Diabetes Talking

Question:

Good Luck to you.  I hope this will work for you and I’m really glad that you don’t find it that bad an experience. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -I am T2 using insulin. Diagnosed over 3 years ago. I have been battling extremely high bg’s for a long time. I changed Dr’s 1 1/2 yrs ago. He has tried every aspect of control that is imaginable to keep me off of insulin. The oral meds would work for a couple of months, then …BOOM…my bg’s were right back in the high 300’s. I don’t think I have ever experienced a "true" low blood sugar. I suffer from low bg symptoms when I get as low as 225. The lowest I ever had in the past 2 yrs is 190, and I thought I was gonna die. This is all because I have been so used to the highs. Well, I finally hit rock bottom (mentally) a couple weeks ago and told my doc that I was gonna fire him if he didn’t get me on a program that worked. He looked at me and said, "Then I’m putting you on insulin." I really have to give him a lot of credit, because he did try everything to avoid insulin. Even though it took every oral medication known to man to fail in my case, I’m glad to know there is still hope. I have been promised that I’ll start feeling better in a few days (once the insulin dosages are worked out). I’m gonna hold them to it! I went today for my little instruction class on giving myself an injection. More than that, they showed me how simple it is to do this. I have to admit I was worried about it. We practiced with sterile water…I gave myself 15 units of sterile water in the gut and thought to myself, "This is just too dang easy!" Then my Dietitian who was there with me asked how I felt and I told her, "Seasick." They laughed, I laughed, it was not the horrible experience I thought it was gonna be. This evening, I spread out all of the pamphlets they gave me, along with all the supplies and gave myself my first insulin injection. 30 minutes later I ate my supper. It’s been 3 1/2 hours since dinner, and I feel fine. Well, by the length of this post, it looks like I have blabbed on enough. I’ll let you know in 2 or 3 days how I’m doing. Duane I am still alive! It wasn’t near as bad as I thought it would be. Hell, I feel more pain just getting up to go to work every morning. They put me on Humulin 70/30 2 times a day. 15 units in the am and 7 in the pm. It’s trial and error time. They freaked when they did my bg test…379… and that was three hours after eating a turkey sandwich. Anyway, they want to start low and work up to the best proportion for me. I am pleased. (and thanks for the support!) Duane Duane, Are you type 2, taking insulin, by chance? I’m new to this, so sorry if it’s a really dumb question. My life changes in…well…a week from today. I sorta wish it was sooner just to get it over with. Victoria

Just another DeadHead Computer Nerd

Response:

I am still alive! It wasn’t near as bad as I thought it would be. Hell, I feel more pain just getting up to go to work every morning. They put me on Humulin 70/30 2 times a day. 15 units in the am and 7 in the pm. It’s trial and error time. They freaked when they did my bg test…379… and that was three hours after eating a turkey sandwich. Anyway, they want to start low and work up to the best proportion for me. I am pleased. (and thanks for the support!) Duane

Duane, Are you type 2, taking insulin, by chance? I’m new to this, so sorry if it’s a really dumb question. My life changes in…well…a week from today. I sorta wish it was sooner just to get it over with. Victoria

Response:

it’s the Humulin 70/30 disposable pen. no cartridge that i am aware of. duane

Pen, cartridge, vial, whatever…  First time out of the box, it needs major rolling. Beth Please defur me to reply by email

Response:

it’s the Humulin 70/30 disposable pen. no cartridge that i am aware of. duane – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –    i feel like a pro now, except this morning, i forgot to "roll the    bottle". (actually, this morning i used the humulin pen instead of    the bottle, so i think that’s why i forgot — plus, i am still new.    will forgetting to roll the pen mess up the mixture? is the pen    ruined now? your experience could help me now. Generally forgetting to roll ONCE, won’t make much difference, especially if you carry the pen around with you (normal movement "rolls" it)  The only time you should NEVER forget is first use of the cartridge/vial.  Roll the cartridge before installing it till you get a good uniform color. Of course if it’s "R" or "H" (Clear insulins) then it don’t matter at all. "Nothing adds excitement like something that is none of your business" Using a Java script enabled browser go to:  http://go.compuserve.com/diabetes Anyone can read, Members can post, If you join Compuserve mention 73455,43 Pro-choice?  What choice does the baby have? Net-Tamer V 1.08X – Registered

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Response:

   i feel like a pro now, except this morning, i forgot to "roll the    bottle". (actually, this morning i used the humulin pen instead of    the bottle, so i think that’s why i forgot — plus, i am still new.    will forgetting to roll the pen mess up the mixture? is the pen    ruined now? your experience could help me now. Generally forgetting to roll ONCE, won’t make much difference, especially if you carry the pen around with you (normal movement "rolls" it)  The only time you should NEVER forget is first use of the cartridge/vial.  Roll the cartridge before installing it till you get a good uniform color. Of course if it’s "R" or "H" (Clear insulins) then it don’t matter at all. "Nothing adds excitement like something that is none of your business" Using a Java script enabled browser go to:  http://go.compuserve.com/diabetes Anyone can read, Members can post, If you join Compuserve mention 73455,43 Pro-choice?  What choice does the baby have? Net-Tamer V 1.08X – Registered

