Eh won see

The results are in... my A1c is 6.2 - again.
Not as low as I'd have liked, but darnit, I WILL hit the 5s, or at least a 6.0, SOON. Determination has to mean something, doesn't it?!

Here's what some of my a1c results look like over the last few years - I'm pretty happy hanging around the low 6 area, I guess. But wouldn't a 5 be like a big fat pat on the back for all the hard work I've put into this?

That's 'some' of my a1c results because I had them more often around the time I was diagnosed - Monthly to start with - but my nurse wouldn't / couldn't give me those results when I asked for them. I know there's at least one over 9 in there somewhere from when they were treating me as a type 2... but I'm actually quite happy to forget about that!

One unit

I'm amazed at the difference one measly unit can make.
It can be the difference between a low and a high Blood sugar reading.
It can be the difference between a happy day and a grumpy one.
And just lately, it's the difference between a horrible night's sleep and a good one!

Recently I took myself off Metformin. I'd been taking it on and off for years - from the days when I was mis-diagnosed as a type two, and then as a booster when I couldn't lose weight. I'm not sure why I stayed on it - I didn't lose an ounce, it had no effect at all - and yet the docs wanted me to stay on it. What use is that?

When I went on the Met I needed to drop my basal by one unit each injection (twice a day for that lovely smooth basal...), and I dropped the Novorapid a little too. It just makes sense that I'd need to put them up again once I stopped Met, right?

Wrong, apparently!

The Lantus went up, the NR was increased just a teensy weensy bit for any meal with a decent amount of carbs involved. My BGs were looking SO good. Really really beautiful numbers (Can blood sugar readings be beautiful?!). My pre-bed numbers looked gorgeous. My post meal numbers were to die for. I could eat anything and get away with it. I could even have a very small snack without injecting. Highs were rare. It was as if my pancreas has suddenly started working just a little bit...

But DUH. Think about it, M. It was overkill, that's what it was. The Lantus was too much. I was on an all day drop. To some degree this worked for me - it was nice to have the knowledge that I was always in a good BG range, and it was nice to be able to nibble something without jabbing once in a while. I could handle the odd low - it meant I could have munchies! But what about the night time?

NOT good. I was waking up around 8 - 9 mmol a few times a week. Other days I would definitely be higher than when I went to bed. I was happy assuming that this was some form of Dawn Phenomenon that I wasn't used to, something that the Metformin had worked on for me that I now had to deal with myself.


After a few weeks of this I was actually beginning to look forward to my a1c (which I took yesterday). But I was feeling so trashed. Sleep was an issue - I wanted too much of it! I felt unrested. I never remembered any dreams which is odd for me. I'd fall asleep with the lamp on and some nights I'd even left the electric blanket on. Eep. And I was getting up far too late - a day feels so wasted when you're not ready to face it until lunch time.

It turns out that one unit makes a BIG difference. In hindsight, I can see that it was too much Lantus. I was actually going low overnight, and then my liver (all praise the wonderful liver) was rescuing me. This led to an uncomfortable nights sleep, which made me even more tired the next day, which led to me being too sleepy to wake up for the next nights low, which led to more of the same.

Which in turn makes me FREAK OUT. I was going low every night. EVERY night. How low? I'll never know. I can't help but question it. What if I hadn't woken?

I'm just glad I didn't go on like that for too long.

And as stupid as it is, I'm glad I did my a1c at a time when I'm almost guaranteed to get a good result. The result will also verify my theory of these overnight lows. I can't see that my problems could be anything else when I look at the evidence. I'll know soon... the countdown for another a1c result is on. I'll report in a few days :)

It's been two days now since I dropped the Lantus. I feel SO GOOD! I slept well last night, I woke up feeling good - I actually woke up feeling like I was going low, I was 4.2 - not low yet but heading there - so the Lantus changes still need another day to kick in, but at least it was a morning low not an overnighter. I can deal to it with breakfast - perfect.

Ah, I feel Dumb for missing this for weeks - but I feel GOOD that I've got it sorted :)
We never do stop learning, do we?

Short & sweet - well, not so short - and sugar-free sweet, of course.

Hello world :)

I've come to realise that the less I think about diabetes, the better I do. I'm much less stressed about it when I spend less time on the forums, less time on here writing about it, and less time freaking about numbers.

That doesn't mean I'm giving up on forums or my blog - it just means I'm enjoying a bit of peace for a while :)

Things are going well - I seem to have pretty good numbers all round at the moment. I'm due for an A1c this week - well, whenever I get my A into G and take the card to the blood-drainers. I'm still hoping for a result in the 5s - and I think if I'd have gone a couple of weeks ago I may have got that, but I've been making changes the last couple of weeks that might have stuffed it up.

Ever since I heard that the last few weeks make a big impact on your a1c (I guess the most recent bits are the strongest?? or most numerous??) I've noticed that I have bigger swings and higher highs when I'm due to get tested! How typical is that.

I've been dabbling in all things spiritual - not religion as most of you would know it, but researching psychic abilities, mediumship, etc. And wow have I learnt a lot. I guess it's something a lot of you wouldn't agree with, so I wont go on :) But it's been a very educational move for me and I may have more to share at a later date.

My cats are still totally gorgeous and have me thoroughly wrapped around their cute little paws :) Little Noodle (the old 'lady' with throat cancer) is still a healthy looking kitten to look at. Even though her body is going through so much, she's the one with all the energy. The one who will eat anything, even though she has no teeth. And the one who makes a mess of the floor because anything she sees needs to be thrown around the room and chased! She's also the only cat we have who loves to be picked up and cuddled. She'll even let us walk around with her - the other two freak if you even *think* about picking them up.

I love my babies very much :)

Minx and Bub

Noodle

The car is still great - though it's spent most of its time covered in sand & salt! The weather around here has been wild on and off lately. Very windy, as it often is with the move into spring. As we only live one street back from the beach, we end up with a lot of salt & sand all over the house & cars (and everything). We hadn't had much rain either, so it sat there clogging everything up and making all the windows look sooo grubby. No big deal - it all clears up in the rain, but it's a shame to have a nice new car I'm proud of that looks like shit lol

Nothing else to report - life is good!

Gosh this reads more like a letter than my typical blog post... but that's what came out of my writing (typing) fingers today :)

All the best to all of you :)
x x x
M