Hello everyone!
I've experienced a problem a few times that I must be incorrectly correcting... so thought I'd ask for input:
I checked my blood sugar and all was well 5.3mmol/L
Was outside with friends on a hot, sticky day, holding my baby, moving about, and felt a sharp site pain.
Checked it out and seemed as though the tape from the Quickset infusion site had unstuck, so I patted it back down.
2 hours later (no food intake and a 20min walk taken) I am at 11.4mmol/L

I decided to change the site and discovered that the teflon needle wasn't even within the skin! It had come out and when I pressed the tape back down it just stayed pressed up against my skin. (eeeeeee!!!!)
So, gave corrective dose with pen needle and changed site, but what to do with the 2hours of missing basal?
Generally, my basals are programmed anticipating a 2 hour reaction time, but when I tried a 2 hour increased basal (or square bolus) to compensate for the exact amount I lost (when I unplugged a few weeks back for a 30min swim), it didn't work
Suggestions?
It really sucks but I'm sure this can't be a first for all of you, can it?


Thanks!

I just take my basal up front if disconnecting. If I was going to swim I would probably just
wait until reconnected and make a estimate of how much is needed based on a finger stick test
because my insulin needs when swimming are very low about 20% of my normal basal. YMMV
If I missed all of my basal during a 30 min swim it would no be very significant. When I need to
make up lost basal I just add it to the correction. Most of the time when something goes wrong
or I make a mistake it takes some time for everything to settle back to normal.

(What ever normal is ??)

JohnG

If something like that happens to me I just do the correction based on BG and I don't add anything extra for the missing basal. Since a high BG requires a big correction and Humalog lasts 4 hours (for me), it all works out. I insert a new set and get it going and by the time the basal from teh pump is starting to kick in my BG is usually heading back to normal.

I do exactly what Liz does.

Thanks for answering. If give all straight up as a bolus, am worried will go low, and then go back up when no basal to cover the following hour
No?

For me, Humalog lasts about 4 hours so giving the correction all at once as a large bolus covers any missing basal. It makes up for what I missed while I wasn't getting the insulin and since it lasts 4 hours, there's more than enough coverage going forward. If I go really high, 300+, from a bad set I tend to need a bigger correction than the pump recommends. I usually just increase the bolus manually but I honestly have no formula for doing so. I just guess. Your story makes me think that I should base the increase on how much basal I think I missed. It makes sense!

If you're worried about going low you can set the correction up as a dual wave. You get a hit of insulin right away to start bringing down the high but it's more gradual so you won't (hopefully) crash. SInce it's spread out longer the effect will last longer so you shouldn't go high again later.

A dual wave is a great idea!
Hope will never need to use it!

Also, quick warning!

I washed my hands before mixing a bottle of baby formula at 3AM.
After feeding the baby, I checked my bl gl and was at 20.5 mmol/L
I took the corrective dose and a few hours later went low, low, low
If it's too high to believe, wash your hands and check again!

Definitely agree with the hand washing and rechecking highs....especially if your around kids and the continual handling of food that goes with that. Many of my daughter's highs are not so when I at least wash the finger being poked. Curious how many people wash hands before your checks? (would have her hands under a tap all day if I did it for all of them) Usually I just try to figure out what she ate last or how sticky it was before I make her wash them.

After wasting many strips because of needing to retest when I wondered if a high number was really correct I have gotten into the habit of only testing when my hands are clean. If I am home, I wash my hands before I test. If I leave the house, I wash my hands before I leave so that if I want to test discretely at a group setting I don't have to worry about there being food on my hands.

Linda B.

I wash my hands before every time I test. I've learned the hard way that you cannot trust the reading without clean hands. I know it must be hard for your daughter, but I strongly encourage you to get her into the habit of washing (well!) before testing.

Tom

Wish I could say that I wash them before every check but I don't quite. Always wash them at home before checking. At work, it depends. The only time I'm near food is at lunch time. I always check at my desk. Closest sink with soap and water is in the washroom, so I will wash before testing if I am in the washroom for some reason (I figure that my hands won't come into contact with something that will affect the reading on my way to my desk.

As it works out, I wash my hands the majority of the times before testing.

I always run water on the "victim" finger and wipe dry. I carry a bottle of water in my car for "finger-dipping" if I need to test along the way.

Ditto!

Every once in a while I forget and put hand cream on before I test, and then I end up having to wash my hands again

I don't wash before every test but I will if I've been handling food or anything dirty. If I've just been sitting at my desk for awhile and need to test, I just test. I am far less likely to wash my hands in cold weather because my skin gets really dry & cracked and water makes it worse.



This is pretty much what I'll do in the winter, washing only the finger I'm going to poke.

I once read an article that also warned of disinfectant gels boosting the bl gl readings
(My hands also crack with the cold, so painful!)

My hands are always dry and cracked. (Washing only the not so lucky finger what a great idea)