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – i feel like a pro now, except this morning, i forgot to "roll the bottle". (actually, this morning i used the humulin pen instead of the bottle, so i think that’s why i forgot — plus, i am still new. will forgetting to roll the pen mess up the mixture? is the pen ruined now? your experience could help me now. thanks, duane Depends. Upon two things. If you are using H or R insulin, which is entirely soluble, rolling has no impact at all. If you are using a Mixed R/NPH, or NPH in the pen, if you don’t roll it, or tip it a few times, the NPH component, which is a suspension just stays where it is, so you either get much more than you planned, but more likely, much less. As to whether or not you have messed up the mixture, depends upon how much you injected. If you injected 10 units say, and you goy no NPH, you now have 150 units of NPH in 1.4ml, so your insulin is now U107 instead of U100, so I wouldn’t worry about it. If you injected 40 units, well you now have 150 units in 1.1ml, or about U135, and that I might be a little more concerned about.

to: james (and/or duane), good stuff, thanks. fwiw, it also depends on just how close to your true basal you are. i’ve recently gone back to shot therapy, after 8 years of pumping. present routine is: rising:  16  pork-R          10  "beef"-L lunch:   0-5 "beef"-R but by 1/3 of the way thru the vial of Lente, i have to increase to 11 units of Lente.  and by 2/3 of the way thru the vial of Lente, i have to increase to 12 units. what is clearly happening, thanks to my obsessive testing <g, is that i’m so close to my true night-time basal needs  that no matter how careful i am to roll the bottle of Lente and no matter how quickly i fill the syringe, the heavy UL crystals fall to the bottom of the vial so quickly that i slowly wind up with a weaker solution of insulin left in the vial.   i plan to toss the Lente vials when i get down to the last unit of insulin in the vial. the real impact of taking 12 units of L, is that i’m now forced to take more semi-Lente (it is a clear fluid.  the precipitate that is in the Lente is the crystals of the UL).  it’s a minor aggravation, which i can certainly live with. i sure hope CP stays in business and gets into the USA with their pure beef insulins!  and soon too! my personal first pick would be their pure beef-PZI for use as my background "1x."  if i had a rising b/g before getting up (a.k.a. "dawn" phenomena), i’d try their pure beef-Lente at bedtime. cheers,  bill  t1 40y ps- i’m thinking that on the next bottle of Lente i’ll start with 11 units.  and at the 1/2 bottle mark i’ll move to 12 units.

Response:

i feel like a pro now, except this morning, i forgot to "roll the bottle". (actually, this morning i used the humulin pen instead of the bottle, so i think that’s why i forgot — plus, i am still new. will forgetting to roll the pen mess up the mixture? is the pen ruined now? your experience could help me now. thanks, duane

Depends. Upon two things. If you are using H or R insulin, which is entirely soluble, rolling has no impact at all. If you are using a Mixed R/NPH, or NPH in the pen, if you don’t roll it, or tip it a few times, the NPH component, which is a suspension just stays where it is, so you either get much more than you planned, but more likely, much less. As to whether or not you have messed up the mixture, depends upon how much you injected. If you injected 10 units say, and you goy no NPH, you now have 150 units of NPH in 1.4ml, so your insulin is now U107 instead of U100, so I wouldn’t worry about it. If you injected 40 units, well you now have 150 units in 1.1ml, or about U135, and that I might be a little more concerned about.

Response:

i feel like a pro now, except this morning, i forgot to "roll the bottle". (actually, this morning i used the humulin pen instead of the bottle, so i think that’s why i forgot — plus, i am still new. will forgetting to roll the pen mess up the mixture? is the pen ruined now? your experience could help me now. thanks, duane – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –    In 2 hours and 8 minutes I will start a different life… one with    insulin. Hmmm… I am a bit more nervous than I let on last night. Well I know you have started insulin by now, However I remember back in 1994 back when I made the change…… I felt just like you… Now I  wonder why I did not change BEFORE neuropathy set it "Nothing adds excitement like something that is none of your business" Using a Java script enabled browser go to:  http://go.compuserve.com/diabetes Anyone can read, Members can post, If you join Compuserve mention 73455,43 Net-Tamer V 1.08X – Registered

Response:

   In 2 hours and 8 minutes I will start a different life… one with    insulin. Hmmm… I am a bit more nervous than I let on last night. Well I know you have started insulin by now, However I remember back in 1994 back when I made the change…… I felt just like you… Now I  wonder why I did not change BEFORE neuropathy set it "Nothing adds excitement like something that is none of your business" Using a Java script enabled browser go to:  http://go.compuserve.com/diabetes Anyone can read, Members can post, If you join Compuserve mention 73455,43 Net-Tamer V 1.08X – Registered

Response:

