Last updated: Thu, 20 May 2010 15:47:42
It is now Sun, 19 Sep 2010 06:09:16
Last updated: Thu, 20 May 2010 15:47:42
It is now Sun, 19 Sep 2010 06:09:16
[cku100516op-b521c6.jpg] Kumbi BG readings,Sun 16 May 2010
I feed at 6:20 a.m. and p.m., and give insulin at 7 a.m. and p.m.
More Sticks and Pricks for Kumbi and me. Kumbi is a really good boy; he just took these pricks - not quite in stride, but accepted them.
I cut his insulin dose again n the evening, from the 6.5 units I'd given in the morning, down to 6.0 units. We'll see how that goes. It will take a week or so to assess things.
As we left for our morning walk, Kumbi picked up a scent, and raced and pulled on the leash. Perhaps it was an intruder cat - or dog - who had been in the driveway. Kumbi expended a lot of energy on this Alert-Alarm. I'm sure he burned a fair bit of glucose, with that single event.
But that wasn't all! A little while later, a neighbor dog who is generally out and about roaming, unaccompanied by any human, came up the road toward us. Luna is harmless, but she IS a large-ish dog, and had once jumped Kumbi quite fiercely. I'm sure Kumbi knows her scent. Again, he went into heavy Alert-Alarm mode, pulling hard on the leash, snuffling and snorting, for quite some distance.
And we had Yet Another Alert-Alarm, with less Alarm and more curiosity this time. Another neighbor dog had come out toward the road. She was in her driveway, and remained there, but Kumbi was aware of her presence, and stood and stared for some time. Of course, Kumbi stares with his nose and his ears.
These three alerts very likely contributed to the lows later in the day.
It's no longer very common for us to have Alert-Alarms like these, but it does occur at times. I need to adjust Kumbi's insulin dose to allow for such events, That is, to avoid hypoglycemic episodes, I need to allow a bit of wiggle-room, as they call it, below the lowest typical reading of the day.
That is why I dropped Kumbi's dose yesterday evening to 6.0 International Units (iu) from the earlier one, in the morning, of 6.5 iu.
There is ALWAYS a reason for changing glucose levels n the bloodstream. The qeestion is, can I IDENTIFY the reaons!
Well, this particular low - actually yesterday as I write this, had a fairly obvious possible cause - that is, the Three Alerts and Two Alarms I mentioned.
It is really useful to be able to identify reasons for changing glucose levels, because that helps when it's time to adjust an insulin dose - or do we hold the dose steady? It's good to be as consistent as possible - that is, hold the inuslin dose steady over long periods. Consistency ia the Friend of Diabetes. But it's not always possible to identify reasons for changes in the glucose levels.
I provide links to truly helpful materials on thinking straight precisely to help me sort things out when I start to become illogical, which happens very often. If we can remain aware of how our thinking is working, how our observations are going, how accurately we are observing, that is always helpful and useful.
Updates will follow. Naturally!
