After much thought and consideration, I have decided to suspend the blog for the time being. I have just started work on my third novel and I want to be able to devote as much time as I can to that (which, at the moment, will still be very little, unfortunately). With a little luck and some time management practice, I anticipate rejoining the blogosphere later in the fall when the chaos of Summer is behind me.
See you then!
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Insulin Binge Anyone?
Shortly after waking up on Sunday, I was overcome with the realization that I was getting sick. What? Now? After a beautiful 12 mile mountain climb? I should feel like a million bucks! I should be healthy as a horse! By Monday there was no denying it. A summer cold had made its home deep in the warm tissues of my lungs. (My lungs must be weak, because they are the only part of me that ever get sick!)
I am slowly recovering thanks to coconut water, vitamins, effervescing tablets, and all kinds of tinctures and teas. But my pancreas has been slow to respond.
Sickness = High blood sugars
I'm not convinced this phenomenon is limited to just diabetics either, we just have the means to find out about it (and we probably have the power to get way higher than those normal healthy folk!).
My week has been plagued with these unpredictable highs, even now, as I am starting to feel better.
So do I a.) accept this and raise my meal-insulin dose to compensate? or do I b.) rage bolus and see what happens?
I am slowly recovering thanks to coconut water, vitamins, effervescing tablets, and all kinds of tinctures and teas. But my pancreas has been slow to respond.
Sickness = High blood sugars
I'm not convinced this phenomenon is limited to just diabetics either, we just have the means to find out about it (and we probably have the power to get way higher than those normal healthy folk!).
My week has been plagued with these unpredictable highs, even now, as I am starting to feel better.
So do I a.) accept this and raise my meal-insulin dose to compensate? or do I b.) rage bolus and see what happens?
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
The Long Trek
- 12:30 am
- Breakfast- egg and cheese bagel and chia kambucha drink--75g carb
- 2u of insulin (normally I would take 1u per every 30g of carb, but I wanted to set myself up to be a little high to start the trek)
- 2:25 am
- We hit the trail head--9,405 ft
- blood sugar = 240
- I the chalked up the high to nerves and excitement (a "fake-high") and didn't bolus for it
- 3:24 am
- Two miles in I start to lose my steam and feel the familiar symptoms of a low--sweaty, light headed, fat fingers (yes, very similar to the symptoms of hiking up a mountain...)
- blood sugar = 59
- I take 4 gluco tabs and try to slow my pace until the symptoms subside (stopping is never an option!)
- Fifteen minutes later I eat an energy bar--18g carbs and 23g protein (homemade, great recipe!)
- 4:25 am
- Just above tree line--10,700 ft
- blood sugar = 86
- I eat another homemade protein bar (and start to worry that I may run out of food before this thing is over! Normally I would have cut my long term insulin in half the night before, but in all honesty, I totally forgot to do so).
- 5:30 am
- Start sipping on coconut water to keep my sugars up through the two miles of rock stairs
- 6:02 am
- 12,400 ft
- We hit the boulder field just after sunrise
- blood sugar = 129 (much closer to where I want it to be)
- I snack on some trail mix and a Laura Bar while I listen to my hiking partners discuss whether or not they can go on
- 7:00 am
- 13,000 ft
- I convince the others to at least make it to the keyhole before we turn back (this is what came out of my mouth after a lot of tongue biting and patience--I felt better than I have the last three times and was more than ready to make it to the summit)
- 8:36 am
- 11,300 ft
- Back down by the Chasm Lake turn off
- blood sugar = 170 (probably that high from the rage I was feeling at having to get out of bed at midnight just to go on a little stroll)
- 11:16 am
- Back at the trail head
Thursday, August 2, 2012
2 Days and Counting
Long's Peak: Round 4 is looming just around the corner. While I have already bested her three times before, I am not willing to get cocky about the task ahead of me. She is a crafty beast!
Tomorrow I plan to go to bed right when I get home from work. Even if I do manage to fall asleep (which I won't) I am still only looking at 6 hours of rest before I have to get up at midnight and jump in the car (there is something sick and wrong about starting your morning at midnight). the first time I made this journey four years ago, I got stopped at a DUI checkpoint on my way out of town ("No officer, I haven't been drinking, I just got out of bed!"). But once you get to that trail head and start marching in the cool, black forest, all that crabbiness about early mornings fade and the sense of adventure sets in. It is an amazing feeling.
Tomorrow I plan to go to bed right when I get home from work. Even if I do manage to fall asleep (which I won't) I am still only looking at 6 hours of rest before I have to get up at midnight and jump in the car (there is something sick and wrong about starting your morning at midnight). the first time I made this journey four years ago, I got stopped at a DUI checkpoint on my way out of town ("No officer, I haven't been drinking, I just got out of bed!"). But once you get to that trail head and start marching in the cool, black forest, all that crabbiness about early mornings fade and the sense of adventure sets in. It is an amazing feeling.
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Tuesday, July 31, 2012
The Big B
Last weekend was a little crazy. I ran a 5k Saturday morning (the spotted monster and I came in at 24:33) and then catered a 13 hour wedding (actually the wedding was only about 10 hours, but hand washing all their dishware took well over 3 hours). I didn't get home until two in the morning. I spent most of Sunday on the couch complaining about how much my feet hurt and watching my blood sugars play out like the profile of a mountain range (high. low. high. low.).
