My Dexcom sensor expired this past Sunday. I haven’t replaced it … it’s now Wednesday and I feel more relaxed and at ease. Blood sugars are in the background; less front stage and center.
I’m one to dig into, interpret and work with data. I try to let go and have the alarms set for 80 and 180 alert me, but inevitably I look at the app on my phone. And I’ve become good at gaming the data. For example, when eating out (always a challenge), I place my phone face up to show data and bolus or delay eating to keep blood sugars in a narrow range. During the hours after meals I make small boluses to keep my #s near 90. And it works … my most recent month was an average blood sugar of 114 and 89% in range. That’s good for an open loop setting.
But these results come with a cost. With Dex active and continuous data present, I find myself looking and thinking about not only about the BG trends, but insulin adjustments and when, what, how much to eat and when to exercise. Nice that I’m paying attention to the ever-present data, but shouldn’t I be having an enjoyable conversation over dinner with friends? How do my friends feel about my preoccupation with my CGM data? (Full disclosure, during this meal my friend also had type 1 diabetes and our conversation was mostly about Dexcom data and his Control IQ). Wouldn’t my wife (our wives at the dinner!) like to have a conversation that doesn’t start with my blood sugars?
There’s more to life than diabetes.
I’ll take a few more days off and see if I can reconnect with Dex and its’ data in a less obsessive manner.
