I know that I am not the only one that this happens to. You know, one of those “why didn’t I think of that?” moments? Or, in this case, “why didn’t I think of that earlier?”.
Talk it out
I was talking to my therapist about the amount of work that goes into trying to prepare for basketball. Not only the actual physical aspects of getting everything together, lugging that big bag to the gym and all that.
More so it was juggling the food, blood sugars and insulin levels before starting.
I talked for a long time about all of the things I had tried. I complained about this and that, why this didn’t work or why I thought that was too hard.
It was all related to trying to have my breakfast food pretty much digested and my insulin done “doing it’s thang”. I wanted to start at a certain point and have as few variables in the mix as possible.
I was struggling with this though because there were typically only about three hours or so between breakfast time and basketball time. There was just not enough time in the morning to let it all “wash out”.
I would try to have breakfast earlier and earlier, and it just was not working out. I would either be running too low or too high shortly before starting. Just not having any luck at all.
I tried just skipping breakfast altogether, but that was a disaster. I might as well have worn cement shoes out there. I had no energy.
As I’m explaining to my therapist why life before ball was so difficult, I had a “light bulb” moment.
“Hey!” I exclaimed! “I could eat a LATER breakfast and just cut the bolus down some!”
Duh!
She calmly explained that she thought it was worth a try, even though she probably really wanted to say “Um, yeah, that’s what I would have done a long time ago”.
I’ve tried it a few times, and I think that it is working out MUCH better than anything else I’ve tried so far. I still need to tweak the ratios and adjust my temp rates, but it’s going good at this point.
My energy level is good, and my BG’s can be pretty stable. It still all depends on what I eat, but that’s another discussion.
Man. Why is that you sometimes have to just start talking (or blogging) about something before you get some valuable ideas popping into your head? Because it helps you think through the problem, sometimes allowing you to get around the blocks you have in your “self talk”.
When I go jogging, it’s straight after lunch, and it means I just cut the lunchtime insulin dose by 2 units.
Works out great. Took a couple days of trial and error, but no problems now.
How satisfying it must be for you that you were able to see the problem, try a solution, and HAVE IT WORK!!
Now basketball can be so much more enjoyable 🙂
Good for you! I kind of like those lightbulb moments. Even when they have that ‘why didn’t I think of this before’ thing attached.
Determination is the key to your success. Congratulations on solving this cryptex! (Did Tom Hanks help? Or did L. Bird stop in to show you the way? 🙂 )
That’s great- glad you figured it out. Small victories(in the day-to-day grind) make this disease more standable..
I have terrible luck w/incoming lows right before lunch, maybe I’ll try something like that.(move breakfast forward)
I hope it works out for you!
Way cool observation, Scott. I’m so pleased it’s workng for you!
I am a big fan of talkin’ it out! well done 🙂
Isn’t it funny how precise we have to be in our ways of dealing with certain situations. Once you figure out something that works, it’s such a relief!
Good job Scott, way to keep after it!
I’m glad to hear it’s working out well, I know you have posted several times about how frustrating it is.
Bravo! Who cares how you figure it out as long as you do.
And, as you know, I really envious that you have a regular basketball time. That’s awesome!
Nicely done, Scott.
That is awesome man! I am glad you figured that out!
Sometimes just getting it out there helps.
Dude, we gotta play some Horse or Around the World soon. You would own me on 1 on 1. I suck.