I just managed to take 12 units of Novolog instead of Levemir (might not seem like a lot to some of you, but I am very insulin sensitive and my needs are less). I have never done this and I am freaking out, don't know what to do. I don't have insurance and don't feel like I can go to ER. If I eat/drink carbs around the hour and religiously check my BS will I be ok? I have a glucogon pen but so far haven't been able to get a hold of anyone to come over. ADvice is appreciated :(
Do you know what your insulin to carb ratio (I:C) is?
If so, I would eat enough carbs to cover the insulin. For example, my mid-day ratio is 1:17. So if I accidentally took 12 units, I would need to eat 12(units) X 17 (carbs), or 204 carbs!
Now I probably wouldn't do that all in one sitting, but in a relatively short period of time.
Make sure you have some fast-acting carbs, like glucose tabs and keep testing at least every hour for the next 4 - 5 hours.
Also, keep in mind that you haven't taken any basal insulin, so the effect of the Novolog may be a bit blunted since it is essentially acting as basal and bolus over the next 4 hours.
Thanks you guys. I would need to eat about 300 grams of carbs which I am reluctantly starting to do. Bah. I am trying to figure out whether I could consistently eat said food throughout the next several hours but still go to school today. Damn, the thought of falling behind on my studies...
Has this happened to anyone? I am wondering when/if I will suddenly just get knocked down with a low or if I continue eating I won't feel it.
That either means we have a clue, OR we are just out in left field together - LOL!
I would try and go to school, but depends on when you have to get out of the house to make it against stuffing the food down and getting some digestion going, etc, etc.
Could you see what happens over the next hour and go in late?
Thanks sooooo much for your guys' quick response. I am making myself a big bowl of pasta (which I NEVER do so I am sure the carb load will go down just fine). School is a 10 minute walk so I think I will go in and just explain to my teachers before hand what I am experiencing. Definitely not taking my usual Levemir dose for now. Der.
Sorry this happened to you, Frankie. I guess it's inevitable to happen eventually on shots. I don't want to disagree with the others, but personally I wouldn't consume anything like 300 carbs, because besides making me sick, that would definitely make me go high and the roller coaster can be worse than just the lows. I would have a carby snack and then keep testing on a frequent basis; eat glucose tabs if I started to drop and/or became actually low, and proceed to have other snacks or glucose if needed for the life of the insulin. Do you know the duration of your insulin for you? We all vary, but in general it is between 3 and 4 1/2 hours. I agree that the lack of basal will mediate it, another reason not to panic and overdo. Your glucometer is your best friend for the next couple hours! I would test about every 1/2 hour.
Yes, this is the first time I have done something like this since being diagnosed nearly 3 years ago. I ate a bowl of pasta (I don't think I have had pasta in years, I don't even like it) at about 80 grams of carbs (eek) and I already feel sick. My blood sugar is now 300, go figure! But I am scared it will drop quite low so I am laying of the carb laden food but packing my bag with fruit and nuts and such and checking ever half hour or so.
Sounds like you're doing great, Frankie. Telling your teachers sounds like a good idea, so you can continue to test (spoken as a college instructor who likes to know what's going on with my students!).
Hope all goes well for the duration of this mishap!
Wow! Hairy situation! I'd go for Mexican but pasta's probably not a bad idea due to the fluid dynamic effect of large shots. I hope it worked out ok!!
Chocolate milk.
Yeah, hope you're okay!
Another option is a glucagon injection, for future reference.
Multiply your carb ratio by the number of units you took. Eat that many carbs. Test every hour or two .
I know this is too late. Like FHS wrote this is for future reference:
Any kind of physical activity will amplify the insulin activity and the digestion will slow down too. So it is not recommendable to go to the school now. Eat, test, preserve energy and do not forget to inject your Levemir when the emergency is over (3 hours later or so). Try to shift the next but one shot of Levemir so that the two shoots do not overlap that much (I hope this makes sense). I hope this went well!
I almost always try to soldier through BG issues and prefer the eat carbs solution, despite the pantsometer hazards!
I had just posted this for another thread and figured I would copy it over. This only applies if your on novolog/Lantus combination and not the Insulins you mix in a shot. I hope this helps some others and that you weathered you situation ok.
Just remember if it happens again (I hope not , it’s a scary thing) to get the juice in first and things that devolve on the tounge for faster sugar to the blood steam.
Years ago Before pens I used to Carry both Insulins with be in vials.
I used to take the basil @ 3pm since it worked the best being stronger at first and helped control that dinner meal that was the biggest mental of the day. Well, on day I took 15 of the basil @ 3 with no food. Let just say people talking around me sounded like they were from a Charlie. Brown episode (wha, wa wa wa) and it’s then I realized what I did. I didn’t have enough sugar at my desk to cover three meals worth to correct my mistake. So down the stairs to the vending machine for juice and a bunch of other junk.
It is that point I decided to keep the basil in the fridge to be taken before bed and ensure that never happened again. It was the scariest and worst mistake I had ever made.
Since novolog does not need refrigerated after opened and lantis does fine in the fridge it now stays in the fridge. I also started putting one insulin in the vegetable drawer and the other on the door in the butter tray as more separation to prevent anything like that. On a pump threes days as of 2 weeks ago I guess I don’t have to worry about that now.
Glad to hear you caught it before it was to late. You’ll only make that mistake one if your like me.