May Days

Last week I FINALLY got Maddison's too high post breakfast numbers down! For two glorious days Maddison's numbers were p-e-r-f-e-c-t. PERFECT!! Call me a weirdo (or just totally and completely RELEAVED)) but I seriously had tears in my eyes when Maddison's number card came home from the school Nurse each day showing those beautiful blood sugars. Really, I did have tears in my eyes, I DID! I was just THAT mentally drained and DONE seeing those highs! I was SO happy to FINALLY see healthy, safe numbers....I FINALLY got it JUST right after over 8 weeks chasing numbers!

Ohhhh two glorious days!

70-140 all day, and all night. For two perfect days. 12 finger pokes. Not one low. Not one high. Hallelujah! I even managed to squeeze in 5 straight hours of sleep Thursday night because Ive had Maddison's bedtime numbers kicked into shape (FINALLY) for a couple weeks now and my super happy brain (still feeling in victory mode) said I could take ONE night off without too much worry! Its amazing how refreshing 5 straight hours of sleep is :) Maddison went to bed that night at a safe 142 and 5 hours later her meter flashed a 136. Kickin Diabetes down, one night at a time :)

So, just two days you say? Ummmmm ya. Well, what goes up must come down right? Problem is, when seeing progress in defeating high blood sugars you are likely to encounter some lows. Its all about balance ya know. Adjust this down a tad...adjust this up a tad. Change this. Change that. Now its time to back off the aggressive dosing and be cautious I guess. On the third day Maddison had early release from school so I watched the new and improved lower numbers closely! I caught several "potential lows" thanks to that WONDERFUL insulin pump feature called IOB. (insulin on board, or active insulin) I was able to give Madi a couple extra carbs here and there to stop impending low blood sugars in their tracks....LOVE THAT!

Day four was a lowish day with a couple numbers in the high 60's and 70's, but it was also the weekend which means I SHOULD HAVE turned basal rates down on Maddi's pump because she isnt sitting at a desk all day like she is during the school week. That was my mistake #1. Shoulda turned down the basal dosing for the weekend!

Day 5 almost killed me (physically AND emotionally) and had Maddison begging for me to take her to the Emergency room in fear that her blood sugar wasn't going to go back up.

FUCK.

Thats where Mistake #2 came in. I still hadn't turned down basals. On a Sunday. Why? I forgot. I was hoping numbers would "level out?" I'm an idiot? Probably all of the above.

Maddison had been complaining of a sore throat for a couple days, and its seems her numbers always run lower before getting sick. (Mistake #3!!) We made the usual big Sunday breakfast so carb counting wasnt (shouldnt have been) too far off. By now Madi was complaining about her throat pain continually, and I could hear in her voice she had a head cold coming on. I had just gone to lay back down in bed because I wasn't feeling so great myself, and I had just fallen asleep when suddenly Maddison was standing beside my bed crying. She said she felt like she was going to puke....... 1.5 hours after breakfast and Maddison's blood sugar was 32. THIRTY FREAKING TWO with over 2 units of insulin still working! Because Maddison had startled me out of my sleep I was even more super-over-reactive to seeing that crazy low number. Maddison refused to drink juice, and refused to chew the jelly beans I was trying to stuff in her mouth. I called out for Josh to prepare me 10u of Glucagon, while Maddison just cried and cried. Her eyes looked glazed over, and she was slow to respond. She was pale white and sweaty, surely she was dropping fast. I was certain she was about to have a seizure.....

Long story short, Maddison agreed to pour two packets of "Fun dip" sugar in her mouth to avoid the need for Glucagon. The longest moments in the world seem to be when you are waiting for a scary low blood sugar to rise.....My heart was POUNDING. I was slowly becoming numbish. I then realized that I too, was low.

My meter flashed a 42. My insulin pump said I still had over 2 units of insulin still active.

NICE.

Sugar for me. More sugar for her. And more. And more. And more. An hour later (with blood sugar rebounds) we were both so damn tired all we could do was sleep. So we did, holding each other tight. SAFE.

Today I dialed back Maddison's insulin dosing, afraid of more lows.....Maddison was 299 after breakfast. Thats Diabetes for ya. Grrrrrrrrrrr......

Just two weeks of school left. That means EVERYTHING is soon to change. Routine, bedtime, meal times, activity level.......

INSULIN NEEDS.

Just when you get it all figured out, it changes.

These are the days of our lives, the REAL life of living with Type 1 Diabetes. X's two in our house.