My n=1 Study

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This past Tuesday marked 17 years since I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.  On this day I would add another layer of insight into how I can better-manage this diseased state.

Beep!  Beep!  Beep!

I knew that sound.

Beep!  Beep!  Beep!

Crap.  It was 7:30 AM and I was in the middle of working with a client.

Beep!  Beep!  Beep!

My pump was dying.  I was no longer going to be receiving insulin from it.  Crap.

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This wasn't the first time this had happened so I knew how to execute my backup plan.  I also knew that the last time this happened my blood glucose levels ran between 250 and 350 for the next 24+ hours until my new pumped arrived.  I knew I felt miserable that entire time, and I knew I didn't want to experience that again.  This time I'd call an audible on the backup plan.

I decided to run an n=1 study on myself.

Over the course of the next 24 hours I would only inject myself with insulin at very specific times, opting instead to manage my blood glucose levels as well as I could using mainly diet and exercise.

I would exercise vigorously multiple times throughout the day and limit my carbohydrate intake to as few as possible.  I decided I would continue this as long as my blood glucose levels stayed below 200.

Over the course of the day my blood glucose fluctuated between 70 and 130.  In fact, it wasn't until 6:30 PM that evening that it got up to 190, after which I injected myself with insulin to try to combat the rising glucose concentration.

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I had three different exercise sessions that day, each lasting between 30 and 90 minutes and each combining aerobic endurance training with higher volume resistance training, after which I would administer an insulin injection.  I did the injections post-exercise to try to take advantage of the immediate increase in glucose transport post-exercise in hopes that doing so would keep my blood glucose levels lower.  Additionally, I limited my food intake to meat, vegetables, and a protein shake.

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Overall, this emergency strategy worked very well for managing my blood glucose levels.  The highest my levels got after bringing them down from the initial reading of 256 was after I woke up the next morning.  At that time I tested in at 211.

Additionally, I cut my average daily insulin intake in half.

While this strategy is by no means something I would want to try right now for a longer duration--I felt completely exhausted by the end of the first day--I believe it did prove effective as a form of short term emergency maintenance.

To me, this only further exemplifies the importance that a proper diet and regular exercise can plan in managing diabetes.

Your body.  Your training.

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