Would eating a half a cup of ice cream keep me level? I am on automode and right now it is not doing me any favors.
When I had multiple basal suspensions through the night, I figured it was time to reduce my basal rate for that period. I went from 0.69 u/hr to 0.67 and ultimately settled on 0.64. Not much change but now I’m more level and relatively few basal suspensions and almost no low alarms (<1 a week). But I have to be prepared to change all my settings, for example correction factor (increasing that reduced the rollercoaster effect while reducing it minimized the out of range highs) and of course carb ratios are in many respects the easiest and most obvious changes, although made unnecessarily complicated my me because of the other variable, namely how long before the meal did I take the insulin?
I am in automode. I have no control over my basal rates.
In your other post, @Rphil2 mentioned some tweaks that may help.
Similar to Tandem auto mode/CIQ, tweaking settings may give you results you’re looking for.
Its also helpful to mention which pump you are using in your topic for better responses.
If adjustments to your settings don’t help, then having a snack may help.
But may result in some days where it helps, and other days you go high, if you don’t bolus for it.
It kinda reminds me of the old school days when we needed a nighttime snack to balance the NPH dosage. It always had to be something high in protein and fat to last long enough, though. Otherwise it got absorbed too quickly. I kinda don’t think the ice cream would last that long. At least it hits me real quick. The staple was always peanut butter or cheese on crackers/graham crackers. But then again, control wasn’t the greatest in those days, either. So take that advice with a MASSIVE grain of salt.
1 Like
I am on the 770 pump. The only settings I have control over are carb ratio and AIT.
1 Like
The higher fat content I thought made ice cream a good choice.
I am only such a low basal that my ratio is 80% bolus& 20% basal. I am not your normal diabetic. The only time I might go high is after eating. I see my diabetes educator in a few weeks. That was the soonest I could get in.
I believe you or your doctor sets your basal rates and the algorithm makes adjustments up and down from there.
You should be able to lower your rate. If your sensor fails, your pump doesn’t turn off, there are basal settings
This link may be helpful.
(I use Tandem which has very different settings/approach. Medtronic wants to “learn” your insulin needs. The link above gave me better understanding.)
Having a snack may be best option if pump does not learn that your basal routinely is reduced overnight.
I might have to try that. I am very insulin sensitive and on a small amount of basal insulin. When I had control over basal insulin some of my rates were .025 and .050.
Does your pump history show recent daily totals, with basal/bolus breakdown?
It seems to me that anything with carbs like IC might make your pump kick in with more insulin and then you repeat the problem? I know I am a lot more insulin sensitive at night. If it’s early after you are in bed, it might not hit soon enough, but all night or hours later maybe PB or a small amount of pure protein? I say small because any spike in your level might make your pump kick in with more insulin?
I could be way off base as I’m not on a pump, so just ignore me if it doesn’t make sense.
Yeah, I read that link before. I kinda think I have given up in automode as I am having more lows than I would like and I am sick and tired of the auto min delivery alarms that I get. Several of them throughout the day. I went thru my basals and ait and bolus increment and reflected those settings to manual mode. I have to be careful though because the last time I was in manual mode for a long time was in April of 2020. I will to start basal testing again.
1 Like
This memory made me smile! Back in the old days, you needed a bedtime snack. My favorite way to do it was cheese with Nilla wafers with American cheese slices. Doesn’t sound good but us little kids can find the strangest combinations!
And side note, I do find the wonderful fat filled ice cream has a much longer time frame for me. Anytime I do fat free ice cream or yogurt, I spike right away but true ice cream, much more level. YDMV!
1 Like
Yeah, I love ice cream too but because it is cold it doesn’t appeal to me as much! I also buy breyers ice cream which has 13g of sugars per 1/2cup. The chocolate is the same.
It’s almost like deja vu all over again. Like before pumping and on NPH I had to have a snack at 930pm. Well, the same thing. I am needing a snack on automode for wgatever reason. I thought the purpose of automode was to keep your basals steady.
I manage my wife’s T1D because she is unable due to severe dementia. I started giving her meds crushed, cut or otherwise for an after dinner dessert in a single serving of creamy ice cream (between 20 to 27 carbs depending on flavor) because she won’t take the pills by themself. The interesting side effect was that once she leveled off by bedtime she would stay level all night long (using Tandem X2: Control IQ with Dexcom CGM) and through the early morning.
5 Likes
Please excuse this digression. Every February 14th we must live through the popular culture’s celebration of “love.” Your devotion to your wife is what real love looks like. Bless you!
4 Likes