Friday, February 11, 2011

Good things come to those who wait . . .

Remember that old saying?  Good things come to those who wait.  I’m not a very patient person.  I’m quite an instant gratification girl.  But the truth is, in my case good postprandial readings come to those who me when I wait.  After starting on Apidra a few years ago, my endo and I examined my blood sugar readings and were able to determine that I get the best results if I wait a full 20 minutes between bolusing and eating.  (Please note, this is likely not the case for you.  You need to work with your own endo or CDE to find how long you should wait.)

As it turns out, figuring out how long I should wait before eating was the easy part.  Actually putting that plan in motion can be a little trickier.  At times, I’ve been guilty of being lazy and just bolusing right before eating.  I’ve also been known to bolus and then get completely distracted by something else - and the next thing I know 45 minutes have gone by and I haven’t eaten.  I’m not happy with either of these situations, so I set about trying to come up with a way to make things easier.  And I came up with this . . .

timer
A cheap little kitchen timer that I’m not even sure where, when or why I got.  I keep it tucked in our coffee table drawer since I usually sit on the couch to test and bolus.  I set it for 20 minutes and when it beeps I eat.  Quick, easy and no huge after meal spikes!  Who knew my little kitchen timer could be so important to my diabetes care?

Do you have any non-diabetes gadgets that you’ve turned into great diabetes tools?  Please share your tips in the comments!!

6 comments:

  1. I use the oven timer when I need to set an alarm to check/recheck my daughter's BG at night.

    We live in a one level, so I can hear it from my bedroom...it's easier to set it for 2 hours as if I'm making a casserole instead of fumbling with the alarm clock.

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  2. We set the oven timer (it beeps loudly until someone turns it off) to remember son's Lantus shot.

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  3. Awesome idea! I have the same(well close to the same)timer for interval training, never thought of using it for the post prandials. I have been known to use it for the kids and the notty bench though. Cheers!

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  4. We use the oven timer too. I kind of like your's though. I would like the portability of it... since we dont always stay near the kitchen while we wait. :)

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  5. When I was having trouble testing, I would set my cell phone alarm for an hour & 30 minutes from the last time I tested and/or ate. It worked and help me get in control

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