Who Needs An Adjustment?

One Thing to Improve - DBlog Week - Day 3

Yesterday we gave ourselves and our loved ones a big pat on the back for one thing we are great at. Today let’s look at the flip-side. We probably all have one thing we could try to do better. Why not make today the day we start working on it. No judgments, no scolding, just sharing one small thing we can improve so the DOC can cheer us on!

Click for the One Thing to Improve - Wednesday 5/16 Link List.

Insulin Adjustments.  Ugh.  The very words make my face do a funny little cringe thingy.  As I told you yesterday, I am a rule follower.  So, I am very capable of following the insulin adjustment guidelines provided by Ally's endocrinologist.  If she is running high or low consistently, for period of time, I can look at the numbers and make a pretty good judgement about whether to change basal or carb ratio.  And the truth is, when I do it, I do it pretty well.  The part where the "One Thing to Improve" comes in, well that's in actually following through with what my brain is telling me to do.

The place where I get hung up (AGAIN!) is all of the uncertainty that diabetes throws in the mix.  My brain says that Ally is running high overnight because she is growing and I know that I need to increase her overnight basal.  But what if it's actually because we are making mistakes in her carb counting.  But what if it is because we tried to squeeze an extra day out of that site or bottle of insulin?   And what if she is running high because she is getting sick?  The what ifs could actually go on and on.

I KNOW that I have seen a pattern over a period of time and I KNOW what I need to do...adjust the insulin!  But it is so hard for me to do.  What if my adjustment is wrong, or I adjust too much, and cause her to go low overnight? 

I'm sure that you can clearly see why this is an area that needs some improvement.  I need to trust myself when it comes to Ally's diabetes care. 


So, I guess the question is, does the insulin need an adjustment?  Or do I?



Thanks to Karen at Bitter-Sweet for organizing yet another fabulous Diabetes Blog Week!

Teamwork, Our Great Thing

One Great Thing - DBlog Week - Day 2

Living with diabetes (or caring for someone who lives with it) sure does take a lot of work, and it’s easy to be hard on ourselves if we aren’t “perfect”.  But today it’s time to give ourselves some much deserved credit.  Tell us about just one diabetes thing you (or your loved one) does spectacularly! Fasting blood sugar checks, oral meds sorted and ready, something always on hand to treat a low, or anything that you do for diabetes.  Nothing is too big or too small to celebrate doing well!

(Check out the DBlog Week One Great Thing - Tuesday 5/15 Link List.)


I started out this post by asking Ally if she could tell me One Great Thing that she does regarding her diabetes.  She said, "Well, Mom, I really shouldn't toot my own horn!"  Love that girl!!

For me, giving Ally credit is so easy to do! She handles most things diabetes spectacularly!  She is my hero...but you'll have to wait until Sunday to hear about that!

I think that as parents of a child with diabetes, we are generally hard on ourselves.  Day in and day out I am looking at Ally's blood glucose numbers and wondering what we did wrong or what we could have done better.  My husband and I take most of the credit for the blips in the road...and we probably deserve that credit!  There was the time that I forgot to do a site change when I knew that Ally's insulin was old and most likely ineffective.  And then another time when Keith forgot her D bag at the soccer field.  There may have been an occasion or two where Keith or I forgot to give Ally her breakfast bolus.  The good news is that we each do different things in our own spectacular way too!

Me, I am a rule follower.  I like guidelines and I typically stick to them.  If you know anything about diabetes, I bet you are shaking your head and thinking that I could not possibly be spectacular at diabetes management!  Diabetes balks at rules and guidelines.  In fact, diabetes makes its own rules...and they are subject to change at any time, without notice!  Despite all that, I am spectacular at measuring out and weighing food.  My carb counting is very precise!  I know exactly what day Ally's site change should be on, how many days old her insulin is and what day of the month our insurance will allow me to refill her test strips.  I am also a worrier.  So, I remember every single move that Ally has made in a day and try to take that into account when making decisions about dosing her insulin.

Keith is a risk-taker and, well, let's just say that he likes to challenge the rules!  He would prefer to think that guidelines are very general and that much is left to interpretation.  You might guess that he is spectacular at SWAGging (Scientific Wild A** Guessing).  He does not worry that she may have a little less or a little more than half a cup of macaroni and cheese on her plate...if it looks like half a cup, he'll bolus for half a cup.  (I would carry a measuring cup around with me everywhere if he didn't make fun of me for doing so!!)  He is great at setting dual wave and square wave boluses on the pump, where some insulin is delivered up front and/or some insulin is delivered over a period of time.  He also has a fantastic memory...for things that he chooses anyway ;)  He can remember the carb count for the most random food that Ally may have eaten one time, three years ago!

Together, we make a spectacular team in managing Ally's diabetes.

Ally did finally answer my question too..."Mommy, you are great at site changes. I will always let you do them, ok?"  :)


Thanks to Karen at Bitter-Sweet for organizing yet another fabulous Diabetes Blog Week!

Finding a Friend, and Myself!

Find a Friend - DBlog Week - Day 1

It seems the most popular thing about Diabetes Blog Week is that it helps us find blogs we weren’t reading yet and connect with some new blog friends.  With that in mind, let’s kick off Diabetes Blog Week by making some new connections.  Think about the d-blogs you read that you think we may not know about and introduce us to one that you love!!  Let’s all find a new friend. 

(Check out the DBlog Week Find A Friend - Monday 5/14 Link List.)

Well, before I introduce you to one of my favorite blogs, let me introduce myself to you!  Ha!  It seems that lately I have been quite absent from my blog and also from reading the other wonderful D blogs out there. Life is busy as usual, my computer has been less than cooperative and I'm terrible at blogging from the iPad (which is why this will be a short post!).  Beyond that, I have actually been making time for myself, exercising even!  It is something that I have needed to do for myself for a long time.  Blogging is good for me too though, so I'm hoping that this Diabetes Blog Week will help me to find a way back to the blogging world.

And now, I could blog all night long about the awesome D bloggers out there.  But for today, I would like to make sure that you know my friend Shamae's blog Welcome To Our Crazy, Happy Life! .  Maybe I'm drawn to Shamae's blog because she has three girls like me.  Maybe it's because her oldest daughter Sydney, also living with Type 1, is close in age to Ally.  Whichever the draw is for me, I know that you will find something special there as well.  So now you just have to head over to Welcome To Our Crazy, Happy Life! and see 8 year old Sydney singing "Please Remember Me". I promise that you will not soon forget it!

Thanks to Karen at Bitter-Sweet for organizing yet another fabulous Diabetes Blog Week!