One Too Many And Eleven Short.

I just spent 39 minutes on the phone with Peyton, a member of Sanofi's iBGStar tech support team. What we determined (rather, what I unofficially deduced from our conversation) is that the iBGStar is not a fan of tequila. And neither is an 18 day-old Dexcom G4 Platinum sensor, for that matter.

Verio, my hero.

When I use the iBGStar meter, I typically keep it attached to my phone all day and use the case that encloses them both. I don't open the iBGStar app every time; actually, not even every day. When the app is opened, it automatically syncs the meter with your phone, and thereby downloads all of the readings it has recorded since the app was last opened.

After consuming a few margaritas and checking my BG eleven times throughout the course of yesterday evening (this is how I drink with diabetes - YDMV), I noticed that my last three readings were suggesting a pretty steep drop - and no thanks to my CGM, I couldn't verify this via visual aide - 356, 226, and then 184. Pleased that I was dropping but concerned with the velocity, I decided to open the app on my phone to help me remember the times of those tests. I had a need for speed (information).

Instead, I was informed that I would be on my own with this one.

Excuse me, what? I then clicked the (only) button on the meter, to see if I could scroll back on there to see the times there.

DENIED.

"Awesome".

What I realized, as did Peyton by the end of our lengthy phone conversation, is that there is no good reason my meter wasn't tagging date and time on those eleven readings. We tried everything to figure out why - close the app. Restart the app. Unplug the meter. Replug and sync the meter. Check the phone's time/date settings. Check the meter's time/date settings. Make sure the meter is fully charged (it was). Make sure the meter was fully plugged into the phone (it was). We must have gone through 30 different potential factors. (I also elected not to delete the app and re-download it. While I was able to back up the iBGStar data through my iTunes account, you can't actually look at it. Petyon told me that if I deleted and then downloaded the app again, I could reinstall the old data. I didn't want to muck around with it.)

We have no idea why, but the good-ish news is that it's recording those things again. I tested twice, voluntarily (he suggested I use control solution; I laughed) and both of those readings downloaded just fine, while continuing to ignore the previous 11. I could manually enter them, but seeing as how I don't know the times for most of those, I'm hesitant to do so.

Tidbits I learned:

1. it's recommended that you plug the meter into the wall, using the micro-USB cable provided, at very minimum once every six months - more frequently if you're a more frequent user. I asked him the logic behind this, seeing as how the meter is charging every time my phone is active, and he mentioned something about it being a more potent power source. I still don't get the reasoning - if it says 100% charge, is that a lie? - but okay, fine. I'll do it.
2. it's also recommended that when you first get your meter, you should charge it with the wall outlet cable for three to five hours. Again, I don't know why, but just do it.
3. Sanofi really wants you to be happy with this system, and will do things like send you more strips to replace the ones you used when the meter wasn't marking a time on them (they're sending me 20, which is lovely) or replace the meter if you feel it isn't working to your liking (I declined this time, but if it acts up again, yes please). I know that the test strips are where they make their money, and so a replacement meter really isn't that big of a deal, but it was still nice to find out.

I also was reminded that you always need a back-up for your back-up. CGM won't give you readings? Time for a fingerstick. Meter won't function properly? Use a different one. 

It's possible that everyone in your usual device line-up will fail you at the exact time you need them most. Channel your inner boy scout, and always be prepared.

Because I know some of you will like "closure", here is what
my graph looked like from midnight to noon.

Things To Love.

Even with all of the really big items on the "this is horrible" list of living with diabetes, there are a few things I relish.

One is the reaction I receive when using the iBGStar to check how the ol' blood is doing in environments like bars. When you're three sheets to the wind, things like glucose meters that attach to an iPhone will BLOW YOUR MIND OFF.

"What are you doing? ... wait. Wait, is that a meter? It's part of your phone? There's an app for that?!?"

Indeed, tipsy stranger. There is an app for that.

(Side note: the next time someone asks, I'm telling them that it tests my blood alcohol level and will be taking a mental video of their reaction for replay when I need something to giggle about later.)

One more thing to love: waking up to a between-the-lines graph after a night of beverages and dancing.

Yesssssss.

#DBlogWeek: One Great Thing.

Today's prompt: Living with diabetes (or caring for someone who lives with it) sure does take a lot of work, and it’s easy to be hard on ourselves if we aren’t “perfect”. But today it’s time to give ourselves some much deserved credit. Tell us about just one diabetes thing you (or your loved one) does spectacularly! Fasting blood sugar checks, oral meds sorted and ready, something always on hand to treat a low, or anything that you do for diabetes. Nothing is too big or too small to celebrate doing well!

