Trainer is apparently on vacation Help

Diabetes Technology Insulin Pumps
1

Hi, me again, I just emailed my trainer, since I have only been on the pump for 2 days, came home with head cold, and sniffles. today I have been watching my sugars go up and at 3pm it was 20.3 and I feel like crap.
I do remember as I wrote it down that she said if I was sick I could go to 110-120%. I hardly ever get sick so we kinda skipped over that. I am not sure what to do, just keep checking and correct? or would it be a temp basal? etc… I have tried to get a hold of her through email but it is an automated response so she did not get the email. send to somone else at omnipod but I think she has gone for the day. This is such bad timing all around. The pod is working, when I do my bolus I hear it clicking and I have had no alarms or alerts. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Sarah

2

2 days is too soon to be left on your own , when I got hooked up I had a cell phone number that I called and talked to my trainer every night for the first week to tell her my sugars and boluses and we made adjustments over the phone , 20.3 is too high , but I hesitate to tell you what to do,I know what I would do if it was me , but I have seen some on here that take very little insulin and if they did what I do , I am afraid of what might happen , try to safely get your levels down with the information that was given during your training or on your info sheets , even if you can get your sugars down in the 8 to 10 range until you can talk to a professional with pod training

3

Thanks Drilldoctor38, I understand and respect that. I did not get info just the OP manual and the 3 hours training. was going to call her cell since her email was on auto messaging. my sugar when down to 8.4 still to high for my liking, and did not really want to change any settings till I talked to her, just could not find anywhere were it talks about ajusting for sick days. easy with needles. LOL
I am sure they will call me back soon. at least it has gone down.

4

glad to hear it has gone down , did it come down just with your meal bolus or did you give some extra because of how high it went ? i am quite sure the length of time for a temp basal is 8 hours , doing a small increase in temp basal 5 to 10% would probably be the safest remedy so long as you test frequently not sure that I would do it now with the sugars so close to good , and don't let the name fool you , I am just a fellow diabetic (48years) the name comes from a drill bit sharpener lol

5

I'd put a temp basal in for this myself. I have a couple in my PDM for 10% more and 30% more depending on the need/reason. But, also recommend like Drilldoctor38 did, call your trainer or doc's office on guidance for this. Everyone's a bit different.

6

lol@Drilldoctor. I just did a correction last meal was lunch. All is good now so I am assuming it is from this head cold. I have not had one in years. being on a pump is much different then MDI. I thought the temp basel worked that way just was not sure, not going to change anything, see how I am tonight and morning. Thanks everyone for all the information and experience you share

7

Yes, it’s hard to mess around much after only two days. I assume your correction factors have been entered properly - i’d start with those. Ie, test, then bolus with the test resukt so that it calculates a correction bolus for you. Test, test,test constantly if you are not well and certainly, this early in your poding game - sucks to be sick before you really get a handle on how everything works. For me, I’d say 20’s high, but not critical. Keep a close eye and make sure you’re going down or at least stable, rather than going up. You won’t die at 20, so don’t worry too much. Just keep testing. Good luck, I found that being sick with the pod is much easier than with MDI, for sure, because you can make little adjustments easily and as frequently as needed.

8

I agree Rob, it has stabled. Feel silly that I panicked. I understand adjustments have just been doing corrections. My settings for just starting are good. Just fine tuning. I was not sure about the temp basal understand now for future reference. I have also got a hold of the trainer.

9

Never feel silly, there’s a lot to learn the first few weeks - a little spooky, actually till you get used to it. I use the temp a lot when doing things like camping or when I curl. It really makes a difference keeping the lows away when you figure it out. Glad you got your trainer, that’ll make it a little easier for you. Mine, at least, really knows her stuff, but a lot comes down to experience, figuring out the little quirks and perks that make this D thing a less of a pain in the a$$.

Must be from Canada, quoting the 20’s rather than the 200’s. Can’t wait to get the smaller pods here, heard the end of the year, which is approaching quite quickly.

10

yup I am Canadian, I heard beginning of the new year. I can wait though sounds like the new ones have a few bugs in it from what I have been reading so when they do come maybe all the bugs will be out. lol
when we change sites, how long before we can use that spot again? I have never been able to take a needle in the arm just from the position etc… but that was the first place I put the pod on, I love it. although I am realizing that I cut corners all the time, suprised it has not jerked it or removed it. oh another question, I know when taking needles depending on where you inject that it will be slower to absorb then in others, it does not matter with the pods correct? since it drips all places absorb the same?

11

I’m hapy the pods made it to Canada, period. I can certainly wait and am in no rush, although being smaller would be nice. I never used my arms either before, I like my arms the best now, but also use all the other traditional spots - tummy, back, above the belt, and upper butt, below the belt (although it gets in the way of my wallet and I have to stick it in the other pocket for those days, lol). I think absorbtion rates do vary, especially if you used MDI in certain spots for a long time, like my legs. I rarely pod there and keep to the other spots.

Maybe its stupod, but what I do is start at my arm with the window facing away from my heart. I alternate sites from arm, to other arm, stomach, back, etc always with the window facing away from the heart. Then I start again with my arm but alternate with the window always facing towards it. It may be dumb, but I always remember from one change to the next where the canula was last. By the time I’m back to my arm with the window away again, its had tons of time to heal.

It’s almost two months before my pod ends up in the same general spot again. I’m not sure exactky how often you can use a spot. I do find it’s easier to ermember to alternate though, much easier than with MDI - I could hardly remember if I took my shot, never mind where I did.

I hear ya, about knocking it when it’s on your arms - I knocked one off a couple weeks ago on a door. Luckily it was change day anyway, sucks when it happens right after you change it, lol. It doesn’t seem to happen in other spots, perhaps I’m just lucky.

Oh, and you’ll be happy the first time you get your A1C after pumping. I was amazed at how much the number dropped and continues to - My Dr was pretty happy with that, as was I. In fact, I don’t know if it’s coincidence or not, but since I’ve been pumping, I’m now off a blood pressure med that I’ve been on for years and dropped my cholesterol pill as well - excellent control has made a huge difference.