Six Hours

Six hours on an empty stomach, on a quiet Sunday afternoon at home sure does give you a lot of time to think.

I’ve been so intensely focussed on testing my basal rates over the weekend. Making sure that the rate of background insulin my pump delivers is keeping my blood glucose levels steady through a six hour window. To do this, I can’t have any bolus insulin active in my system, meaning no food for six hours.

I was laying in front of the television at lunch time yesterday, trying not to think about my growling stomach. I had my FreeStyle Libre within arms reach, scanning every half hour or so, watching the movement of my blood glucose levels.

Every time I saw a trend arrow, I started to obsess. Am I too stressed? Have I been on my feet too much this morning? Does lying on the couch represent a typical day for me? Have I been less active than I normally would have? Was there too much fat in my breakfast this morning? Am I feeling the cold today?

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I tried to lay there and focus on the television, and not obsess over my actions that day. Resisting the urge to pull out my pump and tweak the basal rate, instead opting to let the pump do it’s thing.

Sure enough, the trends were only small ones. By the time I scanned again, the trend arrow had shifted in another direction. However, as I was laying there yesterday, one thing became very apparent to me.

Everything affects diabetes. Absolutely everything. Even something as simple as laying on the couch can mean the difference between a lower or a higher rate of basal insulin.

We strive for perfection, and yet it’s not always realistic while we are trying to live our lives at the same time. Some days we can only do our best, and remember that diabetes does not rule our lives.