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The 'New on Pump' thread!
- Thread starter Patricia
- Start date
- Status
Adrienne
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Parent
Well we had a night of it. Jessica was in the 19.0s and 20.s all night and woke at 26.9 eek. For some stupid reason I didn't change the cannula and took her to school. I ended up ignoring the wizard and giving 1 1/2 units and putting on a 200 % temp basal for 2 hours. She came down to 18.8 and by 12 noon she was 9.0 !!! No idea what is going on unless she is coming down with something - oh joy !
Adrienne
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Parent
No not growth hormones, not like that. Of course we overloaded her with insulin and she came down to 4.1 after lunch so they gave her coke to be on the safe side and that combined with school dinner fish and chips and she is back up to 15.9 eek. Oh well will do a site change now (not told her yet but will numb area with a sugar free scooby doo ice pop in its packet and then she can eat it - first time trying that).
Hi you guys
How's Jessica this morning, Adrienne?
We're fine here, if a little, ahem, hung over. Bev, menu was: sausage and lentil casserole, roasted half peppers with mozzarella/anchovie or toms/basil, grilled courgette, salad with green beans,pine nuts, potato salad (oil/vin shallot dressing), plus plain stuff like new pots, cold meats and salami, various cheeses, grapes, carrots, sausages...pudding meringues and fruit...This is all husband cooking -- he is an absolutely wonderful 'chef', and cooks everyday as well as this fancier stuff...
ANYWAY. Can't be that hung over if the food still sounds good!
Portion estimating went well too last night, with E mostly sorting it out himself. A low carb meal generally, ended up on 5.4 at bed, a little low still to feel comfortable. Don't know what he is yet this morning.
Question: I may put this on a separate thread, but has anyone experienced the sensation of being 'low' on and off all day, and not being so? E has had this for two days, feeling like he's hypo and he's not, to the point of feeling wobbly etc. He tests at 5.5-6.5 and is not dropping. However, when he then eats (and boluses) he does begin to feel much better...I wonder if he is going through a really hungry stage? Twice it's been last thing in afternoon -- he feels really ill but isn't hypo -- then eats quite a bit (before dinner!) and feels somewhat better. He hasn't been that high (sometimes 9 or 11), so I doubt it's a 'false hypo' type of situation. Any ideas?
For now...
How's Jessica this morning, Adrienne?
We're fine here, if a little, ahem, hung over. Bev, menu was: sausage and lentil casserole, roasted half peppers with mozzarella/anchovie or toms/basil, grilled courgette, salad with green beans,pine nuts, potato salad (oil/vin shallot dressing), plus plain stuff like new pots, cold meats and salami, various cheeses, grapes, carrots, sausages...pudding meringues and fruit...This is all husband cooking -- he is an absolutely wonderful 'chef', and cooks everyday as well as this fancier stuff...
ANYWAY. Can't be that hung over if the food still sounds good!
Portion estimating went well too last night, with E mostly sorting it out himself. A low carb meal generally, ended up on 5.4 at bed, a little low still to feel comfortable. Don't know what he is yet this morning.
Question: I may put this on a separate thread, but has anyone experienced the sensation of being 'low' on and off all day, and not being so? E has had this for two days, feeling like he's hypo and he's not, to the point of feeling wobbly etc. He tests at 5.5-6.5 and is not dropping. However, when he then eats (and boluses) he does begin to feel much better...I wonder if he is going through a really hungry stage? Twice it's been last thing in afternoon -- he feels really ill but isn't hypo -- then eats quite a bit (before dinner!) and feels somewhat better. He hasn't been that high (sometimes 9 or 11), so I doubt it's a 'false hypo' type of situation. Any ideas?
For now...
Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
I do feel this on occasions, and it's always down to hunger - usually because I've been out running and for some reason it's made me hungrier than normal. I usually test at around 5.x when it happens and it's really hard to spot the difference between that and a slow-moving low - I normally expect to see something like 3.x on the meter!
Hi Patricia,
Thanks for all this useful information on the pump that has come out of this 'thread'. Iam still trying to come to grips with all the lingo and how it works. But it has been really informative sofar. I have been offered to go on the pump because of all the bloodsugar swings I am experiencing at present. I now understand a bit more what it involves with the carb counting, bolus and basal insulins and how fast something food can be absorbed. The scenario you describe where the pump was dangling down because the tube got caught by the doorhandle, is just something that would happen to me.
