Managing Type 1 diabetes involves more than just giving myself an insulin injection before I eat. It’s a basal-bolus routine.

A basal-bolus routine involves taking a longer acting form of insulin to keep blood glucose levels stable through periods of fasting and separate injections of shorter acting insulin to prevent rises in blood glucose levels resulting from meals.

It gets more complicated. My basal rate – the amount of insulin I take in between meals – changes from week to week, day to day and hour to hour. This can depend on my schedule (weekend vs. weekday vs. traveling), hormones, exercise and even stress.

Here’s a breakdown of the basal rates I have preset within my personal diabetes manager (what I use to administer insulin via the pod attached to my skin).

Here’s a breakdown of the basal rates by hour for just one of those presets – in this case, weekday.

It’s not enough to count carbohydrates. I have to account for every second of every day. This is probably why I no longer plan on vacation. I’ll take whatever breaks I can get.

This post is part of my 30 Days With Diabetes series.