Monday, September 20, 2010

Thank you

Thank you all for your advice last night. I forced some juice down him, but he really didn't want to wake up to drink it. I think I got about 2 oz. down him, which brought him up to 90. He woke up this morning at 102.

I put in a call to our endo and he had us change his ratios back to 3 units of Levemir and then change the Novolog ratios to 1:25 for breakfast and 1:30 the rest of the day. Which is what we were at 2 weeks ago...so I guess I'm finally catching onto the fact that T1 Diabetes is like a mood ring...you just never know what kind of reaction you are going to be dealing with!

Another question for you experienced gals - what type of log/logbook do you use? Do you keep it on the computer? Paper? Steel-trap memory? I'm struggling to find the easiest way to log this information. Do you log food as well as numbers?

7 comments:

  1. Love your mood ring analogy! So true.

    We use a small log book b/c it fits easily in my purse or the diabetes bag we carry. I record time, bg, carbs, bolus, correction, activity. Although, we FINALLY got our CareLink to work and are able to download info from her pump. I still like to have a quick reference handy throughout the day though, so not sure I'm going to give it up completely.

    I will also say that when Ally was first diagnosed, I kept a notebook listing the foods that she ate along with the carb counts. I found that we ate a lot of the same foods and it was a quick reference for me without having to look everything up each time. I also noted when she would run high after having a specific food so that I could watch for that next time she ate it.

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  2. I like the analogy too!

    I am a suckity log book keeper(she says in shame). I am that mom sitting up at 2am the day of our Endo appointment trying to log the last few weeks worth of numbers.

    In between... If I notice an unusual pattern, I will log for a few days or scroll back and log the past few days to see where I need to adjust.

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  3. We used the smart charts when Ellie was first diagnosed. We were doing shots and didn't have a CGM so we learned a lot by using the smart charts (you can find a sample on line, go to the diabetes mall and type in smart chart in their search box, I just used the sample sheet and copied it on a copier, but they sell them too). I liked the graph, it makes it really easy to see the trends and compare the different days. I will say that you are going through exactly what we did when Ellie was diagnosed. It's very very unpredictable and you do end up not sleeping through many nights for awhile. I would say honeymooning too, but as the other ladies said...it could be the wind blowing different today. Logging is a really tedious job, and it takes a lot of time, but I think it teaches you sooo much in the beginning. You just can't count on your perception of the numbers when you are so tired and worried and stressed. You need to have a factual view of the numbers to get a handle on the ratios and basal. Once we got the CGM I did tapper off of the logging and used the Dexcom to mark food and insulin. Not as thorough as the paper logging but seems to be ok for us right now! Keep your chin up you are doing it right...no matter how it feels sometimes!

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  4. I am a big logger. I have made my own charts on excel...but am going to check out the ones that the commentor above me mentioned. I do like to document if food was eaten, how many grams of carbs were consumed, corrections, activity, etc. I then highlight lows in blue and highs in orange. It helps me see a pattern for adjusting insulin doses.

    I hate the computer charts/graphs/programs...my mind just doesn't work that way.

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  5. I HATE logging! I use a sheet from the Endo office when I need to track something but other than that I don't do it! I have an ipod touch and was really good at using something called Glucose Buddy. It easy, tracked food and insulin and BG and I could take it with me wherever I went. When we switched to the pump, i couldn't log small enough numbers so I stopped using it!!
    I love the Mood Ring analogy. SO TRUE! You will find you are always tweaking things and just when you think you have it down..things will change!

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  6. We log everything in a small log book that was given to us free with all the info we got at diagnosis. We're on our 4th logbook. I think logging is super important because you can see at a glance what all the morning numbers or bedtime numbers looked like for a week or two. Yes, you will find that things go fine for a while and then the same doses and ratios just don't work. I wished someone has told me about the constant adjusting. Growth spurts, colds, hot summer temperatures, soccer games, swimming and a million other little things will drive you nuts!

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  7. The mood ring analogy is so fitting!

    We created our own log from an Excel spreadsheet. I'd be happy to share it with you, if you'd like. It's a one-pager that takes us through an entire week.

    For a very long time after Jack's diagnosis, we scanned and then emailed our log to the endo on a weekly basis, so that he could spot trends and make changes, if necessary.

    We don't regularly log food, but have space on the chart to do so for when things start to go wonky.

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