Recent Posts

Hi could you give more info on the weight reduction course please. Is it pump specific? type 1 specific? hospital lead? or something you took up on your own?

Apr 1, 2012

HelenP 218 posts

Thanks. How on earth did you lose the weight and how did you top up the cartridge?
My cartridge is 2mL (200u) but after priming you lose about 15u.
Your strategy would preserve the integrity of the data!
Helen

Apr 1, 2012

mcdonald9754 1 post

Helen I'm an old DAFNE Grad. 2002 and went on a pump September 2011. My 3ml Reservoir fitted near enough the three day Infusion set life but on occasion I used a little more so I used to top-up the Reseivoir to give a little space. Now, i've been on a weight reduction course and using quite a bit less Insulin so I now change the infusion set but keep the part used reservoir with a new set. I dont get hypo signs very often down to beloe 1.1 on the meter but I'm quite happy. Hay Ho hopethis helps Ian.

HelenP said:
I am on largish doses of insulin (about 70u a day, down from 90+ a day pre pump) and am trying to work out a system of "changes" that impacts less on my day to day life.
I have tried:
1) 1 hours exercise (drops the insulin requirement about 5-6u over the day)
2) 1 carb free meal a day (drops the insulin 6-8u a day) but is a bit haphazard.
3) using a pen for some breakfasts. This seems to work the best I can then easily stretch the cartridge out to 3 days changing at breakfast every third day. (Much more convenient than having it walk back by about three-four hours over the three days.) However, this does interesting things to the data from the pump!

I have read on an American site that some top up their cartridge (they apparently have smaller cartridges {100u} and do it as a cost saving strategy, but I have not gone down that road.

The cartridge I use (after priming) has about 185-190u but over a three day period I need about 210u. My reason for wanting to regulate the times is more for convenience that anything else. The cost saving is a bonus. I am also reluctant to change it every two days and throw out about 50u of insulin or only partially fill the cartridge.

Anyone else in this boat?

Helen

Mar 31, 2012

HelenP 218 posts

I am on largish doses of insulin (about 70u a day, down from 90+ a day pre pump) and am trying to work out a system of "changes" that impacts less on my day to day life.
I have tried:
1) 1 hours exercise (drops the insulin requirement about 5-6u over the day)
2) 1 carb free meal a day (drops the insulin 6-8u a day) but is a bit haphazard.
3) using a pen for some breakfasts. This seems to work the best I can then easily stretch the cartridge out to 3 days changing at breakfast every third day. (Much more convenient than having it walk back by about three-four hours over the three days.) However, this does interesting things to the data from the pump!

I have read on an American site that some top up their cartridge (they apparently have smaller cartridges {100u} and do it as a cost saving strategy, but I have not gone down that road.

The cartridge I use (after priming) has about 185-190u but over a three day period I need about 210u. My reason for wanting to regulate the times is more for convenience that anything else. The cost saving is a bonus. I am also reluctant to change it every two days and throw out about 50u of insulin or only partially fill the cartridge.

Anyone else in this boat?

Helen

Mar 31, 2012

Rupert 7 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Levemir

thanks for all your help guys, i'll see what i can do Smile

Mar 31, 2012

claire88 5 posts

Sorry i didnt get back to you sooner garry but thanks for your reply, i use the 4mm needles. My issues have always been about actually putting the needle in, because i can see it i know when its going to hurt (i probably sound so stupid) and i cant look away for fear that i will do it wrong, it takes a long time for me to actually inject myself and i get in such a state sweating, shaking, even crying at times if im already feeling down. Im lucky to have a supportive partner who does some of the needles for me, he sees how worked up i get and takes the pressure off me by doing maybe 1 a day. I know its all in my head but i cant escape it.

Mar 31, 2012

Garry 328 posts

If you carry no fat why not ask your Health Care Professionals if you can try shorter needles.
As I said before I use 4 mm 31 gauge, which are the shortest out there at the moment. They may help avoid muscle damage.
Regards
Garry

Mar 30, 2012

claire88 5 posts

Yes you are right every injection is in my legs which are very bruised and sore at the best of times, i used to use my arms but have been advised to stop this as i havent got alot of meat on them and probably hitting muscle each time.

My needle phobia does effect my quality of life and it always has, i have not been offered any help like therapy, i think this problem gets overlooked by healthcare professionals, i think a lot of people dont understand how a diabetican CAN have a fear of injecting.

Thank you for the insight about your personal corrections, I will experiment with the corrections and have noticed if my BG is 14mmol/l or over the correction doesnt work but it does under 14 so i will change the ratio for that.

