Good Morning-
Almost a month ago I started using the Omnipod system. I am having issues w/ my fasting Bg’s being too high…100-up. I am not use to seeing those type of numbers. I am use to 89-100. How long did it take for your body to adjust???
I have changed my basal rate a couple of days ago and no results. I know I am going to have to change them again. I know everyday is different, I know everyone is different but it gets a little frustrating sometimes.
Your Diabetic Buddy,
Cherise
My body adjusted immediately. My A1C1 numbers stayed the same (about 7.5), but I stopped having the highs and lows (dual wave boluses rock!). After several months, I then looked at my total daily dosage averages, basal and bolus percentages, and correction averages and made some adjustments that brought my A1C1 down to 6.5, where it pretty much consistently stays. I used the information from John Walsh’s “Pumping Insulin” book to help me fine tune my boluses, basal rates etc. I highly recommend it - it’s a pumper’s bible!!!
Diabetes can be very frustrating, particularily when you’re doing everything ‘right’ and the numbers are still wrong. I think the trick is to continually work on making small changes and to look at the bigger picture of how you’re doing rather than the snapshots of a bad couple of days or a bad bgl reading.
When you adjust your basal rates make sure that you adjust them 2 hours before you want the effect to take place. Example, if you determined that your BG is high at 2pm and you have been bolusing properly you would want to increase your basal starting at noon. Once everything is setup properly you should see results very fast as long as you count your carbs correctly and bolus properly.
(a not too serious comment)
It took me three years! I got my pump at a point in my life when I didn’t want to deal with diabetes… so I just got by. Three years later, I figured out how amazing the little machine that is attached to me is!
David’s point is important! You should do night time basal testing (I should too!) and then two hours before the rise in the blood sugar, slightly increase your basal. Does your doctor adjust your basal? If yes, then get at least 3 night time basals to show him/her.
The Pumping Insulin book is REALLY helpful!! If you don’t have it, you should get it. It taught me how to adjust my basal rates on my own (which my doctor doesn’t like, but in reality I just have to adjust before i can get in to see him or her).
Yes, the pumping insulin book is awesome. I think it is the fourth addition already. It is important to keep the Dr. in the loop (as Kristin mentioned) but I also adjust my basals when needed but for the most part they are fairly correct and don’t need a lot of messing around with. Counting carbs correctly is the key for my overall control-which can be tough at times because it isn’t always the carbs it is the fat that can mess a good bolus up!!
True true!
I adjust my basals by 0.05 per hour at a time. So we are talking about minor adjustment, but they make a BIG difference!! So I would only adjust in small amounts and then test the effects!
Thank you all! I have the pumping insulin book! I will make sure I re-read it. maybe I am missing something. I don’t like being high in the mornings.
I actually saw immediate results. My BGs were much better on Day 1 (around the end of May) – fasting BGs around 130-140, post-meal BGs around 160-170, compared with fasting BGs around 180-190 and post-meal BGs regularly above 220 before I went on the pod.
I had a few bad days last week, however. A couple of them were due to a bad pod or perhaps just the cannula getting dislodged…a couple were I think due to my being a little sick. But even my bad days were better than my pre-pod days.
I couldn’t find the Pumping Insulin book on Amazon – the search results came back with no hits. I ended up going to my local Borders and getting Think Like a Pancreas, which has a lot of good information. I’ve heard many people praise Pumping Insulin, though.