I can't believe I did that!! (confession time)

[Jenn L]

So I slept well last night, woke up with a good number(118 for those who need to know) Bolused for my breakfast at 8 a.m. Went to take my Lantus at 9a.m.... I could tell by the way the Humalog box and Lantus box were situated it the refrigerator that I had not touched the Humalog box, the Lantus box was on the top!!! So I am standing in the kitchen trying to remember what I did before coffee, beating myself up for such a dumb mistake (I am not new at this!!) Did I take the Lantus as a bolus? Did the boxes shift when I opened the door? What to do!!! An hour later I an at 302, OOPSIE!!

So I knew I had extra Lantus working, bolused for the high, did a half bolus at lunch for a high protien meal...what a P.I.T.A. (pain in the ***) Come on, tell me I am not alone in dumb mistakes! I didn't even tell anyone I made such a dumb mistake, just tested a LOT! What is your mistake confession? Share with me!

[caswellhb]

LOL. No, you are not the first and certainly won't be the last.
Sweetie, everyone makes mistakes. It is the human condition.
Just keep them in different parts of the fridge from now on.

Heather.

[xMenace]

Been at work, bolused for my lunch, reached in my bag for it, and nothing was there. It was home on the table. I had no money in my pocket for a chocolate bar, and I certainly couldn't run out to buy a lunch. I could always suck back the sugar in the coffee room, but I found someone to lend me change for a couple of bars.

[ant hill]

Yes Jen, I have thought, Did I have my Protaphane this morning? and answered to myself no. Whell that was indeed a mistake. :rolleyes: and so all-day testing and cannot get above 5MMOL/L!!! Did nothing physical that day.
So make sure that you are seated!!
I had.....wait for it..... 140U of protaphane!!! GAHD!!! :eek:
So a lesson well taught I thought. Gaud! I am a dunce. :confused:

[BlueSky]

I have three pens - for Novorapid, Actrapid and Lantus. They are all in clearly marked novopens. But I still sometimes use the wron one, especially first thing in the morning. And I have been doing this for 30 years! The more familiar with the process we become, the more easily mistakes happen. So don't beat yourself up over it. ;)

[NoraWI]

I would like to suggest two things:

1. Get a pen for the bolus. Unmistakable and handy to carry with you when eating out. It does not have to be refrigerated once in use. Humalog just came out with a pen.

2. Keep a small spiral notebook where you write down your dose, the type of insulin taken, the time and what you eat. If you want, you can even write down your exercise or activity.

The notebook is a great reference point for dosing for various foods.

[Olidus]

I keep my Levemir pen in my bed side table, and take that every night - that is a Blue Pen - and I put a lable on it "NIGHT TIME LEVEMIR", My Bolus , fast acting I carry with me is a Silver Pen, NovaRapid.
I don't keep the pens in the fridge when I am not using them.

[gettingby]

I think most of us have made mistakes like that. I once took 20 units of Humalog instead of my Lantus. Fought lows almost forever.
Now that I am pumping, no worries of mix-ups as I only use one type now. :)
Don't beat yourself up over it. It has/will happen to all of us sooner or later. :)

[Scratch]

I'm going to second the idea of getting your bolus insulin in a pen and keep the Lantus in a vial.

For me, a Novolog flexpen and Lantus vial basically means I can't ever mix those two up.

[deansreef]

Last night i was going to eat my dinner, said I bolused 15 minutes ago right? good thing I wear a pump- just checked my bolus history and realized i had not bolused since lunch!!!

[gettingby]

Last night i was going to eat my dinner, said I bolused 15 minutes ago right? good thing I wear a pump- just checked my bolus history and realized i had not bolused since lunch!!!
I did almost the same thing.
Christmas Day dinner at the in laws. Buffet style. Got my food, sat down, took a bite and couldn't remember if I had bolused. Looked at the bolus history and sure enough, I hadn't.
Don't ya just love pumps !!:D
Oh yeah, for your benefit. We are supposed to go watch our buddy race his bike tomorrow if it doesn't rain. Gawd, I love doing that !!! :D:D:D

[grace girl]

I've done it...and now I prevent it by two things: I bought two small plastic containers that are very different...both in shape and color...one for lantus, one for humalog.
Also, I write it down every single time. A pain, yes, but much less so than trying to deal with 18 units of humalog when all I want to do is go to bed!

[lgvincent]

Don't feel bad. It was only a few days ago that I took 12 units of Humalog rather than Lantus. It was bedtime and my blood sugar was 130 so I spent the next few hours with low blood sugar.

