Frustrating!

[Eri's mom]

Well, Eri's bgl's have been going crazy again...driving me nuts, as it did the docs and nurses when she was in ICU and then a regular room a couple of weeks ago.

Anyway, last night b/f bed, her bgl was 129mg/dL...(plus she had NO candy b/c she was grounded and wasn't allowed out w/ her friends for halloween).
Anyway, a couple of hours later, I see the fridge light go on(I'm still sleeping downstairs b/c my dh is still on the recliner)...and it was Eri, looking for more water and she had been throwing up.
I tested her and she was HI. Come on...that quick? She had her lantus at dinner, bolused in for what she ate...I mean, her nighttime reading was actually great for her...and then to go over 600?
By 6 am(about 3 hours later) she was down to 345 and then by 9 she was at 145, so I took her to school.
Her bgl is now 205, and she took her correction ratio, but it's just getting so frustrating.
It's like I feel I am doing something completely wrong and I don't know what it is b/c I watch her, have healthy food in the house, a lot of low sugar stuff, not a lot of carbs, (between her and her dad, a low sodium, low carb, low sugar, low fat and low cholesterol diets)...so I've been watching even more closely.
Anyhow, she see's her endo this coming Tuesday, we already know her A1c is around 11%(from when she had the pancreatitis)...but at least I know now that she is even baffling the docs. Her bgl's would go up and down at any given time when she was just on the insulin and D10 drip and then they took her off those and put her just on KCl .

[JediSurfer]

Sometimes it just plays havoc for no reason at all. Diabetes is one of the most frustrating conditions I have knowledge of. It was very difficult for my parents when I was a child even with my father being diabetic for nearly 25 years when I was born.

Maybe a change of insulin type could help with the post meal spikes. These spike shouldn't affect the AC1 unless it is happening continuously. Don't read too much into the AC1 the daily reading are what is important.

Don't worry about the docs being baffled its a regular occurrence for them.

[SueM]

Have you thought about trying a different insulin? Have all these problems started since she started Lantus?
If so try going back to regular insulin and NPH for a while.
I know someone who had to do this due to the violent swings in his bs. Yet he had very good control before he changed to Lantus and what ever his quick acting insulin was.

[Eri's mom]

Actually, she started having the major changes like this b/f she started lantus, that's why they put her on the lantus.

She's had diabetes for almost 8 yrs now...she is 14 and her body is going through all those changes. They say that has something to do with it, it just gets so frustrating.

Maybe her endo will try something new again this time around. I'll mention it...

Thanks!

[JediSurfer]

Ohhh, 14 years old. wow thats probably something which will pass in her later teen years. As a teenager my BG's where absolutely crazy. the hormonal changes have a huge affect on the diabetes and even more so for a female.

[parrotletzoo]

Has she been test for adrenal problems?

[RobiJo]

Have you tried switching to a fresh insulin vial? Maybe a bad vial in combo with hormones, etc.????? Just a thought as my most random bgs usually have a combo of errors/reasons rather than just one.

[HollyB]

Gosh you and Eri have been having such a tough time for a while now -- I hate those wacky inexplicable BGs but fortunately Aaron doesn't have too many of them. That feeling of being on a rollercoaster and nothing making sense is horrible.

One thing at least you know now -- if they had this problem even in hospital, even with Eri on IV, then it's not happening because of your management or Eri's behaviour (it seems to me sometimes any time a teen has trouble controlling their sugars, the first assumption is that he or she is deliberately skipping insulin).

I hope your endo can suggest something new to try. And I hope puberty goes fast for Eri!

[lilituc]

Has she been tested for anti-insulin antibodies? High levels can cause an effect like the way Levemir works but not even - short-acting insulin gets attached to something and doesn't release right away, then releases at other times, causing big swings with seemingly no pattern.

[birds_eye]

Hi I havent been on the forums for a while now and have therefore not yet seen many posts about Eri, thus don't know her that well yet - but - I'd like to ask is she doing any exercise? Exercise has done wonders for me when my sugars have been wonky, and it just enables me to have far more control over them. It just stays more constant, it really does help!

[Eri's mom]

Hi all...thanks for your responses and sorry it took me so long to get back!

Let's see, Eri's been tested for about everything, EXCEPT the anti-insulin antibodies.
She does exercise, and we have been opening new vials at least once a week just to make sure all is well.

I'm just glad we see her endo this Tuesday morning(and that she won't miss school b/c it's a day off for them)...

Last night she was fine, this morning, she woke up puking again. UGH...now, no ketones, she had a trace, now gone, but she's not feeling "right".
I took her to the doc on Friday b/c her throat felt as though it was sliced on the inside. Of course her strep test came back negative(as it always does) and the doc said if she continues w/ the sore throat, then they'll do a blood test to see if she has mono. Fun.
Thing is, I told them that in my family(I just found this out) that the throat cultures aren't always accurate. My cousins and aunt would go in repeatedly, finally, they did blood work and it was a virus in the blood w/ strep, and they were on some major antibiotic. The doctor actually told me I didn't know what I was talking about...whatever.
I have a feeling it's the acid reflux kicking up a bit...I don't know, maybe from everything else she's gone through lately. Who knows w/ her?

I'm just so tired of all this...at least her dad's bgl's have been decent :)

[Alice]

This is just a suggestion that was very beneficial for a family friend who was a little older than your daughter. They took her to the Joslin Clinic and stayed a week. They lived in Oklahoma and just couldn't find anyone who would take the time to look at their case in detail.

I really don't think there is a better staff in the country for diabetes care.

I think their insurance covered the visit. I think if they can't figure out what's going on, no one can...it may just be some teen hormonal thing...but I know you are exhausted and worried sick.

[Eri's mom]

Thanks for the suggestion...I'll have to look into it!

I will hopefully find out something tomorrow w/ her endo visit.
When she got home from school her bgl was 63mg/dL...this morning when she woke up she was 252. Granted, she had linguine w/ clam sauce last night(she HAD to try to make it on her own, quite good, actually). Anyway, she did bolus correctly and all that...she just keeps bounces.

Maybe they'll re-adjust her or something.

I'll update afterwards...

[Alice]

I really feel for you guys! I grew up with Type 1 and remember those school years like they were yesterday (we didn't have meters...maybe ignorance was bliss?)

This is such an elementary question that I hesitate to ask, but something I still have to keep in mind today...are you all measuring your portions? Pasta in particularly.

I actually have restaurants measure 1/2 cup for me. Saves a lot of guessing later on the carbs. You can also use a coffee cup to measure, if needed.

There was a segment on TV a few days ago (nothing to do with Eri's pasta dinner!) that most Americans have no clue how many calories/fat are in their pasta dinners at restaurants. They calculated a pasta dinner with bread and dessert to be several thousand calories and said you'd have to run a marathon to burn those calories.