Diabetes Musings

Macgyvering a Glucose Check

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I was in the middle of a pretty important staff meeting at work the other day. From memory, I believe I had just eaten a few skittles to bring my glucose levels away from edge of hypo territory. I was sitting there, listening intently, but also wondering whether the skittles had done their job.

The looks I get when using my Libre around others are absolutely hilarious. This was a pretty serious discussion, and I didn’t feel like it was the right time to be pulling out an out-of-this-world device and scanning my arm.

I was trying to push the thought of my BGLs to the back of my mind, but I couldn’t. I thought about getting up and leaving, but I didn’t want to miss any of what was being discussed (rare for a staff meeting, right?).

My Libre reader was sitting in my front shirt pocket. I stuck my hand in my pocket and switched it on. I brought my Sensor-bearing arm a little closer to my pocket. I navigated my reader over to the sensor on my arm, and successfully obtained a blood sugar result.


All without the reader ever leaving my pocket.

Happy Wednesday.

In and Around the DOC of Late

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I’m going through a bit of a rough patch with my diabetes at the moment. I haven’t felt like writing too specifically about pump or blood glucose tethering issues, and I’m taking a bit of a back seat on social media. But that’s not to say that there hasn’t been a lot going on in the good ol’ DOC.

One thing that I am reminded of during this rough patch, is that I have excellent tools available to me in order to manage. I’m wearing a Libre sensor on my arm, which gives me the convenience of scanning as often as I need to. I have a $9,000 insulin pump attached to me, which allows me to set temporary basal rates to settle stubborn glucose levels, or conveniently bolus from the comfort of the couch. I also have plenty of spare insulin, glucose meters, skittles and test strips in reserve.

Not everyone in the world does.

T1International is currently running an appeal to provide insulin, syringes and glucose monitoring supplies to an estimated 2,000 Syrians who are in dire need. Just under $20 Australian dollars will provide a month’s supply of insulin, which I easily spent at Woolies yesterday alone. You can read more about the appeal here, and make a donation here.

If you’ve read a diabetes blog recently, there’s a good chance that you’ll see a comment from Rick at RADiabetes. Rick invests a lot of his time each week into reading the mass of diabetes blogs in our community, and curating the blog page at TuDiabetes which you should definitely check out here.

There’s a new diabetes forum/app from Beyond Type 1 for people to connect, share and inspire each other to not only live, but thrive with type 1 diabetes. I must admit I’m not too keen on another password to remember, but I am definitely feeling tempted to sign up after a peek at some of the forum activity from new and familiar faces. Check it out here!

There’s a new book which aims to help children better understand diabetes self care and the use of equipment. Diabetes veteran Yerachmiel Altman from New York began photographing stuffed animals taking shots, doing finger stick tests and using an insulin pump as a way to help a family dealing with a newly diagnosed six year old son. You can buy the book, I Can Help Take Care of Me here.

Helpline Live is a free service offered by the team of experts at Diabetes Queensland. If you’re a part of the Twitterverse, you can tweet a question under the hashtag #HelplineLive, and the team from Diabetes Queensland will get back to you with an answer. They’re live every Tuesday morning from 9-10am, but will answer your questions outside of those hours, too!

You might have heard of Jayne Lehmann before, but she is relatively new to me. Jayne is a self employed diabetes educator from South Australia who is actively connecting and learning from people with diabetes on social media. Her latest blog post explores the implications of the upcoming NDSS changes, which you can read here, and be sure to follow her on Twitter here.

Yesterday was officially the shortest day of the year, meaning we are well and truly in the depths of Winter. I’m reminded of this freezing yet glorious afternoon at Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra last July. Take me back!

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Hope you’re keeping warm, and that your Wednesday is filled with stable glucose levels.

Setting the Record Straight

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Diabetes campaigns here in Australia never cease to disappoint me. They always tend to focus on the negatives, such as the complications and the hard hitting statistics which instil fear. Our campaigns lack positivity, and don’t do those of us living with the condition a lot of justice.

