No. If I said something that makes you think I am, I have no idea what it was. I am sorry. I don’t want to make it worse so I will quit here.
Incidentally, I never thought this was a men are from Mars, women are from Venus conversation. If it is, I will also gladly bail out. I don’t have hormone issues so I will leave that to others.
Okay, but Eric, here is my point exactly… I SEE 300s but only when I’m not watching EVERYThING like a hawk. That’s where the frustration and feeling demoralized and all of that creeps in… that, yes, I can own this disease if I NEVER LOOK AWAY. It’s having to be on your A-game at all times.
My alert is set at a 130. For me, that’s already a 160 or higher if I’m on the move. Sometimes I’m above a 200 by that point. When I see movement on my CGM (SG- sensor glucose) as small as an 80 to an 85, I have to start keeping an eye on it. It could be a 120 by that point, and depending on what I’ve done to cause it, if I’m not already on my toes, I could be battling a high within minutes.
And I know this. I was only joking. I can get intense, no doubt, but there’s nothing in here that resembles anything like a showdown or showcase. It’s a great place, and you, my friend, have a brain worth picking. Everyone in here has so much to offer… you’re just an easy mark. 
No! I was joking! Just a joke…in the future, I will refrain from jokes that require body language to be funny…
I’m not sure it is. I’ve never had access to diabetics before the last few months. You are ALL mesmerizing to me. But to hear a woman’s perspective, and some very bright women, indeed, has me thinking things I’ve never considered before.
There isn’t a part of this discussion that doesn’t apply to any part of our management. These are just interesting ideas to me. The things you are talking to me about are strategies for me to incorporate day to day. These talks of hormones, at this point, or ideas to explore. I don’t want one to eliminate the other.
So don’t go.
Okay. Hard to tell without some form of a smiley.
I was trying not to be all smiley all the time. I irritate MYSElF with smileys. But, yes, sometimes they’re key. 
I don’t think anything here should be like that. But I often see here (and elsewhere) the statement that “kids are different” when it comes to diabetes, in that their blood sugar can change more rapidly and be more unpredictable than most. I think people just need to keep in mind that “women are different” (at least before menopause) as well when it comes to diabetes. It doesn’t mean suggestions can’t be made, but it does mean they may have all been tried and just may not apply. Hopefully with the new category we’ll come up with some good strategies.
This is such a tough balance. It’s part of the reason I eat low-carb: it allows me to look away for at least 30-60 minutes at a time without a huge chance that my blood sugar will end up way out of range. I made a list over on TuD about a dozen or more things I need to do daily to keep diabetes under the kind of control I like it. But it takes so much effort, constantly, that it can get hard to do that and feel like you’re living life in an unlimited way. And yet, when I’ve backed off I end up spending the entire time ping-ponging between high and low non-stop, so that doesn’t work, either. So tough to find a good balance.
This whole thread is really going downhill now. 
I am gonna stop before I get banished.
Why they would put children on that is just creepy… and I’m laughing now but don’t want to force the laugh face…
Going out for a run. Smell ya later.
Why would you say that?? 
I see 300s all the time… When I’m watching like a hawk and when I’m not. I just don’t dwell on those 300s. I watch for patterns and If I see patterns then I fix it. But I never dwell on 300s… The disease is already tough enough without caring about and stressing about every 300 (or 400, or higher).
I fix the immediate issue, I check for patterns and IF a pattern, then I figure out how to eliminate it. If not, then I forget about it. Either way, I don’t dwell on it.
IMO this is part of the basal problem with your pump.
When I first read this I thought: well, maybe she needs to test her basal rates. Then I realized that’s impossible with a 670g. On a Dex, the only time I’m trending up so fast that my cgm is that far off (70 mg/dl) is when I forgot to bolus or I’ve severely underbolused.
My understanding with the 670g (please correct me if I’m wrong) is that the basal shuts off after you bolus. That’s effectively eliminating your basal for a period of time. A strong, accurate basal is crucial to being able to predict the effects of everything else.
Hawk is a bit subjective. If I haven’t eaten for 2+ hours, then I should only need to check my cgm every 30 minutes or so (maybe even less). Is this still hawkish behavior by your standards?
I may still be digesting some food, but it’s just the residual at this point so I should be able to predict the direction it’s going- unless something went wrong (then that’s an oh well moment. I’ll treat it as best I can (aggressively) and adjust my strategy for next time).
