So, we take little man to a playgroup each week that this program he is in hosts the event(1-4 times a month), and every time we check him before give him a snack, get home and he's low, I mean we can give him 20 carbs and no insulin and he is low.
Today however...
He was at 180 at 7:30am for breakfast his mother gave him a 16 carb yogurt his 4u Lan and .5u Nov we checked him at 9:30 about 15 min before we were going to leave for the playgroup, he is at 310, we figure this might be a "false high" since its been two hours his Novalog should just now be kicking in(roughly right?). So, we give him a 5 carb snack and a piece of roast beef. A little trial and error since our dietician/endo when we did our training said the only thing that matters is carbs I dont care about sugar, fats, proteins etc I just want you to worry about the carb amount. However on here many have made mention of the protein so we figured what the heck lets try.
Went to the playdate at 10...went all over the place...got home at 11:45...and..
168!!!!
Yesterday got scary so this victory feels amazing.
Our day yesterday...
He was at 293 when his mother checked him at 4am,173 at 8:30 when she gave him breakfast (1/2 a banana) we got him from her and about 9:30 gave him some grapes 5 carbs and 2 organic cinnamon sticks 3 carbs so 7 carb snack (no insulin) and then at 11:15 he starts just sitting around so we check him and bam..he's at 46?!?We got him up to 90 within 15 min and he rode 127, 123, 141, 93 then this mornings 180 after that but..the 46 just doesnt make sense?! I mean he was walking around chasing the cat all morning but he had a banana and grapes and crackers...(I swear we feed him more fruits than grapes those are just his favorite, those and melons which unfortunately he burns through like he didnt eat anything at all)
The only theory we can come up with is that since he is still in his honeymoon phase, his pancreous decided to say hello for a few? Is that the way it would work?
Sorry if this seems gloatful I'm just thrilled that a playdate finally went well...
Just a few things. First about his Novolog. After 2 hours it wouldn't just be kicking in. Novolog peaks within an hour, often sooner, and works in the body for about 3 hours. There's a light tail of effect after that, but VERY minimal. So after 2 hours most of his insulin would have already 'done its work'.
Also, DO worry about sugar (you said the endo said not to worry about sugar) because sugar is a carbohydrate. (Starch, fiber, and sugar are 3 forms of carbohydrates.)
It could be his pancreas/honeymoon phase, it could also be weird hormonal things since he's a growing boy. With kids it's hard to tell!
That protein with his snack before the playdate seems like it held his blood sugar over better than the carbs by themselves. His running around with the cat was before he went low? I am not a parent of a diabetic, I am the diabetic so I can only speak from my experience. Whenever I need a snack to really hold on, I eat some protein…cheese, peanut butter, lunch meat, ect. I wish you the best.
Protein helps keep things more level after correcting a low.
Could be a spurt of his own insulin. This also happens to people years after diagnosis. Gives me some hope that the pancreas isn't completely kaput. Certain injection sites seem to work more quickly.
I had awful afternoon lows on Lantus. It isn't stable & has peaks. Changing doses didn't help, splitting doses didn't work either. Best thing I did was change to Levemir.
Snack prior to exericise should contain protein and fat, as well as carbs. Simple carbs only if blood sugar is too low. Small 10gram snickers bar and 1 percent milk used to work well for us or cheese and crackers, peanut butter and jelly on half slice of bread (we use 15 grams and make sure blood sugar is up to 180 prior to gym or exercise IF there is no insulin active). If there is insulin on board, we cover some or all of it, based on our calculations, based on personal observation of what happens to her. My niece was dx'd at 8. Novolog, which we used for 3.5 years, was not mostly used up after two hours, but had a duration of 4.5 to 5 hours, tested many times. The drops in the 3rd and 4th hour were not minimal, could be a 50 to 60 point drop hour 2 to hour 3, easily. She would still drop hour 3 to 4, maybe 30 to 40 points. And Novolog had quite a tail. So base your carb coverage and calculations on personal observation. Everybody is different and children are very different from adults. My niece's duration on Apidra looks like most people's on Novolog. I am glad to be off Novolog; very difficult for us to manage. P.S. You are doing really well and exactly what you should be doing, basing your treatment on personal observation. Even if blood sugars may be a little bit high at first, until you are sure how each particular exercise effects him, it is far, far better to be safe than sorry. I probably would not have given ex-carbs if BS was in the 300s and give a part correction, based on how my niece reacts but clearly you made the right decision for your son. Everyone is different.