In my humble opinion, a campaign for Diabetes Week is simple. One where we encourage people living with the condition to share their stories in order to help raise awareness. Diabetes UK always seems to do this very well, with positive, empowering campaigns that actually engage and involve people with diabetes.

Before I start getting depressed about the awful complication-themed Australian diabetes week next month, I thought I’d add my two cents worth to Diabetes UK’s fantastic campaign for Diabetes Week, Setting the Record Straight. Here goes…

1) A diagnosis does not mean that you’ll develop complications. I heard a lot about complications in the Australian media during the first year or so after my diagnosis. I remember feeling horrified about that possibility, and even writing myself off because of my diabetes in conversations. It took me a long time to realise that this was in fact, not true. 

I still remember a fantastic quote I found somewhere on the internet that went something like “you might feel like crap today, but complications can take years to develop.” It’s a great perspective and it always reminds me that it’s never too late.

2) Diabetes takes time to get right. A LOT of time. After I was first diagnosed, I remember talking to others in the context that I would eventually get it sorted. Once I had everything figured out, I wouldn’t need to test my BGLs so often and I wouldn’t be having so many hypos. Six years later, I’m still trying to get it right!

My diabetes educator reminded me recently that “even though we want to do as much as we can straight away, it takes time to get it right and you need to be patient.” Be kind to yourself.

3) You don’t have to turn your life upside down or give up everything! Magazines are full of ways to change your life and feel better overnight and blah blah blah. Doctors talk as though change can happen with a wave of the magic wand. It’s completely unrealistic. I’ve made a lot of small, gradual changes to my diet and my routine since I was diagnosed. But I haven’t compromised on the things I love. I don’t do dedicated exercise, because I don’t enjoy it. I still eat chocolate. I still drink lots of coffee. I don’t peel the skin off my takeaway chicken. I still enjoy myself at Christmas time. 

A colleague recently told me that “it’s easier said than done.” While I do agree, I reminded her that it doesn’t mean that you have to be unhappy.

4) Finally, I’m loving the Faces of Diabetes campaign that’s going round on social media. Because there are actual human beings behind the condition, and it’s important to keep that in mind when advocating. You can get your picture here.

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Happy Diabetes Week to those of you in the UK! You can find out more at diabetes.org.uk and by following #DiabetesWeek on social media.

Relief From the Stress of Insulin Dosing

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I’ve gotta admit that I was getting pretty slack towards the end of my tenure on Multiple Daily Injections. I wasn’t counting my carbs properly, and I wasn’t being rational with my decisions around insulin dosing. My glucose levels were fluctuating far too much, which was exhausting to say the least. Seeing imperfection all the time sent me down into the dumps. I was often making excuses for spontaneous eating, and there was a lot of insulin stacking going on.

My insulin pump has really helped me to put my head back into my diabetes management. Having it attached to me all the time gives me no excuse not to. The biggest change I have adopted since starting on the pump is that I am actually weighing my food and counting my carbs. While it’s not possible to accurately carb count every single item of food, I think really carefully about it rather than just guessing. When I weighed my Seafood Paella on the weekend for instance, I estimated the proportion of it that was seafood and did not need to be carb counted.

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When we had donuts at work last week, I took notice of the jam filling and sugar sprinkled on the top, and estimated about 40g.

Yes, it’s a pain. It means sometimes dirtying a second plate because I forgot to weigh my pasta the first time round. It means I often spend several minutes flicking through the pages of this book (which is a lifesaver) while my dinner goes cold, to find the food I’m looking for.

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It means keeping my phone in my pocket at all times, so that I can easily calculate the portion of carbs on my plate. However, carb counting, combined with my vigilant blood glucose testing skills, has really helped me to reap the benefits of the insulin pump.

The pump has taken a huge weight away from the maths and the stress of insulin dosing. I need only enter into the pump the amount of carbohydrates I am consuming and my current blood glucose level, and the pump will calculate my insulin dose for me. Did I eat something and take insulin an hour ago? No worries, the pump factors that into the calculation. Is my blood sugar level out of range? No problem, the pump will factor the appropriate correction into my insulin dose to bring me back down to 6.0.

