I hate that title, because it implies that I dislike Symlin. That's not true. I like it a lot. Most of the time. The few times I don't like it are memorable. Take this experience from about a month ago. One of Symlin's main jobs is to slow digestion. This helps the post-meal blood sugar spikes, which is one of the main reasons I use it. But because digestion is … [Read more...] about Symlin Scare
Symlin
What’s my insulin to emotion factor?
I've always been aware of emotions and stress affecting blood sugars. I've always thought to watch for it and try to "do something", but it's always been a very vague thing. Vague things are hard to deal with on an action level. Vague things are... vague. Action things are very specific. Yesterday we celebrated my mom. Cancer took her in April of 2005. She would have … [Read more...] about What’s my insulin to emotion factor?
Screw It! I’ll Just Eat The Rest…
A while back I wrote about a fight I had with a can of tomato soup (which I lost...). Tonight I had a similar experience with my dinner. I took a shot of symlin then put together my meal. I programmed my meal bolus to be spread out over 90 minutes (because of the symlin), then sat down to eat. As I got to the last part of my meal, I just didn't want to eat anymore. I … [Read more...] about Screw It! I’ll Just Eat The Rest…
It Wasn’t The Insulin… Literally
I figured out what put me in the hospital. I actually figured it out a few days ago, but I was so embarrassed that I didn't want to talk about it. After a short talk with one of my board members yesterday, I've decided that to hold back would be bad. I feel I have a responsibility to share what really happened. I made a really stupid mistake, and it cost me a lot of pain … [Read more...] about It Wasn’t The Insulin… Literally
Symlin Stuff (part 1)
Based on the comments I've received on using Symlin, there are a lot of questions and interest in it. I'll post a bit about it periodically, just hoping to keep the posts somewhat short and digestible. I've done a few posts on Symlin already, and I'll round them up here so you can take a peek at them if you wish. - Does that have something to do with it? - A New … [Read more...] about Symlin Stuff (part 1)
Good Intentions
It started with a mobile Symlin bolus (a symlin dose delivered via pump while driving) on the way home from work. I was hungry for dinner and I wanted to eat soon after getting home. My wife has been graciously helping me with dinner (one of my trouble spots) and was cooking a portioned serving (a.k.a. "box") of pasta roni fettuccine alfredo for me. Yes, far from gourmet, … [Read more...] about Good Intentions
Who’s tricking who?
The lab technician was so bad that I actually had to tell her to take the needle out and try again. She was after "old faithful", a reliable vein that no other lab tech has ever missed. I have a pretty high tolerance for the lab draws, but even I couldn't watch this. It felt like she had the needle buried all the way in, and was twisting it around like a cooking spoon in … [Read more...] about Who’s tricking who?
Pumping Symlin (part 4)
Q & A time! Q) A question about your Symlin pump--do you use some basal Symlin as well as boluses at meals, or is that pump's basal rate set to zero? A) On my Symlin pump I run a tiny basal rate of 0.10u/hour. This was based on advice from Gary Schiener (who pumps Symlin too). Apparently Symlin is a little more prone to blockages or occlusions because it sticks to … [Read more...] about Pumping Symlin (part 4)