I have been put forward for a pump but dont know how long the wait is, i have a great consultant who really helps and listens so hopefully wont be long.

novorapidboi26 said:
I cant begin to imagine how hard that must be for you having a phobia of needles..............

Have you had any help regarding this like therapy etc..........[I don't know what else would be available...].....?

As I don't have the phobia trying to explain that there is nothing to worry about it pointless I suppose. Has it not eased of your 21 years, the needles now, as you well know are considerably different to the ones you first encountered.....

Having a fear like this will be effecting your quality of life and therefore would qualify you for a pump, however this still requires inserting a cannula which some find a bit more invasive, so might scare you even more.......has a pump been mentioned...........

What I was saying about the corrections is that the rules you know about, the 2-3mmol/l one, will not work if your BG is above 10-11mmol/l, so you need to investigate and test to see how much 1 unit drops you when your BG is at different levels..........

For me at the extreme end of the scale, I worked out the if my BG is above 17mmol/l, 1 unit of insulin only drops me 1mmol/l, so if was 20mmol/l, which aint that often....... , I would need 15 units correction.....

Another question, where do you do your injections, I can assume with a fear of them, you may have picked one spot to use more than others, which can come with absorption problems if your not rotating.....

Mar 30, 2012

sugarplum 9 posts

Thanks for this.

That's true, I can't use it to it's full potential! I was really nervous when I first got it and didn't have a clue what I was doing to be honest. I am a lot more confident now but haven't explored it more than the basics.

I was told that every young person is encouraged to go on the pump now, I am not so young (32) but as I am planning a pregnancy this probably also went towards my case. I had my eye check recently before the pump and the Optician was horrified that I was not on one and said I encourage you to get one straight away and explained about the difference he sees between patients with and without a pump. It is very unfair that different places get different services when it is something so important.

Thats really helpful what you have explained about the GI, thanks. Yes I record all my information, the pump does it too.

My readings last night post meal were:
1 hour 7.5
2 hours 8.4
3 hours 9.3
4 hours 7.9
5 hours 8.2

I do not always have them so high 5 hours later but I do not seem to have a consistant pattern. Some days I have perfect control and others I can't find an explanation as to why its risen.

Mar 30, 2012

novorapidboi26 1,819 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / stress

I think stress is just another process which results in the release of hormones and therefore for each individual diabetic, there is a possibility of highs and lows, as insulin sensitivity is effected amongst many other processes.........

Its most definitely possible for sure..........

Welcome to the forum..........

Mar 30, 2012

novorapidboi26 1,819 posts

8.4 isn't bad though, just means you need to tweak the timing a bit more, the results you have recorded are very valuable, so well done.............

You could start logging what you eat, but you wont need to have a different timing for every single meal, you should just get a rough feel for what type/groups of food might require longer/less time injection before eating....

It has shocked me that you have been no in depth training on how to use the pump, because it really ins't a walk in the park from what I have heard. Its seems like an expensive thing to be giving people that cant use it to it full potential, not that you are not, just i general.

I am once again surprised by how easy you got it, I live in Scotland you see and you need to sell your soul to get a pump up here. I too suffer from Dawn Phenomenon, but was never offered a pump...........I think things are changing soon though.........I would love one.......

The GI is how fast an item of food is digested and delivered into the blood as glucose, low GI will be slow and not have a noticeable effect on the blood sugar, so things like yoghurt amongst many others. White bread though is higher and hits the blood fast, so ideally having low GI foods more often makes diabetes management much easier. So with that in mind, you can then think about how fast or slow your meal will be and adjust timings accordingly. It may seem like a lot to think about, but the best way to learn about your specific needs is to test and record, test and record. I assume you record all your BG, CP, QA, BI etc.....?

Did you take any readings after the 8.4?

Mar 30, 2012

novorapidboi26 1,819 posts

I cant begin to imagine how hard that must be for you having a phobia of needles..............

Have you had any help regarding this like therapy etc..........[I don't know what else would be available...].....?

As I don't have the phobia trying to explain that there is nothing to worry about it pointless I suppose. Has it not eased of your 21 years, the needles now, as you well know are considerably different to the ones you first encountered.....

Having a fear like this will be effecting your quality of life and therefore would qualify you for a pump, however this still requires inserting a cannula which some find a bit more invasive, so might scare you even more.......has a pump been mentioned...........

What I was saying about the corrections is that the rules you know about, the 2-3mmol/l one, will not work if your BG is above 10-11mmol/l, so you need to investigate and test to see how much 1 unit drops you when your BG is at different levels..........

