It’s the little things.
It’s about making it easy to travel prepared whenever I leave the house (hello, grey marle pencil case).
It’s remembering to set a temporary basal rate on the lousy days where I want to spontaneously binge on cookies and ice cream, so that I can cruise through a little more easily.
It’s mastering the art of how many Skittles I need to raise my blood sugar by just 1mmol, and not 5.
It’s using a bit of intuition and overriding the ezBG suggestion on my pump when I don’t think that my blood sugar is going to come down.
It’s setting a temporary basal rate if I’m going for a short walk around the block this afternoon.
It’s making a habit of weighing my food on the red scales that sit next to the fruit bowl in the kitchen.
It’s learning the difference between bolusing for a banana, and bolusing for a Woolworths White Choc Macadamia Cookie (let me tell you that’s one hell of a difference).
It’s being observant to the fact that my insulin sensitivity is completely different when my blood sugar is out of range.
It’s learning how to bolus for the protein content in a meal.
It’s checking my blood sugar 1 or 2 hours after a meal, so that I can correct a high or stop a low in its tracks.
It’s cottoning onto the fact that my blood sugars will begin soaring upon waking if I don’t get a decent night’s sleep.
It’s remembering to check for air bubbles in my pump line, when my blood sugars won’t seem to come down.
It’s patiently waiting for my blood sugar to come down, and not over reacting to numbers and trend arrows.
It’s writing notes in my diary to jog my memory next time I do the same activity or eat the same food.
It’s being kind to myself, because learning these little things means making mistakes. Several times over.
During a demanding couple of weeks, I’ve watched myself do a lot of these little things like second nature.
I am far from perfect.
But it really is the sum of all these little things that I’ve picked up on along the way, that make managing my diabetes just that little bit easier.
Karen
And it’s remembering to bolus with good timing.
It sounds like you’re doing a pretty perfect job to me 🙂
Does your pump, or perhaps an app have a calculator that considers/calculates (as best it can!) insulin on board? I found that to make a huge improvement for me.
Hmm…interesting. Maybe I never get a good nights sleep!! I will have to try & test that theory in ‘my shoes’ 🙂
Frank
Thanks, Karen. My pump does show insulin on board, and I also used an app called RapidCalc when I took a pump break last year that shows Insulin On Board too.
Karen
Ah good stuff. I use RapidCalc too!
Rick Phillips
Here is another one that is most important to me. Have a good time. Remembering that means I can relax a little. Hey we are PWD’s we have this.