February: Month Of The Log.

Writing down blood sugars, insulin doses and accompanying notes, to perhaps help explain some numbers and doses, is something I'm awful at! I can never find a system that works for me. I've tried apps, such as the mySugr one, which I love, logbooks, spreadsheets, but after a few months (no, weeks) I start slipping and before I know it, I'm back to not logging anything again. 

Before my pump assessment appointment, I wrote down two weeks worth of blood sugar readings in my log book. My consultant also doubles as the head of pump clinic at my hospital, and her and I have a standing deal that I have to show up to appointments with two week's worth of blood sugars on paper. Whilst I was scribbling down the numbers, I said to my friend "I don't know why I don't do this more often, it's so much easier to see patterns!" 

During my appointment, my consultant asked me for my two week's worth of readings (in spite of being able to download them from my meter - I'm pretty certain she just wanted to know I was still upholding my end of the bargain) and she said to me "You write your readings down for us, which is great, but why don't you write them down for you? It's your health at the end of the day. I know people differ, and what works for one may not work for another, but it intrigues me that you do this for us, but not for yourself."

She made a very valid point. 

So, my target is one month. One month of logged blood sugars, insulin doses and notes to then take to my appointment toward the end of this month. 

I drew up a chart, all neat with spaces to log all the necessary information. But I knew I'd need something to keep me motivated to write everything down. So, I did a very grown up thing. I bought crayons. And stickers. Red for low blood sugars, green for high blood sugars (which I'm marking at 14.0mmol and above), stickers for the days I'm within my target range. 

February. The shortest month of the year. A mere 28 days. Month of the log. If I can't do it in February, I'm never going to be able to do it!