I know unexplained highs happen but when we get 2 in a row I start trying to figure out why because to me it shows a pattern. My 9 year old active boy eats the same amount of carbs and the same food for breakfast everyday. Yesterday an hour after eating he was 400 and the same thing happened today. Both times he was at school. I kept him home yesterday and had to go pick him up today after giving a correction he hit HI.
He isn’t going through a growth spurt, he didn’t eat anything different and he’s not getting sick. We changed the site after the 400 yesterday and today I bolused with the pump off and it was distributing the insulin. We’re doing another site change and I gave him a shot to bring him down.
Is it the insulin? His site? What else can I check or what reasons for highs has anyone else had?
Stressing Mom.
I hate when this happens-- how frustrating!
If you haven’t already, change the insulin in his pump. And pump insulin in from a new vial.
Also, try giving a shot in a place where he doesn’t usually put the pump-- perhaps his insulin is not getting absorbed there??
Hope that you have already figured this out! Let us know what it was!
No, haven’t figured it out. It happened one more time since I posted. I change his insulin with every site change so it was fresh insulin and I give the shot in his arm where his site is always in his rear.
I was thinking as well that maybe it was the absorption in his site but I just wonder why he was fine the first 24 hours and then to go so high.
Thanks for your input.
I have heard of some people becoming resistant to the type of insulin (though I don’t really understand how that works).
They solved their problem by switching the type of insulin (from Humolog to Novolog or Apidra, for example). Perhaps you should try this as well!
Has he tested positive for ketones?
On one ocassion he had a trace but usually it’s always negative on ketones. Our next endo appt is in July. I’ll ask about the different insulin as I’ve heard that as well.
Hi Stephanie,
My son Jack is 7.Maybe your son is requiring more insulin for his morning bolus. He could be growing, or hormones. I’d do a basal check and move foreward form there. I’m stuck now trying to work through soccer…any suggestions???
Good luck,
Chris
I decrease my basal to 50% before intensive exercise. This works perfectly for me!
I usually do about an hour and a half of rollerblading and I set the temporary basal rate to 50% for two hours (starting one hour before I go).
Have you tried using temporary basal rates?
During baseball season I have a different basal pattern. Since baseball is 3 days out of the week and the exercise usually lasts 24 hours I needed a lower basal for him everyday. Now with baseball over he’s back to his non-baseball basal pattern.
Hey there Steph. Haven’t been online in awhile, but as Kristin was saying…are you using a different vial of insulin when you change the pump cartridge when changing the site too? Sometimes we find that the insulin in the vial has gone bad for some reason. Have these highs been after or during emotional stress, bad dreams, excitement or anything like that? These could cause him to be going high too, but I wouldn’t think that high. Just another factor to consider I guess. We have been battling the highs ourselves for other reasons. The doctors have said Alex is just more irratic (sp?) in her patterns. Doesn’t quite matter what we do it is really hard to get her balanced. Glad to know it isn’t just us! 
Talk soon…
It’s just one of those unexplainable things. Nothing unusual going on, no stressful situtations. We have much better control being off the Omnipod now and we love his new infusion sets. But these highs were too high. That was concerning. We tried new vials, new sites, double checked carb counts and bs readings.
For now, it has subsided. We haven’t had a really high hi in a few weeks. Now with the summer heat we find his insulin in his pump isn’t lasting as long. But other than that I will chalk it up to one of those diabetes things.
Talk soon…