Blood Sugar
Monday, December 28, 2009 by Amy
So, Rudi's blood sugar has been out of control again. His doctor is not pleased. But I noticed a pattern. I got him a new meter (by "got" I mean, signed up for a free one and was shocked when it actually came in the mail) so he's been checking his blood sugar more often. Nothing like a new gadget, even a glucose monitor, to get a man excited. Anyway, he tested one afternoon and it was through the roof and he hadn't even eaten anything yet. This happened again the next day. It was elevated nearly to the same number. Both times right after he had coffee. Rudi never really was a coffee drinker until recently, and until recently he drank decaf. Now he drinks 2-3 cups of caffeinated coffee a day. I checked online regarding caffeine's effect on blood sugar and yeah, it's not good. Essentially, it raises blood sugar about as much as oral medication lowers it. So the coffee, in effect, was canceling his medication. So, off the coffee.
Now we have a problem with blood sugar that is too low. Although the caffeine raised his blood sugar, at last it was consistently high :) Yesterday he was sitting outside smoking and I went to take the dog for a walk. When I came back, his cigar was outside and all of his paraphernalia. I come in and he is shaking uncontrollably, trying to take his blood sugar. It was 47!!!! Luckily I had just made a mouth-watering tray of iced brownies (brownies with ICING people! How awesome is that?!) and he was happy to shove some of those down his throat. The day before yesterday, his blood sugar was down to about 80, so it's not just a one-time occurrence. The other times that he's been taking his sugar before eating, it's been right in the range it's supposed to be. Nice. I told him to be very careful about when he takes his insulin. If the bottle says "take before meals" he normally gives the shot at mealtimes, but not neccessarily when he is actually eating. He needs to pair it with food from now on to make sure his blood sugar doesn't get too low.
Fun stuff. And I would like to know where I can pick up my medical degree because his doctor never thought of caffeine. Oh, yeah, I'm awesome!
Now we have a problem with blood sugar that is too low. Although the caffeine raised his blood sugar, at last it was consistently high :) Yesterday he was sitting outside smoking and I went to take the dog for a walk. When I came back, his cigar was outside and all of his paraphernalia. I come in and he is shaking uncontrollably, trying to take his blood sugar. It was 47!!!! Luckily I had just made a mouth-watering tray of iced brownies (brownies with ICING people! How awesome is that?!) and he was happy to shove some of those down his throat. The day before yesterday, his blood sugar was down to about 80, so it's not just a one-time occurrence. The other times that he's been taking his sugar before eating, it's been right in the range it's supposed to be. Nice. I told him to be very careful about when he takes his insulin. If the bottle says "take before meals" he normally gives the shot at mealtimes, but not neccessarily when he is actually eating. He needs to pair it with food from now on to make sure his blood sugar doesn't get too low.
Fun stuff. And I would like to know where I can pick up my medical degree because his doctor never thought of caffeine. Oh, yeah, I'm awesome!
