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I'm trying to come up with a list of tips and tricks for t1 diabetics. Came up with 7. Any ideas?

Pre-filling pump reservoirs seemed like a great idea to me too, but apparently it's a no-no. According to the pump user manual, it leads to unstable quantum inversions in the warp manifold which in turn cause a matter-antimatter collapse cascade, leading within nanoseconds to total planetary annihilation and/or bad acne.
 
jjcoleman said:
You can use most strip bottle caps to unscrew the pump battery cover
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If someone looks at you funny while you are bolusing, you can use most parts of their face to unscrew the pump battery cover.
 
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Some more serious ones ( I like this thread actually)

  1. Rule of 3 - never make any changes to anything unless the same type of unexpected result (high or low) happens three times in a row under the same conditions.
  2. Any time you get any unexpected result, throw everything disposable away - canula/infusion set/reservoir/needle/cartridge - and try again. Your first assumption is the problem was caused by a piece of disposable equipment. Eliminate that possibility first before looking for any other explanation.
  3. Put different types of insulin in very visibly different pens of different colours/shapes/sizes and keep them in different(ish) places.
  4. Keep meters and glucose everywhere - at very least, by your bedside, in your car, in your office desk, in your coat/jacket/purse.
  5. If you are not sure what's going on, whether you are high or low, if you are confused about anything, assume you are hypo and act accordingly. If you end up going a bit high, so what, you can fix that easily later. A hypo coma, you can't fix later, and you could be injured or lose your driving licence or much worse. At very least it's going to ruin your whole day.
 
Spiker said:
If someone looks at you funny while you are bolusing, you can use most parts of their face to unscrew the battery cover cap.
Click to expand...

.. If you just bolus with an MDI friend? Most parts of the face pulled is more robust for the job, if the dose is fresh from the fridge... ;)
 
Spiker said:
Some more serious ones ( I like this thread actually)

  1. Rule of 3 - never make any changes to anything unless the same type of unexpected result (high or low) happens three times in a row under the same conditions.
  2. Any time you get any unexpected result, throw everything disposable away - canula/infusion set/reservoir/needle/cartridge - and try again. Your first assumption is the problem was caused by a piece of disposable equipment. Eliminate that possibility first before looking for any other explanation.
  3. Put different types of insulin in very visibly different pens of different colours/shapes/sizes and keep them in different(ish) places.
  4. Keep meters and glucose everywhere - at very least, by your bedside, in your car, in your office desk, in your coat/jacket/purse.
  5. If you are not sure what's going on, whether you are high or low, if you are confused about anything, assume you are hypo and act accordingly. If you end up going a bit high, so what, you can fix that easily later. A hypo coma, you can't fix later, and you could be injured or lose your driving licence or much worse. At very least it's going to ruin your whole day.
Click to expand...
Wow really great and useful tips. Thanks
 
Spiker said:
Pre-filling pump reservoirs seemed like a great idea to me too, but apparently it's a no-no. According to the pump user manual, it leads to unstable quantum inversions in the warp manifold which in turn cause a matter-antimatter collapse cascade, leading within nanoseconds to total planetary annihilation and/or bad acne.
Click to expand...
Translated that means the lubricant in the cartridge breaks down in the insulin if left in the cartridge to long :p
 
Exercise just before your basal (if once a day) to avoid the need to fuel or reduce it for the exercise
 
JRW said:
Exercise just before your basal (if once a day) to avoid the need to fuel or reduce it for the exercise
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May work for some, but others may find that exercise can imoact hugely up to 24 hours later depending upon the type of exercise....
Some may need to reduce basal if on a pump...

Not really something that could be categoriclally stated as suitable for all T1's.
 
I've never come across bolusing 10-15 mins before eating - how does this help and is it suitable for someone using injections (on Novorapid)
 
donnellysdogs said:
May work for some, but others may find that exercise can imoact hugely up to 24 hours later depending upon the type of exercise....
Some may need to reduce basal if on a pump...

Not really something that could be categoriclally stated as suitable for all T1's.
Click to expand...


The general principal that doing cardio exercise when your basal is tailing off stands, that applies to all T1's, you require less fuelling, it's science. This isn't my own thinking but advice from a diabetic nutritionist, sure you know better though, I'll back out from this thread.
 
chl0ejasmine said:
I've never come across bolusing 10-15 mins before eating - how does this help and is it suitable for someone using injections (on Novorapid)
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It takes food to affect the blood sugars around 10-15 min while the insulin takes considerably longer. Bolusing before equals the timing out a bit. I don't see why injections would be different.
 
