Sunday, April 21, 2013

Just Another Day, Doing What We Do

This past Thursday was a day that we haven't seen in a while, and for that I'm thankful.

Bean spiked into the low 300s after lunch...her usual lunch that treats her BGs fine, usually.
This meant that her afternoon was rough.  Her class was working on a project and she couldn't focus.  She was trying, was getting some individual help, but still couldn't get anything accomplished.  This had her in tears by the time school was over and she came to my room.  She was hiding in a corner, teary eyed, and just wanted to lay down and do nothing.

A couple of things could have been the issue....it was pod change day and sometimes those last twelve hours just suck.  And, we were past the halfway point of the insulin vial and that can mean it's 'done' and doesn't work as well as it should.

So, as soon as we got home we geared up for a pod change.  That was loads of fun with an overly emotional 9 year old.  We cracked open a brand new vial of insulin and gave her a hefty bolus.

Now, here's where I kinda messed things up....we were having tortellini for dinner.  Not terrible for Bean's BGs when she's in range, but not really great when you are starting in the mid 300s!  But, with her being so emotional and so overly dramatic, I wasn't about to have the 'you have to have something different than everyone else because of your BG' conversation.  So, she ate pasta.

Putting the numbers into perspective, she only spiked 150 points.  BUT, when that spike means you are hitting close to 500, not so good.

It took until 10pm to get her in range.  So she was flying high from 11am until 10pm....great.

Thankfully her overnight was fine and the next day she was back to 'normal'....with the exception of a random 44 mid-afternoon, which I think was due to misinformation about the carb count for the school lunch she had, but she came up nicely and stayed in the low 100s for the rest of the day.


And then there was Saturday....another day we haven't seen for a while.

We were on our way to Bean's D-checkup and I needed coffee. ;)  Because Wilma (Bean's CGM) had her arrow down, we decided a hot chocolate was in order.  Test, low 100s, dose, enjoy.  Then as we are pulling away from the coffee stand, beeeeeeeeep goes the pod!  At least the bolus was delivered.

When we got to the clinic, Bean did her pod change and as she was filling the pod with insulin, it alarmed. UGH!  And, of course, it was the only pod we had.  But since we were at the D clinic, there wasn't an issue, so our FNP pulled out one of her pods and we started the process again.

I did the normal unit bolus for a new pod to help with the pod change spike, and because Wilma had her arrow up at this point and I didn't want Bean sky rocketing from the hot chocolate.  Apparently this pod didn't need that boost because within about 30 minutes she was double arrow down, tested at 60-something, juiced, tested again at 44, applesauced, and then was finally hitting 100 before we left the appointment.



Yep, just a couple of typical D-days that thankfully don't happen very often.  But when they do, you are reminded that the days of 'normal' that can seem frustrating aren't so bad after all!

Friday, April 5, 2013

Kicking SBA Butt

This week brought Bean's first experience with standardized testing.  Here in Alaska, they do the SBA, Standards Based Test, starting in third grade.

It was a hodgepodge of starting late, starting on time and finishing quickly, and starting on time and needing additional time.

Here'a a little play-by-play:

Tuesday ~
Checked Bean's BG when I got up, 5:24am, 175.  Increased her basal to try to ward off her breakfast spike.  Tested her when I woke her up at 6:30, 143. Dosed for breakfast and said a little prayer.
Start of Testing check at 8:33am, BG was 250.  Ugh.  Out of range to test, so off to another room to wait until the first break.
First break check at 9:26, BG 183.  Good to go; she starts the test.
Today is the Reading portion and she gets done 'too quickly' but at least she feels OK about how she did. Only time...and results...will tell.

Wednesday~
5:31am, BG 254....crap.  Decided to correct, dose for breakfast that won't be eaten for over an hour, and crank basal at the same time.  Yeah, I'm crazy like that! Wake her up and test....460. WHAT THE WHAT?!?!  Wilma (CGM) was around 180, so I tried a different finger, after wiping it down, and go 189. Much Better! 
Start of Testing, 8:30, BG 189.  Woo-to-the-Hoo!  Bean gets to start testing with her class.  Today is Writing and she takes her time, but still finishes in time to not have to finish testing after lunch.
Today she dips to 77 at 10:15, so that's not ideal.  But, easily treated with a snack and up she comes to 157 30 minutes later.

Thursday~
5:29am, BG 224.  Second verse, same as the first....correct, dose for breakfast, crank the basal. Before breakfast test at 6:51, 153.  I'll take it!
Start of Testing, BG 119.  Loving that.  Another dip at 9:56 to 81, so she had a snack.
Today is Math and she needs to continue the test after lunch....something we hadn't really planned for, but it ended up working out because she had a different lunch (forgot sliced cheese at the store the night before, so no sandwich today).  So when she tested at the start of the afternoon session, she was at 120...can't beat that.


So, all-in-all, pretty successful!  Totally impressed with being able to keep her from spiking so high at breakfast and having her under 220 (our threshold for testing) two out of three days.  Went ahead and did the same thing today, even though there wasn't testing because it's way easier to learn while in the 100s than in the high 200s!  Granted, with PE this morning she crashed to 47....however, she didn't follow procedure and have her designated snack because she was below 140 (actual BG 119) before PE, so she should have been OK if she had had those goldfish!

I am planning to keep doing the early morning test, correct if needed, dose, basal crank.  I am planning to adjust some to try to ward off those mid-morning dips.  Or maybe she'll just need to have a little snack.  We'll see how it pans out.
I am kicking myself some for not thinking to do this earlier in the year.  But, better late than never, I suppose!

Now we wait for the results....