Thanks again and good luck with it all
Iris
Thanks for all this useful information on the pump that has come out of this 'thread'. Iam still trying to come to grips with all the lingo and how it works. But it has been really informative sofar. I have been offered to go on the pump because of all the bloodsugar swings I am experiencing at present. I now understand a bit more what it involves with the carb counting, bolus and basal insulins and how fast something food can be absorbed. The scenario you describe where the pump was dangling down because the tube got caught by the doorhandle, is just something that would happen to me.
Thanks again and good luck with it all
Iris
Thanks Northerner and Iris -- helpful info about these 'ghost' hypos, Northerner. E does have a very fast metabolism, so I think this may be it for some reason at the moment. He also recently has not felt hungry particularly -- but then when he sits down to eat, is ravenous. To be fair, this is a scenario I recognise with him from before diagnosis -- his father does it too! Perhaps things are settling more than I think or see clearly -- so he's getting back more to 'himself'? He's certainly put on a little weight, looking healthier, so that's all good!
Iris, I wish you luck with the pump. How long have you been type 1? I have to say that although we've had moments of confusion and near-despair with the pump, they are not *nearly* so frequent as when we had them with MDI. Also, although we may feel a bit at a loss at times (will explain either later in this or tomorrow's post) -- the cold reality is that E's numbers have been enormously more stable, particularly in terms of hypers -- I think we've had about 5 numbers over 14 in three weeks. Unheard of before... High for us now is 10+! It's a whole different thing...
Will report back on weekend tomorrow. Generally very good -- but, lentils? Are they a disaster with bgls? Wonder what others' experiences are...We had two days of lentil eating for a meal, and things went a bit crazy, even though we tried to 'square wave' it...More tomorrow!
Iris, I wish you luck with the pump. How long have you been type 1? I have to say that although we've had moments of confusion and near-despair with the pump, they are not *nearly* so frequent as when we had them with MDI. Also, although we may feel a bit at a loss at times (will explain either later in this or tomorrow's post) -- the cold reality is that E's numbers have been enormously more stable, particularly in terms of hypers -- I think we've had about 5 numbers over 14 in three weeks. Unheard of before... High for us now is 10+! It's a whole different thing...
Will report back on weekend tomorrow. Generally very good -- but, lentils? Are they a disaster with bgls? Wonder what others' experiences are...We had two days of lentil eating for a meal, and things went a bit crazy, even though we tried to 'square wave' it...More tomorrow!
Hi Patricia, I have been type 1 for 16 yrs diagnosed when I was 31. I have managed ok up till recently with the occassional high bs and hypos. never passed out yet. But in the last 1.5 yrs my BS has has gone in the 20's regularly. it tends to go high before my period and I then go from one hypo to the next once I have started my period and in the week after. That sounds very predictable when i am writitng it. But I get unpredictable highs. I moved out to Suffolk from London 5 years ago and not seen a DSN since (had regular support in london form dsn's). Finally this doctor said I should see a DSN and he suggested an insulin pump. I am a bit shocked by this because I didn't think i fit the criteria, but appearantly i do.
How bad was E's diabetes control befor the pump. Were his hypo's severe? I can't beleive I get offered an insulin pump so easily when other people who probably need it more than me should have had one ages ago and have to fight for it. It seems the ussual postcode lottery.
Iris
How bad was E's diabetes control befor the pump. Were his hypo's severe? I can't beleive I get offered an insulin pump so easily when other people who probably need it more than me should have had one ages ago and have to fight for it. It seems the ussual postcode lottery.
Iris
Hi Iris
Yes I'm sure it is the usual postcode lottery. But I think the thing to remember is that across the country there is a general move toward trying to get people on pumps, as far as I can see...They are the acknowledged way to go for good control, as long as people are up for carb counting and the initial hard work of it...
E has had no severe bouts of anything, and has been diagnosed for a very short time, since Nov 08. He does have low lows more frequently than we would like -- 1.7 etc, but has never passed out or anything drastic. His HbA1C hasn't been great, but is better than many -- 8.5 -- but what seemed to swing it for us was his and our motivation to get going on it all quickly. Our local PCT had just started pumping, had a long queue of people to train up, but had the money -- so we took the money elsewhere, to a larger centre with capacity and fully trained folks.
