Help with overnight/morning basal rates

noblehead

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I might just have to stop being lazy and make my own coffee rather than getting one from the machine

If you have your coffee with milk from a machine then you have to careful, I'm sure the whitening they use contains glucose syrup.
 
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rosscortb

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Thanks for all of the advice. I'll have a look into buying that book. I don't want to contact my DSN as she seems to know nothing and during the pump course last week I had to correct her multiple times. I'm honestly better off asking strangers on the internet lol. Unfortunately, I didn't see any of your responses until this morning, after already going ahead and trying the new rates. Maybe I'm too eager to get this right and have to realise it will take time. Fortunately I didn't go hypo but I still think the rates/times will need adjusting some.

Here are the results from last night (went to bed at 11pm with BG 4.7):
1:00am = 5.1 - Even though I wasn't low I had 5g carb because I was paranoid I had overdone the basal rate
5:45am = 7.3 - looks like I didn't need the extra 5g
6:30am = 6.1 - maybe 5-6 rate is too high?
7:18am = 5.4

I may lower the rates slightly (just to avoid any hypos) and try again tonight with no food before bed. What do you think?
Agree with Carbrocks, rates are fine, if left you were probably looking at 1am 5.1, waking with a level of 5.4. Well done as when I looked at the amount you increased the basal it looeds a lot.
 

donnellysdogs

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Agree with Carbrocks, rates are fine, if left you were probably looking at 1am 5.1, waking with a level of 5.4. Well done as when I looked at the amount you increased the basal it looeds a lot.

I think Janelle has moved on as much better rates listed from last night and this morn..
 
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donnellysdogs

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Without a doubt the coffee machine milk with glucose... Try making an instant and seeing if you do need a bolus.. I don't think you will.
 

donnellysdogs

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I know I never have to bolus for my copious instant coffees previously although I think Spiker said yes to bolusing.
It just means that you won't consistently have to bolus every time for coffee...which I think is a nuisance.
Costa coffee is a total different ball game though!! I only ever have plain black coffee with cresm or milk when out.. Never lattes or cappacino's.
We got a coffee pod machine at home but I never use it as the milk in those pods are not natural.
Keep an eye on and test for a couple of instant coffees... I would prefer to stick a kettle on than having to bolus.
Glad you tested it out for yourself....
 
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Spiker

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I know I never have to bolus for my copious instant coffees previously although I think Spiker said yes to bolusing.
I wouldn't bolus for a home made coffee (instant or ground) with up to an inch of milk. But for a latte or cappuccino I need to bolus because it's all milk. And yes for a machine coffee made with dubious milk substitute (as nearly all are) I would expect to bolus.
 

iHs

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I luv coffee so as I dont work anymore and my OH is always making stuff in our gsrage, the kettle is always on. When I first started pumping, i decided to include the tea and coffee in with my basal need instead of needing to bolus frequently.
Nowadays, I do a small bolus to cover my morning tea, coffee but after mid morning, I switch to drinking very weak black instant coffee and carry on until eve meal when I make tea so allow for the bolus.
Very rarely ever go in Cost Alot as too expensive and too high in carb.......McD for me or Joe Bloggs cafe does nicely
 

donnellysdogs

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Yep, I don't have posh coffees anywhere!! Even customers that always used to make me pod coffees I have to say no to now... Despite gorgeous coffees!! Plain joe bloggs now. However even now I'm trying water flavoured with teabags and lemon, orange, cucumber etc instead of the copious coffees. I thought my bloods would drop from not having the equivalent of 2 cups of milk each day but surpising that that they have stayed the same.
 

noblehead

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Never include tea or coffee in bolus calculations, only use a small amount of milk so the effect is negligible.
 
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Janelle123

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So its 4am and I'm awake crying because I've just woken up with a level of 25. I'm just praying that my husband and I weren't successful getting pregnant this month because if we were I feel like with this level I've already caused it some serious abnormalities :(
 

iHs

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So its 4am and I'm awake crying because I've just woken up with a level of 25. I'm just praying that my husband and I weren't successful getting pregnant this month because if we were I feel like with this level I've already caused it some serious abnormalities :(

Check the tube to the set......is it connected ok?
prime some insulin through the tube to make sure its not blocking.
If all is as it should be, then take out set to make sure cannula isnt bent and insert a new set.
Do a correction either with the pump or with an insulin pen and keep testing bg to make sure levels are dropping and try to drink some water to flush the high bg out through yr urine as it will be a bit dark. Hopefully you wont have keytones but if you feel very unwell then seek medical advice.
 
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donnellysdogs

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When over 12.0bg you may need a tad more insulin to bring you down than the normal correction dose recommends.

I hope you've found the cause and resolved it for the future!!
 

donnellysdogs

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How have you got on?

Did you find out reason for the high?

Did you get down to normal rates again ok?

Let us know you're ok... Worried about you...
 

Janelle123

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How have you got on?

Did you find out reason for the high?

Did you get down to normal rates again ok?

Let us know you're ok... Worried about you...
I finally got it down by about 11am. I took so much insulin to get it there. I'm worried about being that high for so long and what that could of done to a potential baby. After I went back to sleep again I woke up with a tummy bug so I think that's the reason for the highs. I've struggled to keep my levels down and the best I can do is about 7-8 but its requiring heaps of correction doses. I've increased my rates by about 40% and I've had to increase my carb ratio from 1:12 to 1:9. I'm feeling better today so hopefully I can get my levels back down to 5-6.
 
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Janelle123

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So I just found out that I'm pregnant. I'm very happy but also very worried about the high blood sugars I've had, especially the 25! Do you think it could of harmed my baby? :(
 
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donnellysdogs

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Great that you are pregnant!!

A one off at 25 is unlikely to have had any impact. Do discuss your control now with health care persons.. They may give you a CGM to use which would enable you to gain patterns and warnings of going high (And lows)!!

How are you feeling about the news? Is it just concern over the higher levels?
 
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donnellysdogs

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Hormones rather than tummy bug??? Lol!!
 
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iHs

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@Janelle123

Whenever my bg goes up very high, I usually resort to using my insulin pen and as DD has mentioned, I usually increase the correction dose by 1u more to make sure that my bg starts to lower. Although the Vibe will only record insulin delivered from the pump itself and not by pen, its possible to calculate IOB by unclipping the tube from the set and delivering the insulin that way through the tube so that the pump thinks insulin has been delivered but the pen has delivered it instead. The other way is to use an IOB calculater such as - Accounting For Unused Insulin
static.diabetesselfmanagement.com/pdfs/pdf_2253.pdf

Congratulations on being pregnant
 
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