Month: September 2016

FreeStyle Libre Cheat Sheet

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When I first began using the FreeStyle Libre back in May, it was a big change from finger sticks. The continuous nature of the data was strange and at times overwhelming. The device felt like a life saver at times, and extremely frustrating at others. By the time each sensor I used reached the end of its life, I felt well and truly ready for a break. Finger sticks were often a refreshing reprieve from the pesky trend arrows, vibrations and temptation to scan so frequently using my Libre.

It’s fair to say that the Libre has been an adjustment for me. Despite my obvious enthusiasm for the product, it’s something that I’ve slowly eased into using. I’m currently onto my third sensor that I have purchased since trialling the system in May. With time, I am starting to feel more comfortable using it and understanding how it works for me and my diabetes.


For instance, I definitely find that the Libre pronounces movements in my glucose levels after eating. After some experimenting, I’ve concluded that the Libre typically clocks in 2-3mmol higher than my meter 1-2 hours after a meal. It does eventually catch back up again by the time my mealtime insulin has worn off. It’s not a big deal, I just need to remind myself not to panic if I see a reading of 10 after a perfectly carb counted and pre bolused meal.


A change in environment can also cause the Libre results to momentarily jump. For example, getting up off the couch or stepping outside can produce a completely different result within moments of the last one. The jump is only momentary, and within a minute or so it’s usually back to where it was before. Showers tend to produce the wildest changes, so I tend to wait at least five minutes for the results to be reliable once again.

The trend arrows are the biggest advantage in being able to catch oncoming hypos with the Libre. This is a lifesaver at work when I’m physically active and more prone to going low. Looking at the trend arrow on a reading of 6 will tell me whether my levels are 6mmol and steady, or 6mmol and dropping rapidly. With a meter, this really was my best guess.

The biggest hurdle I have had to overcome is not to be too reactive to results after eating. Understanding how the Libre works on me has definitely improved my experience with it, and I feel far more comfortable using it today. When my sensor died last week, I decided to go straight into another for the first time since I started using it.

At the moment, I feel more comfortable with the added level of convenience and insight into glucose levels. I’m fortunate that I am in a position to be able to purchase the sensors.


Will I continue to use it? Time will tell…

I’m In Print!

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I’m thrilled to be featured in the Diabetes WA magazine Diabetes Matters, discussing my experience as the first person in Western Australia to trial the FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System earlier this year (which I wrote about here).

 

Seeing myself in print is so surreal! Usually I’m the one reading articles about old classmates who are athletes and sportspeople and superheroes. When I started writing a diabetes blog two years ago, I never imagined that I would be able to call myself an advocate for a cause I am really passionate about.

Special thanks to the team at Diabetes WA for featuring my story. Check out my article below, and be sure to grab yourself a copy, Perth folks!

Burnout Is In The Air

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Don’t even get me started on those Spring has Sprung statuses…

I’ve been very much burned out these past couple of days. Surprisingly, nothing insulin pump related, either.

The truth is, I’ve had diabetes on the brain these past couple of weeks. I am striving to bring my A1C down by the end of the year. I’ve been stalking my glucose levels around the clock, demanding perfection. Carb counting. Weighing portions. Pre bolusing mealtime insulin. I’ve even heard the words remember to pre bolus escape from under my breath occasionally when I’ve been in the shower. I’m not kidding, either.

Last week, this constant diligence finally caught up with me.

I had two identical mornings, where I woke up slightly out of range on each. On Tuesday morning, my breakfast bolus failed to do it’s job of bringing me back into range. When I woke up slightly out of range again on Wednesday morning, I added another 10g worth of insulin to my identical breakfast, only to end up with an even higher blood sugar level than the day prior.

It got to me. It really got to me. Despite my best efforts, despite the constant monitoring and adjustments, I had still failed myself. Two identical days should be easier to manage, and yet they still produced completely different results. Diabetes is so damn unpredictable.

So I dropped the diligence. I didn’t feel like carb counting. I didn’t feel like weighing portions. I couldn’t be bothered pre bolusing insulin. I ate Croissants and chunky Kit Kats for lunch, because that’s what I felt like. Upward trend arrows on my Libre were compensated for with wild insulin boluses and temporary basal rates. Having access to unlimited glucose monitoring through my FreeStyle Libre sensor definitely made me feel I could get away with this downright shameful behaviour.

What scared me the most, however, was that this behaviour often mirrored my attitude towards diabetes prior to getting the pump. Lazy eating. Guesstimates. Rollercoaster swings in glucose levels. I lacked that sustained motivation. I didn’t really feel very much in control of my diabetes at all.

If this old reality has become “burnout” behaviour today, then I feel I’ve made a great deal of progress in the past couple of months.

A Basket Case?

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I’m sitting here, typing this, with a blood sugar level of 18.8. My FreeStyle Libre graph for the past 8 hours looks absolutely dreadful. I had to override the maximum insulin delivery limits on my pump so that I could give higher insulin boluses, and run higher basal rates to bring my blood sugar levels down.

I feel like crap. I feel ridden with guilt. I feel sick and tired of all the discipline that diabetes involves. I feel like I really don’t give a shit about diabetes today.

Rewind back to yesterday morning, when I woke up to a 9.1. Nothing too terrible, but far enough out of range to make my breakfast bolus less sensitive. Which, despite an added bolus for 10 grams worth of insulin with breakfast, still led to a reading of 15.0 afterwards. Which led to an I-don’t-give-a-shit slice of black forrest cake with lunch. Which led to an I-couldn’t-give-a-flying-f*** about being diligent attitude for the remainder of the day.

Diabetes demands so much discipline. Checking my blood sugar. Counting my carbs. Weighing my portions. Delivering my insulin. Pre bolusing that insulin 30 minutes prior for a optimal post-prandial result. Setting the alarm to check my blood sugar at 2am to ensure that I won’t wake up high the next morning. Foregoing so much temptation, for the sake of better blood sugar levels.

Diabetes already demands so much of me, and yet it never seems to be enough. It never seems to be enough, and that’s where the cracks begin to show. 

Yesterday afternoon, I was curled up in front of the couch with a coffee and an almost-finished (not by me) packet of melting moments biscuits. I had eaten one, and was sitting there staring at the last one in the packet for what must have been 10 or 15 minutes. Should I eat it? Or I should put the packet away?

I eventually ate the second one, and of course watched my blood sugar rise in the aftermath. As I gave corrections that couldn’t quite catch up to my rising blood sugar, I began to murmur to myself “you’ve got problem, mate.” “You need help.”

The funny thing being that if I didn’t have diabetes, this would hardly have been a problem. I would have eaten the second biscuit and enjoyed the hell out of it, instead of feeling guilty. I might have bragged to the next person I saw about eating those two whole biscuits, instead of feeling ashamed. I might have complained about feeling ready for bed after satisfying my stomach, instead of cursing my rising blood sugar levels.

If I didn’t have diabetes, this would hardly have been a problem.

If I didn’t have diabetes, I wouldn’t be talking to myself like I were a basket case because I ate two damn biscuits.