Yep, my apologies for the over-explaining! I just wasn’t sure what you knew.
Vials are becoming somewhat of a lost art in the D world. 
Luck is the residue of design.
4 Likes
friend, never apologize, and even with an experienced technician, there is no such thing as too much detail in these matters!
and hey, i am never one to look gift luck in the mouth! i will seize every blessing offered to me.
4 Likes
@panda,
Not sure if we’ve already gone over this, but please remind me, what gels do you have for your runs?
If you don’t already have them, get some Transcend glucose gels. Nothing works faster. You need those in case you are ever in a free fall.
4 Likes
Rest and Recovery: 16 Days to Go
Sleep Hours: 5
6:00: it’s Fearless Friday friends! up and at em! BG 105, Lantus 6u, no coffee
6:15: BG 121
6:30: BG: 132
7:10 BG 141, errands
8:20: BG 160, 2u NovoLog, black coffee with sugar free vanilla syrup
9:15: BG 150, 2u NovoLog
9:45: BG 133
10:15: BG 133, 2u NovoLog, full fat latte (1g)
10:30: wafflewich with ham/cheese/veggies and low sugar jam (30g)
10:45: BG 145, 2u NovoLog
11:20: BG 181, 2u NovoLog
11:40: PB PerfectBar (18g), honey nut cheerios (5g)
12:00: BG 122 and dropping
12:05: juice (15g)
12:30: BG 125, 2u NovoLog, whole grain crackers/nuts/salami/baby carrots (25g)
1:10: BG 194 rising, 2u NovoLog
1:20: BG 210, 1u NovoLog
2:20: BG 73 and dropping, afternoon cliff, sugar time (45g juice to get out the basement)
4:25: BG 168, 1u NovoLog
4:45: BG 176, 2u NovoLog
5:45: BG 154, 2u NovoLog
7:45: BG 80, 13u Lantus
8:15: BG 86, 1u NovoLog, protein bar (9g)
11:00: BG 123, night night!
DAILY TOTALS: 19u Lantus, 21u NovoLog (!!!), Carbs: 175g
that is a crap ton more insulin than usual. i’m kind of embarrassed and not sure why i took/needed so much, but it took more insulin today - a lot more - to keep me in the zone and i’m not sure what happened.
i wonder if more of my pancreas recently died? my insulin requirements seem to be rising, and i had pretty high autoantibody counts (including ia2 and insulin autoantibodies, not just gad, which i am given to understand is a little unusual in an adult onset patient…?) please educate me if you know! is it possible i’m seeing the impacts of increasing loss of function in real time, or do insulin needs sometimes just do the whacky and jump around on you…?
3 Likes
Perhaps the reason will become clear over time, but the reason doesn’t really matter. If our BG is too high, we need more insulin. Our body gets to decide how much insulin we need, our job is just to take it.
It’s reasonable to suppose that your pancreas happened to be delivering less insulin so you had to make up the difference. But it’s also true that there are dozens of factors that influence the insulin requirement. Adam Brown has written articles over at diatribe that list 42 factors that influence BG. There’s a summary graphic at https://diatribe.org/poster-now-available-42-factors-affect-blood-glucose
Observe the BG, take the correction (or let a closed-loop pump do some of that for you). You’re watching closely these days, so you will soon be recognizing familiar repeating patterns of BG excursions that you can treat early to push the BG in a good direction.
5 Likes
…thank you 
this will sound super silly but sometimes i rathole myself because i feel like i “did something wrong” when things go differently. i think this sentiment probably stems from my first several providers (who, depending which one, alternated from accusing me of fibbing about my lifestyle and diet, or else basically told me i should absolutely be trying to get off insulin and should take as little as possible because it was a last resort and told me really minimal max dosing numbers/day plus warnings about exceeding it… classic misdiagnosed ham-handed T2 approach basically, and good for nobody regardless of type!). i think it kind of got in my head and your framing is just so much healthier and less emotionally stressful!!! thank you 
and i have been loving all these charts for dosing, food macros, etc so much that i got a laminator so i can stash them in my bathroom/kitchen etc! this 42 chart just joined the roster.
3 Likes
The doctors are in a difficult spot. Their job is to keep us healthy, but mostly they have no direct personal experience, limited time, and no control over the outcomes we experience. And a tendency to diagnose adult-onset diabetes as type 2 without properly investigating, even given hints like speed of onset and body type. Their attempts to encourage us to take care of ourselves can easily be perceived as blaming the victim. I remember the outrage I felt when my internist explained my hard-earned good A1C over 3 years was simply the result of remaining endogenous insulin production. (I had the endo give me a C-peptide test that came back nil and felt fully vindicated.)
For us, it comes down to a matter of personal style. For myself, in the beginning I wanted to understand every detail of what was happening, and I wrote down all those observations. Probably it was 6 or 8 months before I decided that although I could anticipate and react better than before, the underlying reasons simply didn’t matter for the treatment. The pancreas doesn’t scratch it’s head trying to figure out what to do. But others study everything deeply and apply all that to anticipate, and to plan strategies. I view Eric as in that camp. He knows more than just about anyone, about biological processes and about himself, and applies it to admirable great effect in high-level athletics.
