After 37 years with type 1 I would have thought I had at least heard It all.
Of course not. Still new as yet undiscovered ways to get into deep doo doo.
So last Saturday I started the day with a new set up and cannula. Nothing to it. Done that a few thousand times. So I noticed my readings were going high during the day. Not at all normal for a Saturday with some labor to do along the way. Checked the insert _ok. Kept hitting the bolus. Some relief but still running high, over 175 at times.
At the end of the day I was very tired. Had done nearly 10 hours of shoveling, auto repairs, just the stuff dreams are made of.
So I got ready for a shower and when I pulled the pump out the plastic line and the cartridge fell to the floor.
That is when I shoulda stopped and thoughtvit through. But I did not. Just showered and then I reinserted the cartridge with it all hooked up to me.
Next thing I recall was waking up to a fine team of firemen. I was all soaked with sweat and shaking.
Oh great. First emergency for me in years. I knew exactly why as soon as I was able to think. I had injected likely 30 units with that little twist of the cartridge.
That was at 3:00 am. The fireman warned me I could see another drop. My glucose monitor had run out that night. When they left I was at 170. Sat up watching the tube. In less than an hour was down to 50 again.
Had a couple of milder drops after that, no big issue.
So sorry to hear this happened to you and happy that you lived to tell the tale!
It’s crap like this that keeps us on our toes…
You just never know, do you. So glad everything worked out okay. It always seems to be some little detail or calculation that just wasn’t quite as it should have been.
There was a period of time a couple years ago where I had a spate of crashing laws (I won’t bore you with the details, but I did finally figure it out). This really hit home one night when the EMTs arrived with lights flashing at the next-door neighbors home. When my dog heard the commotion he ran to look out the window and see what was going on and immediately began weighing his tail. He was so excited to see his friends again. LOL
If I understand your situation correctly, this was the source of your problem. I’m sure you’ve already concluded that that big ol’ insulin cartridge should never be out from under the direct control of the pump mechanism if it’s still connected to you at the site. Sorry this happened to you.