I agree that there are SO many people fighting hard for pumps -- but I think they are coming. So I wouldn't feel too bad about going on one if you are offered it. Certainly they are fairly life-changing!
Yes I'm sure it is the usual postcode lottery. But I think the thing to remember is that across the country there is a general move toward trying to get people on pumps, as far as I can see...They are the acknowledged way to go for good control, as long as people are up for carb counting and the initial hard work of it...
E has had no severe bouts of anything, and has been diagnosed for a very short time, since Nov 08. He does have low lows more frequently than we would like -- 1.7 etc, but has never passed out or anything drastic. His HbA1C hasn't been great, but is better than many -- 8.5 -- but what seemed to swing it for us was his and our motivation to get going on it all quickly. Our local PCT had just started pumping, had a long queue of people to train up, but had the money -- so we took the money elsewhere, to a larger centre with capacity and fully trained folks.
I agree that there are SO many people fighting hard for pumps -- but I think they are coming. So I wouldn't feel too bad about going on one if you are offered it. Certainly they are fairly life-changing!
Weekend was weird ish, though generally good levels...It's strange how the odd numbers loom so large though, like they symbolise *everything* going bonkers, indicate terrible disaster -- but of course, they don't.
At the moment our main weirdness is that three mornings in a row E has woken high -- Saturday morning (12), Sunday morning (17!) and this morning (14). Just TOO odd. Yesterday we thought maybe lentils were playing havoc with things -- he'd had them Friday evening, and Saturday lunchtime. Friday we dosed them normally, but he went to bed lower than usual -- 5.4 -- so gave him some carb. Woke up surprisingly high though, even for that. So Saturday we dual waved the lentils, changing the balance of the meal so that most of it was covered by normal bolus, then a certain percentage of it (I think 40%) was covered by a dual wave over three hours. We wanted to see if this dealt with the lentils. It did seem to, so we were quite proud of ourselves -- but then after going to bed at something like 9, he woke yesterday on 17! We were shocked.
(Both mornings we corrected before food, though ate quite soon after. And both mornings, he had a hypo, one of them very low indeed. This worries us a little about the pump and correcting on an empty stomach -- could this be an issue?)
So -- yesterday, no lentils! Played safe and evening dose of pasta seemed to go well: at four hours, one hour after dual wave, levels at 6.4 ish. Had half a glass of milk. One hour and half later, he was 7.6. Delight. We fully anticipated him waking on 6, as per last week or so and steady levels. But no, woke on 14.
I've asked on another thread about the effects of heat, but as far as I can gather it's much more likely to bring him down? Which may partly explain last week, Northerner, and feeling low without being low... So what the heck is this?!
He's going away to France for three days on Wednesday. We are trying not tear hair out, but are now feeling like some control is slipping... If we need to, we will leave him high I think, but messing with his night basal is the last thing we wanted to be doing at this stage...
Poo.
At the moment our main weirdness is that three mornings in a row E has woken high -- Saturday morning (12), Sunday morning (17!) and this morning (14). Just TOO odd. Yesterday we thought maybe lentils were playing havoc with things -- he'd had them Friday evening, and Saturday lunchtime. Friday we dosed them normally, but he went to bed lower than usual -- 5.4 -- so gave him some carb. Woke up surprisingly high though, even for that. So Saturday we dual waved the lentils, changing the balance of the meal so that most of it was covered by normal bolus, then a certain percentage of it (I think 40%) was covered by a dual wave over three hours. We wanted to see if this dealt with the lentils. It did seem to, so we were quite proud of ourselves -- but then after going to bed at something like 9, he woke yesterday on 17! We were shocked.
(Both mornings we corrected before food, though ate quite soon after. And both mornings, he had a hypo, one of them very low indeed. This worries us a little about the pump and correcting on an empty stomach -- could this be an issue?)
So -- yesterday, no lentils! Played safe and evening dose of pasta seemed to go well: at four hours, one hour after dual wave, levels at 6.4 ish. Had half a glass of milk. One hour and half later, he was 7.6. Delight. We fully anticipated him waking on 6, as per last week or so and steady levels. But no, woke on 14.
I've asked on another thread about the effects of heat, but as far as I can gather it's much more likely to bring him down? Which may partly explain last week, Northerner, and feeling low without being low... So what the heck is this?!
