Blood Sugar Level Rollercoaster

[LindsayOz]

Hello! I am 30 years old and have been Type 1 for 28 years now. In the past month or so, my blood sugar levels have been a complete roller coaster, and I am not sure why or how to control it. I feel like the whole day I am giving myself insulin because my sugar is high, then drinking juice because it is low, then bolusing again because it shot back up. I feel like **** most of the day because of it too. I use Novolog with an insulin pump and am thinking maybe I should forget the pump and go back to using Lantus (long acting). Have any of you experienced this and do you have any advice? Of course, I'm feeling that diabetic guilt with these blood sugar levels too which doesn't help. :/

 

[himtoo]

Hi @LindsayOz
I think the first line of your post says it all !!
28 years living with D is a pretty amazing achievement so a huge hug and congrats !!

when bloods aren't behaving it is so easy to blame ourselves as though we are actually doing it on purpose
but we wouldn't would we -- so enough of the guilt please -- no neeeeeeeeeeeed !!!!
( I do get what you say and have my moments too )

I would think it might be time to sort of start over and have a real good look at your basal rates and do some overnight basal testing to get them re-set. Then you could look at mornings , and work your way through the whole 24 hours methodically
link here http://www.salforddiabetescare.co.uk/index2.php?nav_id=1007

are your care team listening to your concerns or have you mentioned them to your nurse or consultant ??

 

[tim2000s]

@LindsayOz, the other thing to look at is your injection sites. Have you been rotating them properly?

 

[slip]

Remember that after a low, that following high might be a liver dump, so correcting the high with insulin might be the wrong thing to do - the liver could grab that glucose back and you've got even more insulin on board and hit another low and so it starts all over again.

 

[Juicyj]

@LindsayOz Agree with your infusion set sites - am just having a similar issue to you and have noticed my sites are red and have lumps, has left me feeling down too, check this as it will affect your absorption, hopefully it can be resolved

 

[azure]

Sorry you're having problems - it's incredibly frustrating, I know.

The first thing I'd look at is pump sites. Do you need to move to a new body area? (I had awful highs once before I realised it was this causing it) Do you need to try a different cannula length or angle or material?

Is there anything that might be contributing to these highs eg stress, hormones, etc?

Those are the questions I ask myself when I get a period of highs like that. Try not to let it get you down. I know that's not easy because highs upset me too, but stress won't help, and it most certainly isn't your fault. Get a strategy to try to sort the highs and focus on that. Diabetes is a tiresome battle sometimes, so I sympathise.

Good luck in sorting things very quickly.

 

[LindsayOz]

Thank you all so much!! My pump sites are always red and lumpy, because unfortunately, I am allergic to the sticker and the plastic inset. My doctor gave me a cream to try, but the inset won't stick if I use it, so he said if I can deal with it, it's just an annoyance. He was sorry, but u understand there is really nothing to do. I have an appointment with my endo on the 28th of this month, so I'm going to show him my sugars and explain my concerns to him too. Here in Vegas, we have very few endocrinologists and I've never really had a team, just my doctor and his nurse. It also makes them really hard to get in to see. I know ovulating and periods have major effects on my sugars since having my son a year ago. I am currently on mine too, so maybe that as well. I'm going to take all your advice and apply it though. I can't thank you all enough!

 

[Mrsass]

Hi @LindsayOz what about using a barrier spray instead of a cream? There is a spray called cavilion that I used to use with my old sets that irritated me and it basically forms a thin film over your skin and doesn't affect how your sets stick.. Maybe worth a try?

Ps. - I'm super jealous you live in Vegas it's my favourite place in the world


Sent from my iPhone using DCUK Forum mobile app

 

[dancer]

I agree with all above but thought I'd add what my DSN told me when I was going through something similar. Only give a correction at meal times (unless you also have ketones), as too many corrections can add to the problem.

Have you tried Cavilon spray before inserting your infusion set? As long as you let it dry first, the set will stick.

Oops, Mrsass got there before me!