This one is neither here nor there but it’s the kind of thing I think people with diabetes understand and maybe medical professionals and people who live with people with diabetes may not quite “get” so I’ll write about it.
First step: I know this is not textbook diabetes management. I can’t say I’ve ever really been one to think textbook diabetes management is possible for the life I lead, so this is not surprising. Please do what works for you and don’t think I’m recommending any of this for anyone. Just recording my own experience.
Second step: I do my best, and this is an example of me doing my best.
Third step: here’s the story:
I went to a 10 am meeting this morning with my husband. Prior to the meeting I had a bagel for breakfast and a latte. That is unusual; usually I have tea and oatmeal. So today’s breakfast was a heavy carb load. (Someone asked me if I could eat bagels… uh, yeah. I just usually don’t choose to because of the carb count and the way they hit my blood stream is somewhat difficult to manage so I treat them as a treat. But since my marathon is in omg nine days, I decided a bagel was what I wanted for breakfast this morning. Nine days before a marathon, I eat what I want. I’ll use it somehow!)
I thought the 10 am meeting would last an hour, but it went two hours instead. I got home at 12:30. I had checked at 11 during the meeting and made a minor correction for a high, but no big deal.
I was ravenous when I got home. Truly, starving.
So I grabbed a bag of cheesey popcorn I had been saving for a post-run treat and started in on the bag. I was a few handfuls in when I realized maybe I was low. I couldn’t really think of a good reason to be so hungry! (For the record, cheesey popcorn has carbohydrates but it isn’t a great treatment for low blood sugar because it is not quickly metabolized- the fat and fiber slow down absorption- unlike juice or candy that can get into the bloodstream relatively quickly.)
Yet I was sitting there, stuffing my face and getting my fingers cheesey, thinking as long as I didn’t bolus I wouldn’t do much damage if I was indeed low. If I wasn’t low, I’d bolus later when I got up and found my meter. (This is the part I imagine parents of type one kids may question.)
So I kept sitting and stuffing for a little while, and didn’t get up and find my meter or really do anything. A good textbook diabetic would I am sure get up, check, treat with juice or glucose tabs if low, or bolus if high and bolus for the popcorn carbs.
But I’m not always that textbook diabetic. Today, I didn’t have on a CGM or anything to help me figure out if I was low or I was simply hungry as a result of the simple carbs I ate for breakfast. So I ate and sat.
I thought about writing my blog right then, but facebook distracted me. (Well, facebook and Angry Birds.) I only got up when my phone battery started to drain and I needed to charge it.
That’s when I found my meter and checked: 115. So I probably was low, but maybe the popcorn hasn’t hit yet. I’m not sure.
Sometimes, that’s okay. I’ll check again soon and bolus if I’m heading higher or eat more if I’m heading lower. Because that’s what I do.
Me, the non-textbook yet real life diabetic.
(And the soon to be Angry Birds Champion of My Couch, as soon as I can get my husband to leave the couch since he’s really good at the game.)