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JRW said:
The general principal that doing cardio exercise when your basal is tailing off stands, that applies to all T1's, you require less fuelling, it's science. This isn't my own thinking but advice from a diabetic nutritionist, sure you know better though, I'll back out from this thread.
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No, not saying I know better at all. Just interesting. I view differently probably because I'm on a pump and do gardening as a job and I count that as exercise. You afe now saying its for cardio exercise.... So know need to back off from posting. Just interested as people do exercises and what ine person deems as exercise usn't another persons etc...
 
chl0ejasmine said:
I've never come across bolusing 10-15 mins before eating - how does this help and is it suitable for someone using injections (on Novorapid)
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Hi, back in the early days when I was put on MDI with the "Actrapid" I was using at the time to bolus, the advice was around 20 minutes before meal.
I have been on Novorapid for a good number of years now. & bolus pretty much right before tucking in.. Though I have on ocaisions with Novorapid bolused 10 or 15 prior with no personal Ill efect, depending on my pre meal BS & in order to give the goldfish mind of the "needle phobic" in my company a chance to get over it..! In fairness it's not like I'm picking my nose at the dinner table.... I normally reserve that activity while everyone else has desert. ;)
 
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How about switching to your toes to take your blood once in a while? Do people do this to prevent callus build-up? Does it work?
 
JRW said:
The general principal that doing cardio exercise when your basal is tailing off stands, that applies to all T1's, you require less fuelling, it's science. This isn't my own thinking but advice from a diabetic nutritionist, sure you know better though, I'll back out from this thread.
Click to expand...
Everyone's view is welcome here. I think yours is a good suggestion. No suggestion is going to suit everyone, so DD was just giving another perspective on it. No need to back out JRW.
 
JRW said:
The general principal that doing cardio exercise when your basal is tailing off stands, that applies to all T1's, you require less fuelling, it's science. This isn't my own thinking but advice from a diabetic nutritionist, sure you know better though, I'll back out from this thread.
Click to expand...
Good suggestion I think, when using a once a day basal insulin with a non-flat profile. An alternative approach is to use a flat profile basal like tresiba, or to do twice daily basal insulin injections so that the peaks and troughs even out into a flat profile.

NB does not apply to T1s on a pump (or tresiba).
 
jjcoleman said:
It takes food to affect the blood sugars around 10-15 min while the insulin takes considerably longer. Bolusing before equals the timing out a bit. I don't see why injections would be different.
Click to expand...
Jaylee said:
Hi, back in the early days when I was put on MDI with the "Actrapid" I was using at the time to bolus, the advice was around 20 minutes before meal.
I have been on Novorapid for a good number of years now. & bolus pretty much right before tucking in.. Though I have on ocaisions with Novorapid bolused 10 or 15 prior with no personal Ill efect, depending on my pre meal BS & in order to give the goldfish mind of the "needle phobic" in my company a chance to get over it..! In fairness it's not like I'm picking my nose at the dinner table.... I normally reserve that activity while everyone else has desert. ;)
Click to expand...

Thanks both - I had been struggling with getting my levels right as before lunchtime they'd always be high - injected earlier today at 6:30 and eat 10 mins after and blood sugar at 10:45 was 6.3 so I'm happy!
 
Ok here's one more, the "Rule of 1".

  • Never deliberately change more than one thing at the same time, or the results won't make any sense and you won't have actually learned anything about how to improve your control. "The same time" means at least 3 days and probably more like a week.
There is an unfortunate corollary to this:

  • If more than one thing changes at the same time, for reasons outside your control (illness, stress, temperature, insulin quality, infusion set, pump, needle, injection site, time of the month, phase of the moon, yada yada), then you are never going to figure out what caused the problem and you are never going to be able to fix it... :-(

[Edited to add:]
"Tim2000s' Rider":
... except by pure random chance and blind luck. :-)
 
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Spiker said:
If more than one thing changes at the same time, for reasons outside your control (illness, stress, temperature, insulin quality, infusion set, pump, needle, injection site, time of the month, phase of the moon, yada yada), then you are unlikely to figure out what caused the problem and you are unlikely to be able to fix it. :-(
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Never say never @Spiker.....
 
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