Tuesday, August 21, 2007

A1C dropped to lowest ever....6.8

Just visited the doctor today, my A1C results showed a 6.8. Since April, I've been able to drop my A1c from a 7.3 to a 6.8 by using my CGMS (continuous glucose monitor).
Now, my doctor and I are beginning to fine tune my regimen. My doctor is a older gentlemen that is very intelligent. Together, he is getting used to reading my weekly charts that outline my 288 readings per day. This is very exciting.
Case in point, I'm finding my 3 hour after meals is elevated. We are now working on adjusting my eating habits and my basal rates. The image below shows the reports from my minimed unit. Each colored line is one day, and this graph is from one full week.




Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Insulin and Hamburgers

This week, I've learned a very interesting thing about my glucose levels, and the foods that I eat. I was noticing that after eating a cheeseburger at McDonalds (no fries), I was constantly having low blood sugar levels. Not that I eat them often, but it's close to work, and it's a cheap lunch.

Normally I would bolus 3 units to cover the carbs in the burger. What I've come to understand, by watching the trends on my real time glucose monitor, that I do NOT have to take any insulin for that lunch. My normal basal rates, along with how my body reacts to this type of food was very interesting. This may not be the case for everyone, but it works for me.

I would never have been able to pattern this, without the use of the continuous glucose monitor. Boy, it feels good to master the challenge of certain foods VS insulin requirements.

Anyone else experience this?

Saturday, August 4, 2007

Sensors have arrived!

After 2 weeks, I finally received my minimed glucose sensors. Of course, it was a rough ride. My sensor package was mis-sorted by UPS, so my overnight delivery took over the weekend. Instead of ordering my normal 4 pack, I ordered the 10 pack (just in case this backorder thing is a trend).

Normally, I have never wasted a sensor. But, this time after inserting the sensor, it bled quite a bit. This prohibited me from putting the IV tape over the unit right away. One hour later, the blood ruined the tape on the sensor, and it pulled out (just was I was going to put on the IV tape)....arg....there went $35 on a wasted sensor. Oh well, I'm just glad to have it back.