I am in France on vacation. The last 6 days (we have been here 12 days) my blood sugars are rising to really high levels (for me) consistently. I am out of ideas.
The bG rises really fast at unexpected times. I can go to bed at 83 and be 250 at midnight after sauteed fish, celery root and some baked fingerling potatoes (just a few) for dinner. And I correct. After the correction, I wake up in the morning at 230, correct, eat no breakfast (cup of coffee only) and am still 283 at 10:30 am. Now I begin to correct heavily and had only a very small ham sandwich for lunch (no wonderful French bread, alas!) Correct again around 2:00 for BG over 200 (I estimated the carbs correctly, I think). Finally about 6:00, BG was below 100.
I do know that when my BGs are over 180, I must correct more aggressively than 1 u to 65 points.
Had coucous carryout for dinner. Looked online and three sites told me a cup of cooked couscous wa 37 carbs. I ate 1/2 cup and took insulin for 40 carbs in a square wave. Over night, I corrected 3 times (9, 12 and 2). Was 79 when I woke at 5:30.
I thought it was coffee and tried to leave that alone, but the same thing happened. I usually do so well in France, as I feel the food has less “stuff” in it. This year is a mess–I look at food and my BG goes up. Am nice and relaxed, living in a beautiful garden with a waterfall (although this BG thing has stress in it.)
I want to eat–I am actually hungry in the land of great food. Any ideas?
Thanks for the reply. I am really in the boondocks here and my phone doesn’t even work! Changed insulin, changed infusion sets (have to be careful with that, so I do not run out before we leave), temperature should not be a factor (it is chilly here), as I carried them with me on the plane and refrigerated all but the vial to use (new) once we arrived.
No symptoms at all–feel fine, no fever, no sniffles, no nothing. That is why I am so flummoxed by this.
172 at lunch today (again, no breakfast and was 63 early this morning. Ate a small lunch and took twice the insulin as usual. Took me 4 hours to get it down to 123. which is generally a higher than normal BG for me, especially during the predinner hour when I tend to crash.
I would address the basals, except we go to the city in 36 hours and I will walk until I drop, so changes of any kind, are weird to consider.
Thanks for the reply. I needed any input or help. Pretty bummed about this on vacation.
Things like this have happened to me while traveling. Before I travel I like to update my basal patterns to be one click (0.05 U/hr) higher for every setting and update the other basal pattern one click lower. If I am having to many highs/lows then I will change to the appropriate basal pattern and it usually helps out substansially.
It also sounds like fall has hit in France. Many T1s report that chillier temps slow down insulin absorption. This can lead to increased insulin needs in cold weather while everthing else is similar/same. Perhaps this may be an issue? Another thought is there a big altitude change? Altitude changes can upset your body for a bit and mess with blood flow a little bit (i.e. insulin absorption).
Besides that have fun and it sounds like a great excuse to eat a big steak to me.
I agree with Capin that maybe a slight basal adjustment will do the trick? I also agree with fall as being a likely culprit so I would not hesitiate to crank up my basals .05/ U or even .1 to see if that helps. If I were in France, I am pretty sure I’d be intending to eat a lot so I would also risk cranking up the Carb/ Insulin ratio for boluses to cover that? “Zut alors, mon sucre est aux bas encore. Il me faut mangeais plus des bon bons…” [Excusez ma Francais sauvage et l’absence complete des accents en my version de Fenetres]
Too funny, AR. I agree that a temp might have been in order, but since all the walking is coming up, maybe I just need to chill, enjoy the bread and bon bons and deal with this later. Had not thought about the temp–it usually gets when it warms up. Could very well be the culprit… Will light a fire tonight for warmth and see if that helps! You are all so smart!
(One year, some friends left us half a box of Belgium chocolates and a bottle of champagne, which we had for dinner… Had a parfait BG in the morning. C’est bon!)
For me, skipping breakfast always had bad effects on my bg not just through the morning but through the whole day. In fact skipping breakfast required that I have far more units than if I ate my usual breakfast.
You’re counting carbs but I wonder if the restaurant food has a lot of proteins or fats in it and is being converted to a bg rise many hours later that is surprising you. I remember being in Europe and having lots of wine and fancy foods at restaurants… thanks to the wine a lot of my liver action was being suppressed at least for a while but the fancy foods and their proteins came back and bit me many many hours later.
It’s also possible that what you think is a sugar free or carb-free drink (and may well be in the US) has the same brand name but is not carb-free in Europe.
I have been on a pump for 12 years and one of the best parts for me has always been not having to eat breakfast. (I think that as a teen, having to wake up every morning at 7:00 to take insulin and eat, when all I wanted to do was sleep has scarred me! ) :>) The no breakfast thing has never been an issue for me.
We haven’t been eating out. In two weeks, ate out two lunches. Took picnic most days for lunch. I have been reading the carb counts on the packages here, but have mostly eaten fresh food, and I will admit to injesting more butter than I should, but not consistently. Couple of Coca Lights, which say non sucre and no calories.
I was 110 last night when I went to bed at 10:30. Got up at 4:00 to check my pump and was 120. Slept in until 8:30 and was 210. And I actually have the very highest basal rate of the (.60) beginning at 6:00 am.
I am leaving for Paris tomorrow, and will be walking a lot–not as much exercise here in the country, as most trips have been by car So, I am just going to ride it out. I get the BGs down, and some high numbers for a few days won’t kill me. Its funny that I have noticed symptoms of a couple low because of this, which hasn’t happened in years. Also, I have been sleeping all night, no alerts for lows, which is also something new. So, it ain’t SO bad!!
