Insulin Eh!

To diabetics insulin is as essential as oxygen without which we will simply die a slow and painful death via either number 1 or 2 –

1. High blood glucose coma induced by ketoacidosis meaning dangerously high levels of ketones, they are acids that builds up and poisons the body.

2. High blood glucose over long periods of time damaging blood vessels in may organs causing blindness, strokes, heart attacks, kidney failure and amputations

Today thanks to Frederick Banting, Charles Best, James Collip and all the geniuses we have insulin and continues innovative research.

Early this month, according to a CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) poll, viewers selected insulin as the greatest Canadian invention of all time short-listed to fifty the list included the addictive BlackBerry, pacemaker and Java programming language.

Link to the full list of the Greatest Canadian Invention I am sure you will agree with the winner.

Living in a Winter Wonderland

The storm that hit Pacific Northwest yesterday made for some bad driving conditions both on the way home yester evening and getting out the following morning. Even scarier were the crazy drivers that believe just because they are driving an SUV they can speed during a snowstorm. A woman driving a red SUV was lucky to get out of her car injury free, she lost control hit a guardrail and flipped over. Commonsense will dictate that you loss traction at higher speeds regardless of what it is that you are driving and slowing down will be second nature in wintry conditions. These kinds of drivers make it even more hazardous to drive in such conditions.

I have never disclosed that fact that I have type 1 diabetes to the driver-licensing department. I do not wish to be subjected to what I believe is an unnecessary yearly medical just for the privilege to drive. I diligently ensure my blood glucose is in and stays within the save to drive zone when I get behind the wheel to drive however, when driving conditions are bad I worry. I feel I am doing something wrong by not answering the health question but I do truly believe that I am healthy also; I believe I am a safer driver than an alcoholic that is also an illness. They are not required to report their illness nor are they subjected to yearly medical checks as a requirement for the privilege to drive.

Anyhow, it a beautiful day today, our first full day of sunshine since sometime in November.

I am currently living in a winter wonderland, there is fluffy snow everywhere and most importantly, the sun is out and brightly shinning. There is not a cloud in the sky the combination of afternoon sun and snowy white is giving of an illusion of a brighter than bright day with temperatures staying below –1C the air seems fresher and crisp. I look out my window occasionally, which fills me with memories of winter holidays at Gstaad and the fun days of learning to fall while attached to skis while toddlers flow by as though they were born with skis attached to their little feet.

I think I do not hate winter or the snow I just hate the lack of sunshine that accompanies winters making distinguishing day from night difficult.

In the bleak midwinter!

Frosty wind made moan………….

What happened to our mild Vancouver winter?

Why are winter songs played as Christmas songs these days?

I am full of questions and no answers, I will however leave you with pictures of the way it is.

I did it

Disclaimer - remember that your mileage may very; also I am not a doctor I just practise on myself.

I had previously talked about my frustrations Running with Pump. Conventional wisdom that advices on reducing basal insulin and / or skipping pre- meal bolus insulin prior to excising only works for me if I am going on a long walk which is not practical especially during the winter months.

This past Saturday morning we ran for about 8miles before breakfast and my starting blood glucose was at 5.3mmol/l (95) I bolus 2 units of insulin I am extremely sensitive to insulin a side effect of running as a result, with a correction factor of 1 unit of insulin to 4.0mmol/l (72) I was scared shitless, with images of having a really bad low where I can not help myself and my sister not being able to handle me by herself swimming in my mind. My sister’s fear was apparent when she grabbed her cell phone an item that is normally not part of our running arsenal. For a little peace of mind I washed down a few pieces of milk chocolate with water 10grams of carbs worth. I was also counting on chocolate being a low GI food to help hopefully!

45mins into the run and my blood glucose was 5.4mmol/l (97) normally I would be around 11mmol/l (198) or higher at this point. I was feeling good and was happy with the lack of high blood glucose symptoms I have come to associate running with lately. I crossed my fingers and prayed I do not go hypo, did I mention I am scared of lows. Another 45mins pasted my meter said I was 5.8mmol/l (104) still feeling great I remarked to my sister

“So this is how it feels like to run on normal blood glucose eh!”

I finished the run with a blood glucose reading of 5.4mmol/l (97) not bad at all if I say so myself, I opted to have a late breakfast devoid of bolus insulin to take care of the delayed workout lows. My blood glucose for the rest of the day was stuck in the 5 – 6mmol/l (90-110) range.

Success will be achieved if this formula works for me 80% of the time I hope it does, I really hope I have found what works for me.

The inspiring statue above greets hundreds of runners / joggers and walkers who make their way around Stanley Parks Seawall daily. It is a statue of Harry Jerome, during his career, he set a total of seven world records, including running the 100 metres in 10.2, 10.1 and finally 10.0 seconds successively, despite suffering an injury so severe at the Perth Commonwealth Games 1962 that doctors initially believed he would never walk again.