Staying Between the Lines

Staying between the lines.

It's a phrase that has been looping inside my head.  It seems like this weekend was The Weekend to make type 1 diabetes behave.  I added in new adjustments and new corrections (above and beyond what our endocrinologist had suggested) to our daughters' insulin pump settings.

In case anyone is still wondering, let me dispel the myth:  An Insulin Pump Does Not Have A Brain. 

Sigh.  Wouldn't that be nice?

It us as parents or as adults living with T1d that update insulin pump settings, through some science but mostly, through a ton of trial and error.

I think this is quite possibly the only disease where patients determine how much of a potentially life-threatening medicine to take at any given time.

So for me, having my girls here at home when we make major adjustments is a must.  I have to see if they can stay between the lines.  If not just to check for changes, but to keep them SAFE.

Which means that it was time to really pay attention to the Dexcom G4 in a proactive manner and not just use it to alarm when the numbers are heading into dangerous territory; ie, re-actively.

I made the first insulin pump adjustments at our endocrinologist appointment a week ago.  Painstakingly, we waited to see how it would effect our girls.  As the week went by, we noticed a couple little things.  For oldest daughter, it was a pesky afternoon high that wouldn't go away without at least one correction.  For youngest daughter, it was a sharp rise from 3:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m..

I don't think we would have been able to narrow in on either had it not been for our Dexcom G4.  In the picture below, you can see how great our daytime numbers had leveled out, but you could also see that the little bit in the middle of the night that was still lingering and needed attention.

Once we were able to determine where we still had some settings to add, we could then easily go back in a correct the basal rates for just that time of day.

It made it easier.  Still, sleepless nights for mom and dad but at least we could feel more confident with our settings overhaul.

Today at school, I have received two text messages.  One with a cheerful 112 mg/dl and the other a bit worried with a lower 74 mg/dl.

So even with The Weekend under our belt, we still have work to do on staying between the lines.  At least now, it doesn't seem so unattainable.