Thursday, July 17, 2008

High Score of 594

I've been feeling high all day. Drinking lots of water, really sweaty, using the bathroom a lot. Later in the day, a little stomache ache. I checked my blood sugar a few times this morning, and it was within five points of the CGMS all three times. All three readings were below 100. So I trusted the CGMS this evening and took insulin for supper, which the CGMS showed as a very mild spike, and then continued eating as the CGMS showed my blood sugar fluctuating in the 80-110 range. I was about to go to bed, a bit past midnight, when I tested my blood sugar at 594. I was like, WTF?! NO! And I washed my hands and rechecked at 588. This may mean that my sensor has gone bad- if it doesn't agree with my morning reading, I'll take it out. The ISIG has been 6-12 the last two days, which is lowish but ought to viable, though not with a blood sugar of almost 600. I can't even enter that number as a calibration.

I took twenty units of Novolog as correction, and decided to stay awake a while longer to stay on the ball, because this is the highest I've ever tested and 20 is a very large correction for me. When I was diagnosed with diabetes, it was with a fasting blood sugar of 425 by meter, 453 by blood draw. With those fasting numbers, it seems highly probable that my postprandial numbers were in the 600-1000 range, but I never found out and had had no further readings above 400, and very few above 300 since the day I was diagnosed with diabetes. Today's readings are more than 100 points above any other reading I've had. You'd think I'd feel terrible, but frankly I feel fine. Just a little thirsty, and with 90 degree Fahrenheit weather, I think most people are feeling a little thirsty.

Right now, thankfully, my CGMS is showing my blood sugar climbing rather dramatically, so maybe it is just delayed.

I just tested my urine ketones, and they are negative. My number 1 diabetes goal is to avoid ever going into DKA again. I was diagnosed in DKA and when I came out of it, it was like having a long term pain removed- you almost don't realize how much pain you're in, until suddenly you are in dramatically less pain and you can think again and talk and walk and eat and drink and you're alive, like you only sort of were before. I believe that I spent at least three weeks in DKA before I was diagnosed with diabetes. I know that I wasn't in terribly severe DKA (7.25 with reference range of 7.35-7.45), and that it took over a week for my ketone strips to show negative ketones. I've had small ketones on two occasions since September 2006, both when I'd thrown up, unaccompanied by high blood sugars.

Post script: an hour and a half later, my blood sugar is down to 176. In general, I would consider this a slightly high reading. At the moment though, it strikes me as way too low, because I bet it's dropping quickly, yeah? Argh. I don't know what I'm going to do. Eat, I guess. Humph.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Stupid Care Link

Every now and then, I use the Carelink (yes, I got the free USB one now- thanks for the tip). And then I get my reports. And then I get mad.

For one thing, the "target range" on the reports is always 70-140. Which has never, ever, been my target range. So while the Guardian itself on its screen shows me that I spent the day 95% in my target range of 65-155, the carelink report says that I spent a mere 77% of the day in their stupid target range of 70-140.
It also rounds numbers incorrectly, doesn't give me a useable data download, won't overlay more than two weeks' numbers, doesn't give any interactive data, and won't put the insulin, exercise, food or other marker onto the actual graph. I don't care when I was alarmed; I care about what I did.