I am T2 using insulin. Diagnosed over 3 years ago. I have been battling extremely high bg’s for a long time. I changed Dr’s 1 1/2 yrs ago. He has tried every aspect of control that is imaginable to keep me off of insulin. The oral meds would work for a couple of months, then …BOOM…my bg’s were right back in the high 300’s. I don’t think I have ever experienced a "true" low blood sugar. I suffer from low bg symptoms when I get as low as 225. The lowest I ever had in the past 2 yrs is 190, and I thought I was gonna die. This is all because I have been so used to the highs. Well, I finally hit rock bottom (mentally) a couple weeks ago and told my doc that I was gonna fire him if he didn’t get me on a program that worked. He looked at me and said, "Then I’m putting you on insulin." I really have to give him a lot of credit, because he did try everything to avoid insulin. Even though it took every oral medication known to man to fail in my case, I’m glad to know there is still hope. I have been promised that I’ll start feeling better in a few days (once the insulin dosages are worked out). I’m gonna hold them to it! I went today for my little instruction class on giving myself an injection. More than that, they showed me how simple it is to do this. I have to admit I was worried about it. We practiced with sterile water…I gave myself 15 units of sterile water in the gut and thought to myself, "This is just too dang easy!" Then my Dietitian who was there with me asked how I felt and I told her, "Seasick." They laughed, I laughed, it was not the horrible experience I thought it was gonna be. This evening, I spread out all of the pamphlets they gave me, along with all the supplies and gave myself my first insulin injection. 30 minutes later I ate my supper. It’s been 3 1/2 hours since dinner, and I feel fine. Well, by the length of this post, it looks like I have blabbed on enough. I’ll let you know in 2 or 3 days how I’m doing. Duane – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I am still alive! It wasn’t near as bad as I thought it would be. Hell, I feel more pain just getting up to go to work every morning. They put me on Humulin 70/30 2 times a day. 15 units in the am and 7 in the pm. It’s trial and error time. They freaked when they did my bg test…379… and that was three hours after eating a turkey sandwich. Anyway, they want to start low and work up to the best proportion for me. I am pleased. (and thanks for the support!) Duane Duane, Are you type 2, taking insulin, by chance? I’m new to this, so sorry if it’s a really dumb question. My life changes in…well…a week from today. I sorta wish it was sooner just to get it over with. Victoria

Response:

I am still alive! It wasn’t near as bad as I thought it would be. Hell, I feel more pain just getting up to go to work every morning. They put me on Humulin 70/30 2 times a day. 15 units in the am and 7 in the pm. It’s trial and error time. They freaked when they did my bg test…379… and that was three hours after eating a turkey sandwich. Anyway, they want to start low and work up to the best proportion for me. I am pleased. (and thanks for the support!) Duane

Glad to hear it Duane.  One more thing……you might want to ask your doc about switching to a short and long acting insulin.   70/30 is what’s called a "mixed insulin" meaning it has short and intermediate (or long acting? I’m not familiar with it too much).   I know that quite a few people on this NG have had mixed results (sorry for pun) with the mixed insulin.  My doctor doesn’t recommend it at all except in the case of a very elderly or disabled person who isn’t able to mix insulins.  Mixing insulin is a very easy thing to do and you might get better control with it. You’ll learn alot about insulin in the weeks and months to come ahead.   Just ask and you will receive.   Beanie, Type I (Humalog and Ultralente) Remove the "IE" to send email

Response:

In 2 hours and 8 minutes I will start a different life… one with insulin. Hmmm… I am a bit more nervous than I let on last night. Oh well. Duane

Response:

In 2 hours and 8 minutes I will start a different life… one with insulin. Hmmm… I am a bit more nervous than I let on last night.

Gee, I know it’s tough Duane. My ‘different’ life like that started over 13 years ago tho, and I’m still here typing about it, if that helps any. At first, I hated that needle and shot a day so bad I wanted to throw the syringe and vial across the room each time. Now I take 4 or 5 injections a day and don’t even blink. Something that has made injecting a lot easier for me is the B-D Ultra-Fine II short needles (5/16") that came out last year. I would strongly recommend them over the longer-needled syringes. Hang in there! Robin

Response:

writes: In 2 hours and 8 minutes I will start a different life… one with insulin. Hmmm… I am a bit more nervous than I let on last night.

I hope that in 2 hours and 9 minutes you feel a bit more at ease about it. Everything can be frightening if it is new.  After no time you will be an "old hat" at it. Good luck Marilyn

Response:

I am still alive! It wasn’t near as bad as I thought it would be. Hell, I feel more pain just getting up to go to work every morning. They put me on Humulin 70/30 2 times a day. 15 units in the am and 7 in the pm. It’s trial and error time. They freaked when they did my bg test…379… and that was three hours after eating a turkey sandwich. Anyway, they want to start low and work up to the best proportion for me. I am pleased. (and thanks for the support!) Duane – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – writes: In 2 hours and 8 minutes I will start a different life… one with insulin. Hmmm… I am a bit more nervous than I let on last night. I hope that in 2 hours and 9 minutes you feel a bit more at ease about it. Everything can be frightening if it is new.  After no time you will be an "old hat" at it. Good luck Marilyn

Response: