I Must, I Must, I Must Increase My…

I’m a smart girl. Really I am. So I don’t know why it’s taking so long for it to sink in that I need to dose the NovoLog for everything I eat. Everything.

Last night I went out to dinner and whipped out my pen between the appetizer and the main meal, gave myself the appropriate injection and carried on with my enchilada suiza. No problems.

While we were driving home, we noticed the Tastee Freeze had opened for the season. Yay! We stopped and I got a sundae. The thought of giving myself a shot briefly crossed my mind, but I didn’t do it. I don’t know why. I think somewhere in the back of my head I’m still thinking there’s a lot of Lantus in my body to help cover it, somehow forgetting that I’ve decreased my dose from 45 units to 30 units. And I’m not making the connection that, no, that’s not going to do anything to an ice cream sundae (which was awesome, by the way, as the first one of the season always is).

Flash forward to bedtime about two and a half hours later. 197. Damn! Should’ve given myself the NovoLog. Following my “sliding scale” guidelines, I gave myself a unit. I was pretty close (within three numbers) of giving myself two units, but I’m still in the learning process and I didn’t want to give myself too much insulin right before bed, fall asleep, get a low and not realize it. I also gave myself my regular Lantus dosage.

About two hours later, I woke up in a pool of sweat. I didn’t know if it was because I was high. I didn’t know if it was because I was low. I didn’t know if it was because I had a 72-pound dog laying across me. I grabbed my kit and tested. 195. I didn’t do anything. I knew the sundae was pure sugar and eventually, the numbers would drop and probably drop drastically. I took my chances and went back to sleep.

Flash forward again (can you see the wavy lines, like in Wayne’s World?) and said 72-pound dog is licking and nudging my hand at four in the morning to go out. As long as I was up, I checked my sugar again. 95.

I must, must, must get it into my head that the NovoLog is not optional if I want to keep my numbers under control. That I must dose for the sundae. That I must dose four units if I’m eating four carb units. I’ve been timid with the shots and conservative with the insulin, fearing lows. But I’ve been on the NovoLog for five full days now and I haven’t been below 95 once, so I think I’m doing okay.

There’s just so many factors I’m still trying to figure out. How the NovoLog reacts with items of less nutritional substance is one of them (ice cream? caramel sauce? whip cream?). And I know that the only way I’m going to get a grip on anything is to dose, keep a sharp and constant eye on my body’s reactions and take note for next time.

I know it’s all for the best—I’ve eaten my first french fries, my first giant muffin and my first whole pita bread without skyrocketing for the first time in about three years. I even ate a whole hamburger bun, just to see if I could! And I could!

But I’m back on the learning curve. I became a pro at the Lantus, knowing when to up the dosage or when to drop it; knowing what to eat, when to eat and how many carbs to keep my sugars in control. I know how my body reacts to certain foods when the Lantus is in the picture, but not when the NovoLog is added to the equation. I’m in kindergarten all over again, wishing I already had my college diploma.

I’m taking it day by day and I think I’m going to have to start reciting a mantra to remind myself I must shoot up: “NovoLog the numbers. NovoLog the numbers.” I’m a smart girl. Surely I can graduate soon?

As always, more to come…