4 Likes
oh absolutely, medical professionals are overworked and underappreciated to the max! i’m sure they’re doing their best. unfortunately sometimes i still leave appointments feeling like a scolded puppy 
but you are quite correct. this process is sometimes as much learning to manage my feelings around the diabetes as managing the condition itself!!!
3 Likes
Yes, even 21 years into my diagnosis I am still learning to redirect feelings of guilt over what my body does (or does not do). Oddly, even just seeing someone else’s BG log, like yours for this race, has helped me remember that we are all doing our best… and that that includes me! Keep it up! 
3 Likes
thanks @RachelMaraii - practice makes progress, after all… but it’s so hard not to feel like i “should” be hitting some unknown expectations set by whoever “they” are. one day at a time i guess 
and i’m so glad others are able to get something from my log too, that was the hope!
also, hey @Eric 
(and now you know why that tattoo was placed where it was: originally it was for climbing, to see reaching for a hold. but works here too! little cheer squad on my arm every time i take a reading. )
4 Likes
for today’s run, full report tonight or early tomorrow per usual. but new thing today: using my spectacular new piece of kit courtesy of the peerless and generous @Eric, i took actual finger stick readings instead of just the cgm. i used the jogging intervals of today’s workout to get used to using my new running meter while in motion! i only missed a little: for me getting the aim of drop onto strip will need practice. results screencapped below. i would call this a success! (i did not do two runs, i think it imported the same run from two devices…)
4 Likes
Spectacular numbers! Those are awesome! Great job today! 
Make note of your setup this morning with insulin and food. It looks like a good mix for you.
It takes a little practice, but it will become very easy!
Experiment with the meter a little bit too. You might want to also try wearing it on the back of your wrist instead of the front of your wrist. It may be easier to turn your arm that way.
Try it both ways and see what you think.
Bump…
3 Likes
oh! sorry! trueplus was what i had, transcend is en route as are more contour test strips, sterile vials etc. at least for now every 15-20 mins seems a good interval to test as i learn my patterns.
1 Like
Great work this week! Enjoy your Sunday rest day!
Here is next week…
| Date: | Workout: |
|---|---|
| Mon, Mar 11 | 3 mile run @ 11:00 pace |
| Tue, Mar 12 | 45 minute progression run. 3 different paces YOU choose. Go by feel alone. Do the first 15 minutes easy, the next 15 minutes medium, and the last 15 minutes hard. Record your pace for each of the 3 segments. |
| Wed, Mar 13 | Easy 2 mile recovery run |
| Thu, Mar 14 | 4.0 mile tempo run (@ 9:22-9:40 pace) |
| Fri, Mar 15 | Rest |
| Sat, Mar 16 | 6 mile run with a fast finish. Do the first 4 easy, do the last 2 at 9:30 pace |
| Sun, Mar 17 | Rest |
2 Likes
Run #6: Gear Up Gear Down: 15 Days to Go
Sleep Hours: 5
5:00: Stellar Saturday! BG: 155, Lantus 7u, NovoLog 1u
6:15: BG 119 and dropping
6:45: BG 122, NovoLog 1u
7:45: BG 140, NovoLog 2u, dilute juice
9:45: BG 120, NovoLog 2u, black coffee
10:15: BG 95 dropping, whole grain toast with eggs tomatoes and herbs
11:00: BG 113 and rising, NovoLog 1u
11:15: BG 145 and rising, NovoLog 1u
11:30: BG 88 and dropping, welches fruit snacks
12:00: BG 85 and dropping, welches fruit snacks
12:30: BG 140, begin MaraMosey
1:00: BG 110, protein bar
1:10: BG 85 and dropping, fruit snacks
1:25: BG 84 and level
1:50: end MaraMosey, BG 110
2:00: BG 155 and rising, NovoLog 2u
2:25: BG 170 and rising, NovoLog 1u
3:00: BG 119 and dropping, afternoon cliff, granola bar
3:20: BG 59, cheerios and almonds
4:00: BG 73 and level
4:30: BG 62, apple and almonds
5:10: BG 118 rising, NovoLog 2u
5:45: BG 95, NovoLog 1u, pesto whole wheat pasta with tomato/chicken/white beans
7:00: Lantus 7u, NovoLog 1u
7:30: NovoLog 1u, yogurt with berries
8:45: NovoLog 1u
11:15: BG 155, NovoLog 1u
11:30: BG 198 and rising, NovoLog 2u
11:45: BG 224 and rising
———new day
12:45am: BG 101 and tanking, apple/almonds/tea with honey
1:00am: BG 91, bed
3:00am: woke up, BG over 200, took 3u NovoLog. WHAT IS HAPPENING.
