Just a few of my Diabetes Rules!

When I was thinking about my last post, I decided to make a note of some of my personal “diabetes rules.” I stopped when I got to the end of my piece of paper. It got too overwhelming!
Whatever happened to that “eat well, take your insulin, and exercise” myth about diabetes management?

Everyone’s body is so very different. These are my rules for my body, gleaned over two years of diabetes. They include:

Exercise:
If I exercise right before a meal, I set my basal (background) insulin to 25%

If I exercise for up to 3 hours after a meal, I need to eat to bring my blood sugar up to AT LEAST 9, then monitor several times during exercise to make sure I don’t go low.

If I plan to exercise right after a meal, I give myself 2/3 of the insulin for the meal (less if it will be strenuous exercise), and give myself 50% up front and 50% over the next hour.

Meals:
For breakfast, I take my insulin all at once. I can eat eggs, Red River cereal, steel cut oats or buckwheat, tofu, or yogurt and fruit. That’s all. Anything else makes my blood sugar NASTY.

At lunch, my body is a bit slower to digest the food. I take 50% of my insulin up front, and 50% over the next two hours.

For dinner, I take 50% of my insulin up front, and 50% over the next three hours.

If I want to eat fatty foods, I take less up front and more over time.

I eat low-glycemic foods that reduce the “spike” in my blood sugar. If I eat high glycemic foods like corn or potatoes or melons, I take more insulin up front.

Treats:
Because treats aren't really meals, but treats are good for my mental health.

I can eat dark chocolate, the occasional cheesecake, and Breyers light ice cream. Any other sweet treats need to be eaten right before a walk so that I can bring my blood sugar down right away. Cake and cookies and other baked goods like muffins are OUT.


Sleeping:

2 hours after dinner, my blood sugar should be around 7. If it is not 7, I correct by eating. If it is too high, I wait and see.

At bed time, my blood sugar should be 7 or just under. Repeat the process above.

Every night, I wake up 1-2 times a night to make sure that my blood sugar is not too low or too high.

Sites:
I change my pump infusion site (where the insulin goes into my body) every 2.5 days. I change it in the mid-afternoon or before dinner. That way, it doesn’t stop working (or not even start working) overnight, and I don’t have a high blood sugar catastrophe. Theoretically.

I use one sort of pump site on my tummy and another on my – ahem – rear end.


So this is what’s going on in my head during the average day. And more. Oh yeah, and testing my blood sugar 10-12 times a day, correcting it with food or insulin. Woo hoo! Diabetes. It sure ain’t “eat well and exercise” anymore, baby!