That was a damn silly thing to do...

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Freddie99

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Type 1
Yup it was, however, none of you folks know what I mean. Basically I've been reducing my basal because I thought I was dropping into a hypo in the night without myself noticing. Seems that isn't the case. I've been on twenty two units of Levemir for the past few days and well, to be frank, it hasn't gone well. I've been battling with highs and now after a three hour nap this afternoon, strong ketones. I've just double my correction dose, doubled my insulin to carb ratio and thrown a few pints of water down my neck. I'm taking my Levemir up by a ruddy great six units tonight to help calm things down and to get myself out of the danger zone.

Can any of you lovely folks offer anything to add to that, you need to bear in mind I'm heading off out tonight, I'll be injecting for pretty much every drink and checking every two hours and correcting. This should count for something hopefully.
 
Tom,

I dont know why you are going high - but - DONT change all these at once! Change your long acting by all means - but not the ratios and certainly i would suggest no injecting with alcohol!?????

From what i gather you will go hypo through the night if you inject - so you just need to eat something carby before going to sleep and then just correct in the morning. Please dont fill yourself with all this extra insulin - it could be dangerous!😱
I want to know if youve read this as I will be worried about you drinking and injecting!🙂🙄Bev
 
bev said:
Tom,

I dont know why you are going high - but - DONT change all these at once! Change your long acting by all means - but not the ratios and certainly i would suggest no injecting with alcohol!?????

From what i gather you will go hypo through the night if you inject - so you just need to eat something carby before going to sleep and then just correct in the morning. Please dont fill yourself with all this extra insulin - it could be dangerous!😱
I want to know if youve read this as I will be worried about you drinking and injecting!🙂🙄Bev
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Don't worry about the ratio change, that was for tonight only, I want all of this sorted. Seeing as I drink pints only there's a ready source of carbs in there. I'm not drinking too many though. If you want I'll PM my your mobile number, I'll send you mine and I'll send you a text tomorrow to put your mind at ease. I'm just monumentally frustrated with myself for being daft enough to do this.
 
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Where are all you drinkers? I dont know enough about the effects of alcohol and injecting for it? I was under the impression that you dont inject because you will naturally go low through the night when drinking?

Tom, can you wait a bit until you go out? I dont want you to drink unless we know whether you need to inject for it?

You dont have to give me your number - I am sorry I just cant stop being a mum! I dont mean to sound over the top - i just want you to be safe!🙂Bev
 
bev said:
Where are all you drinkers? I dont know enough about the effects of alcohol and injecting for it? I was under the impression that you dont inject because you will naturally go low through the night when drinking?

Tom, can you wait a bit until you go out? I dont want you to drink unless we know whether you need to inject for it?

You dont have to give me your number - I am sorry I just cant stop being a mum! I dont mean to sound over the top - i just want you to be safe!🙂Bev
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We're not heading out any time soon, I've got enough time to find otu if I'll need to be jabbing for anything. Beer is loaded with carbs (about fifteen grammes per pint) and we'll probably have something to munch on when we leave at whatever hour of the morning that maybe. I'm keeping myself to a half dozen pints today. Don't worry about carrying on being a mum, it's perfectly understandable.
 
Tom, I just rang Adrienne who is at brownies and not near a computer.

The message from her is : DO NOT INJECT FOR THE ALCOHOL TONIGHT. Also if you have ketones - you really shouldnt be drinking or going out - but thats up to you🙂

The best thing to do is to drink - but eat a few carbs with it as alcohol does something (cant remember) and it means you WILL go low in the night anyway - even if you hadnt injected - so what you are planning to do is very dangerous! She told me to be bold and make sure you dont inject for the drinks! Sorry if you think we are shouting - we are just worried about you.🙂Bev x
 
bev said:
Tom, I just rang Adrienne who is at brownies and not near a computer.

The message from her is : DO NOT INJECT FOR THE ALCOHOL TONIGHT. Also if you have ketones - you really shouldnt be drinking or going out - but thats up to you🙂

The best thing to do is to drink - but eat a few carbs with it as alcohol does something (cant remember) and it means you WILL go low in the night anyway - even if you hadnt injected - so what you are planning to do is very dangerous! She told me to be bold and make sure you dont inject for the drinks! Sorry if you think we are shouting - we are just worried about you.🙂Bev x
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Ta, much appreciated. I won't be jabbing for the booze. Results are already coming in, ketones are now at moderate strenght. I'm off out, reduced booze intake. Max of five pints tonight. Bloods are also getting there, I've only risen by 0.5 mmol/L after two pieces of toast.

Don't worry about shouting, it's appreciated. I am one of those who needs a good kick up the backside from time to time.
 
I agree with bev, Tom. I never inject for alcohol, no matter how much I drink. But try and take it steady, test regularly and don't panic - you;ll get an initial rise but it will fall back. And the levemir proportion change seems huge to me - if I changed lantus by that percentage it would almost certainly drop me through the floor. I'd go for just 2 units, the same that you have been decreasing by.
 
