24 Hours With Diabetes

Living life with diabetes is not just eating sugar free food and drinking diet soda. In fact, it is the complete opposite of the stereotypical “diabetic diet.” Diabetes is a lifestyle that a person must work into their daily routine of life. Following this introduction I will explain some of the things a diabetic uses in their everyday life.

• Insulin - a hormone produced by the pancreas that regulates glucose in the blood. Insulin is a VERY important hormone in the human body, day to day life is not possible without it. In 1921, Frederick Banting, a Canadian physician, discovered insulin in the pancreatic extracts of dogs. Since then, insulin is produced by many different companies and is produced in two different forms. There are two types of insulin for controlling blood sugar: long acting insulin is typically used in injection form, which is given in large amounts and lasts a few hours per day, depending on the person. Long acting is also known as basal, which is used in pump form. Long acting, or basal, is administered to regulate the natural glucose fluctuations in the human body. Fast acting insulin is the most common form of insulin used in pumps. Fast acting is given to correct high glucose levels and to bolus for food. Insulin is needed all the time, the human body is in a constant state of change and insulin is a major key to keeping the body maintained. When a person’s blood glucose levels are too high and when a person takes food into their body are two of the most crucial times insulin is required. Injections and Pumps allow people with diabetes to have ways to deliver their insulin when needed. Since insulin is always needed, long acting insulin for injections and short acting insulin for basal are very crucial to a diabetics life.
• Injections - a procedure used to give insulin doses. Injections are used to give long acting insulin and short acting insulin.
• Insulin Pump - a small device that works as an insulin delivery system for people with diabetes. Before these devices were created injections (shots) were the main method for insulin delivery. Insulin pumps are manufactured by several different brands: Animas, Medtronic, OmniPod, T:Slim, etc. T:Slim is the insulin pump that I use, it is the first touch screen insulin pump in the world. Insulin pumps have different parts: cartridge, tube, and site. The cartridge, or reservoir, holds the insulin. The tube transfers the insulin from the reservoir to the site which is inserted into my skin.
• Glucometer (meter) - device used to check BG (Blood Glucose).
• A normal BG level is between 80 and 190. Any number below 80 is considered “low” and any number above 190 is considered high.

The following is a log of my diabetes management from Tuesday, September 6th through Wednesday, September 7th.

Tuesday, September 6th :

10:00pm: Pump site and cartridge change. The video with this blog is a demonstration of changing my pump site and cartridge. I have to do this process every two to three days.

T:Slim Pump Change Video

10:20pm: bedtime BG - 248

     Insulin correction - 2.0 U (units)

Wednesday, September 7th :

7:10am: morning check - 59

             Correct with juice and fruit snacks

7:45am: before driving to school check - 79

  Breakfast casserole - 25g (carbohydrates)

  Insulin - 1.88 U

11:04am: lunch check - 141

              Sandwich, chips, water - 40g

   Insulin - 3.6 U

1:15pm: afternoon check - 102

2:44pm: during band practice check - 61

  Correct with fruit snacks

4:13pm: After practice/before dinner check - 92

  Baked potato & salad - 40g

  Insulin - 4.0 U

9:00pm: after dinner check - 244

 Insulin correction - 1.25 U

11:27pm: before bed check - 145

As you can see, my everyday life is not like the average person. When I wake up, the first thing I do is check my BG, and if my BG is in a normal range I continue with my day until the next time to check. My BG levels are not always good though, when my levels are high or low, I have to set time apart from my regular routine to take care of myself before continuing my activities. The information above is just one cycle of 24 hours in my life. Diabetes does not give breaks or vacations. Everyday many diabetics, including myself, go through many different emotional and physical changes due to blood glucose levels rapidly changing. Diabetes affects every aspects of my life, and my life affects every part of diabetes.

I hope this blog post helped those of you who are not as informed about this disease, learn more about what it REALLY is.