[Lizzie G]

Hi everyone

Im having some issues with control of late.....I have been on vacation in Florida, expecting to go from the cold to hot and require less insulin as I have done previously in warmer climes, but this time not so. I never used to carb count (but have done recently as its the only way i can get anywhere close to being in control at the moment), but I seem to now be requiring a unit of insulin per 10g carb, twice what I was previously. I was as active as normal on holiday so that cant be it, and my basal was right I think....now I was thinking i didnt have a honeymoon period (I was diagnosed September 07 but the docs thought my type 1 had come on over as much as 6 months by my HBA1c reading), but now im beginning to wonder, and wonder why else I suddenly need twice as much novo as before. This is no fun!!!

Thoughts appreciated

Liz x

[johgn]

One possibility is that the insulin got exposed to some extreme heat during the travels (or is just older) and is not working like it should. If you have another bottle you could try that.

[mooredge]

Since you were diagnosed less than 1 year ago i would say that is definitly a major culprit in your problem. Also, going from cold to hot would make your insulin less effective, not more effective. The heat causes the insulin protein to denature more and is thus less potent. I don't know how old you are, but as your body changes (puberty, menstral cycles, etc...) insulin will affect you in different ways throughout your entire life. Eventually, it will stabalize to a relative degree and you will learn how to control it more effectively. The best thing you can do is to check your blood sugar often, and figure out how the various foods you eat affect you.

[Jan B]

Liz,

I think you were referring to a lot of us talking about needing less insulin when the warm months come, which is usually true. It's also true that if your insulin got too warm (like in your purse in a warm climate for too long) that it has lost some potency. A new bottle is a good idea. However, vacation may be another hint to your variability. Any changes in sleep, etc. will mess with control.

You really should count carbs all the time (when all you can do is guess, then do the best you can) -- otherwise it's all a big guessing game. I don't know how I made it before carb counting! Now this disease is much less a guessing game than it used to be.

I would test more and go with the flow. Eventually you will get settled a bit more and things should even out for a while. But only for a while. Hee hee.

[Lizzie G]

thanks people...i do definitely normally need less (esp basal) when in hot places so if anything its the insulin being exposed to heat, but again im pretty careful (keep pens and spare cartridges in fridge and use ice packs in pouch when out for days)....one thing i wondered though, if my pens are in a pouch with ice packs during the day and towards the end of the day they have melted, i wonder whether they were warm enough for long enough to cause an issue. my understanding was that more proteins begin to denature at much higher temperatures so they would be ok for a short time around 30 or so? i have been really silly though and mixed up a variety of cartridges now so not sure which i took and which i didnt. maybe i should get a new prescription and scrap all of them and start afresh! what a pain....

[Alice]

I'm beginning to think (imagine) that air travel and change of time zones does something weird to our ratios. When I head to Europe I almost always have to raise my basal dose of Lantus. And eating food on vacation is always an adventure in counting carbs, isn't it...it shouldn't be any different, but it just seems to change when I cross "the pond"...

But, it takes me a few days to adjust from jet lag...my husband doesn't even notice. I always feel like I have a hangover for a few days...so I really watch the glucose levels.

Enjoy Florida...