First flu since I was diagnosed last December… and I have to say… yikes…
Yesterday spent almost all day on bed (yesterday was a holiday in Mexico so good matching I guess). BG was around 180/200 all day… managed to bring it down to 120 for dinner time just to see it skyrocket to 398 after that…
Woke up to 159 but that is after having used more than 25 units of Novorapid(novolog) (split doses) at night, went to bed at 3 am when I finally saw it going down slowly.
I dont have a sick plan… but I decided to increase my basal a little so I will check today how I do
Hi @Israel sorry you got the flu, that’s miserable enough without adding the diabetic complications. Sick day plans are very useful to have. The link is for the Joslin Diabetes suggested sick day plan.
Stay hydrated, eat if possible, and most of us increase our basal usage while sick. Keep a close eye on your bgs, because as the illness recedes your bgs will quickly return to normal. Frequent testing is always a good plan of action. If you are +250 for an extended time period, you might also want to check your ketones. When in doubt, consult a medical professional. At worst you spent a few bucks, but have the knowledge that everything is ok or not, plus a solid game plan going forward.
our son Samson used more than double his normal daily insulin dose when he got something with flulike symptoms about a month ago. So you may have to increase basal quite a lot in the end before you get the numbers udner control.
Also, please remember to check your blood ketone levels!
One of the days Liam had the flu we used almost 28 units and he was still over 250 for most of the day. His tdd at that time was around 10. Flu is nasty for diabetes.
Purely ancedotal, but it does seem that my diabetic son catches things more easily than his brother and they tend to be more severe in action. Not sure if that is just an individual difference, but he wasn’t sick very much prior to diagnosis, and never misses catching someting every flu/cold season anymore.
I would concur with everything else that has been said on this thread. It matches our experience. When sick, as soon as the highs start (usually after the fever dies down) we usually try 200% basal as our starting place.
I hope you are feeling better today! I’ve had a couple mild viruses since diagnosis and didn’t see a whole lot happen bg-wise but haven’t had the actual flu. Good info on this thread for sure.
When i was bedbound with my pneumonia this past year i had to elevate my basal rate from 100% to 180% for 2 months!!! seems incredible, but it worked and i managed. i did check my BG every hour (i dont use a CGM) and i drank PLENTY of fluids, particularly water. after months in bed (and completely inactive) my A1c was still under 6%
but like everyone else has said, i will be repetative and say: definately have a sick plan!!!
