Finding the chase and cutting to it

Needing the loo. Whilst doing the doing, I’m kicking myself – should have grabbed the sensor reader or at least my phone though I already know my blood sugar is high and I’m hyperglycaemic or hyper for short.

Sure enough, when I check my reader, I’m 21.5mmol/l – that’s four times what it was this time yesterday. Damn (or words to that effect).

So I don’t disturb my husband, no point in both of us being awake, I grab the insulin in my nightstand and head into my home office. I grab one of the small syringes and draw up 20iu of 100iu/ml fast acting insulin. But I don’t shoot this all into one site: I choose my right arm first, right abdomen, then right abdomen and finally the left arm.

Why not one shot? Well, insulin is not absorbed well when it’s all given in one site. Instead of being in my body for its standard 4.5 hours, it would hang around for ever as well as taking forever to drop back to normal, all the while letting the hyper take it’s toll.

By 3:35. I’ve dropped to 20.5mmol/l. At 03:45, I’m reading 19.8mmol/l. That’s just short of 2mmo/l every 10 minutes – I should be back to 6mmol/l in an hour. The feeling is relief. Every fibre in my being is still hurting but this should be temporary.

It’s not as quick as taking the insulin intravenously but it’s as good as it’s going to get. It’s 03:50, I’m 19.5mmol/l and I’m heading back to bed as soon as I finish this pint of water. When it’s flushed through my system, taking some of the ketones with it, I’ll do an insulin on board calculation and see if I need any carbs to soak up the remaining insulin.

Sweet dreams 🙂