For no reason I can grasp, my blood sugar took a dive for a few days this week. Instead of being in a normal range 40% of the time, this week I’m at 60% over 7 days. On Aug. 22, I reached an astounding 84% of time within a healthy range. I got through that day with just 7 units of meal time insulin (3 for English muffin, 4 for a hamburger bun). That night I went low with the 14 units I’d been taking of long-term insulin, so I reduced it to 13 unit the next night. A few days later, I only had to inject 3 units for meals and maintained good levels. This follows (see earlier post) a “normal” period where I had to inject 30 units for meals and corrective doses each day.
What the heck? It’s not that my meals have changed. For the last few weeks I’ve been enjoying food again, mainly a huge green salad composed of a romaine heart, tomato, green onion, cucumber, peppers and a homemade vinaigrette. None of this is carby and it fills me up. I also have a homemade McMuffin consisting of an English muffin, mayo and microwaved egg. Maybe I’ve included 5 units for a small bag of microwave popcorn. Other than that I snack on cheese and meat from the deli area. I’m drinking water with non-sugar sweetener, black coffee and caffeine-free coke.
Unlike the previous weeks and months, I haven’t had to add glucose to correct rising numbers.
If it’s not the food that affects my glucose, what can it be? Obviously, if you’re here reading this you already know I suspect emotions — both obvious and hidden — play a role in our body functions. What makes this positive glucose event more puzzling is I haven’t had the best week. I’m grappling with a workplace injury of tendonitis (left wrist), considerable blowback from my employer as a result (they insist I waited too long to report it). I also reconnected with an elderly woman I’d met back in February while in hospital. She and I bonded over a shared love of horses and dogs. We also have issues with our elder siblings dating back to childhood. She’s living on her own now and trying to cope with memory loss, an absent “friend” who has power of attorney and (because of the latter) little or no food in the house. She knows it’s on wise for her to drive so her car stays in its parking spot. I brought her a bag of groceries after work yesterday and reported the situation to the government branch who enforces POAs.
So, not a calm and happy week. Yet looking at that calm and happy glucose, you’d think I’d been lolling on the beach in Mexico.
I wish it had lasted. Today, a day off, I awoke to glucose of 15 and rising. It had been at 9 until 3 am, and then began to rise. I may have to add that unit back to my nighttime dose tonight. Looking back over the month that I’ve been tracking food, I notice my glucose tends to rise on my days off. I don’t know why, other than my mind is free to drift into thoughts (subconscious?) that cause anxiety. My body is super sensitive to anxiety, and reacts to even a low level of stress.
I don’t know what’s going on. This week was certainly a surprise. I’ll keep paying attention to my conscious and subconscious stressors.
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