Tag: change

Change is on the Horizon

mollyt1d3 Comments

In the last year and a half, change and I have grown to be more than just acquaintances: We’re very good friends now.

The big changes that I’ve experienced in that span of time (to name just a few) include buying my first home, getting my puppy, Violet, and naturally, coping with the numerous ripples of change that were brought about by the pandemic. As someone who has always found comfort in the “known”, these changes made me anxious and scared because of all of the uncertainties associated with them…but they also taught me that I’m capable of adapting to them.

So I figured, why not add one more change into the mix?

Another big change is headed my way.

Today is my last day with my employer of the last six and a half years. On Monday, I start a brand-new job at an organization that means a lot to me, one that I’ve happened to write about here many times before…

…and that is the College Diabetes Network!

I’m pleased to share that I’ll be joining the talented CDN team as their new Community Engagement Manager.

This job represents so much to me. It’s a career shift, for sure, but it’s a shift into a field that obviously is very near and dear to my heart. I’m excited to see how my personal passion, advocacy skills, and creative energy will translate to this professional role. And I’m even more thrilled to know that I will be working with an absolutely amazing group of individuals, both internally within CDN and externally with a community that I care so much about.

While I will miss my colleagues from my now-former employer very much, I do feel that taking this opportunity with CDN is the best possible decision I could’ve made. It feels like a dream come true. I’m honored that I was selected for this role and I am determined to achieve a lot with it.

For the first time in a long time, I’m looking forward to going to work on Monday and starting this new chapter…and I really can’t wait to see (and share) what the CDN team and I will accomplish in the future!

How I’m Changing My Reaction to High and Low Blood Sugars

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I’m doing a total system reboot…of myself.

I want to change how I react to high and low blood sugars.

Why?

Well, I think that it’s about time for me to address my intense fear of low blood sugars, but I also feel that I need to reconsider how I define high blood sugar. I’ve been sick and tired of dealing with constant highs, sprinkled with a few lows, so all of that together has motivated me to come up with a plan.

My plan is two-fold:

Step 1) Change the low and high thresholds on my CGM from 80-180 to 75-160.

Step 2) Pay closer attention to my body’s cues when my blood sugar is low.

how i'm changing my reaction to low and high blood sugars
It won’t be easy to change how I react to low/high blood sugars, but I think it’s necessary.

The first step was extremely easy to follow. I modified the settings on the Dexcom app on my phone so I’m only alerted when my blood sugar goes above 160 and below 75. I’m hearing my Dexcom alarms more often as a result, but I’m also responding to these alarms more frequently, meaning that I spend less time overall above/below my goal blood sugars. It requires a little more work and patience, especially since I experienced a lot of stress and a cold in the weeks since I’ve made the change (stress + sickness = shitty high blood sugars), but I know that it will be worth the effort.

The second step is slightly trickier. I’m the kind of person who starts treating a low blood sugar early – I’m talking as “low” as 90. And that’s not low. Unless I have several units of insulin onboard or I’m about to do a moderate intensity workout, there’s no need for me to eat anything when my blood sugar is 90. But it’s easier said than done, because I actually do start to feel low blood sugar symptoms at 90 (not all the time, but definitely a chunk of it).

So I’m hoping that this is where step one will come in handy. I’ll use my new low threshold on my CGM to reorient my body’s recognition of low blood sugars. I’m also going to work on not panicking when I start to feel low…because I think that’s the real root of my problems. In the last several years, I’ve developed – for no apparent reason – a serious low blood sugar phobia. I do everything I can to avoid them at all costs, and that’s probably contributing to my recurring high blood sugars. And that is definitely not good.

I’m over living my life on a blood sugar roller coaster…so I’m looking forward to smoother sailing with this plan of mine. Updates to come, for sure.