Complete Mess

Status
Not open for further replies.
bigpurpleduck

bigpurpleduck

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Aaaaaaaarrrgh!!!!

Fed up working so damn hard and not getting anywhere!

There is now no rhyme or reason to my BG. Having highs in random places, different every day, and lows in random places different every day.

Today my low was 3.6 at 5pm, and my high 14.6 at 11pm.

Yesterday my low was 3.6 at 7am, and high 13.6 at 2pm.

The day before, low 4.2 at 9pm and high 14.7 at 4pm.

What the hell am I supposed to do with that?!

Going to scream into my pillow!
 
Hi Emma, so sorry the Diabetes Fairy is messing with your mind. I think the only approach with such confusion is to perhaps try and tackle one thing at a time - overnight basal, breakfast, lunch etc. Stick to standard, predictable food and do a lot of finger torture :(
 
Ugh. It is so demoralising to go back to basics again.

Is there any point in testing my night-time basal when I just checked my BG to find it 14.6 and took a correction?

Feel like I'm starting allover again!
 
Hi Emma. Know the feeling oh so well.

Without wanting to suggest anything you might already have done, have your meals been fairly consistent and at the same times ?

I've spent most of today completely stressed out (without due cause of course!) and I've been up to 19 this afternoon but got it down again to sensible levels now.
Could stress be affecting you ?

Rob
 
Robster65 said:
Hi Emma. Know the feeling oh so well.

Without wanting to suggest anything you might already have done, have your meals been fairly consistent and at the same times ?

I've spent most of today completely stressed out (without due cause of course!) and I've been up to 19 this afternoon but got it down again to sensible levels now.
Could stress be affecting you ?

Rob
Click to expand...

I tend to keep my meals at the same times and much the same amounts anyway because I find this so much easier to control.

I guess stress could be a factor. In a bit of a vicious circle now, as I'm stressing about my BG and making it worse.

I think I've tried to do too much too quickly. I've made a change almost every day over the past week or so. I think I need to leave everything as it is and let patterns develop before I mess around with it again.

I'm pretty damn exhausted now. Going to check again in 10 minutes or so to make sure the correction worked and go to bed. Will have to be up at 3 to make sure i'm not hypoing though.

Back at work on Monday and was hoping to have it all sorted out a bit! More fool me!
 
Northerner said:
Ack! Hope you sleep well Emma, and that the 3 am test is OK. 🙂
Click to expand...

Thanks Northe 🙂

I checked at midnight and had dropped to 8.4 - a lot quicker than normal after a correction. And at 3am? 3.5. Had a heap of Lucozade and set a temporary basal to 50% for 3 hours. Even after all that sugar and less insulin I was only 10.3 when I got up this morning 😱

I suspect that because I've been having so many hypos my liver is now kicking in every time and causing the highs a few hours later. The quick drop after the correction would also support this theory. So I didn't correct the 10.3 when I got up, and just checked to find I'm 13.1 (2 hours after breakfast). Do I correct this or not?

I'm now terrified of more hypos and don't know what to do :(
 
Emma don't panic, you have risen less than 3ml so its not such a big jump after 2 hours - I think the recommendation is a rise of no more than 2. If I was you I would leave things and see where you are at lunch - it will give you an idea of whether your background level is too high or not.

Sometimes if you correct all the time you can't find the patterns as you oscillate between hypos and hypers.

You could also call your team (if they are supportive) and see if they can help put your mind at ease.
 
I know that feeling so well. Very frustrating :(

Hope you find yourself in a more stable place soon.
M
 
I know how you feel Emma, it's maddening to be doing everything you're supposed to and have the diabetes still playing up. In my ignorance, I used to think Type 1s were luckier than other diabetics, you only needed to take your shot and hey presto - sorted! I've learned better since joining this forum, that there's no such thing as sorted. You can sail along for ages with everything nice and calm and then ... WHAM! Back on the rollercoaster. I've just been on a wild ride of my own and one or two others are at the moment too, I wonder if there's a common factor? I know it isn't food or exercise related, maybe it's the weather. Whatever the cause, I hope you manage to get your doses right again soon and feel better.
 
Thanks loads for the support everyone, it means a lot.

I just checked again and BG is 8.0, only an hour after the 13.1 and with no correction. Just as well!

Against everything I believe in, I'm going to have to admit defeat and ride high for a few days. I'm now positive it's the hypos and my liver causing the problems. My body badly needs a break.

Am so mad at myself for doing too much too quickly, and as a result taking 1 step forward and 6 back!

Was supposed to have cleaned the bathroom and done the ironing by now and have done neither because I'm so tired and demotivated!
 
Well, yesterday was much better. No hypos and the highest I went was 13.4, which was pretty remarkable given the reduction in insulin. So far today is following suit 🙂

However, the last 2 nights I've set my alarm for 3am to check my BG and it's been 3.5 and 2.9. Not fun. Both times I had about 30g of glucose in the form of Lucozade and set a temporary basal for 3 hours. On rising I've been 10.3 and 13.3 - not really that high considering the sugar and reduced insulin. Obviously I've now dropped my night-time basal and will test during the night tonight.

