“Dosage determined by trial and error. Try the dosage that you think will work and either raise dose if it is not enough or lower if it is too much.
Warning – Too much of this medication may cause unconsciousness and sudden death if not treated promptly while too little of this medication will cause debilitating long term life-threatening side effects leading to an eventual slow painful death.”
As crazy as this seems, that’s pretty much what Type 1 gamers are faced with. Doing their best, guessing doses of a drug where the difference between the correct amount and too much or too little is very often so small, much less than a single drop. Yes, we do have a trained medical team to support us in this process, but at the end of the day, the Type 1 gamer becomes the final decision maker at determining insulin dosages. There were no doctors or diabetes educators around when we did our 2 am blood glucose check on Christmas morning. Add all of the other mostly uncontrollable variables (like exercise, stress, fatigue, hormonal changes…) and the guessing game of how much insulin is just enough becomes a very, very complex equation. What works one day does not necessarily work the next. Even if you do every single thing right, the result is still a roll of the dice…
Last week has been a roller-coaster of blood sugar values either low (in the 2’s) or high (14+ or even higher) – normal values are between 4 and 7. Entering the pre-pubescent period has not been very good to us. Even after all of these years, every single day is still a battle. Yes, there are some good or better days, but each and every bad day is a brand new war. 365 days a year. No holidays. Every single minute of every single day and night. That’s the Type 1 gamers life…
You’d think that after close to 10 years of experience gained playing this game that we’d have all of the answers and everything under control eh? Most everyone else seems to think that. After all, it’s just Type 1 Diabetes right? Think again…
5 comments:
WOW! Sounds too much like your only option to keep your daughter alive is to gamble. Not a comforting or reassuring option if you ask me. This is a real eye opener.
I think this is the hardest thing for the general public to understand... And your post says it all in a nutshell. Though I long for a cure, I do not want to wait until then while her life hangs in the balance... walking a tightrope every 24 hours where one slip could mean death, even when you do everything right. We need a safer insulin. We need an insulin that does not carry such high risk of hypoglycemia. And we need it now.
I was diagnosed with Type 1 as an adult so my experience is much easier in many ways. I worry alot about my son getting type 1 and can see how worrying about a beloved child is the hardest of all Type 1 experiences. thanks for sharing. Nice to read your post after many months of checking your site. All the very best in 2012,
In total agreement, Mike. Just when we think we've got all the answers....BAM! something happens that knocks us on our butts! I guess it's just diabetes' way of keeping us focused. Happy New Year to you and yours.
Alice
AMEN!
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