But that is nothing compared to the daunting task that awaits me this weekend: Long's Peak, aka "The Bitch." Seven miles of unrelenting trail with hazards like "the boulder field," "the aunt hill," "the narrows," and "the ledge." 14,225 feet of elevation gain (ok that's not exactly true, but it certainly feels like that much). A billion rock stairs to heave yourself up (seriously, no exaggeration). 3,000 foot cliffs guarding the final ascent. And when you do finally make it to the top, you just have to turn around and do it all again.
This will be my fourth Long's climb (despite me swearing that I will never do it again each and every time I do it). The first time, I wasn't diabetic and it took us 14 hours. The second time, I went with a couple friends who were afraid of heights and I had been diabetic for four months. That one took us 16 hours. The third time, last year, I was a master of my sugars and climbing with two master hikers. It took us 10 hours.
This year? As usual I'll just be happy to make it up and back alive.
But that is nothing compared to the daunting task that awaits me this weekend: Long's Peak, aka "The Bitch." Seven miles of unrelenting trail with hazards like "the boulder field," "the aunt hill," "the narrows," and "the ledge." 14,225 feet of elevation gain (ok that's not exactly true, but it certainly feels like that much). A billion rock stairs to heave yourself up (seriously, no exaggeration). 3,000 foot cliffs guarding the final ascent. And when you do finally make it to the top, you just have to turn around and do it all again.
This will be my fourth Long's climb (despite me swearing that I will never do it again each and every time I do it). The first time, I wasn't diabetic and it took us 14 hours. The second time, I went with a couple friends who were afraid of heights and I had been diabetic for four months. That one took us 16 hours. The third time, last year, I was a master of my sugars and climbing with two master hikers. It took us 10 hours.
This year? As usual I'll just be happy to make it up and back alive.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
You Put that Where and Other Reasons Not to Vomit
Insulin and vomiting do not go together. That's something T1Ds know all to well. You calculate your insulin dose based on how much food goes in. When some of that food comes back out later, that can be dangerous. We are talking anti-vomitose suppository dangerous (and what could be more frightening than a suppository?!). I will regretfully admit that there have been times in my diabetic life, when I have been placed at the foot of the porcelain god by my own means (it's a mistake you only make once or twice... or five times).
But last night, after a celebratory dinner at Carraba's (we were celebrating the fact that I had a gift card to Carraba's) and trivia night at Ryan's, I found myself meeting the toilet head first late in the night. Luckily, my BS was already riding a little high thanks to the festivities of the night, and the purging had only a positive effect there, bringing me down to a respectable 88 (still, if I had the choice, I would NOT do it again).
But the question remains: Was it the talapia from Carraba's (do Italians know how to do talapia? I've only ever had good talapia in Ecuador)? Or the one bite of pizza I had at Ryan's? Or those brown, skanky limes they put in my drink during trivia? (And no, it was not the drink itself. That particular brand of up-chucking is proceeded by massive vertigo and an unyielding need to end my suffering with a quick shot to the heart).
It may be a question we never answer. But for the time being, I will be throwing away my left overs and refusing all drinks adorned with suspect limes.
On a completely different note, I found a short article about apple cider vinegar and diabetes--something I have wanted to do some experimenting with. Stay tuned.
But last night, after a celebratory dinner at Carraba's (we were celebrating the fact that I had a gift card to Carraba's) and trivia night at Ryan's, I found myself meeting the toilet head first late in the night. Luckily, my BS was already riding a little high thanks to the festivities of the night, and the purging had only a positive effect there, bringing me down to a respectable 88 (still, if I had the choice, I would NOT do it again).
But the question remains: Was it the talapia from Carraba's (do Italians know how to do talapia? I've only ever had good talapia in Ecuador)? Or the one bite of pizza I had at Ryan's? Or those brown, skanky limes they put in my drink during trivia? (And no, it was not the drink itself. That particular brand of up-chucking is proceeded by massive vertigo and an unyielding need to end my suffering with a quick shot to the heart).
It may be a question we never answer. But for the time being, I will be throwing away my left overs and refusing all drinks adorned with suspect limes.
On a completely different note, I found a short article about apple cider vinegar and diabetes--something I have wanted to do some experimenting with. Stay tuned.
Monday, July 23, 2012
A Week of Goals
My goals for the week:
- Come to terms with my new meter (yes, I finally gave in to my insurance--I am now officially a One Touch user)
- Start training for the Long's Peak climb on 8/4 (this will be the fourth time I have climbed the 14,225 ft beast, but that doesn't make it any easier)
- Find a good multi-grain bread recipe and figure out how to actually get the damn thing to rise for once
- Complete the second harvest of my porch garden and make some kick-ass home-grown salsa
- Get the maintenance guy out here to tell me why my air conditioner is leaking green liquid
- Decide what sacrifices I need to make in my daily life so that I may actually start working on my third novel (the one I have written ten times over in my head, but have yet to put on paper)
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| They have grown a bit since that first picture. |
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