Feeling really down

[jimmysmith]

Going through a rough patch these past couple of days. Did my first set change on friday and everything went well. Since then though I can't seem to get my blood below 10. I know the cannula is okay because my bloods do come down a little but never enough. Inputting all the correct carbs intp my calculator for my 640G to work out. Just feeling like it's all useless

 

[Robinredbreast]

Going through a rough patch these past couple of days. Did my first set change on friday and everything went well. Since then though I can't seem to get my blood below 10. I know the cannula is okay because my bloods do come down a little but never enough. Inputting all the correct carbs intp my calculator for my 640G to work out. Just feeling like it's all useless

So sorry to read you are feeling useless with pump problems. I can't give you any advice as I am not on a pump, but sending you my best wishes for better results x

 

[DCUKMod]

Hi Jimmy - I don't have any personal wisdom to offer you as I'm not an insulin user, never mind a pumper.

I'll tag a few pumpers who come to mind, although not sure if they are using the same pump as yourself, and hopefully they might drop in on your thread next they're around. @Juicyj @Fairygodmother @catapillar @himtoo @Mel dCP , and I'll also tag @donnellysdogs as I know she has used a number of pumps, even if she isn't currently pumping.

Good luck with it all. I umderstand the early stages of pumping are as testing as you are finding, but very well worth it, once the dust settles. Keep the faith!

 

[Juicyj]

Hello @jimmysmith Sorry to hear your down.. please just remember this is only a few days in and getting to know your ratios and making changes takes a while, it’s not a magic wand to perfect control. My DSN exercised great caution on my starting ratios and it took me a good few weeks to start to see good numbers consistently, I know the first week is a step into the unknown but don’t lose faith you will get a lot better just try and be patient and not get stressed.

 

[jimmysmith]

Thanks @Juicyj think it was just having the first threes days go pretty well and then from Friday onwards it's just gone downhill. But you're right I need to try and not get stressed and stop expecting perfection this early in.

 

[LooperCat]

@DCUKMod I don’t pump, I’m on MDI but v interested in this thread for possible future reference

@jimmysmith do you find you might need to increase your ratio when you’re at higher BG levels?

 

[jimmysmith]

@DCUKMod I don’t pump, I’m on MDI but v interested in this thread for possible future reference

@jimmysmith do you find you might need to increase your ratio when you’re at higher BG levels?

Yeah quite possibly. Will see what my nurse says on tuesday

 

[Juicyj]

Thanks @Juicyj think it was just having the first threes days go pretty well and then from Friday onwards it's just gone downhill. But you're right I need to try and not get stressed and stop expecting perfection this early in.

It's easy to lose confidence when you take a leap of faith, but take it from someone who also had the same worry as you in the first few weeks, keep the faith, it will improve massively and it's easy to adjust ratios but only do so in the early days under the guidance of your DSN, I change my now without consulting my DSN but only because I can see my reports on Carelink and have a good sense of what needs adjusting, call them first thing to review.

 

[donnellysdogs]

Ok, they start you off lower doses running through to get all of background insulin out of your body.
So levels now may well be higher.

Now, are you having a phone call or appt with your dsn on Monday?

And also, you may well find if you work and have days off that these may fluctuate too. So be aware of this.

Are you happy adjusting basals and understand the basics that you need to do basal testing for?

 

[jimmysmith]

Ok, they start you off lower doses running through to get all of background insulin out of your body.
So levels now may well be higher.

Now, are you having a phone call or appt with your dsn on Monday?

And also, you may well find if you work and have days off that these may fluctuate too. So be aware of this.

Are you happy adjusting basals and understand the basics that you need to do basal testing for?

I've got my 3rd Pump appointment on tuesday which will look at advanced basal rates if I remember correctly. Will talk to the nurse then. Usually I'm happy adjusting stuff myself but with me bring new to the pump I don't so will wait till tuesday

 

[donnellysdogs]

Right just seen Tuesday DSN. So she allowing time to settle in...

If a set fails you are likely to go high pretty quickly and corrections wont work.

The fact that around 10 and had a minimal drop sounds like set change gone ok.

There is a lot on a pump to work out and its not magic overnight. Best to basal test and get them right first.
Its even the set up in the background that can also need checking and changing... ie most nurses still go on 4 hour acting time of quick acting, and set pumps up for that time period yet pumping insulin book recommends 5-6 hours.. mine wven on MDI IS 5hrs 15 mins. So there is a lot to consider and master.

 

[Bluey1]

hey Jimmy,
The same happened to me after about 3 weeks of being on the pump. Check with your pump specialist they will get it sorted quite quickly.

 

[Picci]

Going through a rough patch these past couple of days. Did my first set change on friday and everything went well. Since then though I can't seem to get my blood below 10. I know the cannula is okay because my bloods do come down a little but never enough. Inputting all the correct carbs intp my calculator for my 640G to work out. Just feeling like it's all useless

Hi jimmysmith, once again I vividly remember what you're going through. When I went live things were amazing for about 5 days maximum. I was stable, running at about 5mmol all day long! I was over the moon with the results I was getting so soon.

It was short lived, like you I started running about 12mmol. Please stay positive, I'm still working on getting things right. It takes time and patience. You need to see patterns, do fasting basal tests and change things slowly, then wait and watch for any improvement and adjust again every 3 days. Change one thing at a time.

Please believe me, it gets better! I had shoulder surgery not long after starting my pump and it caused absolute havoc, on top of results I was trying to lower.

I'm 7 weeks in & I've only just got started making more adventurous changes to time blocks, basal rates and ratios.

I promise you you'll be getting pleasing results before you know it

Take care,
Christine

 

[Picci]

I've got my 3rd Pump appointment on tuesday which will look at advanced basal rates if I remember correctly. Will talk to the nurse then. Usually I'm happy adjusting stuff myself but with me bring new to the pump I don't so will wait till tuesday

That was my problem too, my nurse insisted I sit on my hands when I was desperate to start tweaking to get those results I wanted. I reluctantly did as I was told, she even told me to stop testing as much! It was awful waiting for my appointment when running 12mmol without fixing it.
Just hang on in there, what you're going through is short lived.

Christine

 

[Chas C]

Hi @jimmysmith it is an issue in the first few weeks (even months), trying to get stabilised when you first move to a pump.

Suddenly it will all click in place and you will forget about all the hard work you put in with basal checks.

Adding a few units of bolus via pump or pen should do the trick to bring down the 10's to a lower level you need to keep a note for the nurse so they know your basal needs adjusting.

Stick with it as it will all come good

 

[phdiabetic]

Going through a rough patch these past couple of days. Did my first set change on friday and everything went well. Since then though I can't seem to get my blood below 10. I know the cannula is okay because my bloods do come down a little but never enough. Inputting all the correct carbs intp my calculator for my 640G to work out. Just feeling like it's all useless

I had some unexpected highs yesterday too! If you are worried about a bad site but don't want to change it yet, you can always take a couple of units from a pen rather than bolusing on the pump.

 

[donnellysdogs]

I had some unexpected highs yesterday too! If you are worried about a bad site but don't want to change it yet, you can always take a couple of units from a pen rather than bolusing on the pump.

If you go to bolusing from a pen, you could be ignoring a set that has failed...
I personally would be careful about telling a new pump user to do this.

Set users need to be able to identify if they are using the sets correctly, if they hurt-( if bloods rise to swap immediately) and to going back to bolus by pen does not get control of their pump. A bolus by pen should be a last resort when the pump / cannula has a failure and insulin may not have been going in for quite some while (alarms take a while to sound).