[markr]

I'm Jewish, so I don't confess. :D But seriously, as already mentioned, thats one of the advantages of having a pump, you can always check the bolus history before giving yourself any insulin.

Mark

[JasonJayhawk]

I've done the same thing, Jenn. Too many times. Now I insist on getting vials for my basal and pens for my fast-acting.

As I used up my remaining basal pens, I had to concentrate when dialing my dose. I think I made even more mistakes the harder I concentrated!

"****, I just gave myself 24 units of fast-acting.... again!"

[nono87]

I keep my Levemir pen in my bed side table, and take that every night - that is a Blue Pen - My Bolus , fast acting I carry with me is a Silver Pen, NovaRapid.
I don't keep the pens in the fridge when I am not using them.

Snap that exactly what i do.. blue novopen for levimir and silver for novorapid....just no labels on them:D

of which i own about 4 silver pens!!!!

[Olidus]

Snap that exactly what i do.. blue novopen for levimir and silver for novorapid....just no labels on them:D

of which i own about 4 silver pens!!!!

I just have a label on my Levimir - I know its a big nerd alrt. But when I 1st started to take insulin - I was in a stage of confusion and needed to cause I had no idea what I was doing.
I'm sure I am fine without the labels now - but will keep on just to be on the safe side ;)

Great minds think alike :cool:

[UpNorth]

Well, it was on Christmaseve last year, had been doing well all day not hitting too high numbers after lunch. In the evening we had some fruits, biscuits and candy, which i can normally manage quite well with an extra insulin injection. Anyways, i had some fruit and some biscuits and quite a bit of Chocolate :love: After a while i started to feel a bit thirsty, but stupid egg as i was that day i thought it was just because of the salty foods at lunchtime earlier in the day, so i just drink some diet soda and continue enjoying some more sweets:o about an hour later the thirst had reached a ridiculous level, and i'd been to the bathroom a few times so i test, and voila, 25mmol/l. I had totally forgotten to inject insulin to cover all those sweets:eek: :o Took me 2 rather massive insulin injections and the rest of the evening to get that one down:( And woke up on the high side on christmas day... 12mmol/l, in the morning:(

Since diagnose over 3 years ago, this was indeed one of the first times i've forgotten to take my insulin. Talk about diabetic blooper, or why not "very christmas" instead of "merry christmas" The one day each year i allow myself to just enjoy A LOT of sweet things:T

[Sheralyn]

Don't feel bad; we all make mistakes. I have to take my blood pressure meds early in the morning as my bp spikes at night; well, one time I accidentally overdosed, totally forgetting that I'd gotten up and taken my meds and then fell back asleep, woke up and took them AGAIN. My bp went so low it's a wonder I didn't kill myself...anyway, now I have a "signal" that tells me I've taken my morning meds. So even if I fall back asleep, when I arise again and see my "signal" (placing the meds in a certain place) I know I've already taken them.

[JasonJayhawk]

Sheralyn,

After that scary BP mishap, using a signal is a good idea! I started laying out a syringe at night so that I'd remember to take my morning basal (and prevent a second morning basal dosing, which I've done when I'm sleepy or running around.)

But now a new problem started: I've forgotten to place my syringe "signal" out when I take my nightly basal, which has resulted in forgetting to take the morning basal. Do'h!

If I could only figure out a way to set a signal to remind me to set the signal. :)

[desperado]

Hey Jen! I am right up there with you! I am going into my 3rd year of insulin Lantus & Apidra. DH was put on pills after his second heart attack this-[past October he went on to the hospital for another heart problem. This time he came home on insulin . Humulin NPH And Regular both of mine are clear he has one clear one cloudy. For myself I had typed up a Insulin Log for 7 days and I print out a new one I have every bit of info on this I need ( it only took me about two weeks to get it like I needed it)
So after we get home from hospital with DH. He is quite weak. and I8 am trying to figure out his insulin until he feels better. about the third night we was back home I drew up his morning dose instead of his bedtime dose to give him at 10:00p.m. As i was walking down the hall something said go back and look again... The next morn gin I told him if he wanted to live he would have to do all of his won shots other wise one of us was going to kill the other one by mistake:D Since then no problems with him feeling good enough to draw up and take his own shots :T :D

[morrisma]

Same idea, different direction. Went on a spontaneous walk in unfamiliar woods. Left my "snack" bag in the car along with my meter. Good thing I had a friend with me to flag down a ranger after we got lost and I started acting VERY strangely. BS was 45 & dropping when I finally got back to the car & got relief.