He's going away to France for three days on Wednesday. We are trying not tear hair out, but are now feeling like some control is slipping... If we need to, we will leave him high I think, but messing with his night basal is the last thing we wanted to be doing at this stage...
Poo.
Sugarbum
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Oh my goodness Patricia, Im sure this will be a testing time for you all when you are planning for E to go to France and when he actually goes. Especially with this heat.
My instincts would be not to mess with his basal either just before going, heat, activity and different food could cause him trouble in his BMs. I really hope it all works out well.
I think I have said it before (maybe it was to Bev and not you?) but I am full of admiration for you parents, I can only imagine it being very stressful and you seem to cope so well. Hope you and E have a good week and those sugars settle down.
My instincts would be not to mess with his basal either just before going, heat, activity and different food could cause him trouble in his BMs. I really hope it all works out well.
I think I have said it before (maybe it was to Bev and not you?) but I am full of admiration for you parents, I can only imagine it being very stressful and you seem to cope so well. Hope you and E have a good week and those sugars settle down.
Thank you Sugarbum. I think we'll play safe whatever we do -- hard enough for him to be going away for the first time ever, not to speak of with diabetes...But it's so important that he be able to do these things. My husband though has managed to arrange some work time in a nearby village. None of us, E included, could quite deal yet with being several hours away.
We have been asking E to estimate carb for the last few days -- and I have to say he's really quite okay at it. We've been mildly surprised, because we have tried to take this aspect of things easy with him -- so much to deal with. We are stressing under-estimating when he doesn't know for sure (eg in a restaurant), and no matter what his level, not bolusing last thing at night, as in our experience this can lead to out of proportion dips for him. He also knows to use his 75% temp basal rate if he just seems to be running low -- whether in day or night. Again, this is the use of the pump: he doesn't have to take a dose and live with it for 24 hours -- he can adjust things at any time.
We are also sending him of course with a Collins gem, and making a crib sheet for him with large/medium/small bowl pasta counts, potato counts, rice etc...Just as a starting point!
How do you react to heat, Sugarbum?
As for coping... There are times when I find it almost insurmountable. I think that must be true for everyone. I am fortunate in that my marriage is very strong and long-lived -- we are in this together -- and that we have been through considerable medical hardship before, and bereavements. This all I think enables a kind of 'head down and carry on til you can breathe' thing when times are bad. Which they really can be. Thanks for the kind words in any case; they are appreciated!
We have been asking E to estimate carb for the last few days -- and I have to say he's really quite okay at it. We've been mildly surprised, because we have tried to take this aspect of things easy with him -- so much to deal with. We are stressing under-estimating when he doesn't know for sure (eg in a restaurant), and no matter what his level, not bolusing last thing at night, as in our experience this can lead to out of proportion dips for him. He also knows to use his 75% temp basal rate if he just seems to be running low -- whether in day or night. Again, this is the use of the pump: he doesn't have to take a dose and live with it for 24 hours -- he can adjust things at any time.
We are also sending him of course with a Collins gem, and making a crib sheet for him with large/medium/small bowl pasta counts, potato counts, rice etc...Just as a starting point!
How do you react to heat, Sugarbum?
As for coping... There are times when I find it almost insurmountable. I think that must be true for everyone. I am fortunate in that my marriage is very strong and long-lived -- we are in this together -- and that we have been through considerable medical hardship before, and bereavements. This all I think enables a kind of 'head down and carry on til you can breathe' thing when times are bad. Which they really can be. Thanks for the kind words in any case; they are appreciated!
Can I also say one more thing. Babbling alot this morning on this, so apologies if you're bored stiff.
Just that: despite our wobbles, E is well in himself. Yesterday he performed in a solo piano concert for the first time since diagnosis. The last time he performed was in a competition, four days before diagnosis. He won every category he competed in, and also won the overall prize. Within four days he was diagnosed, and in hospital.
So it was really something, a moment, when he performed again yesterday, and beautifully.
I guess part of adjustment is getting used to living on wobbly ground -- not falling off, but walking along it, remembering what you came here for....
Just that: despite our wobbles, E is well in himself. Yesterday he performed in a solo piano concert for the first time since diagnosis. The last time he performed was in a competition, four days before diagnosis. He won every category he competed in, and also won the overall prize. Within four days he was diagnosed, and in hospital.
So it was really something, a moment, when he performed again yesterday, and beautifully.
