Part 1 of 3 parts
This is a take-off from a blog by Kate
Cornell. She covers the way she likes to log her blood glucose. I
like her way, but I do mine differently and I thought a comparison
could be beneficial or give you ideas for your own log(s). I transfer
my written logs to a spreadsheet. Some people only keep written logs
and others don't even record their blood glucose readings. This loss
of vital information does not help in managing diabetes.
I will admit; I think - to best manage
your diabetes, some form of daily logs need to be maintained, whether
on paper or on the computer. You may not need the accuracy I strive
for, but there is certain information that should be kept to assist
you in managing your diabetes.
I not only maintain daily blood glucose
logs, but daily food logs, daily health logs, and logs for lab tests.
Yes, these take time, but they do help when something is off or the
information tells me that things are not right. There are days when
I wonder why I am doing all this, but normally then I have a puzzle
to solve and I remember why I keep the information. Sometimes the
puzzle is easy to solve and other times it can take a few days. The spreadsheet pages include P1, general and special log for monthly notes of
interest for me. P2. Blood glucose log. P3. Daily food log. P4.
Daily health log. P5. Lab test log. P6. General and problem log
(some call it a miscellaneous log)
I will start with my daily food logs
and see how far I can go in this blog. First, I use a spreadsheet
with pages and have each log on a different page. I have the dates
across the top and the top margin (4 or 5 rows) and the left column
is locked or as Microsoft Excel says, freeze panes. The daily food
logs are my third page each month.
Down the left column I list Breakfast,
Lunch, and Dinner. I leave normally 15 rows between each, but
occasionally I will need to insert more. Then, in the last six rows
below each, I have the following list.
#1. Known carbs – these are from
individual servings where carbs were calculated or known from package
labels or nutritional information with the recipe.
#2. Estimated carbs – For those
times (too often) that a calculated guess is all you can do.
#3. Total estimated carbs – add #1
and #2 for an estimated total.
#4. Correction insulin – this is
based on my correction ratio.
#5. Calculated insulin - this is
based on my normal insulin per carb ratio.
#6. Total injected insulin – add #4
and #5 for total injected insulin.
Note: Insulin per carb ratio can
create confusion for many people. Most in the medical profession and
many patients consider a carb unit to be 15 grams of carbs. On the
other hand, there are people like me that set up their ratio on grams
of carbs. I scared my doctor the first time I stated what my ratio
was. I quickly remembered he was talking a different number than I
was and this cleared up the situation. Now I normally state that my
ratio is based on grams of carbohydrates and not on carb units of 15
grams of carbohydrates.
This is not rocket science, but does
require thought. When I end up needing no correction insulin and I
am in the range I want to maintain, then I know my carb estimation
was good. I do have a food scale if I need it, but I have stopped
using as generally I stay in my range. When I have several days of
corrections for insulin, then I put the scale back into use. This
does not always solve the problem, but often helps.
In the rows above each calculation, I
list the individual foods I ate for that meal. I list the
approximate weight of meat in ounces, serving size of each vegetable,
and fruits if any. At the bottom, I list snacks and carb count for
each. Most of the time these are blank, as I seldom eat snacks. At
the very bottom, I make comments for the day such as illness. If I
do not eat a meal, this is noted in the appropriate meal area. It is
my notes area that often help solve problems.
Next will be the blood glucose log
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