I’m having a really crappy blood sugar day.
I know it happens to all of us, but that doesn’t make it any easier.
I know that I sometimes I cause my own bad days, especially when I can’t contain my food cravings. But you know, those days are a little easier to handle because I know the cause of it.
I woke up high this morning (well, technically morning I guess (11:37AM)). I’m not sure, but I think it was something I didn’t count right last night. I hate that I was high much of the night, but stuff happens. I realized I had my high BG alarms on my Navigator disabled, most likely from some trouble I was having a while back that I just never remembered to enable again. Having those turned on would have been valuable last night. 20/20 hindsight.
I had a little breakfast (a couple slices of toast) and added in a monster correction dose. There are many of you out there that won’t eat anything until your blood sugar is down, but I’m not one of them.
I used up all the insulin I had left in my pump with that bolus, so I changed everything out. New infusion set, new tubing, new cartridge, fresh insulin. That’s a recipe for good numbers, right? WRONG! I struggle with high BG’s after a site change. I don’t know what it is, but I know that it is not consistent, which means I can’t figure out what to do! Today it has me thinking that going back to shots might be the way for me.
My breakfast and correction bolus (on my old set) held me pretty steady (but still high – around 250 mg/dl) most of the afternoon. I was hitting the high with correction doses every hour and a half (on the new set now) and it just wouldn’t budge.
In the eight hours I spent fighting that damn 250’ish, I got hungry (what – I’m still human) I hadn’t eaten anything else until late in the day, maybe around 8:00 PM, and that’s when the shit hit the fan. Even though I bolused aggressively and about 30 minutes before I ate, within about twenty minutes I shot up to 397mg/dl. I have been stuck there for hours. About 45 minutes after I ate, and saw what was happening, I did a rage bolus. I am just now starting to trend down.
So now that I’m on the downswing, I get the notification that my Navigator sensor expires in about two hours. So I won’t have that guarding me against lows through the night. Great.
What makes me angry about this? That I didn’t do anything “wrong”. This is not my fault. I didn’t go crazy with food all day, in fact I didn’t eat much at all! And I’m also mad because there is not just one issue to deal with. There is the fact I woke up high, then the site change, then the first meal on the site change, then the expiring sensor, then the massive low I’m predicting I’ll have tonight.
If it were just one issue I think I could handle it just fine. It’s when they team up on you that life gets a little harder, and it seems when diabetes is involved, it is always more than just one thing. It’s never a fair fight.
So sorry about your crappy day Scott! I’ve had quite a few of those recently and it can be so incredibly frustrating. I mean, things don’t go *that* well, even when things are going well. Hope you’re feeling better.
Hi Scott, I have been a diabetic for 3 years and still I go high and low EVERY day. Doesn’t seem to matter what I eat either. Just went to yet another doctor. I have been on the pump for about a year and a half. When I print out my weekly readings on a graph it looks like a 2 year old got hold of an Etch a Sketch. I can’t remember the last time I felt fine. Have recently been told that I can’t work or drive at this time, Which really sucks. Was wondering if anyone else is out on disability from this illness. I am losing it being stuck at home on top of everything else.
Scott,
I know you know that we all understand, but sometimes that does not even help. Moments like this you feel that no one gets or feels your emotions about it, not even a fellow diabetic.
I sometimes think about going back on shots, because lately there have been some horror stories about the Lot 8 recall, etc., but then I HATED shots, but I always think the grass is greener on the other side. I just don’t remember with shots not gettng a good absorption, but I also could not adjust my basal rate like I can with the pump. I just think there is no green grass with this awful disease.
Ya know we all luv ya,
Karen
Thank you so much for all of the empathy and suggestions. I am feeling better, with better BG’s, and a better attitude (funny how those two so often go together!).
I’ve tried many of the suggestions over the years, with mixed results. Maybe I’ll go into some details on all I’ve tried in a future post.
Thank you all again!
Frustration. I think that’s the best word to describe a day like yours. I get them every once in a while, which is (of course) way too often. Oh yeah, and not eating anything until the blood sugar goes down usually takes more will than I’m able to supply. High blood sugars = increased appetite. Yeah, that’s my excuse. What? It’s true!
Amen brother….Sorry to hear of your recent plight. Is there a full moon..? “Cause I’m feeling and sharing your numbers. Seems sometimes that no matter what you do, the math just doesn’t work. Hope all is well soon…..Bob
Kevin, that’s also a good idea. I do it automatically. I leave my old site in but only for 2 hours or so, until whatever insulin is there has mostly absorbed, and until I test with the new site.
