I had an interesting day yesterday.  I had a 10am meeting.  It was a 90 minute drive to get to the meeting.  I changed my infusion set at 7am.  It went in kind of weak.  I assessed it and thought it was ok.  My blood sugar was 114 when I changed the infusion set.  Took a shower and began my drive to the meeting at 8:15am.  On the way I stopped at a rest area and checked my blood sugar.  It was 185.  I found this to be a curious number because I had not eaten anything.  I did have a cup of coffee but I had covered it.  I attributed it to the stress of the drive and gave myself a correction bolus of 2 units.  After my meeting I checked again – it was 185.  Now, I was becoming suspicious of my site.  I checked and and smelled for insulin.  It looked OK.  Took another 2 units.  Had lunch and on my drive back home I felt I needed to check again.  475!  NO!  This is not a reading I get.  I was driving so I gave myself some more insulin and planned on stopping to get gas in 45 minutes so I would check again.  When I stopped it was 500.  That’s it.  I decided I needed to change my site.  I also decided to take an injection of insulin to insure I was getting some in there.  I took 6 units by injection.  Put another port in and took another 5 units.  I got back home in about an hour and I had come down to 185.  Drank a lot of water to cleanse my body from the highs.  Now, I had another concern.  I had 6 units On Board from the pump and the injection I had taken was another 3 units at least.   I began checking every 15 minutes.  Next reading was 122.  Then 96.  I decided to take off the pump and drink 6 oz of juice.  61.  Ok I was feeling low.  I was crashing.  More juice and a pretzel.  63.  65.  Now I had balanced it out but I needed to get higher.  I was getting hungry so I ate some.  I knew I was going to go high but I wanted to get out of the tailspin.  I was feeling better.  185.  Ok.  I was back.  Now I bolused 2 units to get level again.

What are the lessons:

1.  If you feel an infusion set does not go in correctly then maybe it is best to put a new one in right away.  Putting in infusion sets is a ritual for me most of the time.  I take great care in putting them in and caring for the site when I take them out.  Perhaps I was in too much of a hurry in the morning to take the care I usually do.

2.  If you are going on a trip make sure you have insulin, syringes and extra infusion sets.  You never know what will happen.  Because I have made this a practice I was able to do something about it.

3.  Going high is a problem.  We need to be “on it” when it happens.  When I took out the old infusion set I bled a lot.  It got all over the place.  That was confirmation that it was a site issue.  But going low is the real problem in this lesson.  I obviously over corrected.  I knew enough to check every 15 minutes while I was “crashing.”

4.  Drink Water!

I have been living with type 1 diabetes for over 35 years now.  I was diagnosed at age 14 in November of 1976.  Next week I will be “having” my 50th birthday.  I am physically more in tune with my body now than I have ever been.  I discovered a path of healing that has, progressively, provided me with more health and balance.  I am committed to staying on this path until I realize a complete cure of the physical manifestation called type 1 diabetes.

I want to share with you a perspective that I have discovered.  I ask you to contemplate what I have to show you and test it out.  I further ask that you provide me with feedback.  If you did not try it, Why not?  If you did, what happened?  This is written for people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.  The Lesson is the same but under much different circumstances.  It is written for those who care for people with diabetes.  Whether you be Moms, Dads, brothers, sisters, doctors, nurses, CDE’s, friends.   Blood sugar is almost always moving; fluctuating.  Fluctuating blood sugar, outside, of the normal range, is uncomfortable and alters perception.   Managing diabetes (and I mean managing it not just living with it) demands intense, and often times,  persistent attention and intention.  It’s not a condition where you can take your medicine and forget about it.  Healing diabetes requires even more intensity.  Those of us dealing with diabetes on a physical level appreciate your assistance and really value those of you who really get it, as much as you are able to.  It is not an easy thing for anyone to confront.

The Lesson of Diabetes is, in a word,  Balance.   Balance is also the means and the ends.  Balance is the Way.  The Way is Balance.  Here is the “twist.”  The Lesson must be made the priority.  In fact, we must surrender to the lesson in order to achieve balance.  OK.  Here is the hard truth right between the eyes.  If you have type 1 diabetes your physical system is really out of balance.  It is so out of balance that if you do not have injectable insulin your physical body would waste away in a matter of days or weeks depending how on how little you ate.  The less you eat the slower you will go.

How do you surrender to The Lesson of Balance?  It may sound familiar to some of you but the first step is to admit we are out of balance?  Admit is a form of surrender.  It is certainly a rational starting point.  Now, don’t pass by this step too fast.  This is deep work and while it starts with, perhaps, an understanding of the condition and what needs to be done, it slowly transforms into a moment by moment meditation.  In my work, I guide those I work with on this process.

Once The Lesson has been established as the aspiration, the work can begin.  There is hope.  I know it!  Through my ten years of being on a healing path I have seen the truth to this disease.  I know we can slay it.  Let’s giddy up!