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berryr99

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
One of my problems is that on a day when I am not out and about it is very easy to get good control as meals can be properly timed, carbs counted and doses calculated. It all gets a bit difficult when I am out and about (I'm retired but busy). Currently, when something is happening on a day I tend to trim down my insulin "just in case" I have a hypo in a situation that would be difficult - I attend quite a lot of meetings and do a fair bit of public speaking.

The result of this is that when I get home I find my sugars are running high - these can be controlled down but I'd rather have a better plan during the day

I was just wondering how other people dealt with this

Thanks if you can help

Robert
 
Same here. I’d rather run a bit higher (around 8) and relax, in the knowledge that I’m not going to have a low in company. I hate being forced into a public display of my diabetes cos you never know how people are going to react (eg sympathy - oh no! - or trying to take control of the situation - get off me!). 🙂
 
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Hypos are part and parcel of living with diabetes. I too have loads of daytime meetings and do public speaking and have hypos, I usually say you will have to excuse me while I treat a low blood sugar, and that is the end of it.I always carry a small bag of sweets in my bag so I am prepared for hypos if they happen. I control my day blood sugars by correctly dosing for the food I eat and in the main hypos are not an issue. Running high increases the risk and severity of any complications so I would try to avoid it where possible.

good luck
 
Piglet said:
Hypos are part and parcel of living with diabetes. I too have loads of daytime meetings and do public speaking and have hypos, I usually say you will have to excuse me while I treat a low blood sugar, and that is the end of it.I always carry a small bag of sweets in my bag so I am prepared for hypos if they happen. I control my day blood sugars by correctly dosing for the food I eat and in the main hypos are not an issue. Running high increases the risk and severity of any complications so I would try to avoid it where possible.

good luck
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Thank you, I will try to run tighter and always have some sweets just in case. Some meeting/events are "more understanding" than others.
 
You aren’t alone @berryr99

There are times for all of us where aiming to run top of range is much more prudent than aiming in the bottom half of our preferred range. Band gigs are a classic example for me. Not really possible to stop mid-song for jelly babies and a sit down - so I use my sensor readings to check and steer into safer territory but not so high that I risk being grumpy later.

The trick is trying to give just a sliver of wiggle room, but not overdo it. It’s a skill we all continually learn and develop I think, and each of us will define our own settings for what we find acceptable.
 
If I have repeatable situations, I use my CGM (previously Libre) to learn how my body reacts and use this to adjust my insulin and BG target.
For example, I have learned when I am active, running around, going to the gym, walking to the shops and back, my levels falls so I aim for a higher level and usually find they drop.
On the other hand, when I am presenting or sitting in a stressful meeting or attending a hospital appointment (I think am always worried they will give me bad news or judge me), my levels rise, so I aim for my normal levels knowing they will end up higher.

I also take the opportunity at breaks to sneak a peak at my levels and either treat a falling BG with a GlucoTab or treat a rising BG with a small insulin dose.

I don't like hypos at any time. Even when relaxing on the sofa watching telly, it is inconvenient to have to stop and treat my hypo and answer the question from my partner "why are you hypoing now?" to which the answer is always "because I had too much insulin."

I also don't like high levels. I feel sluggish when my BG reaches double figures. This is no good when I am speaking or running a meeting. So running my levels higher to avoid a hypo just causes problems the other end of the scale and ruin my day/meeting/presentation.

I prefer to manage my levels all the time rather than inching them higher to avoid a hypo which may cause another problem.
 
Having the sensor data makes life a lot easier to see what is happening.

In some circumstances I will change my target level from 5.5 to 8.6, so run a little higher than I would normally, such as during a concert when I don’t want any alarms going off. I tend to allow alarms in rehearsals, and no one minds my having the odd jelly baby etc, and I know everyone well. My first ever concert my levels shot up from 6.5 to the high teens, just with nerves!

Where I have repeat events I gradually work out ways of staying in target and the closed loop helps with this now, but not with extremes.

We need to each find a balance that we are happy with, and mine has changed over the years.
 
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