I've been on the pump a few months. I just joined weight watchers and I've been low
like every freakin day. I'm eating enough, but it just dawned on me that maybe I need t o
change my basal since i lost 4 pounds and can't stop being low!!!!
I HATE LOWWWWWWWWWSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!
Hate to have to call endo to change basal. . .do any of you just do it yourself?
because i am familiar with doing it myself and my Endo encouraging me to take control of my own diabetes. i would do it myself, but for you i think it would be wise to call the endo first and see what they say you should do talk to them about being able to change it on your own.
looks like we are on the same boat (woohoo!)! i've been t1diabetic for many many moons now and have been on the pump since november (2008) AND started WW end of January - soooo, i think i somewhat understand whatcha mean by "I HATE LOWWWWWWSSSS!" cuz, i do too!
what i like about ww is that i use the 35 weekly points as my "reaction points."
when i first started ww my daily totals would average between 50-70 units of novolog a day...now i'm averaging somewhere in the low 30 units a day...and even so i STILL have stupid reactions! the cool thing is though for the first time in my t1-diabetic-life i feel like i control the outcome of those reations. before i used to eat until my belly hurt and my shakes went away, then about an hour after my reaction i'd end up being 400 and feeling like poo! but now my body is not reacting so hard and dramatically - i eat my packaged snacks (15-20 g carbs) and sugar tabs and i my bg's will stay in the 100's.
i've had to change my basal rate on my own...couldn't wait to see the endo cuz my reactions were happening way too frequently. i just followed the directions in that cd-rom minimed sent me and brought down my basal to a .8 all day long. it's been working out great. only sometimes i do need to eat a snack before i take a walk. and when i walk if my sugar is 200 or below i just put my pump on suspend, otherwise, i'll end up having a reaction mid-walk.
take a look at that cd-rom they sent you and you should be able to reduce yr basal rate just fine - i too was totally nervous about adjusting it on my own, but i'm glad i just did it cuz having reactions everyday, several times a day takes away way too much time and energy from our lives, so its well worth just giving it a shot. oh and if you still nervous i'd call the minimed help line so they could walk you through the steps. you'll probably have to adjust it a few times to get the right amount, but by that point you should be comfortable w/adjusting it whenever you feel it necessary.
hope you doing well! and keep on keeping on...so, what has your total weight loss been so far? how do you like the ww momentum program?
in solidarity,
antoinette
I just completely ditched my basal all together after having so many lows. (I was on a really low one anyways). I would suggest decreasing it and checking your blood sugar more frequently for the next little while. There is nothing wrong with decreasing your basal to avoid lows, just make sure you don't decrease too much so you are high all the time. It usually takes a few days for the change to completely show.
i like basal just i want a pump. its to many shots everytime you eat i mean come on. i eat alot like every hour i take like 10 shots a day. is the pump any good?
[quote user="cure4all"]
I've been on the pump a few months. I just joined weight watchers and I've been low
like every freakin day. Hate to have to call endo to change basal. . .do any of you just do it yourself?
[/quote]Yea I change my own basal rates. You can also set temporary basal rates, so you don't have to "feed"lows all the time till your endo appt. You can also make up another "Pattern" (they are called patterns in my pump), where the basal rate timing is the same but the amounts are different... there are a lot of things you can do.
Wow. I -never- depend on doctors or endos to determine my insulin. They can make a suggestion, especially when I change insulin, but I never ask them if I need to change it.
I think part of this stems from the fact that during my history I used to go to a diabetic clinic and all they did was make 'suggestions' that my parents and I ignored anyways (if they were dumb) or were already implementing (if they made some 'intelligent' remark). It got to the point where I felt like a freaking lab rat, and that we were actually just being poked and prodded to see how we reacted. After that I lost a lot of faith in the medical system and did everything by myself. Didn't go back to a diabetic clinic until I changed insulins recently, and even that lasted a minimal amount of time. Same story, different decade.
I change my basal's myself, i know how to do it. But just like some others have said. It might be better if u called. It wont hurt. :)