So I've decided to use the basal patterns feature on my MiniMed Revel pump. Every time I go to my endo with a pattern A setting, he asks me why it's there and what I use it for. I don't think he's being critical, just wondering when I'm using it so that he can adjust my basals accordingly. The REAL reason I have a pattern A is for my period. Sorry guys, it's true. And, it's a perfectly good reason to USE the thing. So, I'm going to try to explain why/how I use it now and what I'd like to do with it in the future, to see if I can improve my control.
It seems that come that time of the month, I need a little less insulin. If I don't decrease my basal, I'm going low constantly. I'm a little afraid of lows. And, I'm way afraid of gaining weight. So to compensate for the lows I either end up consuming too many calories, or aggressively adjusting my basals, causing chaos weeks down the road.
With a pattern A basal rate for this special time, I find I don't worry too much about adjusting my basal rate and then spending the next three weeks with blood sugars which are out of control, wondering what my old settings were, trying to remember them, and ending up having to re-do the entire basal process over again. So I just switch over to pattern A and then back after a week or so. Works wonders!
Another trick I've FINALLY learned is a little thing called WRITING IT DOWN. Hello, Jen! But seriously, I'll write down my original basal rates, the changes, and the dates the changes were made. Genius I tell you.
Writing it down is so vital.. and simple. I didn't for the longest time, but then I found a hardback journal on my bookshelf. I went back and filled in all the data from the day I went live with my pump until now. I dedicate one page to every visit to my endo, with space on the sides for changes I've made between visits. I put my a1c in the top corner with the gold star sticker I got for it (hopefully). It works for me.
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