Thanks everyone!
Wow! I’ve had a lot of wonderful responses!
As far as hormone fluctuations…I already know my pattern there, IF
I ever settle back down. The initial treatment for the cardiac
autonomic neuropathy (CAN) threw me way out of whack. Last month
seemed like it was closer to normal, so this month will be the
determining one. I know that I have to go to a higher basal pattern
for the 4-5 days immediately before, and a lower basal the first 3
days of my period. I had actually gotten brave enough to program the
patterns into the pump back in August, then in September they put me
on a new medicine and everything went CRAZY!
With the anger/frustration…Boy do I hear that! Sometimes I think
that individuals with terminal illness have the advantage in this
area (but only this area!) They only have to go through
the "grieving" process once (usually)…we cycle through it
continually for as long as we live! Fortunately good doctors
understand this and are willing to work with us through it and around
it!
My big problem right now is that I have a fairly new doctor, who has
a pump himself. He has a hard time with the fact that I have had a
pump for 4 years and don’t understand and haven’t been setting my own
basals, or using an actual formula for my boluses. Mostly that is
because I have been living in a state of total exhaustion and brain
fog for the last 7-8 years. What made sense one day was totally
gibberish the next. My former doctor was very patient and totally
handled any programming changes…he would give me the information by
phone and I would make the changes. Now I have the brain ability,
doctor encouragement, and want to start making those kinds of
changes/decisions myself…but it can be really overwhelming.
As far as the exercise, I personally think the GlucoWatch might be
helpful, but my doctor isn’t very encouraging on that…so I guess
I’ll wait until we have a face-to-face. I am buying a nike watch
that monitors heart rate, to be sure that I don’t push it too far.
And then I just have to develop the habit of tracking my before,
after and follow-up blood sugars, and what I’m eating before, after
and later when I exercise….as well as intensity and duration. I
hadn’t really thought about that aspect! But that definitely should
be included…THANKS! =-)
Thanks everyone for helping me feel more "normal". I am surrounded
by non-diabetics and often made to feel that my "swings" are somehow
a sign of deficiency…either of effort or character.
Suzanna