I guess part of adjustment is getting used to living on wobbly ground -- not falling off, but walking along it, remembering what you came here for....
Hi Patricia,
Sorry things seem to have gone a bit pear shaped!
As you know we have been battling with high levels for waking levels with Alex.
The only advice i can give you is - check through the night to find out if it is a slow and steady rise or whether he is perhaps having a hypo and rebound?
I personally think he is having a growing spurt - the same is happening with Alex.
But the beauty of E being on a pump is - it should be easier to resolve - rather than waiting for 3 weeks like us and increasing the levemir by half a unit every three days!
3am seems to be the time the research suggests is a good time to check! Sigh. But it will be worth it to find out exactly what is happening and then increase as necessary! Good luck and let us know what you decide!🙂Bev
Sorry things seem to have gone a bit pear shaped!
As you know we have been battling with high levels for waking levels with Alex.
The only advice i can give you is - check through the night to find out if it is a slow and steady rise or whether he is perhaps having a hypo and rebound?
I personally think he is having a growing spurt - the same is happening with Alex.
But the beauty of E being on a pump is - it should be easier to resolve - rather than waiting for 3 weeks like us and increasing the levemir by half a unit every three days!
3am seems to be the time the research suggests is a good time to check! Sigh. But it will be worth it to find out exactly what is happening and then increase as necessary! Good luck and let us know what you decide!🙂Bev
Yes, I think we may just be in the boat of upping his night basal too...but as you say, it's so straightforward and quick with the pump. Just bad timing!
I confess Bev that when E went through a growth spurt back at Easter and was running so high, we upped the basal by 20% every two days! It was a bit drastic, but it seemed to be having so little effect and he was so high...It did the job after two rises.That was the week in which his insulin requirements went up by 50%!
And yes, 3am check. The only one that could possibly be hypo is the last one, because the pump basal is such that there is no peak etc at night, so a fall from 10 to 2 then back to 17 would be virtually impossible on it. It *may* be possible to drop from 7, then to 2, then back again to 14? But I really doubt it. Suspect it is gradually climbing...
Sigh, yes.
I confess Bev that when E went through a growth spurt back at Easter and was running so high, we upped the basal by 20% every two days! It was a bit drastic, but it seemed to be having so little effect and he was so high...It did the job after two rises.That was the week in which his insulin requirements went up by 50%!
And yes, 3am check. The only one that could possibly be hypo is the last one, because the pump basal is such that there is no peak etc at night, so a fall from 10 to 2 then back to 17 would be virtually impossible on it. It *may* be possible to drop from 7, then to 2, then back again to 14? But I really doubt it. Suspect it is gradually climbing...
Sigh, yes.
Hiya
Just a quick one to say that with a TINY adjustment last night -- up by 0.05unit/hour -- E woke on 7.4, having gone to bed on 7.6. Fab. How and why? No idea. Such a tiny shift.
Temp basal, as predicted by Adrienne, proving *extremely* useful over last day or two. Switched himself over to it after PE yesterday afternoon -- no hypo. In fact, perfect numbers all day.
And today, he's out of routine doing a languages day -- in this weather! Anyway, have told him that if he doesn't get his usual 11am snack, stick himself onto temp basal for a while. We've discovered that hunger will just as likely send him low, of course....So we'll see.
Feeling more confident now about France. Feel we've turned some kind of invisible corner. Some of this is his increasing ability to carb count -- so much less chance of majorly over-shooting. And that feels so much better.
Temp basal is a godsend. Should put that on a t-shirt....
Just a quick one to say that with a TINY adjustment last night -- up by 0.05unit/hour -- E woke on 7.4, having gone to bed on 7.6. Fab. How and why? No idea. Such a tiny shift.
Temp basal, as predicted by Adrienne, proving *extremely* useful over last day or two. Switched himself over to it after PE yesterday afternoon -- no hypo. In fact, perfect numbers all day.
And today, he's out of routine doing a languages day -- in this weather! Anyway, have told him that if he doesn't get his usual 11am snack, stick himself onto temp basal for a while. We've discovered that hunger will just as likely send him low, of course....So we'll see.
Feeling more confident now about France. Feel we've turned some kind of invisible corner. Some of this is his increasing ability to carb count -- so much less chance of majorly over-shooting. And that feels so much better.
Temp basal is a godsend. Should put that on a t-shirt....
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