Thank you! I’ll try that…I do recall that my skin is too sensitive to wipe directly with the Unisolve wipes…so this ought to be interesting.
Also, my abdomen apparently hates OpsSite Flexifix tape. I have never had problems anywhere else. Do other people experience varying skin reactions on different body areas?
I’ve ordered the Unisolve 8oz bottle for pod removal, and I ordered a roll of Tegaderm barrier tape to see if my abdomen likes that any better.
Also…just to update/see what other people experience…
I have two basal profiles: one for work days (Mon - Thurs) and one for weekends (Fri - Sun). My theory was that the tweeks I had made to my work profile last year must be wrong and that was where my work day stubborn highs were coming from. So I basal tested last week (i.e. fasting forever since I had a good basal test going). I was SO ticked that my basal worked perfectly. I’ve never been mad that a basal fasting test went so well, LOL.
So this week I’m going back to a “shots” mentality regarding meal bolusing on work days. What I mean is that I want to make sure that I take enough bolus from the get-go and not rely on correction boluses from my pump afterward to get back in range. I’m going back to more pre-bolus timing and incremental eating as my blood sugar allows. It turns out that I need WAY more bolus insulin on work days (goodbye 1:10 ratio) and I have to eat WAY more incrementally than I’d been doing for the last few years. I.E. Bolus at 11AM, Eat half sandwich at 11:20AM. Eat half sandwich at noon. Eat yogurt at 2PM.
I used to practice the “World’s Slowest Eater” methodology on work days back on shots…I guess I figured that somehow the pump would change all of that. I think my reality for my body and my food choices (I’m not an ultra low carber and never will be as a long-term choice…only when absolutely necessary) requires the incremental eating on work days. I don’t have to take nearly as much bolus on weekends and I can eat all at once.
I don’t know how I got away from my own best practices, but these have been some vivid lessons relearned! My weight still hasn’t come up one iota…but hopefully re-learning my body’s Rules of Engagement will get me back to good weight soon.
My bottom line: Although my basal profiles don’t have to look all that different from work day to weekend to hold me steady…my goodness, my bolusing has to be COMPLETELY different between the two days. I think that is my biggest key to getting back in control of my daily life.
Other people experience this?
We used Tegaderm for a while, then we switched because we got tired of stamping holes in the middle of the film to cover the CGM Sensor site. We switched to DexTape because it’s got a pre-punched hole in it. We LOVE it. The owner of the company is also part of FUD, and also a Diabetic (@toddex), who is always ready to answer any questions you have or to help you when needed.
I reviewed the product here.
It comes in different sizes. We’re DexTape customers for life!
Thanks for this tip!!!
Check out this 100pt drop in 20 minutes due to showering. I had taken bolus at 8pm of 2.6 units for 26g carb snack. Dexcom didn’t alert me but glad I looked at it on my own!! This seems specific to Novolog as I don’t recall running into this on Humalog…
Thanks to your showering observations EH has started to implement it as a method for bringing down high BG. 
Sorry if it’s catching you off guard though. 100 points is a long way to fall!
Granted, I showered at the 90 minute mark of the snack bolus…so insulin would be at pretty high effectiveness then. But DANG…thank goodness I didn’t start out any lower. I didn’t get much sleep last night because of all of this nonsense. I’m on Day 3 of stringing together naps due to Dexcom alarms and anxiety…
[Hopefully I’m not violating web forum etiquette by constantly reposting on my own topic. I’m new to the web forum world.]
I gave Novolog a try for a month. I find that it is Humalog’s over-achieving older sister and she has a somewhat volatile temper. The Shower Death-Defying Terror Drops, as I lovingly call them, appear unique to Novolog. Also, Novolog may go dormant during a bolus if I’m sitting still (or napping as in yesterday’s case), but if I get up and moving in the 4 hour DIA window, it will light back up and start working again even towards the end of it DIA window. Humalog never tended to do that around hour 3-4 if it was preceded with sedentariness. Although that may be more helpful for my blood sugar (the way Novolog re-energized), I am not used to that behavior from insulin so it may be easier for me to stick with what I know. I switched back to Humalog as of my pod change last night.
There was some question in IDS’ mind as to whether I had developed antibodies to Humalog after 12 years of use and if that was why I had fallen so completely off of the BG Wagon, even as a seriously motivated individual. Since I switched to Novolog within one pod change of trying Flonase on my skin under the pump, it’s hard to tell if my skin reaction to the pod adhesive was the major blockade to Humalog’s action or if my body really did develop antibodies to Humalog.
Apparently one work-around for individuals who develop synthetic insulin antibodies is to alternate insulins each month (i.e. Humalog, Novolog, Humalog, Novolog). I tried Novolog for a month (with better site care, as well) and my average bg did drop about 15-20 points overall. I’m going back to Humalog to see if my body tolerates it. Even if Humalog works well for me this month, I suppose it will be the second month on Humalog that will better indicate if I have developed antibodies to it.
