soooo…every time i change my pod, which ends up being around 9 at night, i end up waking up in the middle of the night with a 250++ sugar! does this happen to anyone else?? any suggestions?? i’m slightly new to the omnipod, 5 months and i feel that i am still not regulated. another question: when you have a low 60ish, what do you do?? do you eat and put the pod/pump on a temp basal -95%?? if so, for how long?? if you eat a starch and some juice do you give yourself insulin to cover this, if so, when?? i’m having lows at night, before i go to bed…i eat, put on a temp basal, and wake up 3 hours later to 250++ sugar…i feel helpless! thanks for your comments!
I have not had a high in the middle of the night, but when I eat in the morning it spikes sometimes. If I have a low at any time, I just eat some gushers or a fruit roll up (because they taste good and are easy to carry with me), and I just leave it or use a -5 % to -20% for 30 minutes. I eat a Fiber One bar at night, sometimes I am a little low going to bed (70-100) and I have good readings through the night. I would suggest that you change your basal rate for the night. Do you eat before bed, or do you take a while to change the pump? Many people do a bolus before changing the pod to combat that.
for me, i take 1 unit before i change the pod. so it kind of counter acts the rising og my level while i don’t have any insulin in me due to the old pod being of and the new pod not on yet. if i’m low i eat 15g and check it again in 15 min. if i’m still low i eat another 10g and so on. as of now i have only used the temp basal for when i am exercising. but i’ve only been on the pod for 3.5 mths. my CDE told me to change the pod in the AM so that if something is wrong with the pod i will be awake for it, and not asleep. if you’re low at night, i would suggest eating something with some protein and not putting a temp basal rate. but it always differs with everyone. have you talked to your endo or CDE about this? my CDE helped me with my rates, and it worked great! good luck =)
There’s been some discussions on this site (and maybe another list that I read) about some people experiencing high BG readings for the first few hours after starting a new pod. People have reported that taking an extra small bolus right after changing helps to prevent it. I’ve tried it myself a few times (I only experience this when using my inner thigh as the pod site) and it does seem to work; I use a 1-unit dose. Of course, make sure you test more frequently because of the extra insulin.
As for eating to compensate for a minor low BG, I’d say let the PDM do the calculations for you and trust the theory behind basal vs. bolus. What I mean is that if you are going to eat to correct a low, then don’t change the basal at the same time. The basal serves a different purpose and eating should correct the low on it’s own; no need to “double-up” on the treatment of a low, especially a minor one like in the 60’s.
Whenever I eat, I test first and tell the PDM how much carbs I’m going to eat, and let it figure out what bolus, if any, is needed. Remember that there are several variables that it takes into consideration; if your basal rate, I/C ratio, correction factor, etc. are all set correctly then the results will be a good correction and “soft landing,” so to speak. It sounds to me like you might be over-compensating by lowering your basal too often. I almost never change my basal, unless I’m going to do some vigorous exercise or something else that will lower my BG; I certainly never change basal to compensate for a low because the way I see it by the time my BG is already low, the future basal isn’t going to affect that but eating will.
Bottom line: trust the PDM and the settings. If they don’t work , ask your CDE or endo to adjust them.
Myriah - I also take a bolus of 1.0 unit before I change my pod - I tried bolusing before changing at 0.5 units, then went up .05 units until it seemed to hold steady with no spikes, per my CDE. This prevents the glucose rise from being disconnected. When I am hypoglycemic, I drink a container/carton of chocolate milk, and enter the carbs for the choc milk into my PDM. If I am say in the 70’s, my PDM maysuggest a bolus; if I am lower, then it may not. Regardless, as Eric said, I trust my PDM to advise me whether I need to take a bolus or not. I use the choc milk because it raises my glucose faster than plain milk, & the milk helps to maintain the restored glucose level. For me, at least - do be sure to run any changes you are considering past your CDE/MD first.
When I switch Pods I give a one unit bolus to avoid the high after changing that I use to get.
I used to do the same thing. I had my trainer raise my night dosage. I take 10 units less at midnight until 6am when it goes to the normal settings. I did not know when I first got my pod, But it can have 12 different settings in a 24 hrs. Hope this may help you!
One thing we’ve learned, is that its always best to do a pod change during the day. I try to avoid nighttime pod changes on my son, unless it’s failed, because then I feel a need to stay up and test every two hours. Will also goes high after every pod change, what we do is change the pod, give a 15% increase of temp basal for two hours and then also bolus with the new pod, even if it’s just 0.05 units - it’s best to make sure that the pod is working, etc… Read my posting on Tips & Tricks for more details on pod changes.
For lows I have never reduced Will’s basal rates, I’ve always just treated the low with food, normally milk or peanut butter crackers. For children especially, drinking juice often will increase the blood sugars fast but will also not hold the numbers. It’s best to eat something with fat in it so that your BG will stabilize. For us, since Will is only 2.5 years old, often two peanut butter crackers and 2 oz of milk is enough. You need to figure out how many carbs bring you up by what number - for example, 5 grams of carbs at night bring up Will about 50 points - so normally, around 10 grams works for him to bring him to 170 to keep him in the “safe” zone at night.
Hope this is helpful. Hang in there!!
I have found that taking a bolus (.5 - 1 unit) immediately after putting the new pod on help ensure that there aren’t any issues. I’m not so sure about the need prior as it only takes me about 5 minutes to change a pod, so there really shouldn’t be too big a window where delivery is halted. For the most part, any post pod change highs I’ve had have either been because I have not rotated sites sufficiently, or I have hit a blood vessel. I’ve found that after I put on a new pod, and it has inserted the cannula, I wait about 20 seconds for any immediate insertion sensation to fade, and then press down hard on the pod and jiggle it a little; if I feel anything, a slight poking sensation, I tear the pod off and put a different one on. I’ve managed to hit blood vessels, muscle, and a tendon once (which really hurt), all of which seem to screw up insulin delivery.
As for lows, most of the time I will knock the basal way down and let it come back up naturally, but there are times I’m lazy and will just eat 5-10 grams of carb.
Hi Tim - great info in your last post, especially about the feeling of the cannula. I can’t wait till Will gets older and can tell me stuff like that. He turns three in January!! It’s interesting that you can feel when there is a problem and then act accordingly. Can’t wait till we get to that point.