5x 40 Club

The 5x 40 club is not a club you want to be a card carrying member for.  Yesterday my blood sugar crashed into the 40s 5 times, probably the most frustrating  day of blood sugar management I had ever had. 

The day started off perfectly, I woke up with a blood sugar of 93, had some cereal and a clif bar then went for my Sunday run.  Back in full training mode my run was awesome, 8 perfect miles in a high zone 2, low zone 3 heart rate, non-stop running between 8:20 and 8:45 minute miles.  Total time for the run was 1:08 and it marked my longest contiguous run since 2011.  To top it off when I finished the run my blood sugar was a gorgeous 108.

Post run I took in some chocolate milk and then had to conduct an hour long phone interview for work.  Post the call I tested and was frustrated to see 301 on my meter.  That could have been the excess carbs I had on board from my sports nutrition but it aggravated me just a bit.  I then made an egg sandwich on a pumpernickel wrap and bolused up for the 25 - 30 grams of carbs.  About 2 hours later I hit my first 40 of the day, I took in some OJ and went back to the power point I was working on.

Around 3 pm (2 hours after my first low) I tested again and 40 came up yet again, more OJ.  I then took a short walk to the store to buy some stuff for lunch for the week and coffee for the morning, when I returned 30 minutes later I was in the 40s again (now 3 times for the day).  I took in more OJ and at 6pm Katie and I headed out for dinner.

The wait for the restaurant (2+ hours) we wanted to go to caused us to dinner in reverse last night.  I was craving frozen yogurt in a big way so we hit up 16 handles pre-dinner and I bolused for the 30g of low fat deliciousness I was about to eat.  Yet my blood sugar decided to pop into the mid 200s post fro yo but finally started to come back down once we got to Lucali (rated as NY's top pizza place).

I combo bolused for what I assumed to be the 100g of carbohydrates I was about to inhale.  By 11:30 pm my blood sugar had tumbled back into the 40s for the fourth time that day.  Instead of OJ I opted for 24g of carbohydrates from yogurt and decided to go to sleep.  At 2 am my CGM started beeping with my fifth blood sugar in the 40s for the day which brought me to the fridge to pound some OJ.

This is the frustrating part of blood sugar management.  I have been testing my basal rates non-stop all week, and I thought I had them dialed in.  Then a day like yesterday will pop up and it throws everything out of whack.  I have a greater ability to deal with extremely low blood sugars than most diabetics I have met.   Whether it was the 38 I encountered at IMLP, the countless times I have gone low during a business meeting, or combating 40 after 40 on a day like yesterday I have not really run into a low that has fully shut down my thought process or coordination.  I'm terrified however that I tempt fate 1 too many times and eventually this will catch up with me.  The 5x 40 club just isn't a fun place to be.