No...not the lows.
Not the insurance hassles.
Or the pharmacy arguments.
Or the school dilemmas.
Or the extra hundred pounds of stuff to lug around.
Not the cost of supplies.
Nope. Not those critters.
Today I'm talking about that dreaded post breakfast spike!!!!!
Awhile back, I read about this thing called the Super Bolus. Lorraine discussed it in one of her posts. I remember thinking there was no way I'd be brave enough to try it.
It goes a little something like this: You give 2 hours of basal with the meal bolus (and correction, if necessary) 15-20 minutes before breakfast (Sugar is on Novolog. Not sure of the pre-bous "rules" for Apidra) and then set a temp basal of zero for the 2 hours that follow.
TWO HOURS OF BASAL???? ... ummmm ... that's a full extra unit ... just sayin'!!!!!
GIVE AN EXTRA UNIT OF INSULIN WITHOUT CARBS TO FEED IT...ON PURPOSE????
I need to sit down.
I'm feeling a little lightheaded.
Okay. So, anyway....
In early December, Laura posted about her Super Bolus trial....followed by another post from Lorraine....
And then my brain started thinking that during Christmas Break I just might be able to work up the nerve to try it myself. So I did. And here's how it went...
OH! BUT WAIT!
Before I continue, I need to say something.
Remember this is NOT medical advice. I'm simply sharing our experiences.
OKAY...that's all.
I wanted to make sure we were starting after a nice, flat night.
Here goes!
(But I have to admit that I skimmed a little off from the extra unit...
beginners nerves, I guess.)
1 HOUR...
2 HOURS...
3(ish) HOURS...
So...I didn't see a nice little "hump" with a return to baseline at the 2 hour mark...
but, remember, I also didn't give the full extra unit either.
Honestly, I considered the fact that she didn't spike over 200 to be a major victory.
Until lunch, anyway...
By the way, that Dexcom 7 Plus sensor was on her belly.
We get MUCH closer readings when the sensor is in her arm.
Here's an example...
With a new sensor in her arm, we then had a Super Bolus that looked like this....
And a full 24 hour period that looked like this...
In fact, we started doing the Super Bolus every day!
(Sorry, but I didn't snag pictures of each one)
With school starting back up, and because I'm all scientific (that's a joke!),
I decided I MUST do a control to prove to myself that all of this wasn't just a fluke.
So I decided NOT to administer the Super Bolus one day.
You know...just to see what would happen.
With that, I've incorporated the Super Bolus before breakfast every morning.
The good news is that now she rarely spikes over 200 after breakfast!
Here's the bad news...
Now she's spiking higher more often after lunch.
It's not always this dramatic, but it's still a heftier spike than before.
So bring it on, because I'm totally open for suggestions!
PS...
After posting that last pic on Facebook,
the consensus was that it totally looks as if D is flipping us off.
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