Battling Blood Sugars

Exercise is going to kill me. I mean, it’s good for you and everything, but it’s still out to bite me in the butt because blood sugars are so hard to manage, and I can’t ever seem to find a pattern.

So my school is on a block schedule, and therefore every other day I have dance class for an hour and a half. I love dance class. I am not exactly what you would call coordinated and it takes me a million practices to get something right, but it is a really really fun class. Right now we are learning the choreography to a swing dance that we are performing in a couple of weeks, and earlier this week I was low in the middle of class.

Oh, and one quick thing! It’s really hard for me to tell if I’m low when I exercise, so when lacrosse season started again I put my CGM (continuous glucose monitor) back so I could get an idea of when I was going low. Usually the CGM doesn’t get readings fast enough, especially when I’m dropping quickly, but something is better than nothing.

So I was low earlier in dance class this week. I realized I was low when it was taking me longer than usual to get the steps down, so I tested, and sure enough, I was 56 mg/dl.

So today I had dance class again and I didn’t go low during, but I went low immediately after class had ended. So I was sitting in AP Lang eating my lunch and waiting for break so we could go to lunch, and of course I forgot to bolus, so when I tested after I felt crappy near the end of class I was 286 mg/dl. Lovely.

I pretty much rode at that blood sugar during the whole last period of the day and it was with that blood sugar that I started lacrosse practice. I gradually went down to levels within range throughout the practice (I checked my CGM practically every five minutes) and then, of course, at the end of practice I was low. I wasn’t feeling low (the whole exercise and can’t feel your blood sugars thing), but I knew something wasn’t right. But I was already late for my clarinet lesson so I just jumped in the car and drove and stuffed a granola bar and some oreos into my mouth on the way there. Just a basic assumption that I probably needed to dose. BTW, I wouldn’t follow the example I set.

By the time I got to my clarinet lesson (rush hour is a killer) I actually felt low so I drank some juice and ran inside. And then at the end of the lesson my CGM alarmed telling me that I was 179 mg/dl. Sigh. When I got home I was in the mid 200’s mg/dl. So I dosed and then waited until 9:00 to eat dinner.

I wonder what people who don’t have diabetes worry about.

Oh, and I found this really funny picture on Facebook so I thought I would share it.

Random picture that I think is funny so I thought I would share it. I like Facebook.

Cio.

Sincerely,

Claire Montgomery

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Party in the Nurse’s Office!

Come all ye diabetics and lament about blood sugars…

…’Twill be fun. :

I love the nurse at my high school. She is so awesome and hip and cool. At my old middle school I didn’t really like the nurse, but here she’s awesome. So the other day I’d been having high blood sugars for pretty much the whole day so finally I just went down to the nurse so I could change my site because I figured it was a bad site. But when I got there I didn’t have any insulin so I had to call my dad so he could bring me insulin. I had all of the other supplies. Anyway. So I sat in the nurse’s office while I was waiting for my dad.

And then this kid named Noah came in. He was a diabetic and he was something like over 400 mg/dl. So we were sitting there and talking and lamenting about other nurses that we’ve had that we didn’t like and about insulin pumps and about medical IDs and about tattoos that serve as medical IDs (look them up). And we were talking about iPumps (don’t you think that would be totally wicked? It could count your carbs and test your blood sugar and be your pump AND be your phone, iPod, etc…). It was totally so much fun even though we were just so totally high. And being high is never fun except on that day it was because we could complain to each other and talk about things that nobody else would ever get. Just hanging out with diabetics is fun in general but it was even better this time because we were both high.

And then my dad came and he gave me my insulin and then he left and I gave myself a new site. Blah blah blah.

AND THEN a girl named Nicole came in and she just happened to be a diabetic and she just happened to be high. Join the club, sista. I swear, that’s the best time I’ve ever had in the nurse’s office, and I mean that quite literally. Three diabetics were high at the same time and lamenting about high blood sugars and were in the nurse’s office at the same time. IT WAS SO COOL!

So, a message to all you diabetics who are still in elementary, middle, or high school. Go to the nurse’s office when all the other diabetics in your school are high. It’s fun.

Adios for now!

Claire Montgomery
Type 1 diabetic, Diabetic blogger, Nurse’s office party thrower

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High Blood Sugars
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Skiing With Diabetes

So. I ski. I suppose it’s not that surprising, but I live in Colorado, so of course I ski. Stereotypical, huh? My grandfather rented out a house in Steamboat for winter vacation so all of my aunts, uncles, and grandparents (and my immediate family) came up to Steamboat to hang out and ski. Fun, right? But I’m sure that you’re all very surprised that skiing can get very complicated when mixed with diabetes (intense sarcasm). It’s like running for me. Really. I’ve had a crazy couple of days.

