Finding the chase and cutting to it

When I read my blog, I sometimes feel like it must seem like a bit of a whinge. Type 1 diabetes can be mindblowingly frustrating as no two days are the same and much of the theory regarding what you should do does not cope with the edge cases when the normal rules do not […]

Thanks to the majority of people being well fed these days, being ill is unusual.  I’m not talking about the odd cold that refuses to shift, but an actual viral infection. As seen from my last post, Sometimes, it just doesn’t work, I should have guess that something was brewing.  It didn’t actually hit until New […]

One of the most dispiriting things about type 1 diabetes is that sometimes, it doesn’t matter what you do, it just doesn’t work. Christmas is hard work normally as the normal routine and eating practices are binned in favour of having fun.  Feasts are consumed, wine (and other liquor) is consumed, it’s hard to take […]

One of the biggest things I hate about type 1 diabetes, aside from the constant need to run a big part of my metabolism up to 4 hours behind the curve, is other people’s understanding of the disease. Before we talk about this subject though, we should examine some base facts. About 0.02% of the […]

As a type 1 diabetic, on many levels I have it all.  A reasonable Hb1Ac, good clothes, a smart house, a fascinating job and some great friends. I do mean great because, often, I’m shattered, mentally exhausted as my blood sugar levels are managed by me. I test and analyse everything and mark it against […]

No, I am not writing a thriller here, but more chat about basals, like the last post. My pump allows me to programme five different basals.  In practice, I only use four and then use a temporary adjustment if something completely unplanned is happening. Four? I use the same ones working day or weekend as […]

As I come to the end of my sabatical, I’ve had an infection that drove up my glucose rates and plumented them just as quickly at the end.  The past three days have seen me hypo from 2am in the morning. Which makes it a good time to review Basal Rate 2. Hit me one […]

JDRF are doing some pages to allow people to produce their diabetic statistics, how many blood tests they’ve done etc. Being “an old diabetic”, mine is a little unconventional: Item Per day Period Total Insulin Injections 1 1 yr      365 Insulin Injections 2 8 yrs   5,840 Insulin Injections 4 14 yrs 20,440 […]

Back in 2000, I met someone with an insulin pump.  I’d had difficulties controlling my blood sugar with long acting insulin since I was a teenager and I didn’t have the tools to be able to tune my background insulin levels by using long acting insulin. Unfortunately, I was “too well controlled” to gain pump […]

Food is something I care about.  I have to, not understanding how food works in the body is not possible for a type 1 diabetic. I do not diet per se.  I do count my carbs, that is the foundation of my bolusing decisions: if I am not aware of what sugar, protein and fat […]