I’m going to vent here, so please feel free to move on if you don’t want to read it.
Okay, so, I don’t typically talk about it when I have diabetic issues. But today, I have been in the high three hundreds all day. This is really Atypical for me. I used the bolus feature on my PDM (I use the Omnipod system, but not Dash since my pharmacy benefit doesn’t cover it). And, after my BG didn’t come down, had to gradually increase my dose, finally culminating in 10 units of Novalog. I hate to disconnect a pod, because they’re so expensive, but I’d have to change it tomorrow anyway first thing, so, since I have now taken a whole 8 units to try to get it down (I’ve been watching my Dexcom and verifying with my glucometer almost every half hour), I’m changing my pod and trying a new vial of insulin.
Does anyone else have days like this?
I’m not really looking for solutions. I kind of just wanted to vent.
Hi @Tosha. I occasionally have unexplainable highs that I can’t bring down, and have found it may be due to an underlying infection. I’ve had a couple of UTIs and dental issues (which I ignored for too long) where the only symptom at least at first was a high BG.
My doctor gave me a flow sheet detailing what to do if I have ketones or not, including when to go off my TSlim puml and take injections.
I’ve also found that if I hit 300 (your number may be different) no amount of insulin will start bringing me down until I’ve started washing out any ketones. Just a couple of glasses of water along with the rest of the protocol will start to give me at least a minimal drop - even if only a couple of points - maybe a couple of hours later.
At the risk of being dubbed “Captain Obvious,” don’t wait too long to take action, pod or no pod - as you don’t want to end up the the hospital with DKA. Although it’s the weekend I would suggest you call your doctor’s office, explain the situation, and say you need to speak to your physician or whoever is covering - be sure to refer to possible DKA, which you are trying to avoid. Another option would be to call a 24 hour nurse hotline if one is listed on your insurance.
It’s best to “report in” so you don’t get a stern “Why didn’t you call me???” at your next visit.
Wishing you well - let us know how things turn out.
My secret weapon is a bolus and a walk, if that doesn’t work it’s a simple case of a new infusion site. I hear you on a pod but you can always call them, complain, and see if they’ll send you one. Not worth it to wait out a long high if you are occluded.
Sounds like a bad site to me. I’m with @joe, don’t wait to pull a pod if your BG will not come down from a bolus, the company will replace them. It’s not worth the trouble to keep using a pod or infusion set that has gone bad.
Hi Tosha @Tosha, what I’ve found when my BGL goes high and doesn’t correct fairly quickly with a “normal” kick with my pump , is to do a carefully calculated bolus with syringe and needle. My usual first bolus with syringe is 5 units rapid acting insulin - that’s more insulin than I use for a 75 gram carb meal. Be careful.
If BG starts to drop within 20 minutes, it is a good indicator that your pump may be at fault.
You mention the reason for not wanting to change pods is cost. If you call Omnipod to identify ANY pod issue, whether it is a system error with an error number, or because it SEEMS to not be working (maybe leaking, or whatever), or even if it just simply gets knocked off, they will send a replacement pod in the mail FOR FREE. I have 2 boys with pods for 3 years, and they NEVER have said no, and they have issues monthly, at a minimum.
Asking out of curiosity and for the sake of learning: while they replace the pod I’m sure you’re on your own for the remaining insulin. Can/do pod users withdraw the remaining insulin for use in another plus (that’s assuming of course that the issue is with the pod itself)?
We just had a similar experience with our son who normally has great control. After multiple boluses and temporary basals, verifying with finger sticks and using injections rather than his Omnipod to no avail, I cracked open a new vial of insulin and Voila! His numbers came down! We reached out to his endocrinologist who said they have often heard similar stories. Insulin is expensive so she suggested we report it to the pharmacy or the manufacturer to see if they would replace the vial. I’m honestly just happy his numbers came down. Anyway, this was a great learning experience for me, as we often make the assumption that the insulin is good or effective. Wasn’t the case this time and will be on my radar, should this happen again. Best of luck to you!
I have had similar issues in recent months on a couple of occasions. Site locations seem to be the explanation. It probably is worth while to test that theory with a new location. If that doesn’t solve the problem, then a different vial of insulin. Being sick can also affect the BG levels.
Hi Cindy @cerrocc, you certainly took a wonderfully proactive approach to help your son get his BGL into an acceptable range - and I’m really happy to hear that you and your son working together achieved success. You systematically worked your way through all the “stops”.
I have done, on several occasions through the years, just about exactly what you have done. Now about the insulin - rather than throw out the partial “older” vial, I have put it in the refrigerator and waited for a couple of pump-site changes making certain that I had stabilized and then given the insulin another chance and found it was still good - so my “problem” a few days earlier must have been something other than the vial of insulin. during my seven decades trying to figure out my diabetes, I have found that there are so many “little things” that upset BGL that then looking back as to why I was so out of range I can not say exactly which of the changes I made solved the problem.
Hi Tosha
I too have had these unexplained highs and I too wear the Omni pod
I find that a couple of units at a time in an area where I don’t wear the Pod (aka my butt) and a good walk does the trick, I hate to change pods too
I have changed the pod at times but to no avail in lowering the BS
Sometimes the body just does what it wants to do.
It’s good that you recognize the issue and work at it. It is frustrating
I have had the same experiences at times when wearing Medtronic too.
Anne
This happens to my daughter periodically. If a quick walk and some water doesn’t start it down she will inject a unit or two with her pen. If we see it drop then we know for certain that our pump is on the blink. Don’t be afraid to pull a pump and call Omnipod. You don’t need to endure a day at 300!