Kay recently caught her first cold since being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. While it wasn’t a major illness, I quickly realized how even a mild cold could impact her blood sugar. In the days leading up to her cold, her blood sugars were consistently high, and no matter what I tried, they wouldn’t come down. Prolonged high blood sugars can cause long-term damage and may lead to serious medical issues if left untreated. Fortunately, after giving Kay manual insulin injections and keeping her pump on, I decided to switch her insulin pump entirely the next day, and finally, her blood sugar started to stabilize.
I’ve come to understand that so many factors can affect Kay’s blood sugar—her mood, hormones, even the weather. I’m still learning how to manage it all. For example, if Kay is very active in the evening, I need to give her a high-protein or carb-filled snack before bed. If I don’t, she’s likely to experience several episodes of low blood sugar throughout the night, each of which requires immediate intervention with glucose to bring her levels back up.
There’s still a lot to learn, but I’m hopeful that in the future, we’ll have mostly good days. I know not every day will be perfect, but what matters most to me is Kay’s health—both now and in the long term.