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Mrswilko2

Mrswilko2

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
I thought I would try out something like this as I don't know anybody else with type 1! It would just be nice to chat with people in the same position, who understands the highs and lows and ups and downs!
Not had a good night with levels sky high (for me) that I think it's prompted me to search for help instead of 'coping'!

So HELLO!xx 🙂
 
Hello and welcome to the forum 🙂

My son was diagnosed with type 1 eight years ago, and there have certainly been plenty of ups and downs along the way! He's been using an insulin pump for 5 years. With unpredictable activity patterns and growth hormones, it can be quite hard work. The last couple of weeks he's had a sprinkling of higher levels, then this week he's been doing a tennis course in the afternoons and, despite large reductions in his insulin, his BGs have been bumping along in the 3's and 4's.

Are you a pumper or MDI?
 
Hello, I'm a new member also - prompted to join by reading a blog about the lack of understanding in the non-diabetic community! I have a pump but still wake up with high sugars every morning! Have done for years and years and doesn't matter what I try, it never changes.
 
You should be able to sort that out with your pump Debi. Would you be prepared to do some night-time BG testing occasionally to identify what time your levels are starting to spike up? Once you have that info, you need to increase your basal rate about an hour before the spike starts. It can definitely be done! 🙂
 
Yes, I would be prepared to do that - I've done it many times over the years. The problem I seem to have is whenever I've increased my insulin intake for the nightime period, I then hypo in the early hours :/
 
Hi MrsWilko, welcome to the forum 🙂 This forum was actually started by a lady who had had Type 1 for 35 years and had never met another one! ave you been diagnosed long? What insulin regime are you on? Please feel free to ask anything you want and check out the various sections. One of the great things about the forum is that you feel less isolated and see things from other people's perspectives.
 
Hi again Debi,

But you wouldn't want to increase your basal for the whole night. For example, my son currently has these basals at night:

9pm-11pm 0.50
11pm-3am 0.40
3am-7am 0.45

If he just had one setting for the whole night, he would be either high all night or as you say would go hypo in the early hours. The beauty of the pump is that you can tailor your basal to your exact requirements hour by hour. Lots of people experience "dawn phenomenon" like you describe, with a steep rise towards morning, and on Lantus or levemir it's almost impossible to fix. But with a pump, you can leave your basal rate lower in the first part of the night, and raise it for the second part to prevent the BG rising.
 
Yes, I understand what you're saying - My basals are currently:

12am-3am 0.35
3am-6am 0.65
6am-12am 0.50

Maybe my biggest issue is the overwhelming psychological need to eat a couple of biscuits before bed due to experiencing some pretty horrendous nightime hypos over the years.
 
Debi said:
Yes, I understand what you're saying - My basals are currently:

12am-3am 0.35
3am-6am 0.65
6am-12am 0.50

Maybe my biggest issue is the overwhelming psychological need to eat a couple of biscuits before bed due to experiencing some pretty horrendous nightime hypos over the years.
Click to expand...
That's totally understandable Debi. I check my son's BG at least twice during the night, e.g. 1am and 4am (seriously sleep-deprived) for that reason - fear of hypos. But it just won't be practical for him to do that every night when he lives on his own. On that note, we would love to have full time CGM for him but can't get NHS funding and can't afford to pay myself (at ?55 a sensor!). But I buy them when I can so he can use them at difficult times like exams or sporting events. The Veo with CGM has a low suspend feature that cuts off the basal insulin if it detects a low - great for worry-free nights! Hopefully someday this will be standard treatment. 🙂
 
I was diagnosed in November 2011 a day before my dads birthday and a month before my 28th birthday and Christmas! So it all came as a big shock!
I'm still not up on all the terminology! I take a long acting insulin- lantus (which I have just spit to 8am and 8pm) and nova rapid with my meals as carb counting. In January I did the Edward course at Nottingham city hospital to learn carb counting and much more. I got a hang of it but seem to be having trouble now! I think my ratios need to change ESP in the morning as I seem to get the dawn rise thing where my levels steadily rise to wake me! I have tested at 2am and can be normal for me (if not a bit high in general (7) but I'm still getting the hang of it!) then rise to 9plus by 8am!

I have started keeping a meal and insulin diary again to try and see some patterns!

Just to read other people's problems and solutions helps you realise you are not the only one!🙂
 
Well test every 2- ish hours then Mrs W ! Not on the same night, obviously, as your BG won't be the same when sleep deprived as when not. And it's the latter you are trying to find out not the former!

But say you go to bed at 11, set the alarm for 3am and 5 am. Another night do 2am and 4am. 1am and 6am. Play around with it. See what it tells you when you write it all out neatly.

I'm totally gobsmacked Debi, that anyone on earth would need the same amount of insulin between 6am and 12 noon. Or don't you mean that? A whole 6 hours altogether. I think you've missed out some of the day there! or maybe your ams and pms are a bit muxed ip? Call the 12's noon and midnight so we can see better, please! LOL

By the way, my Dawn Phenomenon rise shows actually immediately after my feet hit the floor, so I have to increase the insulin about 2 hours before I wake up, and it doesn't stop till at least an hour after breakfast.

Wonderful facility on pumps , the Temporary Basal Rate facility!
 
My basal deliveries are:

12 midnight - 3am = 0.35
3am - 6am = 0.65
6am - 12 midnight = 0.50

I only have the three settings. I then use the bolus wizard to deliver insulin when I eat. I thought this was the norm? If not, then I'm maybe not using my pump in the way it should be used? My settings haven't changed since I went on it just over a year ago. I'm due for a check-up with my consultant in the next two weeks so maybe this needs looking at.
 
It's unusual to have a single basal rate for such a large time block, but if you've done fasting basal tests and this rate works for you, then it's fine. My son has ten basal rates in each 24 hour period, and a separate basal pattern for schooldays. It's not a case of using your pump in the right or wrong way, just getting the best out of it for your individual circumstances. Have you got the books "Pumping Insulin" by John Walsh and "Think Like a Pancreas" by Gary Scheiner?
 
My son has ten basal rates in each 24 hour period, and a separate basal pattern for schooldays. It's not a case of using your pump in the right or wrong way, just getting the best out of it for your individual circumstances.

Wow, I think I need to talk to my diabetes team and maybe have the CGM again in order to make some informed adjustments!
 
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