* * * * *

I'm not sure what this says about me, really, but I seem to have developed a reputation for bolusing for alcohol with some finesse - to the point that a fellow PWD recently texted me well into the night hours, asking for advice on a stubborn high after a couple of glasses of wine. They wanted to bolus, but didn't want to tank later while they slept (alone, and in an unfamiliar hotel room).

Again, should I be proud of this? Because, kids, it takes a lot of trial and error to get here. I emphasize errors. (It also takes finally admitting to yourself that mixed drinks are just a horrible idea all around, unless you can use a Diet mixer.) I don't know the answer to that question, but I do know that a few years back, I would have LOVED to read how someone else did this, because I was clueless and needed to hear someone else's trials and tribulations.

I can only say what works for me, and it is said along with the typical disclaimers: I'm not giving anything even remotely resembling medical advice; don't try this at home; YDMV (your diabetes may vary); I'm not condoning drinking in general, OR drinking with diabetes; consult your doctor first, etc. etc.

Okay, now that THAT's out of the way...

If I drink, it tends to be white wine. Sometimes I'll try a red, and sometimes I'll have a cider beer or a "diet" mixed drink. If you can figure out the full-sugar drinks, more power to you; I just can't walk that tightrope very skillfully. After several years of stubbornness trying, I've pretty well given up. So what's the pattern, you may ask? What's the central piece of knowledge I've gleaned?

Wine will make me go a little higher for the first few hours, and then once I hit hour five, I start tanking.

Here's the deal with me and wine: if I start drinking before the meal (say, half an hour before) and the meal has some degree of fat in it (think Italian food), the two pretty much cancel each other out in terms of delayed spikes and drops, so I do a regular one-time bolus and let it ride.

If I didn't start drinking until after I've eaten some food, I bolus a little bit extra up front. Every time I hit that five hour mark, though, I start dropping. Hardcore. I need food in my stomach at that point, even with no IOB - really.

Am I recommending that you drink? Nope. But if you do, I hope you'll do it safely. I watch my Dexcom receiver like a hawk, and I check my blood sugar as often as I can remember. I can drop very, very quickly once those drinks have had a few hours to do their thing, and past experience has taught me to watch out.

It's also a great idea to let someone that you're out with know about your situation, as it were - and wear a medical ID, wuddya? You do not want things to go badly and have people not know how to help you (or, worse yet, just think you're extremely drunk and let you "sleep it off").

And if anyone can figure out and share how to bolus and stay under 200 (without dropping like it's hot) for sugary drinks - well, I'll buy you one.

 (If you want to know more about how diabetes and alcohol mix - go here.)

Reflex Theory.

At breakfast last Saturday morning, diabetes came up in conversation. (Weird, right?)

From L to R, back row: Bennet, Kelly, Karen, Sara and Mike.
Front row: Jess, me, Abby, LeeAnn, Leighann. Photo credit: Bennet.

The waitress came around with coffee (lots of takers there) and orange juice (I was the only taker, with a downward CGM arrow poised somewhere in the 60's). The speed with which I drained my glass and the location of our breakfast (we were adjacent to a bar) lead me to an epiphany of sorts.

Lately I've made a lot of beverage switches - absolving myself of Splenda in my morning coffee, avoiding soda and choosing tea or Crystal Light Pure instead, and when it comes to social drinking I've been calling a glass of wine over to my team more often than my fruity "girly drinks" of yore. You know the ones - cranberry vodkas with lime (which I've recently learned are named Cape Cods - sounds much more fancy), those sugar bombs called Fuzzy Navels, and the deliciously evil combination of pineapple juice and cake-flavored vodka. At some point I realized how quickly I guzzle those drinks, whereas a glass of wine I tend to sip in a more reasonable and ladylike manner.

It hit me, as the liquid disappeared down my throat, the reason I might be consuming those types of drinks so quickly.

It's a reflex.

Ever since I was a child, juice has been a form of medicine. Orange juice, in particular, was something to be administered in one continuous gulp as I struggled to hold the glass; shaking, sweating and completely out of sorts. The taste of oranges signals panic. Fear. Desperation. It amplifies the screaming in my head that says to EAT EVERYTHING EVER RIGHT NOW OMG I'M DYING.

Why did I expect that to be different as an adult, and with something else added to it?

I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has found this to be true - does anyone else feel like they'll never be able to drink a glass of juice like a "normal" person?