Changing basal rate? New to this site and Omnipod, please forgive me?

Need help changing basal rate! Harrison has been on the pod since July 30th. We did a very quick training in the endo office and didn't get much info on the basal rate. His numbers have been in the high 200's to low 400's since Thursday. (No ketones) We did a pod change on Friday evening and hoped that would bring the numbers down but it didn't. Right now his basal rate says .30u/hr from 12a to 12a. His Lantus before the pump was 9 units with good numbers. I think I need to up his basal but don't know how much or how the increments really work. Do I change it to .40 and see how that works? Thanks!

Ok so not a doctor but... My daughter's initial basal was determined by dividing her average slow acting insulin daily amount when injecting by 24. I don't have Arden's PDM with me right now to tell you how to make the change but the users guide is available at this link - http://www.myomnipod.com/customer-care/guides-and-resources/.

Keep a close eye on him for a at least three days if you make the change, Hope this helped and good luck!

Scott
www.ardensday.com

Call your Doctor. If they're halfway decent they should get back with you with suggested changes. You can also download the information and fax to them. You shouldn't be running that high that consistently and it sounds like changes are needed but I would get some advice. Keep in mind the Dr. will probably take baby steps in making the changes.

Thanks for the answers so far. I decided to do a pod change because he was 405 so I gave correction via pod and an hour and a half later he was 497. I realized he must not be getting insulin. Changed pod and the cannula was completely crimped. He was running high before his pod change yesterday but not that high so I probably do still need to change his basal.

Are you pinching up before/during insertion

I recall a disuccsion about pinching up. One person suggested also pushing the canula side down a bit as you pinch to make sure the canula doesn't go in at too much of an angle, as that may slow insulin absorbtion in some locations on some people.

I would def. change the basal...its in the settings menu...up it by .1 a little at a time until you figure out what works. I as an eighteen yr old use 1.2 for a basal. Hope this helps!

Yes I pinch up when inserting. His numbers are coming way down and will see about maybe some basal testing tomorrow.

sorry your adjustment is not going so well, i would put a call in to your endo team, even on the weekend for help, they should be able to make recommendation regarding his basal rates knowing his history. one problem we had with switching to omnipod was highs after a pod change, it seems the pump needs to be primed a bit? so based on his bs we bolus 1-5 units after a pod change without food, (jacob is 14) i think i would toss his insulin bottle and start with a new one just in case and keep the water going. sometimes they start the basal rates low when switching to a pump to be cautious, actually by calculations if he is always set for .3 that equals about 7 of lantus so you could safely bump things up a bit, i know jacob always needs more at night due to growth and dawn phenomenon, you could run a temp basal increase of say 25 % and check bs's frequently. i know i just spurted out a lot of info, thats the way my mind goes.. so many variables. best of luck! amy

I wouldn't cause yourself any stress trying to "figure out" the right basal to start at....you already have the starting point figured into your PDM right now. (Assuming the basal rate was input by your trainer/CDE to begin with). Just start there and increase the basal in "baby steps" (as Barbraann calls them) I would just increase by increments of .o5, watch for a day, then another .05, etc. Be easy on yourself! Good Luck and, above all, PEACE.