Two lessons per day

After three decades, you’d think I’ve got it all figured out.  Well, here are 14 lessons that I’ve learned over the past week.

1. If the CGM sensor seems to be dead, it probably is.  Even if it eventually comes back in line with my actual BG, don’t get excited.  Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
2. Sometimes, feeling low sucks.  Other times, it feels like an enormous weight (300 milligrams of glucose, per deciliter to be precise) has been lifted off my shoulders.
   

   The best news I’ve had all day!

3. I may choose to ignore the advice that hot tubs are not good for PWDs..  But I should’ve kept the insulin pump (kept dry but not cold by Aquapac) out on the deck.  Heat kills insulin.
4. Just because the Aquapac keeps a pump – located INSIDE – dry, it doesn’t do the same for a cell phone located next to but OUTSIDE of it.
   
5. Putting an infusion set in Jacquie’s side-butt (actually my own, but she owns the copyright on that anatomy name) is not a good idea.  When I sleep on my side, something kinky happens and I wake up with a BG over 300 and lots of ketones.
6. I haven’t actually tried this, but it probably wouldn’t be a good idea for me to put an infusion set in Jacquie’s side-butt either.
7. A temporary basal of 115% is not enough when sitting immobile on a plane for six hours.  But 130% seems to do the trick.
8. Airport pat-downs aren’t that unpleasant, but they are a pain. The guy doing it really doesn’t want it any more than I do.
9. Next time, tell the TSA guy that “I will disconnect and hand you the pump to inspect as I walk through the scanner.”  H won’t actually suggest disconnecting medical equipment, but will oblige if I bring it up.
10. Just because another guy also had problems taking insulin through airport security (actually, an ice pack to keep his insulin pens cool), doesn’t mean he wants to talk about diabetes with me.
11. Putting a Sure-T “tail” in a sharps container is awkward.  And space-consuming.
12. Despite being my scapegoat of choice on more than one occasion, Medtronic Diabetes is AWESOME.
13. Sometimes I think that some medical device, synthetic hormone, or inaccurate product label is at fault.  But most of the time… yeah, it’s me.  And that’s fine.  It’s more encouraging to figure out what went wrong and know that I have the power to do it right next time, than it is to sit helpless and skeptical of the products that keep me alive.
14. I am completely worn out by Diabetes Blog Week.  (Which was a lot of fun, by the way, and I thank Karen for organizing it!).  But I’ve learned that blogging is about quality, not quantity (following all the fabulous blogs out there can be overwhelming!).  So this week will be a little light.  I’ve got lots of good material to come; I just need to get around to writing it!