Northerner said:
I agree with bev, Tom. I never inject for alcohol, no matter how much I drink. But try and take it steady, test regularly and don't panic - you;ll get an initial rise but it will fall back. And the levemir proportion change seems huge to me - if I changed lantus by that percentage it would almost certainly drop me through the floor. I'd go for just 2 units, the same that you have been decreasing by.
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Tell you what, I'll go for four units, get myself out of immediate danger as far as basal goes. An old habit of mine is to correct at the end of the night out. I won't be doing that. It takes alot to put me on the floor Northerner, please don't be overly concerned.
 
Phew! Thanks Northey! I wasnt sure i was giving the right advice - glad you agreed. I suppose I have all this to look forward to with Alex! Kids eh?🙂

Tom, enjoy yourself and be careful.🙂Bev
 
Tom Hreben said:
Tell you what, I'll go for four units, get myself out of immediate danger as far as basal goes. An old habit of mine is to correct at the end of the night out. I won't be doing that. It takes alot to put me on the floor Northerner, please don't be overly concerned.
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OK Tom, you know yourself better than any of us. Hope you enjoy the evening without worries! Make sure your mates know the situation!
 
Ketones now at trace levels. Leaving blood testing for a little. Seems like five pints of water has the same effect on ketones that a depth charge has on a school of dolphins lol.

Yup Bev, you'll have a bit to look forward to with Alex. I'm happy to give advice about drinking if you want it.
 
Northerner said:
OK Tom, you know yourself better than any of us. Hope you enjoy the evening without worries! Make sure your mates know the situation!
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Yup they do, they know what to do. Get the medic alert dog tag out and call in the medics. Ketones are now nearly gone which is good.
 
Crisis over. Thank you all for your wonderful words of wisdom, they are much appreciated. Ketones are now gone. Time for that pork pie...
 
Tom, being partial to the odd tipple myself i feel compelled to join in!!

I do inject for booze and any food im eating when im out but only because i can adjust my basal on the pump!

Im not going to say what i think you should do because personally if i was you i wouldnt drink tonight. It takes a lot to stop me (i hate letting diabetes make decisions for me or change my plans) but its one night and high ketones are not something to mess with, even if they have come down now you should let your body get over being in one state of toxicity before putting it in another.

You should also have a clear head incase you go back up or fall through the floor.

Its a lot of pressure to put on your body (and on your friends for that matter). Is it worth the risk when youve got hundreds of uni nights ahead of you?

Just my opinion. sorry to sound all boring and responsible. Will try not to let it happen to much :D
 
Just got in from Brownies and come straight to computer.

Tom, you have had great advice from Bev and Northerner and well what can I say, I remember what I was like at your age and I wasn't half as sensible. I didn't have D mind you but I dread to think what I would be like.

Good luck and I hope you swapped no's with Bev. Please text her you are ok and she can let us know.

Have a good night. Honestly you youngsters do worry us mum's 😉
 
Viki said:
Tom, being partial to the odd tipple myself i feel compelled to join in!!

I do inject for booze and any food im eating when im out but only because i can adjust my basal on the pump!

Im not going to say what i think you should do because personally if i was you i wouldnt drink tonight. It takes a lot to stop me (i hate letting diabetes make decisions for me or change my plans) but its one night and high ketones are not something to mess with, even if they have come down now you should let your body get over being in one state of toxicity before putting it in another.

You should also have a clear head incase you go back up or fall through the floor.

Its a lot of pressure to put on your body (and on your friends for that matter). Is it worth the risk when youve got hundreds of uni nights ahead of you?

Just my opinion. sorry to sound all boring and responsible. Will try not to let it happen to much :D
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Hi Viki

I was wondering what it would be like on a pump. It would be very different as you can just stop your basal if you wanted to, when injecting it is there already inside and you can't take it out. Interesting, food for thought there.

I guess you could bolus for all but totally stop basal if necessary.

One for the future I think, although Tom will have to learn this quickly as he will be pumping very soon.
 
Adrienne said:
Hi Viki

I was wondering what it would be like on a pump. It would be very different as you can just stop your basal if you wanted to, when injecting it is there already inside and you can't take it out. Interesting, food for thought there.

I guess you could bolus for all but totally stop basal if necessary.

One for the future I think, although Tom will have to learn this quickly as he will be pumping very soon.
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Took me a while but ive perfected it now! I bolus as normal for any food, none for wine and 1 or 1.5 if im drinking beer.

ALWAYS test at bed, whatever time that may be :D, usually a little high (9-10) and drop my basal for 8-10 hours by 20%. Wakes me up in the mid 7s and holds me there all morning.

Had some scary morning hypos after drinking on MDI and some awful 12 hour highs too - looking back I took some silly risks just for the sake of a night out.
 
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