After almost 9 months have Gone by, I'm giving a left side ab infusion site a try.
I'm incredibly patient... until I'm not.
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After almost 9 months of giving the left side of my abdomen a break from any and all infusion sites, this afternoon I decided to give it a try.
Circumstances weren’t optimal - first day into Day Light Savings time and like the rest of the nation, I was a bit wonky, as were my numbers, not to mention that I’m using an extended temp basal rate of 116% because of a scratchy throat.
My previous infusion site had officially crapped out, my morning bg was 164 (higher than normal,) and my lunchtime blood sugar was 214 - again, higher than normal - I knew that it was time to change my site.
but I was hungry and on the verge of hungry = which never helps.
I switched out my site and after much trepidation, dared to venture to the left side of my abdomen.
After all, it had been almost 9 months since I’d let an infusion site touch that part of my body - I was trying to let the scar tissue lesson if not heal completely - surely the one week shy of not using that side of my abdomen for 9 months mark, had done the trick... right?
The infusion needle went in easily and without pain, I filled the canula and double checked that I still had time on the clock for my temperory basal setting of %116.
Then I did a lunch/correction bolus of 4 units, waited 20 minutes and before I downed a Wild Blueberry Maple Hill Creamery Yogurt (my latest yogurt obsession, made from grass fed cows, low in carbs, tasty, and on sale at my local grocery for 99 cents, so I bought 10 bucks worth, I digress,) and crackers, and then went about my afternoon.
BG 20 minutes ago was 220 with a 0.20 unit correction.
I increased my temp basal rate to 118%, because scar tissue or not, I needed to up it.
And now I wait it out and see what happens - if it works, great. If it doesn’t, at least I’ll know.
Scar tissue - one of the gifts of living with diabetes long term.
But we figure it out and work with what we have.
Finding ways to work around and give that part of our body a rest - in the hopes that new skin will regenerate and give us new real estate to work with while getting along with the business of living our lives.
Sidebar: BG ten minutes after publishing this post was 159 and I'm feeling a bit more optimistic, but cautious none the less~
Its crazy how I have a left side that I think never works either. I have CGM and pump difficulty on the left side almost every time. i run a 12 day rotation on pump sites and a 7 day rotation on the CGM. The four days i have it on left abdomen always has the worst absorption and I will often have to pull it after two days. This is a bit odd since the two deep wounds i have suffered were on my right side. Ahh the trials of a pumper.
ReplyDeleteI included you blog on the blog web page of Tudiaebtes for the week of March 14, 2016.
I sometimes think that for myself, and I'm currently on a pump vacay since end of January - that my problem with having weird BG's wasn't due to scarring (I've been a human guinea pig since 1967) - but more so that perhaps my settings weren't right on Ziggy, my insulin pump. It's taken me almost a month to get my basals purrfected, along with the help of Bowie, aka CGMS. And I think when I go back to the pump (not sure when - I like the freedom of no tubing) - that I'll have to really look seriously at my basal settings - again. Also, Kelly, are you going thru' any other health issues that might be affecting your BG control? I know for moi, menopause along with thyroid is playing a wicked teasing game on me, which I refuse to give in (I'm a tough kid aren't I?). Anyway, hoping that things start to level out, but as my blog site says - it's a roller coaster ride with this diabetes we live with. Ouiiiiiiii ... NOT
ReplyDeleteFatCat - I have a very sore throat.
ReplyDelete