Decorated Boxes and Valentine candy

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I got my lab work back from my endocrinology appointment. I am disappointed. I was hoping for an A1c less than 6, or at 6.0. No such number came back on the slip. Dam. I was really thinking I could have pulled it off. After reading other blogs where folks are reporting A1cs in the 5s, I am feeling even more inadequate. I need to write the number here so that I can start moving on. It was 6.4. I know, it's o.k. My endo wrote “excellent” on the lab slip that was mailed to my house, but I know that she only wrote that because she doesn’t want to see my A1c under 6, because of my hypoglycemia unawareness, and her worry of the frequent lows I would have to get a number like that. Can you tell that I’m obsessing about this?!

My averages for the last several weeks have been around 125. I guess the times that I’m not testing, (another reason why some sort of CBGM might be handy) I must be higher. I’ve also been struggling with figuring out my basal rates overnight. I usually wake up with a blood sugar of around 70. The last week or so I’ve been waking up at 135ish. I’m always a little nervous about turning up my basal rates overnight, but I think I have to do it. I hate waking up over 100. It isn’t a pleasant feeling way to start the day. It would probably help if I changed my pump sites more frequently too, but I can’t go there…

I talked to my endo about getting a CBGM. She wasn’t too thrilled about the idea. She is concerned about having another site to damage tissue. She also thinks that because I have Dixie, I have a system in place to alert me when I am low.

On a happy note...I love Valentine’s Day in elementary school. The kids are so excited to pass out their Valentine cards, putting each one carefully in a decorated box. There's almost as much candy around today as on Halloween. I don't really like candy. It's not a vice for me. Dixie has made quite the haul! She has more than I do. To top it, she got a new squeaky toy from one of the first grade teachers. It’s great. It looks like a green shark, with a rope going through one side and out the other. It’s a combination of her favorites—rope and a squeaker.

HAPPY V.D.!!

DIXIE TIDBIT:

Has Dixie ever alerted another diabetic due to low blood sugar?
Yes. I actually work with another Type 1. Dixie will alert her if she’s low. Sometimes we have to quiz each other…is she pawing because I’m low, or you’re low?!
One time I had a work crew doing some landscaping in my backyard. I was standing on the deck talking to a woman who was planting sod. Dixie kept pawing at her. After watching her, I asked the woman if she had diabetes. She said “..yes, as a matter of fact, I do.” She had apparently skipped breakfast that morning and was feeling low. I went inside and got her a juice box so that Dixie would leave her alone.

The photo above is of Ella, my rat terrier. She is on the teeter-totter at agility class!