Type 1 Active - Active Living with Diabetes - Page 17 of 20

Am I Low or Am I Tired?

Rowena

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January 27, 2015

Am I low or tired is a question that comes up when I think too much about my bg levels, particularly when I’m heading towards the end of class. Today I was concerned that I was low because I was feeling weak during the second hour of my contemporary technique class. My bg was 7mmols before class and I had 0.20 bolus on board and a reduced basal – 50% so I should’ve been fine. However, when I checked my levels it was 4.4mmols. Not a low, high enough for me to continue working but low enough to make me feel a bit weak. During exercise, does actual fatigue get confused with low levels? For me, the best level to work at is around 6mmols.

Having only been living with diabetes for around 11 months I find it interesting that I can’t remember what it was like not think about my blood glucose level during class or any other activity for that matter. I think it has rubbed off on my family and friends too. For instance, if I stated that I had a headache, I’m hungry or I fancy a nap, whoever is around me will usually say “have you checked you levels”. Can we be hungry or tired without out it being related to diabetes?

Is it the same for you? Do you feel like you alwyas put it down to your diabetes? Talk to me in the comments below.

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Rowena x

Teaching and Hypo Management

Rowena

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January 22, 2015

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Last night I was due to start work at 6pm for two hours of teaching pole class. Usually, if I don’t have class or rehearsal this is the time I will eat my dinner. I don’t like dancing on a full stomach (or with a big bolus on board) so I decided that I would just eat a few soya pieces and some nuts before class and then eat my dinner when I got home. I reached this decision mainly because I didn’t want to run the risk of a hypo during class.

As I am teaching class, the warm up is done, I’ve gone through a few tricks with the class and then as I am teaching my choreography and I feel oddly confused and a bit shaky. I started really rambling and when I picked up on this hypo I had to get to my bag for Lucozade. I just told the people in my class to practice what I had just taught them and they did. Hopefully they didn’t think I was strange, maybe they were too busy concentrating on the steps that I had taught them? Anyway, after my carbs I felt much better and when the class had finished I checked my levels and it was 5.2mmols.

Even though this hypo was something that I was trying to avoid, I think it was a good thing for this to happen because now I know that I can deal with it during a class that I am teaching. Managing diabetes takes a lot of practice, and although I do follow a fairly strict routine, I also aim to do a bit of trial and error so I can learn more about the way my body reacts to certain food / exercise scenarios. Originally I didn’t even want to eat the soya meat and nuts because any bolus, even reduced, may cause a hypo. But I thought to myself, can I really live my life like that? No, I need and want my food for energy.

Have you had a hypo during a time where it was really inconvenient? Leave a comment below and let me know.

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Rowena

Blonde Moments and Diabetes Management

Rowena

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December 8, 2014

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I feel like such a divvy. Earlier this month (that time of the month when I go low) I found that I was having major hypos so I changed my carb to insulin ratio, in my pump settings, from 1 unit of insulin / 15 carbs to 1unit/17carbs. This little adjustment did wonders for the hypos and I had perfect bgs. However, this past two weeks, with the wrong ratio, I have been running higher than normal and it has left me scratching my head wondering why. I totally forgot I had changed it in the pump settings because I usually just do it manually as and when I do a bolus. I’m going to go back to my 1/15 ratio and see how I get on. Hopefully it will get rid of those woeful headaches and the pesky mood swings.

I have a major busy week this week. I’ve got about 5 more rehearsals, a studio practice assessment, a performance, tech runs, dress runs, a show to watch, prepare lesson plans, a class to teach and to successfully manage my diabetes. I’ve also got an essay to hand in but that is nearly finished so no panicking there. Oh, and I have work on Saturday and Sunday.

Do you have any “blonde” moments that effect your diabetes management? If so, tell me about them? You can comment below or tweet me here or talk to me on instagram.

Rowena x

Routines and Type 1 Diabetes

Blog
Dance

Rowena

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November 30, 2014

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I feel like I am in a bit of a routine now with my food and insulin around the activities I do. I do most of my physical activity during the day so I tend to stick to lowish carb foods until dinner time where I can rest for the night and not be concerned with hypos. It helps to avoid taking a large bolus before exercise as I am very sensitive to insulin. My BG was 15mmols the other day, I took 1 unit, went for a 30 min power walk and when I came back it was 4.2mmols. My snacks throughout the day are usually fruit, and I tend to eat it after technique class or rehearsal depending on how my energy is going. There is another T1D in my class, he is on injections. He has been diabetic for about 15 years so he is a bit more relaxed with the food he eats throughout the day.

If you follow me on Instagram, you will know that my performance went beautifully the other night. The process was brilliant and to be able to be a part of such a beautiful piece of dance was a true pleasure. The dance piece was 13 minutes long. Pump was off when I was on stage but I plugged it back in as soon as I got back to the dressing room. During one of my rehearsals my cannula came out. It was literally on the floor in the middle of the studio when I noticed it (I had my pump unplugged at the time). Then, mid-way through another rehearsal I had to take my site off because on a particular part of the movement, my dance partners’ body weight would press directly on top of it and it hurt. There was a lovely bruise to show for it.

Last night I went to sleep and my blood sugar was 5.6mmol and I woke up 7 hours later and it was 8.6mmols. Now, I know my basal rate is right because I checked it recently. I didn’t eat anything particularly fatty either so it couldn’t have been delayed digestion either. The only thing I can put it down to is a hypo while I was sleeping. I had that hangover headache when I woke up. Do you get them if your bg drops during the night?

I haven’t really posted on my blog recently but I plan to do some more over the christmas period when I have a little bit more time to myself and when I don’t have a pile of uni work next to me.

Chat to me on Instagram and Twitter.

Rowena x

Unpredictable Type 1 and Dancing

Blog
Dance

Rowena

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November 2, 2014

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What a strange week with diabetes. I’ve had to take almost double the amount of insulin I usually take because of the amount of corrections I have had to do. My diet hasn’t changed and I have exercised a lot so I don’t really get it. I think diabetes is so unpredictable. Even when my diet has been really good, my bgs have not. I also had a really bad low when I was in work; I was sweating and very short of breath. It took 70carbs to make me feel normal again and when I eventually tested again I was only at 5.2mmols.

On a more positive note, I have been doing more rehearsals, which can only mean one thing… more performances, Yay. I am working on a few dance pieces the moment. The first one is about bipolar disorder, second is about relationships in the space and the third is about sexuality in the dance industry. I am also due to start work on an intermedial dance piece, interesting stuff. Maybe I should create a dance piece based around type 1 diabetes? I could use stories from my readers for my inspiration? Would you be up for sharing?

Now that I am in my final year of uni, I really have to think about what I want to do when I leave. I know I want to perform and I know I want to create my own work and teach. A studio of my own and casually working for other people would suit me well. I like being my own boss. All of the above is definitely within my reach.

Back to diabetes, do you know when your blood sugar has been on a roller coaster, up and down and round and round, do you feel like absolute crap? I have noticed that it makes me feel ill like I want to throw up and it’s hard for me to be around light. When I feel like this, I want to go to bed for a sleep. However, I won’t do that. I’m usually quite busy during the day and feel that this “diabetes episode” would be an inconvenience for me. I don’t ever want diabetes to dictate anything.

Another thing that happened this week; my pump ran out of battery during a theory lecture. It made that lovely sound that goes higher and higher until you change it. I didn’t have no spare batteries on me but luckily my gf came to drop one off for me. This has taught me to carry a spare battery too. Along with my spare canula, a needle, hypo treatment etc. It’s gotta be done hey?

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Rowena x