Anyhow, I suspect I've been having night-time hypos for a while which my liver has decided to treat itself. I guess this has then caused the highs, and also the hypos because of all the hypos and my liver being totally goosed (poor sod).

So I'm getting there. Fingers crossed tonight is better!
 
Not on a pump, but my course of action would to be testing through the night on a 1-2 hours frequecny............pain in the backside yes but the information would be helpful if done for 2 days in a row.............you could then make an educated decision on when to up your basal rate and for how long...............

If that sound stupid please correct me...........
 
bigpurpleduck said:
Ugh. It is so demoralising to go back to basics again.

Is there any point in testing my night-time basal when I just checked my BG to find it 14.6 and took a correction?

Feel like I'm starting allover again!
Click to expand...

I know it can be demoralising to go back to basics, but sometimes we all need to. It's a personal thing for me, but I find in going backwards, I spot things I missed before. I hope it all works out for you and you get it sorted.
 
I think the advice you have had here and also the actions you have taken have been sound and it sounds like you are making progress despite the frustrations.
A couple of queries on your statements: -
bigpurpleduck said:
... I checked at midnight and had dropped to 8.4 - a lot quicker than normal after a correction. And at 3am? 3.5. ...
Click to expand...
Would it be worthwhile reviewing your correction rates? As you say here the correction was quicker than normal so maybe you have become a little more insulin sensitive when it comes to correction. This may reflect that overall your control has improved on the pump. I know that I have certainly found that. Plus do you have different correction rates for different times of the day?
bigpurpleduck said:
...
However, the last 2 nights I've set my alarm for 3am to check my BG and it's been 3.5 and 2.9. Not fun. Both times I had about 30g of glucose in the form of Lucozade and set a temporary basal for 3 hours. On rising I've been 10.3 and 13.3 - not really that high considering the sugar and reduced insulin. Obviously I've now dropped my night-time basal and will test during the night tonight. ...
Click to expand...
I wonder if either the 30g of glucose is too much or whether combining it with the temporarily reduced basal is exaggerating the swing back up.
I know everyone is different but when my readings are particularly unstable I try and keep things as simple as possible, hence just take some glucose in the event of a hypo.
Might be worthwhile trying a little less glucose too. If you are worried about not getting and/or staying above 4.0 then I would recommend retesting after giving some time for the glucose to work, say 15 to 30 minutes depending upon how quick your response normally is. I do this as a matter of course when I am hypo although as others have said it can be a real pain when it is the middle of the night. :(

Anyway fingers crossed for you for tonight. 😎
 
rossoneri said:
I think the advice you have had here and also the actions you have taken have been sound and it sounds like you are making progress despite the frustrations.
A couple of queries on your statements: -

Would it be worthwhile reviewing your correction rates? As you say here the correction was quicker than normal so maybe you have become a little more insulin sensitive when it comes to correction. This may reflect that overall your control has improved on the pump. I know that I have certainly found that. Plus do you have different correction rates for different times of the day?

I wonder if either the 30g of glucose is too much or whether combining it with the temporarily reduced basal is exaggerating the swing back up.
I know everyone is different but when my readings are particularly unstable I try and keep things as simple as possible, hence just take some glucose in the event of a hypo.
Might be worthwhile trying a little less glucose too. If you are worried about not getting and/or staying above 4.0 then I would recommend retesting after giving some time for the glucose to work, say 15 to 30 minutes depending upon how quick your response normally is. I do this as a matter of course when I am hypo although as others have said it can be a real pain when it is the middle of the night. :(

Anyway fingers crossed for you for tonight. 😎
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice, rossoneri.

Regarding correction rates - these haven't been changed since I started pumping. In the beginning I discussed my correction rate with my DSN when having problems with high BG and she said this shouldn't have as great an effect on my BG as my basals and boluses. So since then, based on her advice, I've just left it. Think I'll keep an eye on it over the next wee while and possibly change it. At the moment I'm not correcting any highs because I'm scared of more hypos. Were you advised to change correction rates?

I do plan to test every 1-2 hours tonight, and possibly tomorrow night. Can't wait!

Regarding the hypo treatment: I'm a very deep sleeper and am barely awake when dealing with night-time hypos. They terrify the living daylights out of me so I take much more glucose, and often less insulin, to treat them - partly because I'm half asleep and not thinking straight, and partly because I just want to sleep! I'm always much more disciplined during the day. Anyhow, I've dropped my basals so hopefully if I'm still having hypos they won't be as bad. I'll try hard not to overtreat again - but it's so damn difficult! When I'm having a bad hypo my instinct is just to drink 3 litres of Lucozade and it's so hard to stop!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top