On the road again...

[ConradJ]

OK, so after years and years of a rather extreme set of BG results that made the proverbial roller-coaster look like a series of agricultural furrows, and HbA1c that had reached the teens, but seemed unresponsive to many various attempts to 'improve' my control (sic. crash-dieting / crash-exercising / crash-over attentiveness to the last result), I went to see my DSN this morning after donating another sample of my haemaglobin to the labs in early May.

The result? HbA1c = 65 (or 8.1%). This was no different from the January tests, which had been a rise of 0.1% since the previous September.

Did I feel depressed or *** after all I've been changing these past four and a half months? No.

In fact, I was pleased that the result hadn't gone up, and the results actually reaffirmed what I've already noticed - both in my daily testing and with how I'm feeling... that control of my diabetes has been taken on by me. I no longer feel enslaved to the condition or the 'panicked' reactionary responses I've so often given on reading yet another set of 'not so good' results.

I've set a plan for taking my control one step further:

1. continue with a low carb diet (x<151g per day) without starving myself or hating a fundamentalist diet,
2. get my bike back on the road and burn that bit of tummy flubber,
3. round the clock basal rate testing during the next four weeks to fine tune basal and insulin to carb ratios,
4. Keep a diary / log book and learn from what works and what doesn't
5. remember to temp-basal when exercising, or getting into stress, etc.,
6. Keep focussed on controlling rather than reacting.

So there we are folks, I'm off the wagon and back on the road again; now where's my bicycle pump?

 

[ConradJ]

Well, this is a short thread , but what's been 'appenin'? It's time for a review!

As Robert Burns once said, "the best laid schemes of mice and men..." and so 'tis true of my plan!

1. My 'low carb' hasn't been quite as low as it could have been and I've had a few - regrettable - relapses, which I've made a mental note to stop ;
2. I've got back on my bike, but not as often as I'd like or need
3. I've not managed a single basal test owing to too many hypos on days that I haven't changed the cannula or 'done something more energetic or unusual'
4. I HAVE been keeping a daily diary AND been learning from what is working (albeit a bit too slowly)
5. I've improved my use of temp basal - BUT not as often as I should
6. I'm more focussed on control and forward planning rather than reactionary responses - BUT there's still a lot of room for improvement

Well, back to living life - am going camping tomorrow for a couple of nights with one 3-year old and one 6-month old (Oh, and the wife of course)

 

[zand]

Well that sounds like good progress to me. OK not exactly to plan, but getting there. Good luck on the camping trip! That's really brave with 2 small kids!

Have fun and don't forget to give us another update when you can.

 

[ConradJ]

Well that sounds like good progress to me. OK not exactly to plan, but getting there. Good luck on the camping trip! That's really brave with 2 small kids!

Have fun and don't forget to give us another update when you can.

Brave? More like mad... I strongly suspect we'll be the most reviled tent in the campsite and am expecting a lynch mob by 6am Monday morning

 

[ConradJ]

Well, after almost three months absence (or abstinence!), I'm back - and, boy, what a few months they've been

Still, the effort an the upheaval have been worth it:

I stopped the Pravastatin and Perindopril in July and had a full range blood test in September which actually showed lower LDL and Tri-G and higher HDL than when I was on the evil statin!

The cause? Lots of walking (approx. 4 miles per day) taking my eldest to pre-school and back, and eating less carbs.

In addition, I had an HbA1c in October and that had dropped by 0.3% to 7.8% - the lowest I've been for at least five years!

Well, all seemed good and I was relieved (though not ecstatic) about the drop, but then half term came... the exercise stopped, I had the flu jab and then our eldest got tonsilitus and Scarlett Fever! My BG's went absolutely all over the place for about three weeks. No amount of fiddling with the basal's, etc., could get it right, but then, last Friday, I bought a cycle trailer so that I can get to pre-school and back in half the time, etc. (Our youngest turns 1 year in 10 days, but is already toddling quite solidly hence the wait.)

The result of this new transportation since starting it on Monday (and, of course, a lower carb diet)?

My highest result was 12.5mmol/l on Monday and my lowest was 2.7mmol/l about an hour ago - and that was because I'd over-estimated the carbs in my meal .

Well, I've tweaked my basal and I:C ratios and since then, my highest BG was 9.0 (Tuesday morning).

All I can say folks is that this 'lower carb' (although mine is definitely not LCHF by most people's standards) and exercise thing really is the business - long may my bike tyres stay inflated!

 

[ConradJ]

Latest progress update: Friday, 19th December 2014...

Went for my Retinopathy check and for the 3rd successive visit this year (I'm seen every 3-4 months) my results were "stable". I'd still had a few minor bleeds in my left eye over the past year, but all have rapidly been absorbed; these will stop only when I've tackled the BG roller-coaster, hence my plan to go LCHF this coming year.

The good thing is that there has been no new vessel growth in the past year and in fact one area of my left eye, which appeared to me like half the body and legs of a spider in my bottom left vision, has rescinded somewhat and is much less obvious to me.

I am pleased with this result and relieved to know that all the effort I'm putting into turning my life around is having a positive effect!

 

[ConradJ]

I'm saying farewell to this thread... I've copied my key posts into my blog (http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/xfa-blogs/conradj.66676/) so that the bored, unwary, foolish, or just downright decent and helpful forummers can follow the trials and tribulations of my five year plan to wrest control of my life from diabetes.

Goodbye thread, hello blog!

Thanks for your interest and all replies - much appreciated.

 

[Heathenlass]

B*gger. I missed this thread and therefore your blog link .

I had been wondering how you were getting on ! I especially wanted to know if Tribe Conrad had in fact been frog marched from the campsite almost a year ago !

Signy

 

[ConradJ]

B*gger. I missed this thread and therefore your blog link .

I had been wondering how you were getting on ! I especially wanted to know if Tribe Conrad had in fact been frog marched from the campsite almost a year ago !

Signy

Thanks @Heathenlass

Wasn't Mr B*gger in Carry on Nurse?

We weren't frog marched, but for some reason they told us that they are fully booked for the next decade!

 

[taklamakan]

My doctor told me to give up my bike and opt for daily walking. But I still miss it.

Happy to learn about your story.