Hello? You have diabetes, remember?

1

Well, the honeymoon's over.

Been on a pump (omnipod) for about a week now, and after spectacular results, I had my first severe hypo last night -- ever. First time for a bad one.

What happened? Thought I had this pump/CGM thing dialed, man.

Well, that "hello, you have diabetes, remember?" event occurred thusly: Bolused for a total meal that I didn't eat. That simple.

Fell asleep before I had that cookie. That was most of the carbs from that meal. Was watching TV, happy tummy after a salad, steak, asparagus, and a small portion (1 oz) of pasta side-dish. The Pacific Cookie Company lemon drop was to be the crown jewel on that meal... and I fell asleep in the easy chair.

Midnight, G4 starts screaming at me. Must have been having a real conniption earlier, as I was under 40 when it went postal. That's way low for me.

Had the worst symptoms for the first time ever: Cold, shaking uncontrollably, wool-headed, all the standard stuff. Two packs of Levelife and 30 minutes later, I was fine.

Moral of the story: You can exploit technology, planning, friends, pets, whatever, but you always have this disease. Just when you think you've got a handle on it and some normalcy, Hank Hypo, or Donny DKA jump out of the bushes and attack you.

2

Hank Hypo. I like that.

Seriously, though, I'm so sorry that happened to you. We've all had that moment--where you think everything's good and then you're hit in the head with the reminder that it's never "good", it just sucks.

3

This is one of the main reasons I struggle with pre-bolusing. Unless you pre-bolus and sit watching the clock (or doing something boring enough that you will stop right away as soon as your reminder alarm goes off), it's sooooo easy to bolus and then forget to eat.

The last time I did this was several years ago. Bolused and then completely forgot to eat until I felt dizzy and tested to find my blood sugar was 34.

Glad you woke up for it and that it was relatively easy to treat.

4

With my space-cadet tendencies, I always pre-bolus then set about the tasks of preparing my meal. Since I often cook several servings of a dish at a time (and as I often do labor-intensive dishes I don't bolus before I start) often prep time is just re-warming and thus not as much of a "pre" as I'd like. Even preparing breakfast is more like 10-15 than the 20 I'd like. But it definitely beats forgetting completely I was going to eat shortly (not that I don't do that anyway occasionally!)

5

yikes...40's are nasty. what do you have your 'low alert' on? I set mine at 90 with an advanced alert alarm set too. that way if i'm dropping (in any way) it will alert me at 90 which usually means i'm 70 and dropping due to the lag time with CGM. I set it to 80's when sleeping because a basal drop is so slow, my meter and cgm are pretty close to the same numbers, without bolus on board.

6

Ouch. I've been there with the simple mistakes that cause big issues...

Me and my super speed button pushing bolused 30 UNITS instead of 30 CARBS 2ish months ago. That was a fun trip to the ER. They had an intern doing my IV, and when he went THROUGH the vein, and pulled the needle back, blood squirted to the other end of the bed. (Pulse was about 150 due to my sugar being so low at that point) That was about when i got light headed.

Needless to say, i double check before i bolus, now :)

7

30 units of fast acting..OMG! So glad you made it to the ER..i'm always nervous of that, too. As I sit here at 4:30 in the morning being woken to a screaming CGM 60 with arrows pointing down. ugh! feeling so tired, want to go back to sleep, guess I'll stay up for a bit (sweating like a pig right now). Less and less levemir daily, it seems. Stephen, do you have a dexcom or CGM? I'm SO grateful for this technology, that's for sure.

8

I was just trying to forget I have D... why did you have to remind me???

My problem is it takes me too long to cook and then sometimes after bolus I don't feel like eating and read for a bit before cooking, if I'm higher I can get away with it and wait longer. Now I just start eating something as soon as my phone alarms that it's time to eat. and as soon as I feel hypo I treat it, whether in the middle of my meal or whenever, I rarely test anymore.

It's good you woke up with the alarm and managed it. Maybe next time put all your food in site so you don't forget to eat it.

9

30 units... omg... I would be unconscious before an ambulance got there for sure... I think it's a good thing I'm on mdi because I can see myself making that mistake easily.