Why Putting My Kids First Means Putting My Diabetes First

Here’s the latest from one of our favorite busy moms with diabetes. In addition to being a great asset to the Education team at Medtronic, Cheryl and her husband are kept on their toes by three beautiful boys. Work and home are hectic, but today she shares one very valuable “aha moment” about managing her diabetes through it all.

I left my last endocrinologist appointment with a decent A1C, an overall good check-up and one pleading word of advice from my doctor, “Cheryl, can you please try and remember to bolus for dinner?” What?! Of course I bolus for dinner! But as I looked at my CareLink report, it was quite obvious that on most weeknights, I in fact did not bolus for dinner, resulting in an elevated post-meal blood glucose (BG). “Huh,” I thought to myself, “what am I doing on those weeknights that makes taking my insulin slip my mind?” Then it dawned on me. As a working mom of three very busy boys, 5:00pm marks the end of my “work day,” and the start of my much tougher job. Homework, sports practices, bedtime routines. All of these occur in those evening hours and sure enough, my doctor was right. I was regularly missing my dinner boluses.

Looking back on my years with type 1 diabetes, I can say, more often than not, my diabetes care was top of mind. While I went through periods of being less public about my diabetes, typically in the list of daily priorities, it ranked fairly high. As a child and teen, there was usually an adult nearby holding out a glucose monitor or equipping me with enough snacks for any possible scenario I could encounter. College was busy, but came with decent breaks in the day where a quick BG check and a snack were pretty easy.

Fast forward to a time where responsibilities come on gradually, but with new intensity, and now one can easily see how a work duty or family task can take center stage. In the increasing list of daily to-do’s, I am shocked how quickly a simple BG check or meal bolus can slip. It usually goes something like this:

9:54am: I have a meeting at 10, I need to check my BG and remember to take a granola bar with me

9:55am: Oh, I can’t forget to print the document I need for that meeting

9:56am: A co-worker stops to ask a question

9:59am:*enter meeting*- AH, I forgot to check my BG! Oh, that granola bar is at my desk!

Upon returning home from that doctor’s appointment, I thought to myself, what good am I to any of the responsibilities I am working so hard at if I am experiencing a low or high BG? A work meeting where I can’t focus isn’t a productive one. All those baseball practices I attend will seem insignificant if I am experiencing a secondary complication as a result of my diabetes.

That’s when my “oh-so-experienced pump wearing self” humbly took out my pump and set a missed bolus reminder to sound anytime I miss a dinner bolus. I did a triple check of my High and Low Predictive Glucose alerts, making sure they are set to alarm at reasonable levels, and confirmed  Threshold Suspend is turned ON. These features on my pump are just like the reminders on my phone. I rely on those to remind me of calendar updates and what items I need at the grocery store, so why not utilize my pump in the same way? In actuality, my pump is assisting on a much more important scale! Now I try to remember making diabetes a top priority means I care enough about my other priorities to make sure I am functioning at my best.

Editor’s Note: You may remember Cheryl from her previous blog posts Superhero, or Something Like It, Diabetes and Healthy Living for My Family, and Teaching My Children About My Diabetes.

Important Safety Information

Medtronic Diabetes insulin infusion pumps, continuous glucose monitoring systems and associated components are limited to sale by or on the order of a physician and should only be used under the direction of a healthcare professional familiar with the risks associated with the use of these systems. MiniMed 530G with Enlite is intended for the delivery of insulin and continuous glucose monitoring for the management of diabetes mellitus by persons 16 years of age or older who require insulin.

Pump therapy is not recommended for people who are unwilling or unable to perform a minimum of four blood glucose tests per day. Insulin pumps use rapid-acting insulin. If your insulin delivery is interrupted for any reason, you must be prepared to replace the missed insulin immediately.

The information provided by CGM systems is intended to supplement, not replace, blood glucose information obtained using a home glucose meter. A confirmatory fingerstick is required prior to making adjustments to diabetes therapy. MiniMed 530G with Enlite is not intended to be used directly for preventing or treating hypoglycemia but to suspend insulin delivery when the user is unable to respond to the Threshold Suspend alarm and take measures to prevent or treat hypoglycemia themselves.

WARNING: The Threshold Suspend feature will cause the pump to temporarily suspend insulin delivery for two hours when the sensor glucose reaches a set threshold. Under some conditions of use the pump can suspend again resulting in very limited insulin delivery. Prolonged suspension can increase the risk of serious hyperglycemia, ketosis, and ketoacidosis. Before using the Threshold Suspend feature, it is important to read the Threshold Suspend information in the MiniMed 530G System User Guide and discuss proper use of the Threshold Suspend feature with your healthcare provider.

Please visit www.medtronicdiabetes.com/importantsafetyinformation for more details.

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