I often change site before I eat or before I need a correction, then do the bolus with the new site, test in an hour or two, and I can be extra sure it’s all working. Waiting for a basal not to work takes more time for me.
Go figure – yesterday and today I wasn’t feeling well at all. BGLs perfectly normal. Least I could have explained a high day today!
Scott, any suggestions helping??
That sucks, indeed. Unfortunately, I’m in a perfect place to sympathize with you — I’ve had some bad morning blood sugars this past week that just deflate me.
What a crappy way to start a day.
Last night, I had a low (38!) that I WAY over treated (5 glucose tabs, a granola bar, a fruit bar, and 3 figs). When I came to and stopped panic eating, I had enough sense to take a little bit of insulin to “dampen” the effect a little, but still woke up at 373. Nice roller coaster ride — and I slept through most of it!
What a crappy way to start a day.
One little suggestion for you about your site changes: I used to have some pretty awful swings around my site changes too, but I now leave my old site in for several hours (and sometimes days, because I forget to pull it) and that seems to help. Once, I pulled the old site immediately after I put in a new one and saw a little dribble of insulin come out. I haven’t pulled an old site when I’m changing since then.
This also has the added bonus that if you realize that the new site is all bent up or something isn’t working so well that you can switch back over to the old site (so long as it hasn’t been much more than half a day). This has saved me once or twice.
Keep punchin’.
Hey man!
Saturday night, went to bed with a 98 BG. Woke up 310! WTH! Last night, same thing, but woke up with a 201. Why? My liver hates me! I try to hate it back, but it just dumps more damn sugar in my blood.
Eeeevil liver! Hope all has gotten better. Take care!
Crappy day! I’m with you, though. I always eat something with my correction bolus–dry and starchy, like toast. Otherwise, I’m nauseated for hours afterward. I hope tomorrow you have a better day. The ones with no explanation ARE the worst. I’d rather be able to say, I ate like Augustus Gloop. 😉
Take care,
Bethanne
Scott,
I’m am SO sorry. I can completely, totally and absolutely empathize. I offer you a virtual pillow to punch in frustration. I hope you’re feeling better now. Take care!
~Laura
Ohhh man, I hear you. These are the kind of days that a person without diabetes could never quite fully understand. It’s this intangible feeling of BLAHHHHH, and you can’t just “tough it out” because your body is literally not functioning the way it wants to!
Hope Monday kicks off with a bang and a better blood sugar reading!
xoxo
Ginger
Ick dealing with highs like that is never fun 🙁 I had problems from time to time with going high after a site change and I take a correction before I change my set. It helps a lot, and I would recommend it! Hope you’re having a better night 🙂
hey Scott am so with you. hope today is better.
Wow Scott what a crappy day! I understand your frustration. You work to try and get control over your diabetes and then through no fault of your own, you get a day like this. 🙁
Tristan also (not always… really no pattern) goes high after site changes. His diabetes team told us to give him the prime amount (in our case 0.5) with the old site and then give the prime with the site change. For us, that has worked. After having done in that way for a while, for some reason now we don’t need too anymore. Very rarely does he go high after a site change. I have no idea why…. it’s a mystery to me.
You posted this yesterday (I’m a little late to the party) but I hope that your day was better today. Hang in there
Hey Scott, I’m with you man! I had the same problem the other day and found it sooo frustrating. I even started a thread on the pump forum. I think I called it a question from me 🙂 It really is frustrating and we tend to be a little to critical on ourselves during these times. I know I over test to try and ensure things are working. I also up my basal as that seems to help in my case.
I wish there was an easy quick answer and fix but hey this is our lives!
JHG is it worth it? For some you better believe it! It makes a huge difference. With an A1C of 6.2 your doing great and it would just be a matter of ease I guess. It’s not for everyone, and at times it can be frustrating as you are in charge of so much more of your care. Its one of those things that you need to do alot of thinking about and not just get one on a whim. At least thats the way I see it.
Scott,
I have been contemplating using a pump. After reading of your trials and tribulations I’m wondering is it really worth all of the fuss and flutter required. My A1C is 6.2.
those days are so hard, mostly because I think we add additional stress by trying to determine the unanswerable WHY! I have always experienced the high bg trouble at site changes, I just double the recommended prime amount. But that sure doesn’t answer the original problem, why are the bg’s out of control today. I wonder if our bodies just get tired of trying to follow our rules some days, I bet it happens to everyone, we just have the pleasure of measure! Take care, hope your numbers improve!!