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I’m also guilty of micro managing my blood sugar levels. I love to check where I’m sitting 2 hours after a meal. Quite often I’ve given an emotionally fuelled correction to a stubbornly high blood sugar level, only to end up low an hour later. The pump, however, calculates a correction dose while factoring in the amount of rapid acting insulin still in my system.

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Nine times out of ten, the pump’s correction brings me back into range, and I am yet to actually go low from micro managing. I am yet to be tempted to override the pump’s calculations, because it is so accurate.

I always maintained that I didn’t want to get the pump just to be lazy. I didn’t want to get the pump and end up in no better of a place than on injections.

I know that I’m only three weeks in, so it’s still early days.

But I’d like to think that I’ll stick with carb counting for the long haul.

Two Weeks of Continuous Glucose Data

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My FreeStyle Libre adventure came to an end last Thursday. Fortunately, Abbott supplied me with two sensors (plus the reader) free of charge, meaning I have a second one sitting on my shelf at home. I’ve been watching some of the other bloggers in attendance at Diabetes Exchange who have already moved on to their second sensor without hesitation. However, I don’t feel quite ready to use mine just yet.

I should stress that this is not a bad reflection on the FreeStyle Libre itself. This could easily apply to any device that produces continuous glucose data. This is a very individual feeling after having access to this kind of data for the very first time in my life. Of course, your diabetes may vary. 

The FreeStyle Libre was one of the first major pieces of diabetes tech that I’ve used. Up until recently, I’ve only ever used finger sticks and insulin injections. I’ve never before had access to such detailed data, nor has it been so convenient and easy to obtain.

Traditional glucose monitoring has become second nature to me. I use a significant number of test strips throughout the day in order to evaluate my pre meal, post meal and overnight glucose levels. This doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m struggling with my diabetes. It’s just another tool that works really well for me in managing my diabetes throughout the day, and gives me significant peace of mind.

As you could imagine, I entered my FreeStyle Libre adventure with great enthusiasm. My reader was attached to me for the better part of two weeks. I carried it around with me in my track pant pockets at home. It lay with the remotes while I was sitting in front of the television, within easy reach. It sat in my shirt pocket at work. And I carried it in my jacket pockets when I went out.

The data was so convenient and easy to access. A simple scan, and I was able to see where my glucose levels were sitting. If I was curious again in 5 minutes time, I could easily do so again. I didn’t even have to contemplate getting up from the couch to do so. The appearance of trend arrows, and I could easily see what direction my glucose levels were headed, and if I needed to act on it.

In two short weeks, I formed quite an attachment to my Libre. For the better part, I relied on it as an indication of my glucose data. However towards the end of my 14 day adventure, scanning definitely became a bit of a compulsion. Data did start to feel like a weight on my shoulders.

My family suggested that perhaps I was only scanning so often because this was an exciting new product that I was trying to get the most out of. If I used it regularly, perhaps I wouldn’t. I was also starting out on insulin pump therapy at the time, and using the data to evaluate my insulin delivery settings on the pump.

Going back to finger sticks has felt quite freeing these past few days. I’m back to testing glucose levels at my set times – before meals, 2 hours after meals, 4 hours after meals, at bedtime and once during the night. I’m not tempted to over test, and I don’t feel so overwhelmed with data.


The Libre was a wonderful experience. I loved that it was so discreet, lightweight and convenient to use. This is actually something that I see myself using from time to time, unlike a CGM. Definitely for my next holiday. It was extremely insightful in fine tuning my insulin pump settings, and I’ll be putting my next sensor to good use in that department, too.

I just don’t feel that I’m the kind of person who could handle continuous glucose data all the time. Perhaps my opinion and needs will change with time and more experience in this arena. But for now, I feel I need to put some more distance behind me before I feel ready to insert my second sensor.