γνῶθι σεαυτόν (Know thyself)

“Know thyself”

Greek philosophy and Sugar Surfing have something in common. Never in the past would I have imagined requiring a total of 10 units of insulin for an avocado steak salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing on the side, plus a small appetizer of fried avocado topped with crab meat and a light remoulade topping. I’m not here to be a nutritional role model, just to explain how I managed this situation using Sugar Surfing methodology.

The first dose was for the meal itself (4 Units lispro). The second dose was almost two hours later as a classic delta wave was occurring. This is standard Sugar Surfing: preempting a rise when I knew my duration of insulin action was waning. This is the result of practice and careful follow up glancing of my BG trend line. The classic minipivot occurs next. About an hour and half later a second small delta wave starts to emerge. I know what I ate and that it’s going to take some time to get through my system, so I take a third “small” dose (for me) minipivoting dose of lispro. What is not shown is the 14 U of Tresiba (insulin degludec) taken at 8:45 PM. Remember: I am not using a insulin pump at this time. That would require a different Surfing method.

The overnight control is steady and the infection point between 12 midnight and 12:30 AM indicates when the sum of the prior insulin doses has largely faded and the basal insulin was mostly steering my trend line.

None of this can be programmed into a machine. It requires a motivated and invested Sugar Surfer or family who knows the situation and their body’s unique responses. As the famous Greek aphorism goes: γνῶθι σεαυτόν (Know thyself!).

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