I’m sorry I’m raining a bit on the 670g, but I do think that your ability to predict may be affected by this pump.
The Dexcom performs completely differently for some than for others. I generally wouldn’t expect the Dexcom to start showing the slightest deflection until well after my bg had actually skyrocketed over 100 pts… which is why I generally don’t even bother… because it’s so dysfunctional for me that it’s essentially useless
I think this is the key. Maybe you HAVE to never look away and figure out how that can be accomplished without it taking over your life. I happened to do that with my watch or with my car announcing my Bg and direction every five minutes while driving. In short, I ALWAYS know what my Bg is and what direction it’s going, but it’s not my whole life. I can keep it in the background, like I do breathing.
I have diabetes. I have to multifunction. I have no choice. Thankfully there are tools that make it possible
I have seen your posts about this. It’s interesting because the one touch meters are also super inconsistent for you. I don’t have anywhere near as big of a problem with either of these (one touch and Dex). I definitely think there are better meters out there, but I’ve seen your comparisons with the one touch, and my experience is way different.
I’m always wondering why people’s experiences are so different with things like this.
Here is a related topic on TuD
I would say I see those 300s a lot but then hit them like a sledgehammer with insulin, and use Cheezits and other snacks to pad the landing.
Ditto. It took me a long time to understand that highs take a LOT more insulin to bring him back down. I have no problem giving Liam .5 or even a whole unit is he hits 300… Which is a lot for him at one time. If I don’t hit it hard, and only .2 or .3 , he will linger all night.
I keep bumping whatever it takes to get downward trajectory… Then I correct in the down swing.
Couple thoughts:
Completely agree w most everything I’ve read on this thread.
@Jen has painted an amazingly accurate picture of my daily life on shifting sands due to hormones EVERY DAY.
@Nickyghaleb’s explanation of how things can derail in a hurry if it’s not constantly being checked is very, very familiar.
I only experience “normal” basal needs around Days 7-11 of my 30 day month. Every single day that isn’t Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, or Day 11 is a day of basal roulette, correction factor roulette, and carb ratio roulette. That is why I think we may be seeing very different narratives along gender and age lines in this forum. It’s also why I’m still seriously considering going on birth control in a few weeks despite concerns about blood clot risks. Devil you know vs Devil you don’t, and all that.
My body has varying Rules of Engagement nearly every single day and it is absolutely a safety issue if I don’t keep on it and log, log, log. How could it not be if my basals are varying by 40% overnight, and along with it my correction factors and carb ratios? It’s more delicate than saying “Don’t let it run your life” and “Try it again tomorrow”. Those are true…but by tomorrow my game of Monopoly will have been switched out and replaced with Risk and the next day it will be a Ouija Board. It’s. Not. That. Simple. And despite all of that, I remain optimistic.
Progesterone is the big enemy of insulin. The dip of progesterone during menstruation is why many women need a basal reduction at that time. It then ramps up prior to ovulation, decreases a bit, and then climbs and decreases again for the second half of the cycle.
I said in a different post elsewhere on FUD that I always have issues on Day 23. Look at the chart. I’m apparently fairly textbook there.
Something I can’t remember/don’t know…is I don’t remember how Estrogen impacts insulin resistance. Based on the big spike of insulin resistance during ovulation for many women (myself included), I tend to think both estrogen and progesterone are insulin resistant. (Further: During pregnancy, your insulin needs go down initially and then climb steadily…and I believe that is due to the initial estrogen dip. I could be wrong there. Literature on these topics isn’t exactly the easiest to find…nor is any of it terribly concrete. Mayo Clinic’s article about diabetes and menopause just says, " The hormones estrogen and progesterone affect how your cells respond to insulin. After menopause, changes in your hormone levels can trigger fluctuations in your blood sugar level." Yes. Thank you, Mayo Clinic. That was very insightful.)
So yeah, if the ONLY time I had to worry about changing basal rates was during menstruation, I’d be the best damn diabetic you ever met. But that is a woeful misconception in the medical community (and the diabetic public) and it is, IMO, a disservice that there is not more actual information out there. Everyone tells us, “This might affect your blood sugar”, but no one says anything more than that. And I’d love to be wrong about that. I’d love that so much.