From FatCatAnna

I think I have finally found the answer to this.  Maybe women will understand this better then men, but I will do my best explain this in a nutshell (big one).

PMS, perimenopause - this is what a hypo feels like when your mood/body is out of control! 

I just realised this on the weekend.  I have never experienced some of the mood swings and other things that are associated with the monthly curse until now, when entering into the next phase of life - perimenopause.  I used to think my friends that would take time off for this monthly occurrence were off their rockers, but now I'm beginning to understand what it's all about, as I'm experiencing these emotions at the ripe old age of 49! Ugh!  Now I get what you were going on about (am I a late bloomer?).  It is not NICE!!

How this all dawned on me was on Saturday night, after dinner, time to relax and enjoy the evening ... right? No, not for this Tasmanian Devil - aka Fat Cat Anna.  I could not find a coupon that I had clipped out for a hair colour product ($4 dollars off!).  I started to go into a frenzy, looking for this little friggin' slip of paper.  My poor husband Mike, is wondering ... WTF as I keep on saying "Sorry, sorry it's this hormonal thing" as I go around our little house. looking for this slip of paper!  Anyway, I was fighting an inner demon inside of me, trying to stay the normal calm/happy Fat Cat Anna, while the other side of me was wanting to cry (and yes, I did cry and scream and stomp - see Taz clip above to have sample of my behaviour).

My emotions were all over the place, and yes, my blood sugar (BG) was fine, neither high nor low.  I was just freaking out with all the hormonal overload.  Trying to be me was a real challenge during this little light bulb moment for me.

This is how it is when we diabetics go through a hypo (or low BG).  We are not in control.  Some people become quite violent (have a friend who says her hubby will hit her - ouch), we all vary with how we react to having a low, we are NOT OURSELVES.  I know for myself, I'm not always this bad, but it all depends on the situation at the time.  Imagine if I was having a hypo at the time I was looking for this coupon (which was found in the end by (( hug)) Mike).

From FatCatAnna

Of all days, I am hankering to eat breakfast. I rarely eat breakfast during the work week as it's never been a big thing for me.  I'm happy with my usual Americano which gets me by until noon. C'est tout!

Today though I woke up thinking ... it's time to do my a.m. basal test to see how my basal settings are doing on my insulin pump. I've only ever done the overnight basal test so far. My blood sugar (BG) was good, so I switched off the espresso machine that I'd had warming up for my Americano, and I went downstairs to my office to start working.

I am now soooo hungry right now as I type away to you.  Why of all days does this happen to me ? I know I can resist the urge, I can do it.  To make myself stick to the "plan" I'm tweeting every hour my #bgnow results so I do what I set out to do in the first place.  My first test was 5.9 mmol/l (106 mg/dl) and the latest test was 7.1 mmol/l (128 mg/dl) - so it's looking like I'll be adjusting my basal settings on my pump program.

How often do you do test out your basal setting?  Whether you use injections of Lantus/NPH/Levemir or a pump, do you ever question how your slow acting insulin is doing its' job?  Trying to replicate what a functioning pancreas does is a tricky thing, but it can be done as long as you follow the guidelines (I'm using the Pumping Insulin  book by John Walsh/Ruth Roberts to lead me thru' the steps).

So, tap, tap, tap, it's almost 11h00, and I only have until 16h00 to do the basal test. I thought the night time was was difficult (you always have to perform the overnight one first before attempting the daytime basal tests) but this is hard.  I'm awake, my body wants food (which it usually doesn't demand ).

The only good thing that's binging in my mind is that if my BG's keep on rising up, then I'll have to stop the test to correct with insulin.  At that point in time, test can't be continued, then I can eat.  Oh dear, is it horrible for me to be thinking this?  Okay, wiping out the pictures of a baguette smeared with butter and strawberry jam.  Back to work I go.

From FatCatAnna

I don't watch daytime TV that often as I'm a working stiff, but yesterday I recorded the Oprah show - which was all about diabetes.  I had read during the week from other PWD bloggers that they were abit disgruntled that probably the show would dwell on Type 2 diabetes.  That doesn't bother me, as I still clump all the different versions of diabetes as being one, we all are having to deal with living with diabetes whether it be with just pills/diet/exercise/insulin.  Below is a comment that I posted at one of the many diabetic forums I belong to which I find seemed to be highly critical of how Oprah / Dr. Oz brought it to the public viewers ...

I found it pretty good.  You have to remember, it's aimed at the average viewer, who may not have much knowledge of diabetes, and what they have is usually based on incorrect info (e.g. you get it if you're fat, yadda, yadda, yadda). Because of it only being an hour show (with LOTS of ads - not used to day time telly) - they could only really cover the basics, but I personally felt the info put forth was well done.  I think it helped my husband understand about what sugar in our systems does to us with the video that Dr. Oz showed on how the food breaks down in our bodies. Seeing how the "shards of glass" aka "sugar" go thru' our blood vessels if it's not been converted correctly due to our pancreas not squelching out the juice made me cringe (I will never look a broken glass in the same way again).  It didn't help that I was sitting down nibbiling on cookies and an espresso (with sugar) for my evening snack.  Yes, I had taken insulin to cover the carbs aka sugar - so hopefully less "shards of glass" will enter into my blood stream, but still I felt abit uneasy.

