[Dewey]

A change is needed....desperately. I've got some "sporadic" highs. Sometimes they come in the morning, sometimes - during the day. I've changed basals, etc., but still seem to encounter issues along the way. Though I've had a stuffy nose for the past few days (may be a slight cold, or something....), I've had No fevers and have been riding that blood sugar rollercoaster for a while now. I'm not mad at the Diabetes, Just some of the numbers... I'm going to a local endo here on Thursday, so hopefully, he can perhaps hook me up with either Novolog or some Lantus (for the "untethered" regimen). I know one thing, and that is that I cannot go on having daily highs/lows.....too much of anything is No good. Here are some of the numbers:

Friday (7/22):
3:15am - 68 (ate pudding 24g/lowered basal to .85u/hr for 2.5 hours)
7:30am - 287 (lower basal explained high, corrected 4.75u)
8:30am - 80
10:30am - 34 (ate ~38g carbs - coffee w/creamer, "angel wing" cookie)
1:20pm - 325 (thought snacks may have caused..NOT! Corrected)
1:30pm - 358 (Blood went up After correction! Changed set)
2:00pm - 327
2:20pm - 262
2:40pm - 280 (! moved set yet Again! Corrected again!)
3:20pm - 171
3:40pm - 154

This morning (Mon. 7/25):
12am - 50 (ate a few small bites(3) of a Cinnabon/few sips of Sprite to help)
1:15am - 89
7am - 293 (took 4.95u to coorect)
7:30am - 272
8am - 237 (took more correction 1.5u)

I've been noticing some trends (i.e. higher numbers specifically in the mornings and afternoons), but have adjusted basals....even that hasn't really helped. I've changed sets, & had the same issues (sometimes after a day). Heck, I even tried taking boluses as shots to help my set last a little longer (am currently changing sets every other day, or sometimes Every day. I also don't like taking the boluses separately, as there's a higher change of absorption than with the pump). I think it's time for either an insulin (or at least regimen) change... Sorry to rant, as I don't hate Diabetes, just the numbers I'm currently having! Any other ideas?

[duck]

Dew,

Can you try and use glucose tabs to correct lows? I appreciate what you are consuming in order to correct the lows (hee hee, we all do it) but at this point I think we need to get use something that can be definitively quantified (specific grams of glucose, ie Glucotabs), so we can eliminate other ingredients from hosing your sugars...Whaddya think?

[jdstein11]

I just started using Duck's suggestion, but for the reason that I need to lose some of the weight I just gained back after starting insulin. The tabs don't taste as good as snacks, but the definitely have fewer calories.

This may be slightly off-topic, but do many of you guys test in the middle of the night? Once I'm asleep, man, I'm out 'till morning.

[Dewey]

Originally Posted by duck

Dew,

Can you try and use glucose tabs to correct lows? I appreciate what you are consuming in order to correct the lows (hee hee, we all do it) but at this point I think we need to get use something that can be definitively quantified (specific grams of glucose, ie Glucotabs), so we can eliminate other ingredients from hosing your sugars...Whaddya think?

Yeah, very true. Sometimes I use glucotabs (usually the Reli-On brand), and they do really well. My eating habits have been "off" lately (weight has suffered some as well). Being away from home tends to mess with the mix even more... I like to cook good meals and what-not, but while 1200 miles away, we tend to eat more sporadically (and out more often). I have noticed that, even while in the hospital (I stayed there with Carwy when he was in) and eating on a better basis, my sugars still had some fluctuations...I'll definitely treat the lows with tabs, as I carry them almost All the time.

Originally Posted by jdstein11

I just started using Duck's suggestion, but for the reason that I need to lose some of the weight I just gained back after starting insulin. The tabs don't taste as good as snacks, but the definitely have fewer calories.

This may be slightly off-topic, but do many of you guys test in the middle of the night? Once I'm asleep, man, I'm out 'till morning.

Agreed on your statement (as I need to try to lose some weight again). I do try to test in the middle of the night, & throughout the night (guess you could say I'm like my own, built-in "glucowatch," or something, lol ) I like to try and keep on top of sugars usually, so I can more readily catch any higher numbers. However, I sometimes miss them (that, and I sometimes eat things I shouldn't to treat the lows).

Just want to say Thanks to you both for the suggestions!

[am1977]

Dewey,

Sorry to hear about your highs...aren't they a pain ! I've been dealing with more highs than I would like too, but I think mine are due to being a little lax with my food choices and bolusing .

It sounds like you know the problem too. If you have been eating "off" (for lack of better word), that most likely will affect your blood sugar readings. Also, any weight loss/gain might mean that your rates need to be adjusted...hopefully, that will be addressed at your appointment.

It does seemlike you are having frequent highs, but it seems like it's mostly in the morning, which tends to be a tough time for many of us. I did notice that you posted several high readings, but some of them are only 1/2 hr or so from the last one... so I don't know if you should worry about those readings . Maybe the insulin hasn't taken full affect yet. I don't know, just hypothesizing here .

Whatever the case, I hope things improve. We all know how frustrating it can be when things aren't where we expect them to be.

Take care!

[daddyo]

Hey Dewey have you tried changing the depth of your insertion sites, say from a 6 mm to 9mm or vise-versa just a thought. Hope you get a handle on it, I know it's a pain. Good Luck.

[Dewey]

Originally Posted by daddyo

Hey Dewey have you tried changing the depth of your insertion sites, say from a 6 mm to 9mm or vise-versa just a thought. Hope you get a handle on it, I know it's a pain. Good Luck.

Hi Daddyo, and thanks. Currently, I use Disetronic Rapid-Ds (10mm), but they also make 12mm sets, so I might try them instead...

Thank you for your thoughts, Andrea. I hope we both can get some kind of handle on things, even if it does mean a regimen change or something...

[YouthIncJr]

RE: Your Monday 7/25 numbers. You took a correction at 7 then 1 hour later took another. Your not giving your insulin enough time to work. Sounds like your over bolusing then eating to much of the wrong things creating the see saw effect.

I hear you on the snacs though. I would rather eat 4 bowls of cocco puffs than 4 glucose tabs any day.