Lesson: Spontaneous and Diabetes don't go so well together.
Mike

[doog]

Snap that exactly what i do.. blue novopen for levimir and silver for novorapid....just no labels on them:D

of which i own about 4 silver pens!!!!

So that's where I'm going wrong. I use my silver pen for Levemir and my blue pen for Novorapid.

Seriously, it works - except for the time I put Novorapid in my silver pen by mistake, 14 units of fast acting before bed isn't funny!

[Dave101]

Ok, this was really dumb!

A few years ago when I was on the syringes I drew up approx 30units of air to push into the vial. I was not concentrating on what I was doing, and proceeded to stick the needle into my leg, and push down the plunger. Oooops!!

This was at dinner time, I wasn't low or anything, just plain daft.
I was terrified at the time of doing it, but nothing happened and I'm here to tell the story.

[Sheralyn]

But just what is a "bolus"?

[ant hill]

Hello Sheralyn, A Bolus is fast acting to cover your meals with.

[Eddy]

If you had to make a mistake... at least you didn't basal with rapid. :eek:

[Eddy]

A few years ago when I was on the syringes I drew up approx 30units of air to push into the vial. I was not concentrating on what I was doing, and proceeded to stick the needle into my leg, and push down the plunger. Oooops!!


No placebo effect; I guess your diabetes isn't psychosomatic. ;)

[SugarLife]

I don't remember ever mixing up Novorapid for Lantus, but I think I once did the other way around, taking Lantus instead of Novorapid - took me a long day of calculating and testing and snacking, snacking, snacking (now I don't mind snacking sometimes, but this really took the fun out of it).

When Sam (that's just how I call my pump to make him look more friendly) almost runs out of insulin he warns me with a beep and a number on the display and when he actually runs out of it, he beeps again and gives a different signal, and goes into stop-mode, of course, and beeps every minute to tell me that he's not running. So I once forgot to change the insulin when he beeped the first time, forgot to take extra insulin with me, and voila, ended up explaining to the person I had a quite official meeting with, why I was beeping every minute - there's a way you can switch the beepsound off, but I didn't know how as I never used that!

[pokie]

I use a pen for my bolus and the lantus is in a vial... I can so see myself mixing things up if they weren't so differentiated! I have forgotten my Novolog pen before when I left the house and had to wait to eat; that is no fun. I also forgot my Lantus once when I left town for the weekend and had to scramble to a pharmacy before closing to get some more. There is just SO much to remember!

[alicat61]

:) Hi
I have also given my self lantus instead of Humalog in the morning. Just tested more and was Ok. My other problem is remembering if I took my metformin or not. I just can't remember.(i Blame it on shift work probally early alziemers):D
I usually find I must have as my BSL's are Ok

[ant hill]

I just can't remember.(i Blame it on shift work probally early alziemers):D


Ho no, LOL. :hahaha: :T

[RyanN]

I'm interested to hear that other people have made
the same bolus for basal mistake that I've made.
I did this once, mistaking my Humalog for Lantus--which scared
the heck out of me and my wife.
Then I thought I did it again while visiting my parents--though I actually hadn't--but once again scared the heck out of me, my wife, my, parents, and my sister.

Needless to say, I quickly made the switch to basal pen and
bolus vial.

My very frightening experience now seems less frightening after having read the other posts from people who have made far more severe mistakes and lived to tell and laugh about it.

This forum really is a God-send for me.

[jspirit]

Only a week old at this game, but still proves I have to concentrate more on what I am doing... last night I did a quick injection of my levemir before bed and right after realized I thought I forgot to dial the units. Still took my late night snack to avoid a low, and then when testing during the night and morning I could see that I gave myself a needle with a big zero dose of insulin.
Anybody do that ?

[Jan B]

Only a week old at this game, but still proves I have to concentrate more on what I am doing... last night I did a quick injection of my levemir before bed and right after realized I thought I forgot to dial the units. Still took my late night snack to avoid a low, and then when testing during the night and morning I could see that I gave myself a needle with a big zero dose of insulin.
Anybody do that ?

That's funny (sorry)! No, because I never used pens, just syringes.

[LowkonXC]

I have yet to make those mistakes but I dread it anyway because I know the odds. Taking 50u of Novalog, thinking it was Lantus, and going to bed doesn't sound good to me. How big a mistake is acceptable?

