Hey you guys I have had t1 for 6 years and contantally battle to remember to give myself insulin before a meal I usually do it after because I forget to it completely slips my mind and I end up being high and of course then you feel terrible any ideas on tricks for me to remember to give myself insulin when I eat?
Thanks Sarah and I am on a pump
How about keeping your syringe/pen, whatever on the table where you eat? A big obvious note on the fridge? Or if you are going out to eat, next to the car keys? For me, I have a routine of taking my blood sugar before a meal, writing down the number, figuring the carbs and then writing the number of units of insulin next to it; then go and do my shot, so it’s all one connected action.
I remember my blood sugar I am very good at that just not the insulin and I am on a pump
Consider using your reminders in the pump to have the pump vibrate a 15-20 minutes before you expect to eat your next meal. Then reset the reminder after you bolus for thenext meal.
Not sure about your current age, but close to my son from your picture. You were diagnosed in July 2003 and have 6 years experience. He was diagnosed in November 2003 and has just short of 5 years experience. He was 10. I don’t know how old you were at pump start. For him two years ago. The pump has been great. He has been able to get his A1c below 7, but now with high school he tends to guess on his BG, bolus, and then go with the flow without testing. You have covered the REALLY hard part… Test FIRST… BOLUS is the second part. Test two hours later is the really, really desired part, so that the endocrine can get a fix on basals. The two hours later does not work too well for us right now as test first bolus eat, usually means that this 16 year old is still eating into the next time frame. One needs to GROW!
Does your pump pick up the test result??? David’s pump wizard relies on the BG result together with the carb input to choose an accurate, next meal bolus. I agree with the lady that said to put a note with your test kit… A big pink sticker… BOLUS. With a pump, you most likely don’t have to worry about a time delay before you eat anymore from reading to bolus, and you can take advantage of the delayed bolus options that your pump offers when needed. TELL me how you get in the habit of testing… though… if you are a high school student… who is a little intimidated?
In our case, he has started guessing on the bolus based on the carb count without taking the current BG into account, which tells me that he is not comfortable testing at lunch around friends, a new worry for us. WE WILL, NEED TO WORK THIS OUT, BUT YOU HAVE THAT PART LICKED ALREADY. You will come up with a solution to the bolus reminder. Do you have any suggestions for a shy student as a reminder to check BG.
Cheryl
As others mentioned, you have have alarms on your pump or you could get a watch and set alarms to normal meal times. I see you are a student – so “normal” meal times might not exist. You also might consider putting on a bracelet that you decide should remind you to take your insulin and every time you see it while eating, it might help you remember.
Are you serious. You mean you aren’t perfect? Gosh, now that I think about it, I’m far from perfect myself. I guess we are all just human.
I don’t use insulin, but I do take Byetta and I am required to take it one hour before my meal. At times I forget to take it and I am old and know better. Sometimes it has to do with not having it with me at the needed times and other times, I just don’t remember.
I have found that the easiest way to help the situation is to ritualize the action. Define a series of actions that you will do in sequence leading to your meal. Perhaps you should alway visit the bathroom for a potty break, wash your hands, test and take your insulin and then log the values. The additional actions in the ritual pattern can help remind you of the need to take the insulin.
As a backup, you might consider a further ritual anytime you start a meal. It could be as simple as a silent prayer, a final review of the carbs in the meal or a check mark in your log. If you have more than one layer of things that help remind you, it will further reduce missing a bolus.
Hey Princess,
You didn’t say what pump. If been T1 for 53 years. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve waited and shot after. What usually rememded me then was feeling terrible.
I’ve been on an MM522 since January. I always use the bolus wizard before every meal. My One Touch Ultra Link sends the BG to the pump. Then I start the bolus wizard and it always asks me how many carbs. After a few more steps that I can’t ignore it asks me when I want to be reminded to test again. So my insulin infusion is virtually automatic, once I start the wizard.
I did this a lot for all the years I’ve been on the pump. Recently I have stopped doing this, not even on purpose. What helped me was realizing how much of a difference in my post meal blood sugars there was when I bolus BEFORE I eat, even a bite. This eliminates giving myself a bolus even 15 minutes after I eat which affects my numbers. And in turn, I don’t forget my bolus at all. Now when I ‘forget’ to bolus, it is either while I am eating or just after. Because my mindset is “I need to bolus BEFORE I eat”.
Nevertheless, it is a hard feat and it doesn’t happen overnight. Good luck!
Well I am on the medtronics paradigm I just changed this last year from the animus and I like different things about the two but I am happy with the paradigm and it sends the bg straight to the pump which has made such a difference I am trying to get the sensor a CGM which would be amazing I was on a trial for a week and it was totally amazing I loved it and it helped me so much and yeah I know I am not perfect but it would be nice to not hurt all the time and with the alarms I generally ignore them I have had my friends set an alarm on there phone and then they remind me which worked pretty well last year but we don’t eat at the same time anymore so that does not work any more oh I am a college student sophomore year and for the testing to Cheryl well um its pretty automatic and I also don’t care what others think I am not embarrassed its something that I have to deal with and they don’t so they need to get over me testing and generally all my friends are very supportive and don’t really care and usually help me out if they notice I am acting weird or noticed I have not checked we just all forget about the insulin because I eat in a college cafeteria and if you can imagine its not always the best food so I change it and if I do it first I may not eat all of it and end up being low later. I also check it during class sometimes oh and I am 19 my last a1c was 8 so it has gone down and I am always working on it and thenk you eveyone this has been pretty helpful please keep it up the best thinkglike was the post it notes so I am going the try that but please keep going I like tshese Thanks Sarah
I do the same thing on occasion and its infuriating when I do it. I wish I had an easy idea for you to remember. The only thing which works for me is to do it just after I test my bg. Even then, I forget.
You’re not the only one!
As I enjoy making ideas, and doing more mind work about my bussiness , I also some time forget , i forget i have injected or not , as I have to inject my daughter too, I have to inject near 8-10 times daily ,to do unit calculations, to take oral medicines ,2-3 times , some time I am totally confused, my wife some time helps me…i feel very down when I forget what I have done …
i think the pump would be a reminder enough! The only time i “forget” is when i purposely don’t take it… I agree with Zoe, when you have to “check your sugar, write it down, and prepare your food and then inject before eating” it just comes natural. I’ve done all these things on my 15 mintue lunch break i used to have at work (food was already prepared, wrote sugar down later): i would run to the bathroom check my sugar, make a decision, and inject, then run upstairs to eat my food and walk back to my area (5 min in the bath room, 5 min to eat, 5 to go back, thank goodness i don’t have to.). Honestly you’re just going to have to make yourself do it, i know harder then it sounds, but practice makes perfect
Honestly, I think the simplest thing is to bolus before eating. Always before. Bolusing before eating will mean better blood sugars. For fatty foods, I would use a dual wave or combo bolus over time, but when you see the food in front of you, before you even, eat, just try to get in the habit. It is very easy to forget after the fact.
Hi Sarah! I too forget to inject after eating if I don’t do it before. I’m in school as well and it’s hard to judge what you’re going to eat and that’s why I like to inject afterwards. I just feel like it’s because we are human. I would forget my head if it wasn’t attached on some days especially with school schedules and other things! I actually was reading this and then realized that I forgot to cover lunch! It happens! Hope you figure out a system that works for you!
Elizabeth