I think I’m finally getting out of my honeymoon period…the problem is its like I’m relearning my whole diabetes all over again. I have no idea what my carb ratio is, my insulin to give when I’m high and any rules or anything.
I am starting to realize how easy I had it before. Now, I’m noticing unless I’m eating like less than 20 carbs, I go high for a while and then drop. Is it because this is normal or I’m not getting enough insulin? I try to give it 15-30 minutes before I eat but that is not always ideal.
I have an endo appointment in December when I go back home but until then, can anyone have advice on how not to spike my blood sugars after I eat before the insulin starts working? Or even if I should use more insulin? I’m using novo log right now but I have two bottles of apidra…anyone have advice on this or used it?
Feeling a little lost right now, kinda how I felt when I was first diagnosed…
My first suggestion is to call your endo, they may be able to work with you via fax or email to help you figure out new ratios. If you're dropping back down to normal levels after that spike then you probably do not want more insulin. The best thing to do here is just to give your insulin 20 - 30 minutes before eating. It's not ideal but it will help with the spike. Also, try not to eat carbs without some form of protein or fat. The protein or fat will slow down the digestion of the carbs and help to level out that spike. Some have noticed Apidra working a little faster than Novolog so it might be a better choice, but again, call your endo before switching insulins. It'll be confusing for a while but eventually you'll figure it out again and it'll get easier.
I was thinking about giving my diabetes educater for the Omnipod a call, I switched endos and haven’t met with this one yet.
Yeah for example between 9:40 And 11:30 I gave myself 6 units of insulin for the couple bowls of cereal I had (I was super hungry). I was 116 before I ate and then gave myself more and more insulin for each time i ate more ( love the pump!) and now I’m 327 and it’s 12:30…I’ll give it two more hours and if I’m not going anywhere I’ll bonus another couple units…gahhhhhhhh I hate this!
Do you have all of the software for downloading all of your results from your PDM? I think it would be a good idea to download all of your results from the last 2 weeks and send them to your Endo. They can probably help you with any changes you need to make.
Yea, if your post meal highs are going much above 200 then you've got to talk with your Endo. That one does sound like you didn't give enough insulin. You don't want to leave yourself above 200 for very long! Cereal is one of those foods that many of us have just started to avoid because it's practically ALL carbs (and many cereals are very sugary too!). You'll learn what your body can handle but if you're frequently getting above 200 or staying high for long periods of time you've got to change something to get yourself back down to healthy blood sugars!
Yep, the honeymoon period is pretty "awesome" while it lasts - well, as awesome as D gets. Sorry that things will get more complicated for a while. There are still days that seem like managing diabetes is shooting at a moving target. I completely understand your frustration!
I agree with Rebecca - I would try putting a call into your endo's office and see if you can work with someone now over the phone.
I also had a few other thoughts/questions: What are you spiking to? What are you dropping to? Do you end up back in range or are you going low?
What kinds of meals are we talking about? A bowl of cereal will spike and then drop me. I find that I need to add plenty of fat and/or protein to my carbs in order to slow down their absorption and to keep my bgs where they should be.
Also, are your basals correct? If you don't eat will you go low? If your basal is over compensating, that could be part of it?
Finally, eating s-l-o-w-l-y can help. Nibbling on a sandwich during class instead of wolfing it down in 5 minutes (not that that's what you do! Just and example!) might help until you can see the endo?
Just some thoughts! Hope you get this straightened out sooner than later!
Yeah but the problem is I test my bg with a different meter and sometimes don’t input it into the PDM unless I’m eating something or bolusing for a high. I might give him a call within the week…ahh why can’t I go back to always being in the 100’s!?
I think the ALWAYS being in the 100s is something pretty much all of us leave behind with our honeymoon period. But with work you can get it so most of the time 80-90%? you are where you want to be. Insulin isn't a cure, just a treatment. We'll never make it work like our pancreas did. But you can get it to the point where you stop swinging so much that it's affecting the way you live your life!
Yeah I had lucky charms too…I’ve been able to eat almost anything I want within the past year of my honeymoon because it never raised my bg over 180ish most of the time…I really am not mentally ready to give everything up, but I’m ready and willing to work around the foods I eat to keep my bg in line, even if that means having to prolong eating things over a period of time or eat a protein or fat snack a long with my meal, I love sharp cheddar cheese sticks
I just bolused 3.5 units to bring me down. This is so strange, that’s how much insulin I would use in a whole day for all my meals!! I would barely fill up the pod to 85 units minimum and still sometimes have 10-20 units left over…
It’s different each time but I’m usually with a higher carb stuff spiking to 200-300s…I don’t go low when I don’t eat most of the time, so that’s good…my basal is .6u /hr at night and .7u/hr during the day…i don’t remember when this was decided or who did.
