Diabetes Game and overseas...

Howdy from Munich,

Past week has been pretty rocking. First was EASD in Vienna which gave some great promise to our Euro/World Wide expansion, but also to know that there is still much work to be done so that the diabetes world over here learns about Team Type 1. Had great meetings, hung out with my buddy Kyle Rose, Jay D. (who taught me of a few "Dunniganisms") and many others. It was a grand time for sure.

I read the comment by "jpnairn"
re: goal of sub 5 A1c for type 1 diabetic.
Reminds me of anorexia.
Sub 6, I'd give you an Attaboy. Sub-5, I can't encourage. Sure you can do it. You could probably go sub 4 if you really tried.
The goal should not be to get it as low as it can go. The goal should be to get it to a healthy level.

If I had a 4.8 with a lot of dangerous lows, then I would agree. But, I use "The Best" treatment and technology out there. I do not suggest anyone set their goal at sub 5, and if they did aim for that, to use the exact same stuff (FreeStyle Navigator, basal and fast acting insulin, Dex4) that I do. I am OCD, and I channel that OCD behavior towards my blood sugar. 69 is too low, 119 is too high. I check, and I correct. Some days things are smooth, and that means I do 5 shots. Some days (yesterday) things are tricky and I do 13 shots.
My 28 day average is 102, with 38 mg/dl standard deviation, 88% in target, 4% above target, and 8% below target.
I am trying to lower the standard deviation, and the time below target. My last Glycomark test, which measure the variability in your blood sugar was 11.1, and above 10 is considered excellent.

The motto of Team Type 1 is "A1C: Strive for 6.5" I stand by that. If you can get to 6.5 successfully and safely, then aim for 6.3, then 6.1. The fact of the matter is, that people without diabetes have A1C's between 4.0-6.0. If you can get to that range, then odds are you will have 0 complications just like they do.

Lastly, I am on my 9,900th day as a person with diabetes. I want to be the best I can be, and stay motivated. For me, motivation comes with goal setting, and working towards them. If I set an easy goal, then it is not really worth the effort to achieve it. Goals are meant to be challenging, meant to push, and it was no easy task to lower my A1C like that. It took work, and I am damn proud of the result for my efforts.

So about this travel thing: Flying for a 6 hour time difference can mess things up. Being on an Omni-Pod is easy, as the basal stays the same, or can be micro adjusted. Using basal insulin can be a bit more tricky. So after screwing up a few times, I decided to split dose my basal insulin. This started a week before the trip to get each dose to about even. And then on the night time dose on the plane, I did 1 extra unit to make up for the lack of activity. Then the morning dose was also 1 extra unit, which was too much of an increase, so I was correcting via food a lot...

A couple of runs the first 2 days, and jet lag was gone. Funny enough, my body is so not used to running so both times required a big bolus after even though I ate nothing during the run. I reckon as I get back in shape (long way to go) that this will stop eventually stop. So now the fun begins of trying new stuff, screwing up, adapting, and getting on track. Gotta do something to keep this diabetes game fresh and fun! In the end, I know that running will help all work well again, so really can't wait.

So whatever your A1C is, that is great cause that is where you are. But where you choose to be 1 month from now, a day from now, a year from now is all up to you. If your goal is to get from 10 to 8, that is great. From 8 to 7, congrats. I would say to set a goal that will push you to make the adjustments necessary to get there. Good luck!!

And Have a great day!!!

Phil