Oh, what a night.....

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bev

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Hi all,

Well, we went to the cinema last night to see 'cloudy with a chance of meatballs' it was great. A had popcorn for the first time since diagnosis, and with the help of the people on the other list we thought we had the carbs sorted etc.. It was 40cho and gave a straight bolus as we forgot about the dual wave!😱

Anyway, at midnight he went up to 18mmols - so we used needle to correct and checked in an hour - 19mmols! So injection again and checked in an hour - 17mmols - so another injection and checked again - 12 - phew coming down we thought. Then at 6am he was 15mmols- so another correction and checked at 7.30 - 14 - then an hour later 15!

We had considered doing a set change at 3 this morning - but we were all so shattered we just knew it would go wrong - so relied on the novo to get him through the night (also he wasnt due a set change).

Then this morning A said he feels unwell- sore throat etc - so this explains the high levels - it wasnt the popcorn after all!

But, i am left wondering why the corrections didnt work? We checked the date on the novo and it was fine.

This is the first time A has been properly ill since diagnosis so we arent used to illness causing the high levels. Normally a 1 unit correction would bring him down by 5mmols - so is there an equation we could use for an 'illness correction'?

In hindsight we should have put a temp basal on of 150% or similar - but we were so shattered and not thinking straight and also havent used this facility on the pump yet - so probably would have been up even more than every hour!

Another question : A had 2 afternoons at school this week when he was 18mmls - could the illness have been brewing and caused these high's even though it was a few days ago? There didnt seem to be an obvious reason for them so we were a bit puzzled....Also no ketones present which seems odd as he is ill.....



And last, but not least, how many of you sang the rest of the words 'late september 1963' upon reading the heading of the thread?:DBev
 
Hi

Just quickly as off out. Sorry to hear A not well. The corrections didn't work because he is ill and just needed to keep going up. You will be surprised how much extra insulin is needed when ill.

We have had 200 % on for hours and hours before now but sometimes even have had to set a pattern A or B with the basals to use those 200% levels and then put a higher temp on those.

Don't worry about keep wanting to set change, you'll get the hang of it, we don't automatically set change now if can't get them down, sometimes you just need to persevere.

Glad it wasn't the pop corn. Hope he feels better later.
 
Yes, I was singing the song! 😉

Does sound like the illness was what was making him go high, what are his numbers like now? Do you have suck day rules from your team? He won't be using the insulin as efficiently when ill which would be why the corrections aren't as effective as usual. As for a calculation, on dafne we have guidelines around using %s of your average daily doses for correcting when ill, but of course that's for an adult on mdi so not much help here!
Hope A feels better soon.
 
Or even "sick day rules", but as our American cousins would say, illness does suck 🙂
 
When I was ill last week I could barely manage to keep things under fifteen mmol/L. I even shot up into the twenties on a couple of occaisions. Something that I barely ever do otherwise. Taken me ages to get over the damned freshers flu. What I would suggest you do is to up A's basal rate and keep a close eye on his bloods and check for ketones every so often.

Tom
 
Hya Bev

Sorry to hear you all had a rough night. Hope A is doing better now?

x
 
Oh bev, sorry to hear that. Hope A feels better soon.

I have to say, considering a set change at 3am on a child would be a blimmin nightmare choice! I love that you just inject (exactly what we are told to do) but you just get on with it. Id be having a drama about it! You did the right thing from what I can work out.

Its great he had the popcorn. I expect it did equate in some way to those numbers but in the adversity of illness insulin never seems to have the effect we desire it to. What a pain.

A isnt getting any lumps and bumps in his belly is he? I wonder why he is hitting those random highs in the week in the afternoon... I am wondering if there are any absorbtion issues? I cant think. I have to say though, you (and the mums) battle the toughest regimes though what with his school/activity pattern so I think random highs are invevitable- it must be so hard to get it right.

Hope you guys still enjoy your weekend. Is he dosed up? I would imagine that would help. I hope his numbers get better through the day, Id be interested to hear.

Wishing you luck with that- sorry I dont have any good suggestions (my saturday brain!)

Lots of love

Lou xx
 
And last, but not least, how many of you sang the rest of the words 'late september 1963' upon reading the heading of the thread?:D Bev
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Guilty as charged.

Sounds like you had a wonderful time with A. I hope he's feeling better now.
 
Hi bev

Yes, we've had resistant high numbers from illness too...And that's what happens for us, clearly, resistance. In fact, if E is 14+ for ANY decent length of time (even a couple of hours), regardless of ill or not, he gets resistant, and it takes several whacks of insulin to get him down.

Pain for you though.