DAILY TOTALS: 20u Lantus, 20u NovoLog, Carbs: 298
Notes: i went from 15u of Lantus and 6-10u NovoLog just a week or two ago. give where i am in my timeline and progression, i suspect this likely points to further loss of function 
i guess that means it’s time to remind myself, @bkh, that it doesn’t totally matter why, my body clearly needs it. have i mentioned i don’t like this game? 
Run #5: Gear Up Gear Down : 03/09/2024
Distance: 5.25 miles incl. warmup/cooldown
Song of the Day: “Wet Tennis”, Sofi Tukker
Run Time: 55:54
RPE: ~6/10
Location: Treadmill
Surface: Treadmill
Shoe: Hoka Clifton 9
Start Time: 8:20 PST
End Time: 9:16 PST
Start BG: 128
15min BG: 126
30min BG: 103
45min BG: 99
End BG: 114
Notes: BG spiked out of the gate according to cgm, but fingerstick reading at 15min was 124 vs cgm 150+? fingerstick results varied from a low of 99 to a high of 129. ended in range and level after 10min walking cool down. overall insulin needs are increasing but weight is steady; milage has risen from 15-18mi/week to about 22-25mi/week. i was doing really low carb for a while because they said t2, but am gradually expanding my menu again, which could also factor in to my insulin increase though should not account for all of it.
3 Likes
Hey P, a few things on all of this.
First of all, your numbers here are perfect! Can’t ask for anything better than this!
Some meter notes…
As long as your fingers are dry and don’t have a sugar substance on them, trust that meter!
-
If your fingers are sweaty, it might read a little low. Always try to dry them off. On the treadmill this is easy, but on the trail try to have a washcloth with you. It’s easy to hook on your waistband.
-
If you eat or drink something and it gets on your fingers, you can get a false high. If you ever get food or a sugar drink on your fingers, use your water bottle and wash them off.
-
And make sure you have enough blood. If you have a tiny little drop and have to keep dabbing the blood on the test strip, that can give you dicey numbers.
-
And if you ever get a wacky reading, do another test.
But if your fingers are dry and clean, and you gave it enough of a blood drop, that meter is gold. You can trust it. (Try doing several tests with the same blood drop and you will see numbers that are very close. That meter is the best.)
Yes, higher carb will result in more insulin needs. And your pancreas might be doing less now than it was before, as you already mentioned.
I only have a few days to look at, so I don’t know for sure how much it has changed.
On the other hand, you might just be tracking your insulin better now than you were.
But really, as @bkh has said, the “right” amount is the amount you need.
Total dosing amount can be useful to help identify changes in diet or exercise or weight, or to tell you that you might be getting sick. Also it changes with monthly cycles too. So it is a good and helpful thing to track.
But if your weight is consistent, it is not something to be stressed over. Particularly when you are throwing down run numbers like this!
128, 126, 103, 99, 114
3 Likes
and aha! you see there is always (well, ok, sometimes) a method to my madness! report to come on this experiment, but i have an idea for wristbands to dispense new/store used lancets that also addresses this finger cleaning thing.
i got a box of autoretracting single use lancets and pair of terry wristbands with lined zip pockets - i will share my results once i have tried it out of course. but the idea is to dispense new lancets from the left wrist pocket, and discard used lancets and test strips into the right wrist pocket. the autoretracting feature controls for accidental stick risk from discards.
if it works out, the wristbands are terry, meaning it should be easy to wipe a finger on them to clean and dry it as an integrated part of the testing sequence. i often also carry prep pads to clean fingers if needed, which slip nicely into any pocket or pack nook in case i’ve recently handled food etc.
let’s hope it works! stuff arrives next couple days.
3 Likes
Single-use lancet. Now that’s an unfamiliar concept when self-sticking. Maybe Eric will comment on his frequency of lancet changes. For myself, I think that a fingerstick with an unsterile lancet has about the same medical hazard as getting stuck by a rose thorn or wood splinter.
And one note about those prep pads. Alcohol is not particularly effective at removing sugar, but water is, provided you dissolve and remove the sugar rather than just rubbing it around.
4 Likes
it’s not about sterility actually! it’s mostly about what to do with the exposed needle in transit/between tests, and the notion of possibly mixing a prior sample into a new one from the needle itself*. i also don’t like using longer lancing devices in motion (i have a hard time feeling like my grip position gives enough control), so have just been hand-holding a standard lancet at its base without lancing device while on the treadmill with an appropriate discard there. that would be fine, except i don’t have a way to manage it while i’m not using it. i don’t have a way to carry it without damaging it for reuse, and if discarding and putting it in a pocket leaves that sharp exposed = potential owie! i also don’t always get a good puncture on a reused one, as they do get blunted with use, and i like to get a good sample on the first stab especially on the go. that’s why the autoretracting single use ones it also does prevent any potential muddling from recent prior blood in a new drop. (*is that not something i should bother worrying about? i still don’t totally know how fussy everything really is…)
good to know on prep pads
3 Likes
When I look at the volume of blood that remains on the surface of a used lancet, that seems nearly non-existent by comparison with the volume of the new blood drop for the next test.
2 Likes