So you think I would go low, right? Well, I did, but I also went high. While I was there I skied for a total of two days, and on the first day I had some really low blood sugars. On the second day I had blood sugars that were in the 400 range. Not really perfect. And it makes it hard to find a pattern. And on the first day, when my blood sugar was low, I was in the 30’s. That’s the lowest I’ve ever been before, and it really scared me.

So I guess I am asking for advice, so please comment. 🙂 I’m going skiing in a couple of weeks so I will be sure to try out some ideas.

Sincerely,

Claire Montgomery
Type 1 Diabetic, Diabetic skier, Powder shredder

Related posts:

Skiing with a High Blood Sugar

What Happens When You Ski With a High Blood Sugar

Okay. I was 400. But my dad and cousins and uncles wont stop laughing at me. It makes me sad. Lets see them ski with a high blood sugar!

Sincerely,

Claire Montgomery
Diabetic Skier, Diabetic blogger, Wipe-out queen

High Blood Sugars

I feel like a total hypocrite because one of my last posts was about how diabetes is all wonderful and how we should stop complaining. But I am going to complain right now.

The worst thing about diabetes and everything related to diabetes is high blood sugars.

One thing you should know about me: When I am high I am in a really (like, really REALLY) bad mood. And I don’t talk. And I feel extreme self pity. And I feel like people should sysympathize with me, which, truth be told, doesn’t really happen.

High blood sugars HAVE gotten better over the last couple of years, mostly due to me becoming more mature. When I was ten and newly diagnosed with diabetes, my high blood sugars were usually in the 300 range, and they would result in me screaming at my parents and storming up stairs and stomping around for the better part of two hours. Not fun. And, because I was just newly diagnosed, my parents were afraid to give me insulin, so they would send me outside with a jump rope. I know what you are thinking: That my parents were crazy.

I still get angry at age 14. I yell at people a lot. I wont talk. But at the moment, I am getting a whole bunch of “suck it up” talk from my parents.

I suppose that I should tell you something else: I mostly yell at my parents and siblings when I’m high. If I am at school, I am silent, and wont talk at all. Only when absolutely necessary.

I believe that my parents know this. Which is probably why they give me the “suck it up” treatment. They say that I can’t yell at my college professor when I am in college. That I don’t yell at Ashleigh or Amanda (my two best friends) when I’m 300. And that they don’t deserve to be treated like they are when my blood sugar is high.

So…..what do you do? How do you manage your high blood sugars? What are your symptoms? How do you stop yourself from taking out your anger on everybody else? If you could please COMMENT.

Oh, and sorry for rambling. I didn’t really start with any direction at all.

Sincerely,

Claire Montgomery
Type 1 Diabetic, Diabetic blogs, Diabetic Rockstar

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Major Change in Diabetic Food Caused Uproars

Yah. I’m being dramatic. But I do have some awesome snack ideas!

It’s sort of a fact that diabetics can’t eat what everybody else can eat. I hate that rumor. Well, I suppose it isn’t a rumor, because it mostly goes for type 2 diabetics, but on some days I just beg for sugar free, or mostly sugar free snacks. Like the days when I’m high and just wont come down. Like last night and today, for instance.

I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but I’ve been living in Mexico for the past year. In Mexico, they’ve got some pretty crazy, but awesome snacks. For example: They take cucumbers or jimaca or watermelon or honeydew or pineapple or a mixture of all of the above and put salt, lime, and chile on it. Okay, I know that you’re thinking that I’m crazy and that nobody in their right mind would put chile(spicy stuff) on their fruit. But the combination between the sweet and the spicy is very good. I love it.

So this is pretty much a low carb snack, and therefore excellent for high-blood-sugar days. When I’m high and hungry, I usually don’t want to sit still and eat carrots. Give a little twist to your fruits and veggies!

Sincerely,

Claire Montgomery
Type 1 Diabetic, Teenage Diabetic Blogger, Mexican Food Lover

Related Posts:
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How To Cure High Blood Sugars

Ok, not cure. But it works.

I figured out this helpful tip a couple of nights ago.

For me, when I’m high, I feel horrible. I don’t really know how to describe it, but I’ll try. I will have a bad taste in my mouth, my whole body feels like it’s up there. Thats the best I can do. I think every diabetic has problems explaining how it feels to be high. I know I do.

Anyway, a couple of nights ago I woke up at about 3 o’ clock in the morning. My blood sugar was 300. I got up and gave myself a new site because my current one itched. Then I bolused. After that I brushed my teeth. And I discovered something miraculous. That bad feeling that I get in my mouth when I’m high, it disappeared! Not all of my high symptoms disappeared, but that one did! Wow!

So I thought that I would just tell everyone! It makes me happy to know that there is at least one way to help reduce symptoms instead of waiting an hour for your insulin to kick in. Yes! Quite an achievement.

Sincerely,

Claire Montgomery
Type 1 Diabetic, Blood Sugar Tester, Tooth Brusher