has anyone here ever had Tempura Ice Cream at any Japanese restaurant? that would make for a flaming hot cold banana split? painfully addicting.
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Saturday we will do the banana split challenge with Liam…I’m sure, if nothing else, he’s going to enjoy the hell out of this. I’ll post pics, BG readings, etc., before/during/after as best I can (I’ll be chowing down myself so I may have ice cream fatigue…)
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Awesome!
I wanted to do it last weekend again, but when I started putting the banana split together I realized that the ice cream from the week before was all gone 
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Alright, so we have completed our challenge. Here is the process we followed, along with the results of the challenge.
So, the challenge for us started at 1826. His BG was 136 at this time.
He was bolused for 60g of carbs…the most we’ve ever bolused him for at one time. Below is the breakout of the carbs for us. You’ll notice that the carbs below total to 67.2 but we did not include a bolus for the banana because we didn’t think he would eat it. We decided that we’d bolus for only 60 and IF he at the banana, we’d give him an extra bolus for 7 grams.
What he would be eating:
We decided to “trust the carbs are going to do what they are supposed to do” and we dove in, going where Liam had never gone before.
Here is how we administered the insulin:
Step 1: Set the 60 grams as an Extended bolus over 1.5 hours. A total of 2.95 units would be administered to Liam over 1.5 hours (which is a HELL of a lot of insulin for him, but we trusted, again, that the carbs would do what they were supposed to do.)
60g
A total of 2.95u
0% Up front
Extended over 1.5 hours
0 Now, 2.95u over 1.5 hours
Final screen showing IOB
Step 2: Because we had read that more insulin is typically required for this type of meal, we started up our “Temp Basal” program, which added 95% more insulin to his normal hourly basal dose. So, instead of getting .10 per hour, he’ll now be getting .20 per hour for the next 2 hours.
Select Temp Basal:
Select our 95% additional basal insulin / hr
Over a 2 hour period
Confirmation screen
Main screen showing extended bolus + Temp Basal
His “rate” for this time was .10, so temp basal made this .20/hr (rounds)
Step 3: We waited 30 minutes as we always do after beginning the extended bolus. (We actually waited 3 minutes longer than we actually should have, but I underestimated how long it would take (10 min) to get his banana split ice cream ready.)
Step 4: He happily ate most of his ice cream (but not his bananas as we figured). Additionally, there was some ice cream that melted which he didn’t get to eat, so we compensated that difference with a few more M$M’s and marsh mellows. (he selected them from the available options.)
3 scoops of Ice Cream (1/4 cup each scoop)
1/4 of a banana cut into quarters (he didn’t eat these)
All the other goodies (sprinkles, peanuts, M&Ms, small white marshmallows, Hershey’s syrup, cherry, whipped cream, banana)
Liam = Bliss
Short Video
Short Video of Liam digging in
Tonight was “family night” where we do some board game or something - tonight was Phase 10. Some random pics of Liam sitting on my lap as he always does, helping me. 
Papa’s Little Helper (shot 1)
Papa’s Little Helper (shot 2)
Step 5: Cross our fingers and see what happens. Now we check his BG every 30 minutes.
Post-bliss BG Checks:
Time: 1859; BG: 104
![IMG_0835[1]](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/standard14/uploads/fudiabetes/original/2X/b/bb7d8c64b29cb90b742336fc092606a104073830.jpg)
Time: 1921; BG: 85
Time: 1951; BG: 152
Time: 2021; BG: 121
From here we noticed that he was trending downward a bit quickly. The CGM showed 81 at 2117 so I decided to check him early (his scheduled check time was supposed to be 2121.) This finger stick showed that his BG was 64.
At this point, I decided to give him TWO Glucose Tablets, because he still had 1.3 units onboard.
From here, we continued our checks. The next check was 17 minutes later to see how the tablets worked.
Time: 2130; BG: 76
I wanted to add a bit of “slow carbs” to the fast carbs (tablet), so I gave him 8 cheese crackers (5 carbs) at this same time - 2130.
Time: 2157; BG: 113
Time: 2231; BG: 155
Time: 2304; BG: 73 - His CGM read 113
At this point, we’re ready to go to bed so we give him his bedtime snack: 1/2 cup of milk (6 grams of carbs) and he has .05 IOB.
Not in bed yet because I’m putting this post together, so I was able to do one more sugar check at 2335.
