Did a really stupid thing at work. My bs has been high for awhile. I have been using around 15 units of Insulin and not getting good results. All week I was on a low carb diet. 20 carbs per day. They brought in Pizza at work. With out testing my bs I shot 16 units of Insulin to cover the pizza I was going to eat. Most of the pizza had toppings I didn't like and I ended up eating only 1 slice.
You guessed it, 30 minutes later I felt like I was going to die. Did a bs test at which my hands were shaky and weak I kept dropping the test strips.
Tested at 60. I've never seen 60 in my life. A co worker ran down stairs and got me a Pepsi and I was revived. Never again will I do such a stupid thing.
Never is a very long time!! I'm glad your coworker was able to help you. It's not a bad idea to keep some kind of quick acting sugar handy. I work at my cubicle so I have stuff there. I also use bags of jellybeans and smarties (mixed up...) that are very portable and have about 35-45g of carbs I think.
Probably every one of us have had an episode like this - and they are both frightening and embarrassing. I usually feel like an idiot when it happens. BUT, sharing the stories might help others understand the kinds of surprise situations that can trap us.
We have glucose tabs everywhere we go ,even in the tackle box just in case we need them. I also keep a meter with me . It happens to all of at one time or another. Nancy
Hmmm...I have a bag that looks suspiciously similar!!!
Anyone that has ever injected insulin has had this kind of episode, It is the D's way of letting us know it's still there and kicking. I wouldn't beat myself up to much.
Hee hee
Two words: Rage bolus.
Seriously. I do it with more frequency than I care to admit. Less so now that I'm on the pump and I get self conscious of the scrolling/beeping from an audio bolus, but it still happens. I will say, though, rage bolusing usually does the trick and brings down those stubborn highs and, as long as I don't panic, I can even out quite nicely with a juice or two (or three...)... :D
I know "rage bolus" is a very popular term but I don't ever do that. I'm not sure the OP was exactly doing that, as he had anticipated food, about correctly, but then the food turned out not to be there. Rage bolus always seems to me to be more reacting to a high by blasting away. If I run high, I'm more inclined to crank the basal and then do a normal correction bolus. Rage never struck me as that much use in these situations.
Roller coastering from being high, randomly bolusing some over-large amount and then going low and having to treat, is not good for our systems and can do more harm than simple highs.
Karatejoe, I believe you posted before about running consistently high and got a lot of great responses about counting carbs, using I:C ratios, basal testing etc. We also recommended books like Using Insulin by John Walsh. I hope you give some of those suggestions a try.
Nah, that's not "stupid" I call those events learning experiences. If you did learn something you are better for it, just put it behind you and move on.
I'm just a Type-2 finger sticker and the only qualifications I have to be offering advice is small scabs on my finder-tips from testing. I"m also really lucky in that the only health issue I have to manage is my glucose level, I've written off the gray hair and wrinkles as unmanageable and now carry them as badges of honor :)
Two thoughts crossed my mind reading your note:
1 - I'll bet your diabetes education/support team would tell you do not EVER take insulin without testing first. NEVER!
2 - Managing glucose level, of which carb-intake is a player, is like riding a spirited horse, you can't just ignore the reins, but holding them to tight is asking to get thrown off.
I won't drag you through my whole song-and-dance, you can read it if your interested at my website ( http://www.weloop.com/HATS.html ). Having ignored my Type-2 diagnosis for several years I progressed to using insulin before every meal. Over a period of a couple of years my insulin dosage went up to 15-20 units before a meal, then back to none, and today I am not taking insulin at all. My last A1c was a couple of weeks ago at 5.7 and the view from where I'm sitting is really great :0
How do you do that? Easy! Just pay attention and be The Boss.
20 grams of carbs a day, in my mind, is pretty tight. You indicate that "all week" you were "on a low carb diet", I believe glucose management is not a short-term-get-it-done issue, it is a life-long project and it may well have a significant impact on how long "life-long" is.
So, don't beat yourself up, just pick yourself up, re-mount that horse, and become The Boss!
Keep records of what;s going on, glucose level, carb-intake, insulin usage, weight, all that stuff. With good records you'll be able to see the patterns and make the adjustments needed. After all, you ARE The Boss, and what he says goes.
Don't get me wrong, I carry energy bars in the car as well as glucose tablets in my pocket when ever I'm out and about. A couple of weeks ago I had to pull the car over to the curb and spend about 15-minutes waiting for the energy bar to kick-in. I'd had a fasting blood-draw at the clinic, then spent a couple of hours chatting with friends after eating only an energy-bar. I knew was pushing it as I left and grabbed another energy-bar, one of those learning experiences, after which I got back on the horse and rode on.
Just sit tall in the saddle my friend and remember you are The Boss, and like any good boss you need to pay attention.
Lows are definitely scary! I'm not on insulin, but unfortunately I'm not safe from lows. Pizza and other carby foods sometimes give me reactive hypos. My reactive hypos can drop me into the 50s. Once the meter said 49. My pancreas randomly over-boluses on me!
I've learned to carry glucose tablets or some type of fast-acting glucose source with me now.