We've done two 3am set changes, and they are a nightmare. I think Mand has too. But clearly he was at least not continuing to shoot up, so you knew insulin was going in, so set change not essential?

re the random highs: stress? excitement? Did he have the same thing for lunch both days?

Hope A not feeling any worse. Give him our best.

'...late September back in '63...' Er, yes.
 
Hi there Bev sorry to read you had such a bad time of it , how is A doing now ?? x
 
Hi Bev,

Yes I admit I started singing that too in my head :D

Sounds like you had an absolute nightmare of a night :( hope alex is feeling a little bit better now and you can get his numbers down soon.

Emma x
 
Hi all,

Thanks for you kind replies.

I put A on a temp basal of 200% (thanks Adrienne- i wouldnt have been that brave without your advice) - and he has stayed on 6 or 7 all day! That is with a bowl of chips on a dual wave - so very pleased with that! Thank heavens for temp basals! He still istnt feeling too good - but at least we can keep his levels down! Hoping for a quiet night tonight!😉🙂Bev
 
bev said:
Hi all,

Thanks for you kind replies.

I put A on a temp basal of 200% (thanks Adrienne- i wouldnt have been that brave without your advice) - and he has stayed on 6 or 7 all day! That is with a bowl of chips on a dual wave - so very pleased with that! Thank heavens for temp basals! He still istnt feeling too good - but at least we can keep his levels down! Hoping for a quiet night tonight!😉🙂Bev
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Lucky you on the pump! That's why I want one. Makes illness much easier to deal with rather than the sheer drag that it is on MDI. Good to see that A is doing well now.
 
Tom Hreben said:
Lucky you on the pump! That's why I want one. Makes illness much easier to deal with rather than the sheer drag that it is on MDI. Good to see that A is doing well now.
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Tom,
Your right - i dont want to dismiss MDI as lots of people on here are on it and get great results. But for us, having the ability to increase the basal whenever we need to is amazing and gives us the tools to gain good control (or at least better!). I *know* you would love having a pump! Also, if your already pumping your more likely to be offered the latest gadgets out - so it wont be long before you are wearing a slimline stick-on pump!🙂Bev
 
bev said:
Tom,
Your right - i dont want to dismiss MDI as lots of people on here are on it and get great results. But for us, having the ability to increase the basal whenever we need to is amazing and gives us the tools to gain good control (or at least better!). I *know* you would love having a pump! Also, if your already pumping your more likely to be offered the latest gadgets out - so it wont be long before you are wearing a slimline stick-on pump!🙂Bev
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I'm pretty much 90% sure that I want one now. It would probably make university life so much easier than MDI does. How often does A use the CGM facility with the Veo? Is there a limit to how many you can get over a certain period?
 
Tom Hreben said:
I'm pretty much 90% sure that I want one now. It would probably make university life so much easier than MDI does. How often does A use the CGM facility with the Veo? Is there a limit to how many you can get over a certain period?
Click to expand...

Tom,
Our hospital gave us a box of 10 sensors to use as part of the package. But if we want to use any more we will have to pay ourselves. They are not cheap - i think they cost about ?6 per day - but you wouldnt have to use them constantly. You could perhaps have one a month just to tweak things! I would say though,that, you have to be 100% sure that you want a pump! It does take commitment and lots of time - but once you have figured things out - it does make life easier and more relaxed! We have found that we all have more time in the day - we didnt realise how much time injecting etc took! Also, the pump 'thinks' for you - so all you really have to do is enter your bg and your carbs and away you go!🙂Bev
 
bev said:
Tom,
Our hospital gave us a box of 10 sensors to use as part of the package. But if we want to use any more we will have to pay ourselves. They are not cheap - i think they cost about ?6 per day - but you wouldnt have to use them constantly. You could perhaps have one a month just to tweak things! I would say though,that, you have to be 100% sure that you want a pump! It does take commitment and lots of time - but once you have figured things out - it does make life easier and more relaxed! We have found that we all have more time in the day - we didnt realise how much time injecting etc took! Also, the pump 'thinks' for you - so all you really have to do is enter your bg and your carbs and away you go!🙂Bev
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I've got enough to think about at the moment and anything that makes looking after my diabetes a little easier would be much appreciated. The work I would ahve to put in at the start seems to be well worth it having read you posts about A.
 
If you need any help or advice once pumping - let me know! Although, there are others who have tons more experience than me - but happy to help if i can.🙂Bev
 
bev said:
If you need any help or advice once pumping - let me know! Although, there are others who have tons more experience than me - but happy to help if i can.🙂Bev
Click to expand...

I will thanks. Knowing me, I'll probably not stop asking questions for a while! Hopefully it won't be too hard to master...famous last words!
 
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