Spikey day - confused

[Sanober]

Hi all, I hope one of you lovely people will help me to understand what's going on with me today.

The only key changes I've made are:

New Lantus pen started yesterday (from a new box) and new Novorapid pen (last in the box) started three days.
I also had a lie in yesterday and today, so took my Lantus two hours later than normal. So I worked out a lower dose (I take 15u per day in the morning so worked out 13u).

Yesterday I was fine, today I'm not.

My morning read at 9am was 7.1
I had 0% Greek yogurt (10g protein, all others zero) and a small croissant 20g carb - took 2u (as I would for this)
I felt a bit sick and just not feeling quite right but fancied a walk into town in the sun
11:45am I was 14.6 - no ketones, drank a pint of water anyway as I was thirsty.
Instead of taking a correctional unit I took the 45min walk to see if that would shift things
I met a friend for lunch
pre lunch 1:30pm I was 6.4
I had a small thai chicken curry with a tiny morsel of the two wee breads that came with the soup, no Novo taken as I didn;t feel I needed as it was just a nibble really
3pm read was 9.1
I got a lift home and felt slight hypo signs and tested
5:15pm read was 4.6 - I had a cheese twist, 5g carb whilst making dinner
Dinner was at 6pm - a bean burger 30g carb (without bun) two sweet potato and three chick pea falafels - I took 5u to cover the bean burger and a little of the falafels, and in case I had a biscuit later as well.
I felt sleepy about half an hour later, and I thought it was because I was out today afternoon in the sun so napped on the sofa
At 8pm I suddenly woke up and i knew I had fallen asleep because I was hyperglycemic I tested
8pm reading 11.2 :?: I drank 2 pints of water as so thirsty
8:20pm tested again because I wanted to drive to the local tesco
14.4 :?: :?:
I took a correctional unit about 20mins ago

Clearly the basal's doing it's job as I got all the way to 4.6 but it's the spikes which are a concern and I'm back at work tomorrow.

I have hives all over my forearms but that's typical when I've been out in the sun for a few hours.

It can't be about being out in the sun as I got a morning spike and hadn't even left the house. When I've had a cold my reads to be in the 9-10s not spiking as high as today. I have no other health probs (lots of unexplained symptoms though).

Thanks

 

[smidge]

Hey Sanober!

It's difficult to say why you were so spikey today - I have days like that when it just doesn't make sense!

What I would say, though, is that I think you underestimated the carbs in your tea. Sweet potato has about 20g carb for a medium size one - you had 2, so about 40g carb + the 30g for your bean burger, so 70g + the chick pea felafels + the biscuit + the cheese straw - I doubt your 5 units Novo would cover all this. Also, your correction unit might not be enough. If I was on 14, I'd probably have given a 2 or 2.5 unit Apidra correction (the insulin doesn't work as well for me when my levels are high).

I've certainly found that taking my morning basal later can cause me spikiness all day. In the week i have my morning basal at 6.30am and my evening at 6.30pm. Of a weekend, I was making that 8.30am and 8.30pm, but that didn't seem to work well, so now I get up at 6.30am to jab at the weekend and keep my routine. This works better for me :roll:

I hope someone gives you a better answer. I really feel for you - it's horrible when you have a spikey day.

Smidge

 

[jopar]

Could be the whether! I

Another thing, new pen? Perhaps check it's dosing probably,

How to check it's dosing correctly...

Put needle onto the pen, take off the needle cover, the place the outer cover on the needle, dial up 20 units and inject into outer cover, if it's dosing correcting it will filll the part the actually needle sits in within the cover.. if it's doesn't fill or or over fills this part then it's not dosing correctly

 

[noblehead]

Assuming you handle these foods normally without spikes then it could well be the weather, there was a thread last week in the type 1 section where we were discussing how the warm weather effects our bg control, some said their bg increased and some (like myself) find it takes a nosedive.

Over the last 5 days I've had to reduce my Novorapid quite a bit, not had a hypo as yet but I've had more low 4 readings than I can remember, tomorrow is supposedly the last day of the heatwave so hopefully things will settle down for us all.....with a bit of tweaking again :roll:

 

[Sanober]

Thanks ladies and Nigel, it's so challenging!

Thanks Jopar, the pens seem fine, I was only spikey yesterday. But I TOTALLY agree with your signature!

Thanks Nigel, yes these are familiar foods. I'll see if I can find that thread because I'm on hol in 2 weeks in the Algarve and a bit worried. So you've had to reduce your Novo, did you reduce the basal too?

Today I'm bumping along in the 4s (an excuse to have a mid morning Oreo though haha) I'm in doors at work all day today and then the cinema so taking a rest from the sun.

Smidge, as I'm on hol in two weeks so plenty lie ins to re- test the delayed basal issue then as no doubt I'll have plenty of lie ins!

also interesting you mention covering for sweet potato and falafel, I don't usually need to cover for falafel, the wee sweet potato things were the same size as the falafel. Maybe I've progressed further on with this Diabetes (again...)

Re correctional units at level 14 - funnily enough that 1u correctionational I took nudged me to 10.4 about an hour late then 5.6 another hour and a half later (took 1 Jelly baby just in case I dropped in the night) I felt ill of course and took ages to settle into sleep but I woke up with 7.1 today :clap:

Today morning I took 14 u Lantus (I thought I'd pare back from the 15u as I was going into the 4s within a couple of hours anyway last week).

I had 3u for my half banana and 0% greek yoghurt and hit 4.4 an hour and a half later... aaaargh.
:lol: :lol:

 

[anna29]

Hi sanober.
Poor you, it isnt easy is it and I do understand.
In this heat I have had to half my basal dose back to just 10units porcine insulin. [ split dose 10/10]
Normally I used 20/20 basal.
Had a rare few lows and "have" felt them thankfully.
I have worked out IF I eat even a little bit less than normal [due to the heat]
This is making me drop lower faster I feel n sense.
So have cut back on basal n kept an eye on food intake plus test regularly.
The heat makes me feel bit nauseous so this is why I am not eating as much .
Its a balance even more when the weather affects the BG's ... :thumbdown:
Thinking of you, do let us know how you are coping.
Anna.

 

[noblehead]

Thanks Nigel, yes these are familiar foods. I'll see if I can find that thread because I'm on hol in 2 weeks in the Algarve and a bit worried. So you've had to reduce your Novo, did you reduce the basal too?

Yes I knocked 2 units off around 3 weeks ago but haven't adjusted it since, I don't see the basal as a problem as my fasting bg are fine when I don't eat, I just seem to be very sensitive to the novo at present and this is what I've cut back on over the last few days. Today had a 4.3 two hours after breakfast and a 4.1 90 minutes after lunch :crazy:

Hope you enjoy the Algarve, I love Portugal and prefer it over Spain!

 

[Sanober]

News just in. So I had a very low carb lunch and didnt cover was 9.1 two hours later.

So having had no Novo in my system since the 2u in the morning. Got to cinema for 6pm and had a bag of quavers in the cinema 12g carb so put in 1u and 2.5 hours late 3.8...

In hindsight my basal should have picked up a 10g carb but I thought after my low Carb lunch (hommus,chivken, lettuce, olives) I was 9.1 I thought I better take 1u to cover the Quavers.

Now a hypo hangover headache.

Nigel, am v excited about Algarve been once before and just love the interesting beaches. I know I shouldn't let some odd reads get to me but two days of craziness and feeling horrid