Great Blood Sugars, but Other Highs and Lows

This weekend started off great! Saturday morning, we took Ragz to swim class, and although she still does not fully understand that water is supposed to be fun, she is starting to swim pretty well. Next, we went on a hike at the beautiful Reservoir Ridge Natural Area. Then it was back to the house to welcome over friends and begin experiments in fermentation (still pending). We grilled (I forced my nose up at fatty burgers and nitrate filled hot dogs and opted instead for a bun-less, organic veggie burger), we drank (I stuck mostly to white wine spritzers carbonated with La Croix naturally flavored soda water--zero carbs!), and we played The Game of Things (never dull). While I made mostly good choices, there was definitely one too many trips to the snack table and a few too many drinks drank. Incredibly, despite the indulgences, the late night, and lazy Sunday that followed, my highest blood sugar over the weekend was 121! This is an incredible feat considering the easy recipe for disaster (one I have prepared and paid for far too many times). And all I can think is there must really be something to this Nopal Cactus. Blood sugar control that tight despite the grazing, the booze, and the overall lack of blood-sugar concern--it really is exciting. I am excited to see how things look after a few weeks of using the supplement.

That was the high point of the weekend. The low point came when I went to the pharmacy on Sunday to pick up my test strip prescription. I recently had to change insurance companies. It is a process all Pre-Existing-Conditions people fear. Aetna (who had been my provider since way before my diagnosis), decided last year that they were going to pull all their individual-cover plans from the state of Colorado (there just isn't good money in helping individual people stay healthy anymore). After a long and painful process, I was able to find coverage with Cover Colorado. (To qualify for this last-ditch insurance carrier one must have a preexisting condition, have had major health insurance within the last six month--because anyone who has never had health insurance doesn't deserve it, right?-- and have a rejection letter from a major provider. I picked a name out of a hat--Humana--and had a rejection letter in 48 hours.)

But my excitement about having secured health insurance for at least another year (well, that may not exactly be a guarantee), faded quickly when they rang up my 25 day supply of test strips. $98 bucks!? With my old plan it was $25 a month. Add in the fact that the Cover Colorado plan is costing me $50 extra a month and you have one very dispiriting  revelation. Suddenly the need to find alternative treatments for T1D seems paramount. Luckily, it is an adventure I am more than willing to spend a little effort on (though, perhaps, a little less money now).


Nopal Supplement Experiment Update:

Day 5 (4/13) Blood Sugars continued:

• 11:00am- 68
• 6:00pm- 122
• 9:00pm- 126

Day 6 (4/14):

• 6:00am- 69
• 5:00pm- 113
• 9:00 pm 118

 Day 7 (4/15):

• 8:00 am- 80
• 12:00 pm- 84
• 4:00 pm- 104
• 9:00pm- 121

Day 8 (4/16):

• 5:00am- 92

Insulin Requirements:

• Short acting- unchanged
• Long acting- 5u per day