I randomly discovered this site tonight while browsing the web for tips on managing blood sugars! I think its awesome that there are entire online communities of diabetics working together to help gain better control and learn ways in which to live alongside diabetes. I am currently in my 3rd year of college at the University of Hawaii on Oahu, and LOVING it! However, recently my diabetes has been getting the best of me...and when i say recently i mean about the past 4 years. I have EXTREME high's pretty much every single night before bed. Starting around 2pm my readings take a turn for the worst and until bedtime they just keep on climbing. I get tired, feel CRUMMY as i'm sure you alllll know how it is when your are super high. By the time im laying in bed i usually get a reading around 450. Talk about depressing. I literally watch my entire future of living a healthy life and having kids and yadda yadda fly past me in my head. I have been on the minimed pump (508 and now paridigm) for about 7 years, and somehow i'm still all over the place. Im so incredibly tired of dealing with this disease alone, and although i have incredible friends and supporting/loving family members they just never "know what it's like". They tell me, test more, don't eat this, eat that.. and when they ask how my sugars are i'm tired of feeling guilty and having to explain why i'm 350. HELP ME lol. I'm 20 years old, i'm studying abroad in Florence, Italy this next spring semester and i want to be in GREAT control by the time i leave. (health care can be sketch in Europe). If any of you guys have helpful information, tips on how you got yourselves in control, ideas, anything would be more than helpful. At this point i feel like i need a life overhaul.. but i'm hoping making numberous smaller changes can still have a huge impact on my health and future. So honestly, any help or motivation you can provide me to get back on track would be greatly appreciated :)
Now that i wrote a novel, i'll get back to studying! or maybe test my blood... HEY there's an idea lol
Just off the cuff, it sounds like your afternoon and evening basal rate is way off. Do you have a doc either on or off campus you can go see? It's important you talk to him/her about it. I'm not sure if Hawaii is your home state, so if your doc is on the mainland, see if you can send them your bg results and have a consult over the phone. I know time can be a huge issue in school but are you able to get in some cardio in the afternoons? That should help as well, but first get in touch with your endo and see about adjusting your levels. Best of luck.
That's exactly what first came to my mind: adjusting your basal rates. It sounds like they need some serious adjustments! I suspect since you started with your pump as a teenager, your needs changed along with your body, but you never re-evaluated your basals... correct?
I hope this solves your problem. You'll feel so much better physically as well as emotionally if you can get the whole thing back under control. Good luck!
Along with seeing your doctor be sure to pick up Think Like a Pancreas by Gary Scheiner. Along with seeing my doctor, and this site, this book helped me get my blood sugars down! I wen through the same problems as you when I came here and these things helped a lot. If you have any questions about being in Florenzia i was just there for school myself- I can get you some info.
I was also thinking you might need a change in your afternoon/evening basal rates, but since people have already mentioned that, I'll just welcome to Juvenation!
Definitely contact your endocrinologist ASAP. I would agree that you probably need a higher basal rate. This is not your fault, and it will get better. It's just a process of figuring out what works best for you.
Also-- this is thinking outside of the box-- but if it's not your basal rate that needs adjusted, it sounds like you are a special case. Perhaps your physician could look into whether you have a metabolic disorder or if another medication that you are taking affects you more in the PM than in the AM.
Either way, best of luck and remember to be positive and proactive!
My control wasn't super great when I studied abroad and I still went for a year w/ no problem. Not to say you shouldn't try to get your numbers under control, but I found the medical care great in Europe. I was in France which may be much different than Italy, but the dr. visits were super cheap and easy to get in, unlike in the US. When I was sick, there's a 1-800 type number to call and a dr would come to your house for something like $20. I saw an Irish doctor (who spoke English obviously) as a GP and went to a French endocrinologist. If you speak some Italian, you should be fine b/c the words were similar w/ Latin roots in French (ex: insulin = l'insuline, etc). The only thing to think about is that the units of insulin and the blood sugar measurements are different there. Depending on how long you're there, you'll have to decide whether to make the switch or not. Luckily, with my "American" BG readings, my French endo knew what they meant. I was on MDI, and I switched to local syringes and insulin units. Don't know how it works w/ a pump.
Sorry this was a somewhat off-topic reply, but I get so passionate about not letting D stop me from doing what I want in life that I get overly excited. (: I agree though that you'll need to raise your afternoon basals. Also, is it possible to eat fewer carbs in the afternoon until you get this figured out? Do you walk to class in the afternoon? Sometimes even a 10 min walk can stop a post-meal high from being terrible for me. When you are high in the afternoon, are you correcting? Maybe you need a new correction factor? Good luck!