It amazes me and terrifies me that Riley's sugars are dependent on a thin 6mm tube. The pump has to be working too. But, if the pump stops working, you know it pretty much immediately. If the set is not working. It's not quite as easy.
The set stopped working Tuesday. I usually work on Tuesdays, but on this particular day, I was home. My mom was working at the polls. His sugar for the day started out at 90. Nice! At lunch, it was 200. Not too out of the ordinary for him. At snack time at 3:30 PM it was 415. WHAT?!? That was the second reading. The first time I checked it, it registered too high to read. That made my heart jump into my throat. I actually checked it twice after that. Both readings were in the 400s. I tried not to just jump to the fact that it was his set. But, his sugars have never really been that high unless he was having a set problem. I gave him a correction. 45 minutes later, we're 406. OK, maybe I'll wait and give the insulin a little more time to work. 30 minutes later: 381. 45 minutes after that: 381. The insulin should defiantly have worked by now. I pulled the set out. The tip of the cannula was curved ever so slightly. Maybe he was getting a little insulin, but not nearly enough.
I did the set change without numbing it first. I didn't have time to wait. But, Riley did great. He said it didn't hurt. After the set change, he was 427. I gave him a correction of 1.05 and an hour later he was 168. Then, 75. 15g of carbs later: 113.
We went out to eat at an Italian restaurant last night. Riley had spaghetti. Spaghetti has never effected his sugar much more than any other food. At supper, his sugar was 103. 2 1/2 hours after supper: 123. He had a snack and when he went to bed he was 202. 2 AM he was 336. Maybe it took the spaghetti a while to kick in? I had the alarm set to get up again at 4 AM, but at 3:50, I hear. "Mom, I wet the bed." I knew what that meant. He was still high.
We were sleeping in the living room. Every so often on Friday nights, we pull the mattresses into the living room and watch a movie. After the movie, we sleep in the living room. Last night, the main feature was "Finding Nemo". It's a movie Riley has, but we hadn't seen it in a while. If you haven't seen this movie, go out and rent it. It's a really good movie. I'm not usually a fan of animated movies, but I love this one. It's a pixar movie, which somehow, usually makes it better.
I checked his sugar. It was now 298. Michael stripped down his bed and I got him washed off and got his PJs changed. Then, I made an executive decision. I wasn't comfortable with leaving the set in. It may have been the spaghetti, but I didn't want to take that chance.
When Riley found out I was going to change the set, he started crying. "Mom, please, no. I just want to go to sleep." He was so pitiful. He was just sobbing. Once again, we changed the set without the numbing cream. When I pulled the set out I didn't see where there was anything wrong with it. Still, I'd rather be safe than sorry. Riley cried big crocodile tears this time. I was biting my lip the whole time, trying not to blink so the tears wouldn't spill out of my eyes.
He had been sleeping on his mattress, but after the set change I held him for a while and just kept whispering "I'm so sorry." Then, I let him sleep in between Michael and me.
He didn't get a correction because he does tend to drop the most after 4 AM. When he woke up this morning, he was 169. Not too terrible.
I just wish there was some way to see the cannula without actually pulling the set out. But, since you can't do that, I will keep using my best judgment. Just another thing to add to the guessing game that is diabetes.
7 comments:
Although my teen can take care of changing the sets himself, we have found that unusually high blood sugars usually mean that there is something wrong with the set. You definitely did the right thing. When a correction normally does what it's intended to do and it doesn't, I would always change the set first. My son also says that spaghetti tends to send his sugar a bit on the high side as well. I'm glad everything is better today. It is a roller coaster, but it does get easier and you will someday have a day when the D doesn't come first.
I'm really sorry you and Riley had to go through this, but it sounds like you did the right thing. I hope he is feeling better now, and tell your boy I think he rocks for being such a trooper.
Penny,
I am suggesting the Rapid D's to you. This is a metall cannula and doesn't kink. They are made by roche. Good luck.
When I read posts like this, it shows me just how difficult being a parent of a child with diabetes must be. If I have high numbers like that, I don't hesitate about taking a shot and/or changing my set. But doing it for your little kid... knowing you don't have a choice.
You parents do such a great job. And Riley sounds like a trooper.
Oh, and I always need a dual wave for spaghetti!
i hate having to pull a set to find out there was nothing wrong with it.
most of the time there is nothing wrong with it. such a waste of money but it's better than not getting insulin.
i'm glad you go things all sorted out. you seem like such a great mum!
and yeah, that movie is great, my boyfriend and i watched it just last night!
Megan, Yes, my son does rock. He's way stonger than me.
Wendy, Thanks for the suggestion with the metal needles. But, we've tried them. Not the Rapid Ds but Contacts. The only place we can use sets on Riley is his little bottom. But, with the metal needles, he's so thin that when he sits down with them he says it hurts. So, we stopped using them.
And as far as the spaghetti goes, he usually eats my homeade spaghetti and it's not run his sugars up like that before. This time it was a restaurant and I'm wondering if that's what made the difference.
Thank you every one for your comments and encouraging words.
Penny-
You may be right about the spagetti-- I notice when we get pasta out, Joseph tends to have higher late spikes than when he has home-cooked.
Hmmmm, wonder what they're putting in that pasta...
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