• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Basal working, bolus not, injections are

MushyPeaBrain

Well-Known Member
Messages
647
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
So I've been here before and rushed to change a set thinking it's not working right. Advice on this forum has nicely reminded me I panic and that if basal is working set should be fine.

I'm having the same issue I had in this cannula area a few months back but this time I have gone with it to see how it plays out. I am fighting a mild infection so BG has been higher and I've been running a +20% basal and staying within good control prior to this set. Changed set yesterday and seemed to need a lot of insulin to cover my meal (3 times as much) but BG did drop back to normal eventually. Stayed stable overnight but shot up after breakfast to double figures even with basal of 50% extra and 4 times normal bolus!! Felt really rough so decided to try injecting my standard bolus at lunch and BG was perfect.

This implies to me I have an absorption issue with this set/site. Thoughts anyone please?
 
Does look that way, can you not change it again to a different site?
 
don't forget that when you are ill, absorption is not as good and also when you are high so that you do need extra insulin to achieve the same response. I was advised if ii was over 20 to do it by injection as going in deeper means better response. when you are ill you could need to run at 200% difference. we do this with the basal but sometimes forget with the bolus
 
Have your sugars corrected after additional bolus/basal hike?

Are you stressed/ill?

Are you on a new eating regime, sleep pattern?

Is this a common pattern, i.e. happened a few mornings in a row?

Have you done any basal testing/changes recently?

Difficult to make changes until you find a definitive pattern as there are quiet a few variables, and as you probs know - our diabetes can sometimes just not behave!
 
Can I ask what sets you are using and whether you are lean or average size weight wise?

I just recently got told by an ex rep of a company that pladtic sets are not suitable for lean muscly people as they can bend and kink with our skin but at times flex back in our skin to working....

I just had 3 months on flexible plastic sets due to Accuchek Insight steel ones not being available at the time. The plastic ones caused me more fluctuations in 3 months than I had in 4 years on steel ones.

Just wondering what sets you are using?
 
Thank you for the replies! Noblehead I was at work today so not able to change set easily but may well do it tomorrow instead.

I am using Inset II and I'm not lean and muscly. I'd say I'm a pretty average size 10-12. Have been doing really well with my sites lately until this one - which is exactly the area I had this with before too. However I didn't know illness can affect absorption. I might just use site for basal and inject for bolus until scheduled set change on Friday.
 
Is the inset II plastic or metal. Being a size 10-12 is still included nowadays as being lean...even if not muscly...
 
when in doubt just change it. i had lots of problems with the inset 2 due to them being so short- a slight pull would cause problems and I had occasions when the sticky still looked perfect but the cannula was no longer inside me. I changed to inset 30 which I was not so keen on at trial but have had no problems since.
 
Flexible ones can give erratic readings compared to yhe steel ones in people that have less fat and a size 10. Is there a reason for using the particular sets you use, have you tried others?
 
I started on these as I'm partially sighted and needle phobic. For the most part they work really well and the issues I have had have been mainly dodgy batches. I did try the inset 30s but it was hard for me to be certain I was firing them in correctly. I know the feet are a guide but I have perception issues and I found that I was getting big painful lumps where the 30s were inserted. Maybe I wasn't getting the angle right.

I tried contact detach and loved the simplicity of those but found them hard to keep stuck down and my BG readings were horrendous. They often leaked insulin and nobody could explain to me what was going wrong. I also found the pump was so powerful it pushed the needles out during bolus - even on slow delivery! In then end DSN and Animas said switch back to inset.

I suspect my issues are due to site fatigue as even though I rotate religiously I don't have much real estate (I'm very petite). I have found some relief since using bio oil and skin supplements but not sure if I am on borrowed time.
 
i have found on the animas vibe that there are 2 ways to slow the pressure on the pump so that it does not give as much at a time or as fast. I used to have problems with it hurting and leaking insulin but I do not know. Why not ring your help desk and find out if you can do this for your pump also. if it is the vibe then I can tell you how to do it.
 

There is also the Comfort set which is a bit like the Tenderlink.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…