Tag: insulin

Fasting with type 1 diabetes

I’ve put on five kilos during the pandemic. This proves that you can gain weight on a low carb diet, although some bloggers would have you believe that you can eat the fridge with no consequences. My case is crystal clear – the love of my life is called cheese and I’m more comfortable paralyzed on the sofa than doing yoga in the park…
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The 7.2kg baby

The other night I had dinner at my friend’s house who’s a doctor. Present were many other doctors. In fact, I was the only non-doctor at the table. Doctors often marry doctors, and they tend to socialize with other doctors. I spent a couple of years in med school, and I could spot this trend…
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The best treatment for hypoglycemia

My mood is the worst when my blood sugar swings. The vicious circle to be avoided is to go low, overtreat the hypo, and be forced to inject insulin again to get your blood sugar into range. This is best done by treating hypoglycemia as a medical emergency, and not an opportunity to eat the…
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When not to dose insulin for protein

When you’re eating a very low carbohydrate diet you need to dose insulin for protein. There are however a couple of occasions where you should be careful with this. One is when you exercise after meals. I like to go for walks after lunch on most days. This means that I don’t take any insulin…
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Insulin at the end of the world

My favorite character in the apocalyptic sci-fi novel Lucifer’s Hammer is Dan Forrester. He is an astrophysicist at JPL, and when a comet hits the earth he has the presence of mind to pack books into plastic bags in his septic tank so that we can one day rebuild civilization. Dan is also diabetic and the rules of the universe don’t favor diabetics…
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Dosing insulin for protein

In the absence of carbohydrates in the meal, the liver turns to gluconeogenesis – the process of converting protein to glucose. I eat up to 30g of carbohydrates with every meal, and I always have to dose insulin for the protein…
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Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution

This is a great diet book. It was released in 1992, as an updated version to the 1972 original, and can easily be read today. The body hasn’t changed that much. The focus not only on weight loss but also weight maintenance, which is often forgotten…
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The art of pre-bolusing insulin

For the uninitiated, I’ll let you in on a secret. Pre-bolusing insulin is key to preventing post-mealtime spikes in blood sugar. So what is pre-bolusing? It simply means that you inject your insulin in advance before eating by up to forty minutes. This gives it enough time to hit the bloodstream and take better care….
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Beginner’s guide to insulin injections

If you have a needle phobia, you don’t want to get type 1 diabetes. A lifetime of insulin injections is daunting to anyone. Now imagine you’re so scared of needles that a simple blood test makes you pass out. When there’s a gory injection scene in a movie you have to look away not to…
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When the cat tried to kill me

My first encounter with the hypoglycemic rage monster happened a few weeks after I got diabetes. I was in line at a bookstore waiting to pay when the cashier asked the woman in front of me if she had a club card. She didn’t so they started filling in an application together, full of all…
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