The DexCom CGM to the rescue.. Again!

It was our annual Chili-Cook off at West Springs Church. I love the Chili Cook off even though it is not usually kind to my blood sugar. I went this year determined not to let it get the best of me but to still enjoy tasting many different chili's.

At the beginning of the evening I took enough insulin for 90 grams of carbohydrate and extended the delivery over 2 and 1/2 hours. I was hoping the extended delivery would help with the fact that I'd be sampling chili for a while.

Then I started eating. The only chili I had a full bowl of was may wife's Buffalo Chicken Chili. She only makes it once a year, for the chili cook off and I wait all year long to have some. After a bowl of that I got out the sample cups and got at least a taste of each of the 21 other chili's that were in the building. I wanted to make sure there was nothing there better than Kristy's Buffalo Chicken Chili. My daughter Mallory's chili came close but I ended up voting for the one I only get once a year. In case the story didn't make my point. I ate a lot of Chili

There was dessert contest going on too. I had promised myself that I would stay away from those. Someone brought candied bacon though. Morgan (youngest daughter) ran up to me and said, "Dad, did you see what's on the dessert table?" I had to try a piece of that. I did limit myself to one piece, even though it was amazing.

I looked down at my DexCom as the evening went on and saw that my glucose level was at about 203 and the trend arrow was indicating a gradual climb. There was still insulin left from my earlier bolus to be delivered but I thought maybe I still needed more so I tried to add an extra little bolus of 5 units. I later saw a warning on my pump that this second bolus was never delivered. It's probably a good thing.

Line dancing started next.  I went out to the dance floor, mainly to embarrass my kids.  I muddled through the Electric Slide, tried to learn some kind of country line dance, attempted the Cuban Shuffle and had a lot of fun with Cha Cha Slide. What I hadn't counted on was that all this line dancing was a bit of a work-out. I was fairly happy to see my DexCom showing that my glucose level had peaked and was trending downward now. 176 when I looked at it after dancing.

At the end of the Chili-Cook off and after helping clean up Kristy and I realized there was still time in the evening to go see this really cool band we had seen a couple weekends before. Pennsylvania Slim Blues Band was playing at a restaurant from 8 to midnight. We decided to go watch for a while. It took a few minutes to find a table in the crowded bar and when we did I glanced down at my DexCom, 89 - The trending arrow was flat it looked like all that exercise did exactly what it was supposed to do. Flat doesn't mean it's going to stay right there though. Your blood sugar will still drift its just not fast enough to change the trending arrow.

I did decide to partake in an adult beverage while watching the band. A Bud Select, it only has 3 grams of carbohydrate in it. I know alcohol will lower blood sugar so I kept an eye on my Dexcom. About halfway through my beer the DexCom buzzed on my side. Three Buzzes means I just dropped below 70. I looked and my blood sugar was 66. I slowed down on my beer and started looking around to see about appetizers or snacks. Our waitress was very busy but the next time she dropped by I asked for an appetizer menu. It took her a little while to bring it back and by the time she arrived the blood sugar was reading 56. Glancing at the menu I wanted something that was almost all Carb. Fat or protein would cause the carbs to absorb slower. Parmesan Chips didn't work, Cheese dip - no, Wings were not an option, So I decided to go with Toasted Ravioli. The order was put in and I waited while watching my DexCom. When our waitress came by again to see how we were doing I admitted my issue. I told her that I was diabetic that my blood sugar was little low. (53 now according to my Dexcom) I asked if they had any bread available. She said yes and within a few minutes had a basket of bread on the table for us. As my blood sugar started to rebound I orderd another Select and we enjoyed some great Blues and Rock-a-billy for another hour or so.

It turned out to be a great evening but I have to say that I was reminded again about the dangers of low blood sugar and drinking. I never really felt the symptoms of low blood sugar during that whole thing. Without the DexCom I probably would have believed that I was a little bit buzzed from the beer. It would have taken me much longer to react to the low and it could have been a much uglier night.

DexCom to the rescue again.