Time: 2335; BG: 124
LESSONS LEARNED
For our next challenge, we will either not use a Temp Basal AT ALL, or ONLY use the 50% Temp basal since the 95% extra for 2 hours aided in heading low. Lots of options to consider for the next challenge, but bottom line is less insulin over the long term.
We had to give him 2 sugar tablets + 8 cheese crackers to prevent (or take him out of) the temporary low. Next time, everything the same except less Temp Basal and see how that goes.
Overall, I would say this was a success for us. Liam had a blast and really enjoyed BEING UNLIMITED!!!
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Awesome! My fear with this would be the kiddo having 2 bites and saying “I’m full”. Why did you opt for the extended bolus for a meal that was relatively simple carbohydrates? Just curious ?
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Because we use this method for all meals honestly. We have tried all methods and found this world best for us for just about every meal. A straight bolus this large would have most certainly made him plummet if given at once. It’s taken us a long time to find this method. Straight bolus in an excess of .5 units makes him crash quickly.
** For normal every day meals, we follow this same paradigm. Extended bolus with 0% up front, and the entire amount over 1 hour, generally. We always feed him at the 30 minute mark. We’ve found this approach to result in very good control. We do have to administer “micro-boluses” (additional boluses after meals when double arrows up are occurring), but generally we can control his meals very well using this approach.
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That is awesome!
Any little blip in his BG up or down for one night will mean nothing to his health in the long run, but the memory of that ice cream and the fun he had will last him forever! I promise you that!
I still fondly remember my parents occasionally “breaking the rules” when I was a little kid.
Cheers to you and the little man on a fun night.
I am sincerely happy for the little guy!
This pic says it all!
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What little blip? His bg followed the exact same trajectory I’d expect a non diabetics too with that… well maybe without the late dip, but still, . A great success
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What an amazing success!!! This is a GREAT post and a FABULOUS banana split challenge!
And I am SO GLAD that Liam got a chance to try a banana split (without a banana)!
And, btw –
I purchased more ice cream and bananas today so we are ready for another challenge tomorrow!
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I’m living on bologna samdwiches and diner food currently, but I plan to see if the diner serves banana splits and tackle one head on
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Awesome! I enjoyed watching him dig into it - thanks for sharing (he’s so cute!). What a special treat.
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I meant that in general terms, a little blip on occasion is not significant. His looked perfect.
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I 
️ the sweet smile on Liam’s face (pun intended)!!! And…great job y’all!
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I agree with Liam. Maraschino cherries are an acquired taste.
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We are in the midst of a new banana split challenge ! But, as luck would have it, we had a major peak right before and ate the banana split in recovery, so, again, our BG track won’t allow us to do a good job gauging success:(
So far he is really low after the split and had to pick up another 20 carbs.
That’s a huge win @ClaudnDaye! Thanks for posting the photos and the video, so cool, great job guys! Also, very much like how you are using extended bolus.
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It works for us. It took us 6 months of testing or more to get it the way we want it, but that’s the same with every method…test, fail, test again and hope for eventual success! Thx!
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I did the banana split challenge today but it did not go well.
I started a new sensor today, and right as I started it I got a big peak (not a food peak, just hormones). That was right before we were going to have the banana split. I did an early correction, not enough. Then I decided to correct for the peak and at the same time to dose for the banana split.
That was a big mistake. I started dropping fast before my insulin was active (I don 't know why), so I knew that I was going to get in trouble, since now I had a big correction with no peak to deal with. That’s what happened. I had to take 3 batches of carbs over 2.5 hours after my banana split in order not to go too low (but I still did).
But the worst was that I peaked anyway, 4 hours after the banana split. That must have been the fat from the ice cream. So I took a correction bolus right away. But then I dropped again before the correction started working, so I got low again. Here is what my track looks like:
What an awful day. Except for the banana split!
Thanks to my dad for Clarity data and pic.
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The more that I live with Diabetes in my son, the more I’m realizing that the first day or two after a sensor change-out, we can’t really do anything “outside the box” because his numbers are so skewed…that’s stress enough for us. Last night we had a sensor change-out before we went to bed and at 3AM it showed Liam at 350…when I did a blood finger check, he was only 170 (still high, but we’re OK with 150 - 170 during the nights).
Sorry you had a rough time with the sugars! Growth hormone isn’t fun, not in toddlers and I can guess it’s not much better (or even worse) in someone your age.
Question. How did you bolus for the ice cream? All up front? Extended?
I bet the ice cream was delicious, though! That’s the silver lining.
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