Two trying days with technology/BG…Off work Saturday night been rocking a straight line at 115…Feeling proud of having it all dialed in…got home and fixed a little dinner, decided to experiment with having a little rice. Bolused 15 minutes before I was going to eat, sit down and finish my Chix Fried Rice, Low alarm goes off and is plumeting. Grab a nutty bar out of the freezer and eat 1 bar (16g carb). Sugar Skyrockets to 250. No matter how much I bolused could not get below 190 until I changed my pod last night. G6 Sensor was changed as well with 2 days left as it kept having connection issues. All readingd low and high were confirmed by strip test.
No error messages from Pod but new pod got right back where i should be…any thoughts on the tech side of this?
That just happened to me the other day but at breakfast time: fine overnight, did not absorb all/most of my breakfast bolus, all day getting sorted out. Such is the nature of this disease!
Insulet is great about replacing pods so “when in doubt, change it out”!
It is hard to do right off the bat, but “when in doubt, change it out” is the best advice. I way too frequently wait too long before I change the pod and as a result suffer persistent highs way too long!
Hi @jeffsurfsncocktails – Congratulations - You seem to be doing a great job managing your BG
Some things I have noticed with DexcomG6/Omnipod/Humalog/Nightscout for my 5yo daughter. I try to have clear actions for different scenarios.
Divide by 10 for time between bolus and meal – in your case 115/10 would be 11mins
Stop plummeting lows with 2-3oz milk or 2cc glucose and then continue as normal
If BG goes above 250 use humapen for correction and next meal bolus. This helps me workout whether the pump is really working or not.
I expect to change the G6 after 7-9 days – once the numbers go a little crazy or the G6 gets Sensor error
In the beginning there seemed to be a lot of POD failures. Since using a stricter easy to remember system it has been much better. RightArm, RightLeg, LeftLeg, LeftArm then rotate pod 180 (upside down) for next cycle of 4 placements, RA,RL,LL, LA This gives the sites a break and is something I can easily remember and follow. In summary anticlockwise direction for new pumpsite and rotate omnipod when moving between arms (north, 12:00 whatever)
I give 0.4u (old POD) just before pump change and 0.4u (new POD) just after pump changes.
Finally it has been a major improvement since starting LOOP and NIGHTSCOUT. I would suggest you read a little and consider it in medium term. The major benefit is it will automatically suspend at numbers above 100 and it will come back on as needed. Many other benefits as well.
There are loads of resources but 2 below I found most useful.
https://www.andrewdixon.co.uk/2019/12/24/insulin-therapy-with-loop/ (Loop Section and below)
Ed
Great advice thank you!! I am very active, where do you reccomned placement on the leg?
for my daughter on the outside halfway between knee and waist. Usually try move it up or down a bit each time just based on a visual check. Front worked fine but she has the added complexity of climbing/sliding like 5yo etc so don’t do that any more really.
Ed
given that you are active and I guess there is a lot of variety in activity levels I would definitely recommend working towards Loop/Nightscout. I have never given my daughter GU or powerade but I would imagine that you could balance your BG well with those.
I use TRANCEND Gels in CARETOUCH syringes which I reuse, the markings on the syringe help
That’s a great idea!
I agree with you on Loop and Nightscout, too. I use both and I agree, helps management for during activities.
Well the theme will continue then…was hoping the POD would be the answer to keeping it simple. I have a little knowledge of Loop from reading posts, guess it is time for more research…on the upside I spoke with my CDE this afternoon and we made a slight carb ratio adjustment that seems to be working. She also suggested that my expectations are a little high, I have not gone higher than 200 since being on the POD, so I might be overthinking…
I agree with your CDE - you seem to be doing very well.
You probably have a much more varied routine that my 5yo daughter who’s routine is very set but this is what has worked well for me.
The two main things I used to to make changes are
1 - Change carb ratio slightly if BG goes above 140 within 90mins of eating (as a reliable trend e.g. after breakfast)
2 - Check the Dexcom Daily overlay (7 days on one chart) and select one low to fix. If there is no low select one high to fix
If you are keen to monitor the numbers closely then sugarmate might be a good option as a way to have a quick look at the numbers. My suggestion for goals is to try improve them one at a time. “% in range” was always what I focused on and the rest seemed to improve in parallel. each square can check different periods like 1 day, 7 days, 30 days, 90 days
Ed