Wednesday, November 08, 2006

From CGMS back to fingersticks...

A *BAD* couple of D days for me.

I went to work out at the gym, and accidentally pulled my infusion set out. I replaced the set with one of the straight-in infusion sets(inset), and was in the 200s all day, haven't done that for awhile.

BS's continued to rise so I took several injections at work. Still in the 200s at home, pulled my infusion set, and you guessed it, that straight in cannula was bent at a 90 degree angle; hence little or no insulin delivery, hence the 200s.

I inserted one of the angled sets I have, the comfort short (which I
*WILL* be going back to), and BS's returned to normal, except that my DexCom receiver showed lots of *NOISE* in the morning, with readings all over the place.

I have been getting 10+ days recently; this is only one of a few sensors that have crapped out after 4 days.

No time to replace the sensor this morning, forgot to bring an extra sensor to work, so I'm back on lots of fingersticks for the first time in awhile. I'll probably end up testing every 2 hours or so depending on how busy I am at work, and then I'll insert a new sensor at home.

I've adjusted my Basal rates fairly well while on the DexCom CGMS, so I'm at 108; it will be interesting to see how I make out while I'm NAKED without my sensor the rest of my work day.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Tag Results: Don't Read if You Have a Weak Stomach

1. For a midnight snack, I used to occasionally eat hotdogs without cooking them: my wife thought it was disgusting, but hey- aren't they already cooked? I've stopped that 'disgusting' habit ever since I started going to the gym a year ago. What's really in a hotdog, anyway?

2. I used to operate a nuclear reactor on a U.S. Navy ship 25 years ago. I don't have most of my hair any longer, but I was able to father 3 kids.

3. My favorite class in high school was creative writing (I'm an engineer; hey did you know that engineers CAN write?).

4. After 20+ years of using a PC running Windoze, I finally upgraded to a MacBook Pro Duo, so now I can run Mac OS and Windoze. I know, I know, why bother to run Windoze on a MAC? Yech!

5. I want to sell my house and live in an RV, touring the country when I retire. "Yeah, Right!" says my other half.

Now I'll peruse the Diabetes OC for 5 more D's to tag.

What Happened to My Insulin Pump?

So I'm driving to work this morning, I'm almost there, and I get this call from my wife:

"Your pump is sitting on a pile of clothes in the bathroom, are you coming home to get it?"

Oh Sxxx! What a way to start a Monday morning. I stay up late watching the Pats/Colts game, and look what happens; my mind turns to milk toast. No way I'm going to drive one hour in the opposite direction to get my pump. Fortunately, I've got backup insulin and syringes in my diabetes kit, along with my DexCom.

So far I've had to skip breakfast, and I have 4 used syringes on my desk. At least my BS hasn't gone above 200 this morning. I'm getting really hungry since it's lunchtime and a little weak, but I'm still too high to eat at BS = 171. The trend is headed downward; extrapolating the graph, I should be around 120 in another hour or so, and then I can eat.

If I didn't have CGMS, would I have turned around to get my pump? Probably ... I just don't have the time to do a fingerstick test every half-hour or so.

Monday, November 06, 2006

Where's my pump?

So I'm driving to work this morning, I'm almost there, and I get this
call from my wife:

"Your pump is sitting on a pile of clothes in the bathroom, are you
coming home to get it?"

Oh Sxxx! What a way to start a Monday morning. I stay up late
watching the Pats/Colts game, and look what happens; my mind turns to
milk toast. No way I'm going to drive one hour in the opposite
direction to get my pump. Fortunately, I've got backup insulin and
syringes in my diabetes kit, along with my DexCom.

So far I've had to skip breakfast, and I have 4 used syringes on my
desk. At least my BS hasn't gone above 200 this morning. I'm getting
really hungry since it's lunchtime and a little weak, but I'm still
too high to eat at BS = 171. The trend is headed downward;
extrapolating the graph, I should be around 120 in another hour or so,
and then I can eat.

If I didn't have CGMS, would I have turned around to get my pump?
Probably ... I just don't have the time to do a fingerstick test every
half-hour or so.