Oh icky, nasty days!!! I hate them and how they make us feel physically and emotionally. How are we supposed to sort through the kazillion things that could be causing our issues with a brain that feels like it’s clogged with peanut butter? I had a bad BG day on Sunday spilling over into Monday, and then turned up sick on Tuesday. Related?? Chicken or egg?? Who knows!! Oh, and I don’t stop eating either at those times…just try to keep the portions reasonable/countable. Fasting on top of everything else just doesn’t seem feasible. Hope things even out for you soon.
Scott,
What a sucky day. So sorry to hear about your frustrations.
You and I have talked about site changes before. I have the same problem, which is why I started changing them before bed. I crank my basal up to 140%, and go to sleep. The next morning I’m usually in the ok range… but the first carbs of the day send me high, no matter how I bolus for them. It’s beyond frustrating. All these years of diabetes and pumping and I still can’t figure it out.
Dam diabetes.
Here’s hoping that you can enjoy this beautiful, sunny Saturday! 🙂
Been there, bro, and with ya there now (:-) Hang in there!
🙁 here’s hoping the next one of these days doesn’t happen for a long long time
hey scott.sorry to hear that man.wish i could help but have nothing for you.i do hope it gets better for you.and you are so right it blows when you dont do anything to cause it .
I don’t any words of wisdom this morning Scott, but I feel better for reading your post and knowing it’s not only me going through this right now. Hope it may help you to know you’re not the only one.
I’ve woken up this morning so angry at a monster high from last night that hasn’t come down fully, a meter that keeps flunking out and a CGM sensor that won’t get started. I came to Diabetes Daily to try and calm down! And you’ve helped!
I am really sorry that you had a sucky day too. Diabetes just isn’t fair, but I’m definitely with ya!
Well…if it’s any consolation, Addy spiked to 560 today. Yes, you heard that right. I almost choked. My poor girl…it just ruined her day.
50 – 560 … I hate this disease…
What’s the use of all the techno nonsense? Get rid of it and switch to novomix pen. Easier cheaper better… A no brainer
High after site change? Happened to me too. My solution… fill the cannula with a little more than is recommended. Maybe that”ll help. Say, for example 0.55 instead of 0.5 – really not enough to hypo (if you weren’t going high anyway) but enough to get a little more in. Could be that you’re missing out on those first few hours of basal.
Personally I think it’s better to eat when you’re high and bolus for it or your liver might just dump more glucose.
The slightest bit of stress sends me up. And I mean slightest. I have high days, like you – a couple of weeks ago, 4 straight days though site changes and more. No logical reason – least none that I know of, or my endo or DE. Life with D, I guess. The important point is that you treat it, not stress yourself out wondering why if the reason doesn’t come to you immediately.
No, it’s never a fair fight. Far as I know, no one said it was going to be. But it’s a nice one sometimes when there’s success.
These types of days are happening more and more often. I am thinking a different set might be a help, so my next order will have some new quick sets for me. Right now I’m using Sils, and they are sometimes just not working. I change 2-4 times before I get a bit of normalcy.
We can do the dance, we try, cry, do whatever it takes, but the “Stalker-Betes” just sometimes has it in for us as human beings.
We’re with you, guy!
((hugs))
I feel ya man.
Two days of 200s, steady she blows, no end in sight.
Am I sick? Did I get enough sleep? Dang allergies? Am I stressed?
I change site, tubing, cartridge, refill — WHAM, I am running fine.
A week ago? This was Not the case.
Consistency would be nice, ya know.
I do know, for a fact, have yet to find peace with: the constant in Diabetes is change…..
Too many freakin’ variables.
Hang tough man.
well you know where to find us all if you have to treat your lows in the middle of the night 😉 Big D-Hugs!
You are right…never gets any easier & I hate it when it eats up most of your waking hours, thinking about it, changing this, calculating that, …. but champions never quit & “you are stronger than you think you are” (Yup I stole that from a really special person tonight)
Bro- you did have a bad day. the betes and sugachine was not your friend at all. Bummer! I’ve read in a post somewhere, not sure where—someone was having the same issue with their site change. The doc told them to inject 1 unit of insulin right before they change sites to prevent going high after the site change…have you tried it?
Tomorrow will be a better day:) but I agree those crazy unexplained highs or lows can and will make for a frustrating day.