dLife employees want to better understand what it means to live with diabetes. We want to experience what it takes to manage this disease day to day. The only way to understand what you go through is to walk a mile in your shoes. So for one week, from March 8th - March 14th, dLife employees will be following the regimen of someone living with diabetes. We will be monitoring our blood sugar, watching our diet and exercise, and — for some — taking insulin, all in an effort to better relate to you, our members.
Check back here to follow our progress and to see how we are doing sticking to a diabetes self-care regimen. We hope to gain insights into living with diabetes from this experience that will help us to better serve you all!
Oh it was a lively little conversation indeed, Jo. But we all got a lot out of it, maybe more than expected, and it'll be interesting to see how this rolls over into what we do every day for the site and other projects....
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Wow, Jo. Knowing me and my temperment, if I had experienced that I would have been angry on top of all the rest of that because something was messing with my schedule. I can just imagine how many emotions you are all wrestling with on a regular basis...
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LOL. I so enjoyed the laughs today. You all are hilarious. lol. I wish there was a darn "like" button on here... but consider all your posts "liked"....
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We welcome your lurking, Jo! :-) And for sure there's even more talking going on inhouse that hasn't been said here. It's frustrating, for sure, and you can believe we ALL (those of us without diabetes, that is) have a new or renewed appreciation for...
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So of course my wife and parents got a kick out of pestering me about testing and taking my medications. I can only imagine how hard it must be for family when the regimen is real - I have a real renewed understanding of how lucky we are to not conf...
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Wow, Jo. Knowing me and my temperment, if I had experienced that I would have been angry on top of all the rest of that because something was messing with my schedule. I can just imagine how many emotions you are all wrestling with on a regular basis...
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LOL. I so enjoyed the laughs today. You all are hilarious. lol. I wish there was a darn "like" button on here... but consider all your posts "liked"....
more
Oh it was a lively little conversation indeed, Jo. But we all got a lot out of it, maybe more than expected, and it'll be interesting to see how this rolls over into what we do every day for the site and other projects....
more
We welcome your lurking, Jo! :-) And for sure there's even more talking going on inhouse that hasn't been said here. It's frustrating, for sure, and you can believe we ALL (those of us without diabetes, that is) have a new or renewed appreciation for...
more
I spent more time than I anticipated taking care of my diabetes. My thoughts were consumed with food for most of the day — When was I going to eat next? What low carb snacks and meals could I prepare? Was it time to do my postprandial testing?...
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Oh well... you already know you can do it if backed into a corner. :-) And you already know "what it's like". Ya... the CDE made me do one of those saline injections too, when I first started taking insulin. Ouch is right!!! Those test strips can be an issue for sure. I don't have any trouble at all thinking up "experiments" to do. Lol. But I try to stick to the neccessities... for obvious reasons. Good job, though. Thanks for sharing it with us. :-)
I never had saline shots, went straight into getting insulin -but I was in the hospital. I never thought that I could give myself a shot, needless to say I became a pro. :) But I'm on the pump now and when I have to use a syringe, I cringe -I do it when I have to, but it sure is tough.
Hi LC and Jo. Thanks for reading my post and leaving comments! As I've continued to test I've noticed that I seem to run pretty low in general. I don't know if it's because of exercise, or because I was eating too few carbs, or if I tend to test more often when I start to feel low. I wish I had enough test strips to test before and after every single meal this week to get a more accurate picture, but this has definitely been an interesting (and eye-opening!) experiment.
Hi Jo, Erin, LC, Interesting experiment here... I think it important to remember that 68 or 70 mg/dl is not "low" blood glucose. Experts believe that a normal blood glucose reading w/o any insulin resistance is about 70, so I wouldn't get too concerned about readings in this range, in fact I'd be delighted. Erin, your comment about the need for treatment below 70 is correct only if you are taking oral meds (especially the sulfonylureas) or insulin. W/o drug interference, we all...
I think it important to remember that 68 or 70 mg/dl is not "low" blood glucose. Experts believe that a normal blood glucose reading w/o any insulin resistance is about 70, so I wouldn't get too concerned about readings in this range, in fact I'd be delighted.
Erin, your comment about the need for treatment below 70 is correct only if you are taking oral meds (especially the sulfonylureas) or insulin. W/o drug interference, we all have remarkable blood glucose regulating mechanisms that work to keep our blood glucose from dropping too low. This is something our bodies are designed to do from day one, but since most of us continuously bombard our systems with so much dietary carbohydrates, the hormone that works to pull our readings up (glucagon) gets a bit rusty. So, be patient with your new lower carb diet. Give your body a chance to get used to this new, lower-carb "normal" and you will find many, many benefits to this new low-carb diet.