I’m honestly not even counting carbs at this point, I haven’t in 6months (I did on MDI when I was first diagnosed a year ago).
I think I will need to start adding plenty of fat and protein snacks along with my carb-y snacks and meals…any good suggestions? I love cheese sticks, anything else? And how much do you suggest? Per carb or how do you determine?
Sometimes I go low and sometimes not, it’s really hard to say because I dont count carbs exactly…I look at the carb count and see how much I’m going to eat and give myself an approx. that’s always worked in my honeymoon…my A1c was 6.3!!! Now I know I have to carb count and get more serious with that but I have no idea what my ratio is…before my pump I was doing 1u for every 10-14 carbs. For some reason with my pump my honeymoon really started. When I was first on shots the first 6 months of diagnosis I was on anywhere from 25 units a day for meals and 19 units of Lantus…so weird that when I get on my pump some of my biggest blouses were 2 units!!!
I am going to try eating slower also, I’ve considered that!
I’ve got to be more careful, before I could eat a little piece of candy and not have a care in the world but I’m coming to realize those days are over…I’m going to have to be more strict…I’m not ready!!
Yeah I gotta keep that mantra in my head…I won’t let this get me down!
I’ve been enjoying diet cranberry juice, juice used to be something I could drinks all the time and it would barely bring me to 200…now I’m enjoying my 2carb per glass diet cranberry juice.
Maybe not more strict, but more aware? About once a year I have to pull out the good ole' one cup measure and measure everything just so that I can remember. Maybe use the next month until you head home as a time to carefully inspect what your doing. I found that getting a cute notebook (really cheap at Target) to carry with me and write down what I'm doing helps to spot patterns.
I also find that using these times of change as learning experiences and not pass/fail test helps. Just because my bg stunk after breakfast today does not mean that *I* am a failure. If I learn from it, I can help tomorrow to be better. (cheesey, but I find it helps!)
As for what to eat - your body is different from mine. What works for me, may not work for you. I have success with half bagels if I load them up with cream cheese (i mean LOAD them with cream cheese). I eat cheese and pepperoni with crackers (16 wheat thins are 22 g - I put a huge hunk of cheese and meat on them and usually can't eat all 16). I find that Greek yogurt (non-fat, high protein) spikes me less than regular. I usually get the plain and then add my own honey or jam as a sweetener (that way I can control how much I use). Nuts are good by themselves or even added into other things (think myo granola or trail mix).
You'll figure out what you can eat and what you don't want to eat (because at some point the food may not be worth it). I love jelly beans. But they have become a "not worth it" food. I have found a new appreciation for dark chocolate (the good stuff - not Hersheys). It's lower carb and amazingly decadent with a smear of pb :) Hang in there! Soon enough you will have this next phase down. You can do it! Take care of figuring out those highs and you will be golden!!
you have a cgm, right? how are you trending? just watch the trend and test like crazy and you will be fine! carbs (like cereal) can easily send me into this kind of "ping pong" scenario. Not over-compensating or acting too quickly can help get out of the tail spin.
Yeah I’m going down, it says more than 3 points per minute…but sometimes I don’t trust it…I just tested and my meter said 188 and the CGM said 285. I imput the BG number and it went down to 196 so I’m assuming it just was about to test me after the next 5 minute mark, but for example, last night, I went super low, I woke up with it and barely had energy to get some sugar let alone testing my blood but all the while my meter said I was at a steady 82…
Yeah I guess it’s just super hard because I’m in college, I feel like learning this at this time is extra hard because I don’t have a lot of time or resources.
All those snacks sound really good!!! I will have to try that! And…keep a set of measuring cups in my purse, haha!
I’m 164 now, my meter says, my CGM says 220 but I input my BG and now it says 196. So annoying.
I just figured out an awesome snack!
I looked in my (mini lol) fridge and out together a snack:
Veggie burger
Chipotle mayo
Slice of cheese
Ketchup (just a little)
And mustard
Sooooo good and the veggie burger is super high in protein and everything else has fat it has 9 grams of carbs (the veggie burger) but with 10g of protein and a few grams of fiber I would barely have to bolus for this, if at all. Love it!!!
GOOGLE 'Free Apidra" Danielle as they have a 'free' program through April, 2012. Good luck. I will be getting my Pod (1st insulin pump ever) in a couple weeks and am fearful of not knowing wht to do..how to count carbs or how to handle 'problems'. Good luck to us both. ♥
