So last month I posted an entry about a mistake I may have been making regarding taking my insulin primarily following a meal. ( See http://juvenation.org/blogs/brianc/archive/2008/12/15/oh-the-mistakes-we-make-or-do-we.aspx).
I just ran a few reports. I compared the six weeks prior to that post, to the six weeks since that post. While the #s aren't significantly different, I think they're different enough to think about.
Here are the stats:
Targets: Before meals 80 - 130; after meals 140 - 180; Hypoglycemic definition: 70 or less.
Group A: Taking insulin primarily following a meal:
Total # of readings: 167 testsOverall average reading: 163 % within targets: 22%# of hypos: 19
Group B: Taking insulin before eating:
Total # of readings: 193 testsOverall average reading: 155 % within targets: 31%# of hypos: 16
With the overall average reading dropping 5%, I want to feel good. I want to say, "gee, that seems better." And when I look at a graph of the averages (and even of the readings) it seems that there's definitely been an improvement in my #s. So that's the good!
But, as we all know a blood sugar reading is only as good as that moment. I noticed that the # of times I tested increased (as seen above) and those additional tests were between meals, since after all that was the focus.
This of course may skew things a bit, but I think I'm still comparing apples to apples, even if it's Golden Delicious vs. Granny Smith.
But, when I look at the other details, it shows that my average reading before and after breakfast and before and after lunch: all went up?! Only before and after dinner and nighttime readings improved. Huh.
Group A included Thanksgiving, which included travel and was....shall we say, filling. Group B included more travel at Christmas, as well a vacation in Mexico. So, maybe these aren't the right months to compare. Maybe I'll check back at the end of February.
I'll compare the month of February with 4 weeks in October. I mean, after all; it's not like President's Day is known for its huge meals, right?