[dar917]

Went to a horse show with my mom at the end of August; it was really hot and I kept my insulin in a cooler in the trailer and we all (me, my mom, her friend and her friend's daughter) went to a hotel and I forgot to take the Lantus out of the cooler to bring to the hotel with us. Luckily I still had my Novolog with me; my numbers weren't too bad the next day either. Also eating goodies at a musical I was playing for despite not having any insulin along. Blood sugar was 309 when I got home but it was easily fixed. So nothing too terrible, yet.

[Metermaid]

Hi,
I noticed you are on Lantus/Novolog...me too..but I am having the hardest time getting my Lantus dose right..
My TDD is 30-35 units...so I take 14-16 Lantus (45% of my TDD) per day..but I just figured out..if my TDD goes up from eating yummy holiday food or whatever..then my Lantus dose would be wrong for the day. Are all of you really eating the same amount of carbs everyday???? Am I the only one who just covers what I eat with insulin (within reason)??? Is that why my basal is so hard to figure??
Thanks,Rita

[Penny]

Hi,
I noticed you are on Lantus/Novolog...me too..but I am having the hardest time getting my Lantus dose right..
My TDD is 30-35 units...so I take 14-16 Lantus (45% of my TDD) per day..but I just figured out..if my TDD goes up from eating yummy holiday food or whatever..then my Lantus dose would be wrong for the day. Are all of you really eating the same amount of carbs everyday???? Am I the only one who just covers what I eat with insulin (within reason)??? Is that why my basal is so hard to figure??
Thanks,Rita

Rita,, I take the same amount of Lantus every night.....though I am in the process of increasing it again. I test before each meal and base my Novolog on how high I am and the number of carbs I will be eating. My doctor wants me to increase Lantus until I have acceptable fasting levels. Right now the high fasting levels are what is causing me to use more Novolog, if I start the day high, it is harder to keep the numbers down during the day.

[Jan B]

I have yet to make those mistakes but I dread it anyway because I know the odds. Taking 50u of Novalog, thinking it was Lantus, and going to bed doesn't sound good to me. How big a mistake is acceptable?

Mike, if you do that, you SIMPLY (ha ha), figure out how many carbs = 50 units of Novalog and start lining up all those glucose tabs, or OJ or whatever -- eat a big cake or pie (but count the carbs) over the next hour or two or three or four! If it were me, I'd need to have 800 carbs to fix that mistake!! And Test, Test, and on and on! Just do your best to become a little OCD if you must at night when taking your Lantus so that mistake doesn't happen!

[Eddy]

I am having the hardest time getting my Lantus dose right.


Ideally, your BG would remain near-constant if you neither bolused nor ate.

When I did 1x/day Lantus, I set my dose (injected around 18:00) to give me ~10 mg/dL drop overnight. That's what made me feel best. It wasn't enough to last 24 hr, but I made up for it with a little extra NPH at breakfast and lunch.


My TDD is 30-35 units...so I take 14-16 Lantus (45% of my TDD) per day..but I just figured out..if my TDD goes up from eating yummy holiday food or whatever..then my Lantus dose would be wrong for the day.


How so? IIUC, your basal doesn't depend on what you eat.


Are all of you really eating the same amount of carbs everyday????


Not even close. :)


Am I the only one who just covers what I eat with insulin (within reason)???


I eat what I eat when I eat it in whatever quantity of it that I eat. :)


Is that why my basal is so hard to figure??


Some of my web searching led me to believe that Lantus has less predictability than Levemir. More predictable than NPH, but by surprisingly little.

I also want a basal that lasts _less_ than Lantus. That way, I can have one shot cover me overnight, then set my morning shot according to the day's planned physical activity.

So... I'm presently transitioning to Levemir. It's experimentation time! ;)

[Gary_W]

Mike, if you do that, you SIMPLY (ha ha), figure out how many carbs = 50 units of Novalog and start lining up all those glucose tabs, or OJ or whatever -- eat a big cake or pie (but count the carbs) over the next hour or two or three or four! If it were me, I'd need to have 800 carbs to fix that mistake!! And Test, Test, and on and on! Just do your best to become a little OCD if you must at night when taking your Lantus so that mistake doesn't happen!

If it was me, I'd just have to drink 5 1/2 liters of orange juice and I'd be right as rain :D

If it was food, I'd have to eat an entire horse fried in thick batter with 8lbs of chips. Sweet and sour sauce coating the lot and with a chaser of chocolate cake *


* Please note this calculation is a little fanciful. But the OJ one is accurate, that's how much I'd need but I suspect that would keep me in the toilet most of the night. I have never knowingly eaten a horse, though I have spent time in France and Belgium so I couldn't swear to it.

[ant hill]

Aww steady on Gary!!!, Can I help you. LOL :D :T