For me at the extreme end of the scale, I worked out the if my BG is above 17mmol/l, 1 unit of insulin only drops me 1mmol/l, so if was 20mmol/l, which aint that often....... Wink

, I would need 15 units correction.....

Another question, where do you do your injections, I can assume with a fear of them, you may have picked one spot to use more than others, which can come with absorption problems if your not rotating.....

Mar 30, 2012

Garry 328 posts

I have HUGE needle fear too.....but I get around it by using little itty bitty ones....4 mm 31 gauge Laughing

If you are confident enough to discuss it, I am sure that there are many folk on here with similar problems.
They may be willing and able to share their strategies for overcoming this sort of difficulty.
Regards
Garry

Mar 29, 2012

claire88 5 posts

Yeah i understand about the corrections and how much it is supposed to lower you but it doesnt always work even doing +2 or +3 which should have a big effect on the levels. Heehee had to laugh when you asked if im recently diagnosed erm...21years and counting LOL, i feel like theres no hope for me sometimes but i carry on. I realise i should probably split the BI dose to stop the hypos and highs but as i said i have a huge needle fear and every injection i have to do is a big deal, i feel like they take over my life.

Mar 29, 2012

Faulty Headl... 18 posts

Topic: Site Development / DAFNE Online iPhone application - help with content/design needed

I am now using the DAFNE iphone ap and so far so good. I am a blind user and I'm using the voice over feature on my apple devices and it is working a treat. I've tried out 4 other different aps for recording sugars, carbs and so on and this is by far the best. Most of the other aps don't have all the buttons tagged so I'm only getting a sound that lets me know there is a button but not telling me what that button is, so well done for having that sorted!!

Only think i'm having bother with is uploading and downloading my results. I have half online and half on my iphone but they won't sink half the time. could these buttons both be moved? like to the home page to the top corners or somewhere where they are easier and quicker to find. I know for sighted users this might be easy. Oh and perhaps some sort of sound that lets you know it has been successful.

Thanks for listening.

Julie

Mar 29, 2012

sugarplum 9 posts

Spoke too soon Sad

gone up to 8.4 two hours later

Mar 29, 2012

sugarplum 9 posts

Yesssssss!!!!!!!!!! 7.5 Whooooooooo
Thank you for your advice!!!!

Mar 29, 2012

sugarplum 9 posts

I have had no training so far, I know it's crazy but I am attending a trainiing session in May! I will have been on the pump for 7 months by then. I was shown basic functions and have found out a bit of info myself.
I was told that the pump is just another way of delivering insulin and that it still takes a lot of hard work and is not the answer to give me perfect control. It was advised I go on the pump because my sugars were rising every morning and the injections couldn't control it (Dawn rise or something). I must say though, the fact that I now have a glucose metre which links into the pump and then I can upload it all on to the PC is great because I can just send the reports straight to my nurse to review (just getting them to reply is the problem ha ha).
How do I know how fast the food releases glucose? Is that the GI?
I have taken my insulin 15 minutes before my tea today, I had a hypo just before that but treated that and then took my insulin! I will see what happens in an hour.
Looks like I am going to have to start logging what I eat and what happens an hour later then Sad

Mar 29, 2012

katrin3014 1 post

Topic: Questions for HCPs / stress

I know stress can effect hypergylycaemia - can it also increase hypos?

Mar 29, 2012

novorapidboi26 1,819 posts

I would of assumed you had been told about your pump and its functions, and now that your on a pump you can literally keep your levels on target all of the time, its takes work but it is possible...............what were your reasons to go on the pump........

the dual wave can help if your meal is not going to be releasing its glucose as fast as your insulin will be working, these events can sometimes cause hypos an hour or two after eating then highs some time later...........you should speak to your team about possible scenarios of when these functions could come in handy especially in pre conception stages...... That is if they exist on your model of pump. The temp basal is good for times like these too I suppose and if your ill or when your exercising......

regarding the low readings before your meals, most would be uncomfortable to give themselves insulin at those levels and wait before eating, but I have done it, the insulin does not start to drop you blood for a good 10-15 minutes anyway..........as a non HCP I would say try it if the opportunity presents itself, as long as you have hypo resolve to hand just in case..........

with the right training, which as a non pumper I would expect you to have had, control can be as tight as a ducks bottom............

I have attached my results from today which show my lunch time dose going in a 11:20, I then start eating at 12:00, so 105g of carbs, which is a good whack. My highest spike is 8.7 just over an hour later, then it drops back down. Not every meal will behave the same, so that will take time to get experienced with what food/combination of food needs what extent of time..........

Mar 29, 2012

sugarplum 9 posts