Thursday, August 07, 2008

Blood Sugar and Moods

I've been noticing more over the past couple years a stronger correlation between my blood sugars--especially high blood sugars--and my moods. When I'm low, everything seems hard--it's not a good time to ponder, for example, doing an Ironman. But when I'm high, I can feel really depressed and easily frustrated, as well as sleepy (a symptom more commonly expected). I have noticed a fairly rapid improvement as my BG's return to normal, even before I know my BG's have come down. Maybe these mood changes were always there and I am just finally noticing how my BG's relate to them; or perhaps they are becoming more pronounced through the years. I'm not sure. Anyway, this post was prompted by a BG over 400, which I attribute to letting my pump run too low (air bubbles?) and also going on a BG testing strike of 4 hours. My basals also seem a bit off these days. I loaded up on a few units which, with my current insulin on board, should bring it down. These are the times that diabetes can really be a challenge for me, emotionally, even though I know it's just the BG picking on me. Fortunately, though, I will be able to shake it off with a long swim + run in the morning. Hooray for that.

(Note: BG=blood glucose, aka blood sugar.)

Monday, August 04, 2008

Triabetes Triabetes!

I can't wait for IM Wisconsin! And I can't wait to see the Triabetes documentary! I could sit in a dark room and watch all the footage in one sitting. Wow, these people (meaning Ray, Nella, Mike and whoever else is working on this at Andiamo) are amazing. I have a lot more to say, but let me say this now: being part of this project makes all of those 75,000+ fingersticks over the past 20 years, and the thousands more to come (but let's hope not another 70,000), just a little more tolerable.

Check out Michelle's blog and if you want to help get T-shirts for all the fans on race day, you can contribute right there. You can also donate through the Triabetes website. We still need more support for the documentary. And if you want to come cheer in person in Madison, let me know. It is going to be a fun day.