A Day with Diabetes- Being Sick Edition

Sorry in the delay posting this. I've been without internet.

This is the first post for Diabetes Blog Week, the genius idea of Karen from Bitter Sweet. The first day's topic is to write about a day with diabetes. Last week I was sick with bronchitis and a sinus infection which greatly affected my blood sugar levels. People with fully functioning pancreases do not have to worry about anything but their illness unlike people with diabetes. Instead of concentrating on making sure I have enough kleenex around (I ran out!) people with diabetes (PWD) are forced to deal with not only their illness but also their diabetes. The stress on the body from being sick causes high blood sugars. Let me tell ya, it is not fun. Dealing with being high and being sick makes a simple cold feel a lot worse.

So here is what one of my days was like last week:

1:30 AM  Woken up as I am coughing up a lung. I take more of my cough syrup with codeine (which sure does taste like it has some sugar in it) and figure I should test my blood sugar. 246 mg/dL. Oh crap. Ok, take a correction bolus and try to go back to sleep.

5:45 AM Up again coughing. I get up to test again. 161 mg/dL which is better  but still too high. I do another correction bolus and crawl back into bed hoping to get  some sleep.

8 AM Steve is off to work so I get up and test, again. 186 mg/dL. Argh. Wrong direction. Ok, give a correction bolus and back to bed for sicko.

10 AM  I get up and test. 96 mg/dL. Now that is more like it! I decide to take a long hot steamy shower to help clear out my sinuses.

11 AM  Starting to get hungry so I go and test. 142mg/dL. Guess my long shower disconnected from the pump was too long! Oops. Should have given myself a bolus for the amount of insulin I was missing.  I figure out what I'm in the mood to eat and eat it first before bolusing since my hunger hasn't been around much since I've been sick. After I eat I bolus for the carbs in my breakfast/lunch.

1:15 PM Feeling crappy again so I test and I'm 233 mg/dL. Ok, I know I counted those carbs correctly. Ugh. Give myself a bolus correction and it's back to curling up on the couch with the laptop.

3 PM Time to test again. 271 mg/dL. Again WRONG DIRECTION. Correction bolus and off to find another box of kleenex.

3:30 PM Starting to feel really lethargic and headachey. Best to test. 225 mg/dL. Ok, at least I'm coming back down.

5 PM Test once again: 258 mg/dL. Quick bolus while I make myself another cup of tea.

6:45 PM Steve's home from work which means dinner time. I'm 214 mg/dL. I (ok my pump does the math I just enter the blood sugar and carbs) figure out how much insulin to take for my high blood sugar and for dinner.

9 PM Curious if I'm out of the 200's I test again. Uhmm nope. 250 mg/dL. I barely had any carbs in dinner! Remind myself that I'm doing the best I can. I correct and go back to hanging out with Steve.

11 PM Getting ready for bed. I'm 183 mg/dL which is better.  I take my cough syrup with codeine and give myself a correction bolus plus a little extra for the sugar in the cough syrup.


 That is what one of my days was like last week. I did not take symlin last week because I had no appetite and the symlin was just too much. Now that I'm feeling better (aside from this damn cough) I'm back on the symlin.