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Incorrect insulin

type1newbe

type1newbe

Member
Messages
8
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I am a newly diagnosed type 1 and by mistake I have taken the fast acting insulin pen instead of the slow release pen for night-time. What do I do please?
 
Hi @type1newbe
I have no experience of insulin use, and not sure that many T1 members are online right now,
Do you have somebody with you?

Here is a link to some forum advice, but if you are at all worried , and in UK call NHS111, for specific advice.


www.diabetes.co.uk

Taking too much insulin can lead to hypoglycemia which can become serious, particularly if your insulin dose was significantly more than it should have been.

Taking too much insulin can lead to hypoglycemia which can become serious, particularly if your insulin dose was significantly more than it should have been.
www.diabetes.co.uk www.diabetes.co.uk
 
type1newbe said:
I am a newly diagnosed type 1 and by mistake I have taken the fast acting insulin pen instead of the slow release pen for night-time. What do I do please?
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Hi @type1newbe , welcome to the forum at such an unfortunate time.

How many units of fast acting did you take, and how many units of fast acting do you usually take for a meal?
If those two are not too far apart, you'll likely be able to simply eat for it as you would if you had injected for a meal.
Pipp said:
Do you have somebody with you?
Click to expand...
Echoing this question. Much more room to try and solve the problem yourself if you have someone around as a back-up.
When I made the same mistake shortly after diagnosis, I spent a couple of hours playing board games with a neighbour while eating carbs and them keeping an eye on me.

If in doubt, definitely call 111, and if you can, find someone to stay with you.
Do you own a glucagon set for someone to use on you in case of emergency?

Good luck, and please let us know how it went!
 
I think this is something that many many of us T1s have done. Hope you are doing OK now @type1newbe ?

The worst occasion, for me, was when I was on a holiday trip with my partner and staying in a caravan park cabin. Started popping my (limited) supply of glucose tablets and checking my bg every few minutes (it had gone into free fall), while I sent my husband out to our car to see if any glucose tablets had fallen into crevices (yes I am a messy car owner) and empty out all the sugar packets that the cabin owners had supplied for tea/coffee. All the supermarkets were shut as it was midnight in a small rural town. Luckily my glucose supplies were adequate and I was able to (eventually) go to sleep, but had to wait till the fast acting had peaked before risking it.

Stay safe and good luck.
 
Hello @type1newbe and welcome to the forum.

It's an easy mistake to make. What are your blood sugar levels at now? I don't know if you use a cgm or not, but because your levels will probably be changing fairly quickly, I'd suggest you use a blood sugar meter to test regularly for the next 5 hours.

It's better to take more carbs than you think you'll need in this situation, to avoid a bad hypo. You can sort out a high later on.

Take care, and hope you are OK.
 
Thank you everyone for all your advice, I contacted nhs 111 and they told me to eat carbs and monitor bg hourly. It's been a long night of pricking fingers and thankfully my readings came down as also drank lots of water. Unawares to me the paramedics kindly turned up to check me at 6.40am and my readings were good so panic over. Once again thanks so much everyone xx
 
type1newbe said:
Thank you everyone for all your advice, I contacted nhs 111 and they told me to eat carbs and monitor bg hourly. It's been a long night of pricking fingers and thankfully my readings came down as also drank lots of water. Unawares to me the paramedics kindly turned up to check me at 6.40am and my readings were good so panic over. Once again thanks so much everyone xx
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Good to know you are ok
Hope that you continue to do well with management.
Keep in touch in forums. Lots of experienced members to advise and guide you through these esrly dsys of learning.
 
type1newbe said:
Thank you everyone for all your advice, I contacted nhs 111 and they told me to eat carbs and monitor bg hourly. It's been a long night of pricking fingers and thankfully my readings came down as also drank lots of water. Unawares to me the paramedics kindly turned up to check me at 6.40am and my readings were good so panic over. Once again thanks so much everyone xx
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Well handled!
Thank you for getting back with us for an update, I've been thinking about you.

I hope you'll have a quiet day today with lots of time to recover from your eventful night. ;)
 
type1newbe said:
I am a newly diagnosed type 1 and by mistake I have taken the fast acting insulin pen instead of the slow release pen for night-time. What do I do please?
Click to expand...

I did this early on.. just had to eat enough to prevent a hypo
 
Oh yes something I’ve done on more than one occasion , same advice here as many , test bg and keep some hypo treatment handy , I’m not sure if you use different coloured pens for long and fast acting , saying that I do and have still done it and I’m 44 years in . You seem to have got it covered so well done you , not easy when your just new to it all
 
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