This has been a busy month of trial and error for me. I have tried new pod sites, new Dexcom sites, new skin care procedures, new pump bolusing techniques (limiting to 4 units at one time, extending the rest), legit pump placement tracking, leaving one pod on for an hour+ after deactivation since I’m prone to leaking at removal, new wardrobe planning for hardware accommodation, and oh yeah, a new insulin after a 12 year relationship with a different one. Thank you to you guys for giving me the tools and the confidence to try all these things amidst a very busy life with little kids. It’s a lot but you guys make it a whole lot easier. Thank you thank you thank you.
No you aren’t violating any rule by doing that. This is your thread, you can post as much as you want.
But, I am curious how Novo did on the 3-day front compared to Huma?
Novolog does perform well on Day 3, for sure. I’ll be watching Humalog for that on this go-around with it. Now that I have a better idea of what I’m looking for on all fronts for site effectiveness and insulin effectiveness, I may be better able to analyze Humalog this time.
Since you changed a lot of things all at once, it makes it a bit harder to figure out what is causing the differences.
As you mentioned - “I have tried new pod sites, new Dexcom sites, new skin care procedures, new pump bolusing techniques (limiting to 4 units at one time, extending the rest), legit pump placement tracking, leaving one pod on for an hour+ after deactivation” - that is a lot of stuff to figure out and draw conclusions from.
Since you are very engaged in all of this now, it might be useful to switch back and forth every month between Novo and Huma and then you can start to see how much of the difference you are seeing is a result of the insulin, and how much of it is from the other things.
The good thing is that these changes have gotten me out of the proverbial parking lot (stuck at 220-240 most of the time no matter how much insulin I was throwing at it) to inside of the proverbial ballpark (hovering around 140 most of the day). Now that I’m back inside the ballpark, everything is a lot clearer than what I was dealing with before. The fact that my post-meal bg curves have a defined increase followed by a defined decrease is an absolute luxury that I have missed for the last six months.
I want to stick with Humalog for as long as possible to show myself whether I have an allergy to it or not. That’s my biggest question mark and what I want to find out ASAP. After I find that out, then I can investigate the comparatively nuanced fluctuations of site differences and insulin differences. I’m just so glad to not be afraid ALL of the time anymore. I’m not afraid to go to sleep every night like I have been. That’s a huge win. FUD is a big part of that.
@Millz: Thank you for your template idea for the Dexcom and Omnipod when cutting out adhesives. And for your idea about buying several adhesives and trying them out. I have a handy little Dexcom template I just made and used it for making a more accurate OpSite Flexifix cover for this Dexcom change. I’m trying to reduce my adhesive coverage on my body and this certainly helps!
@ClaudnDaye: Thank you for the 8oz Unisolve/cotton ball recommendation! Just tried that for my Dexcom removal on my abdomen and it worked like a dream. I’ll keep an eye on the area to make sure the redness goes down but so far, so good! My abdomen is such a dry area that I don’t even have to reinforce the Dexcom with OpSite tape for the 7 day wear like I would on my back or my leg. I learned that the hard way from the prior Dexcom on my other side of my abdomen that I reinforced with OpSite (I’m new to putting it on my stomach since I’ve used my back exclusively for the last four years). I can still see the rectangular OpSite reaction from removal last week! Anyway, the Unisolve worked great on THIS Dexcom removal and I’ll try it tonight with my pod change, fingers crossed.
@TravelingOn: Thanks for the protein powder suggestion. I’m trying the Gatorade chocolate stuff right now and I’m up a pound this weekend (due to that and a lot of ice cream and peanut butter 
).
@Eric: Thank you for your inspiration to try new sites and new insulin. I’m in much better site rotation shape now than I ever have been. We’ll see how Humalog goes this month…but I can definitely see a difference between it and Novolog.
Awesome news! Do you use the G5? If so, you know you can wear it longer than a week, right,. We keep our sons on for a minimum of two weeks most of the time.
Glad the unisolve worked!
Also don’t forget to try DexTape! (Lose the template requirements!)
I do use the G5. I used to wear it for two weeks at a time and then I stopped. I can’t remember why, though. Another habit that I need to re-examine!!! LOL Thanks!
I hear you Harold, I’m sure DexTape is fast and easy. For me, using rolls of Tegaderm is very cost effective. I bought 2 rolls the first week of Dec ‘17 and still have almost half of each roll left. I’ve used it for both Dexcom sensors and OmniPOD’s in the last 6 months!
Ten pack of Tegaderm is $7. A ten pack of Dextape is $10. Comparable cost. I know I’ve used both and I’ll never go back to Tegaderm!
Are you taking about another type of Tegaderm? I haven’t seen it in rolls. The above cost quote is referring to the film dressings.
A ten pack lasts us 20 weeks or so. Two weeks per.
Amazon has lots of different Tegaderm sizes. A 4" wide roll that is 11 yards long appears to go for about $40. That would make about 132 patches 3" x 4" so 30 cents each?
I took a shower tonight after taking a Humalog bolus/eating a snack and didn’t nearly die.
#winning