What got me crying, and I'm started to well up here as I type thinking about it, was Laureen, a 44 year old Type 1 diabetic who agreed to be on the show (bless her heart) telling us what bad management of diabetes can do to you (and she is a nurse).  It was when Dr. Oz started to remove the bandages from her legs that I really started to sob uncontrollably, and I'm not one to cry that often (I think diabetes makes some of us tough to emotions).  Besides that ordeal, she is also on kidney dialysis, which is something that all diabetics hope to never have to face.   It was so hard to watch, and of course, because of of a PWD friend of mine, Lois, having her leg amputated a few days ago due to mismangement of her diabetes (and she admits she f##ed up), it hit me hard.

So, yes, some of you Type 1's maybe disappointed that not more info was done on " our " type of diabetes, but as we've always known, we are a small majority. In the 60's/70's when I was diagnosed Type 1 was only about 1% of the diabetic population - now it's 10% - crikey.

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Just a footnote - the video link above of Laureen may not be for the faint of heart.  I know I found it very difficult to watch as Dr. Oz removed her bandages ... BUT ... it might  jolt you into realising how serious diabetes is and how if left uncontrolled can lead to life threatening conclusions.  

From WestIslandDiabetesAssociation

The Canadian Diabetes Association guidelines suggests a blood glucose of 10.0 mmol/L (180 mg/dl) or less 2 hours after a meal (this target should be 8.0 mmol/L or less if you are not reaching your A1C target of 7.0 or less). Reaching this target after breakfast may be difficult because often this meal contains food with a high glycemic index. Examples of high glycemic index foods are: white bread, white bagel, Cheerios, Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies. Alternative low glycemic index choices would be 100% stone ground whole wheat bread, heavy mixed grain bread, pumpernickel, All BranTM, Bran Buds with PsylliumTM and Oat BranTM. More information about glycemic index and reference charts are found at http://www.carbs-information.com/glycemic-index.htm.

It is important to make sure that your breakfast is balanced and contains some protein and (good) fat to help slow down the absorption of the carbs and provide proper nutrition. Some suggestions are low fat yogurt, peanut butter, almonds, egg and cheese. For more information consult your dietitian.

Some authorities are suggesting to bolus about 20-25 minutes before eating breakfast as this would give the rapid acting insulin some time to start acting as blood glucose rises from these easily digested carbs. 

From FatCatAnna

Last week was interesting as far as my blood sugars (BG’s) went.  I was fighting to keep them below 10 mmol/l (180 mg/dl) and at the same time trying not to let the high BG readings worry me more then I should let them. 

When we diabetics go through these types of episodes (feels like an ongoing soap opera of our lives sometimes) – we try to figure out what is causing the problems.  In my case, it was a few things.  Could it be due to the steel cannula’s I’m now using instead of the Teflon cannula? Could it be that I had the infusion set in a bad area of my thigh (have been using that area lately, rotating an inch every 3 days)?  I’ve  also been using this detox green stuff that is supposed to rid your body of impurities? Could my carb to insulin ratio be changing?  I spent a whole week with these questions going through my head … SCREAM!!!  

In the end, I still can’t figure it out!  I’ve now got my infusion set in my stomach.  My BG briefly did go to 3.5 mmol/l (63 mg/dl) after the infusion change.  Yes, hypo state for some of you but for me it meant something was working right (and I also ate a nice meal).  Except that’s been it for anything that is a normal BG for me (now am averaging in the 8 mmol/l (144 mg/dl) range)!  What I can't figure out is that my stomach area is pretty well virgin territory because I’ve not worn an infusion set there since the summer time.  SCREAM!!!

Oh, to be able to sit down and eat a proper meal, as I tend to not eat when I’m over 8 mmol/l (144 mg/dl) is not fun at all!  That nagging worry in the back of your mind, even though you try to not think about it – doesn’t seem to go away with a press of the EASY buttonn (thanks to Ninjabetic at Diabetes365 for posting that picture).  Oh, and don’t worry,  I’m not starving myself, but I am very careful of what I’m making up for meals these days, but it’s not something I’m used to having to do.  I mean, I’m the Daredevil Demented Diabetic to the world out there who has  no cares in the world with the D.  When it comes to having haywire BG’s like this with no explanation, no way, I’m not at all comfortable with flashing my horns to the world.

So, in a few hours I will test my BG to see where I am.  I am trying to resist the urge to test my BG’s every ½ hour.  Wish me luck.