are going before bed. Do you feel spikey? Do you feel like it’s dropping?
Monday, you will probably want to go with the higher bolus when you shut down, more like the 0.5 units you were doing instead of the 0.2 units. Before swimming, with 2 hours of zero TB and a BG of 130-150 when you start, that should be good for you.