Thursday, April 12, 2012

BG target balance: Basal or correction?

Rockclimbing shot, photos make blogs more interesting...

 Lately, my blood sugars have been surprisingly stable all day long. I've found myself looking at my CGMS and seeing 110 mg/dl, most of the time. And most of the time my meal boluses are hitting the mark. So, I'm trying to figure out what to tweak to make it so that my foundation is a bit lower. I'd like to lower it to 90 mg/dl without messing up the stable part of it.

Should I use a slightly higher basal rate, or just correct a bit further to get them stable at a new level? I'm not sure if my stable spot is being set by my target and corrections, or the basal amount matching liver glucose exactly.

I have tried  more frequent (tiny) corrections, but I just seem to stay right there at the same level (110 mg/dl). I made a minor tweak to my basal (increased .05 in the middle of the day), and I think in the next few days I'll notice whether it made any difference at all.

Update: It's day one with the new basal, and I woke up at 71 mg/dl, but there are other factors at play. It's always an interesting puzzle. 
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2 comments:

  1. UnknownApril 12, 2012 at 7:20 AM

    Great picture!! I am going to see if I can get my basal higher without any night time hypos... I know it will really improve my daytime numbers, if I can just get through the night without going too low.

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  2. Sysy MoralesApril 19, 2012 at 12:26 PM

    Is that you in the picture? looks fun! we don't have one of those where I live. Anyway, your numbers are some of the best I've ever seen, the way you describe them-very inspiring! When I try to lower my usual range a bit I do give a tad more of basal insulin. Good luck to you, I know other people would roll their eyes because you're already doing so well but you're aware of safety and it appeals to me too to have "normal" blood sugars so go for it! We deserve it. I was surprised to discover that taking my A1c from 6.5 to under 5.5 caused my body to undergo healing (when I thought it wouldn't make a difference) for example, I went from having occasional yeast infections to having none. I shrank my ovarian cysts during the time of keeping a 4.6-5.3 A1c. My A1c has risen to 5.7 and my cysts are growing again (very painful and annoying). My mood improved, my hair stopped falling out. My acne disappeared. (It's back now, grrr) I think we owe it to ourselves to at least get as close to normal blood sugars as we can. It's not easy and not everyone's lifestyle is capable of managing that at every stage (right now with my twins I'm working extra hard to avoid any hypos so my numbers are a bit higher) but for those who are willing to take it on...it's pretty nice to experience what others take for granted. You're pretty inspiring to me. Doesn't matter if I've had A1c's under 6% for years now, your standard deviation is a triumph and a reminder to me to work on mine and never forget it's importance. Thanks and keep up all the awesome work :)

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