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Thanks! Yes he was DKA on diagnosis. It took them 4 days to figure that out too. For us the CGM would be about getting rid of and/or minimizing the overnight

by jawngee 10y ago

Thanks! Yes he was DKA on diagnosis. It took them 4 days to figure that out too. For us the CGM would be about getting rid of and/or minimizing the overnight blood checks. There's nothing more horrifying then sleeping through an alarm now. In fact, that just happened to me. Fell asleep on the couch, woke up two hours past his check, saying "oh fuck" a lot as I run around the house like a headless chicken. The only CGM we can get out here is the medtronic enlite. Our pediatric endo in Singapore didn't have great things to say about it, which is why we started with the pump. The only pump available to us too is the medtronic series, which, to be honest, has been perfectly fine and man what a game changer. His numbers have really fallen into line since we switched from MDI.

superdog683 10y ago
thru routine should be able to get sugar stable over night. i imagine you are trying to keep your child textbook perfect as far as glucose levels. this is close to impossible for a child this young. in general you can keep a diabetic around 100-150 as long as they are not above 150 for extended periods of time it avoids the negative issues associated with diabetes. always safer to run a little high verse low. you could turn down the insulin pump at night until child around 125 and chance of low sugar would decrease. when child gets older can strive for "perfect" control. if diabetic 150 or below and 180 or below at meals most of the long term negative health issues are avoided. 75-95 and 120 meals is the text book numbers but difficult to maintain. good luck when he gets older dealing with the candy and soda issue. one of the very difficult times with a type 1 diabetic explaining and convincing the child they cant have candy like the other kids. also when he gets older avoid all the diet foods and drinks, esp. nutrasweet. stevia might be ok we dont know yet for sure. nutrasweet is bad bad bad for everyone especially diabetics.
zaroth 10y ago
I remember well that phase. As you get more comfortable, with or without a CGM you'll start reasonably skipping some of those midnight and 2am checks. You can try dialing back the night-time basal to the point where blood sugar should be naturally somewhat rising overnight. That way your last check of the night is 3 hours after the last bolus, and in theory there should be no more surprises. Unfortunately it doesn't always work out that way, but it's a strategy at least. The biggest factor with persistent overnight checks is how does your son respond to lows? They will happen, and when they do, does he wake up crying? It's not something you rely on, so much as... I guess, factor into the risk analysis. I know how physically and mentally demanding it is to be up checking every 2 hours through the night, every night. Ultimately you'll find ways/strategies that will work for you to moderate that a bit, and the day will come where you can get a good night's sleep without feeling like you are taking a risk. You know what I want.... an integrated lancet/meter/strip with just the right amount of light to make checking a sleeping baby in the middle of the night less of a balancing act... Balance iPhone against pillow to illuminate finger, position lancet and fire, squeeze the little finger to see if you aimed right, try to catch the blood drop on the strip, and try to get it all done before the meter times out and turns off. Man, the number of times I've gotten the blood to the strip just as the meter turned off (which sends me back out of the room to fetch another strip and start the whole process over again...)!! Wish you best of luck, and it does get (somewhat) easier over time!

by jawngee 10y ago

superdog683 10y ago

thru routine should be able to get sugar stable over night. i imagine you are trying to keep your child textbook perfect as far as glucose levels. this is close to impossible for a child this young. in general you can keep a diabetic around 100-150 as long as they are not above 150 for extended periods of time it avoids the negative issues associated with diabetes. always safer to run a little high verse low. you could turn down the insulin pump at night until child around 125 and chance of low sugar would decrease. when child gets older can strive for "perfect" control. if diabetic 150 or below and 180 or below at meals most of the long term negative health issues are avoided. 75-95 and 120 meals is the text book numbers but difficult to maintain. good luck when he gets older dealing with the candy and soda issue. one of the very difficult times with a type 1 diabetic explaining and convincing the child they cant have candy like the other kids. also when he gets older avoid all the diet foods and drinks, esp. nutrasweet. stevia might be ok we dont know yet for sure. nutrasweet is bad bad bad for everyone especially diabetics.

zaroth 10y ago

I remember well that phase. As you get more comfortable, with or without a CGM you'll start reasonably skipping some of those midnight and 2am checks. You can try dialing back the night-time basal to the point where blood sugar should be naturally somewhat rising overnight. That way your last check of the night is 3 hours after the last bolus, and in theory there should be no more surprises. Unfortunately it doesn't always work out that way, but it's a strategy at least. The biggest factor with persistent overnight checks is how does your son respond to lows? They will happen, and when they do, does he wake up crying? It's not something you rely on, so much as... I guess, factor into the risk analysis. I know how physically and mentally demanding it is to be up checking every 2 hours through the night, every night. Ultimately you'll find ways/strategies that will work for you to moderate that a bit, and the day will come where you can get a good night's sleep without feeling like you are taking a risk. You know what I want.... an integrated lancet/meter/strip with just the right amount of light to make checking a sleeping baby in the middle of the night less of a balancing act... Balance iPhone against pillow to illuminate finger, position lancet and fire, squeeze the little finger to see if you aimed right, try to catch the blood drop on the strip, and try to get it all done before the meter times out and turns off. Man, the number of times I've gotten the blood to the strip just as the meter turned off (which sends me back out of the room to fetch another strip and start the whole process over again...)!! Wish you best of luck, and it does get (somewhat) easier over time!