But I do have a question about it, and if any of my new or "faithful" readers would know the answer, I would love to hear from you. What I don't understand is that we have been told over and over by nurses, doctors, AND pharmacists that the insulin must be refrigerated. This is supposed to preserve it and keep it from loosing it effectiveness. But now the directions for the pen tell us absolutely NOT to refrigerate the pen. But you can't take the insulin out of it once you have it primed and ready to go. How does that work?? Does the insulin go bad sooner? I haven't found anybody that can give me a consistent answer for this. So we'll see.
Also, since we've been using the ratios consistently, I've found that Ashlyn's blood sugar levels have just sky-rocketed. We've had to make several adjustments up in her insulin amounts with both the Humalog (at all meals) as well as her bedtime Lantus. I'm not sure we're doing it right. I was under the impression that we no longer have a set amount of carbs for meals or snacks and that we now calculate how much insulin she needs based on how much she wants to eat. But I seem to remember reading somewhere that you can't make to many jumps in the number of carbs all at once, or it messes up your system and makes your blood sugar levels all out-of-whack. I guess my question is this: So does she truly have the freedom to eat whatever she wants, or can she just fudge once in a while and we add extra to cover those extra carbs? Any thoughts???
3 comments:
Bless your heart!
OK...let me address the insulin vs refridge thing first. Insulin goes bad 30 days after you open it, reguardless of whether you keep it cool or not. We used those pens when Kacey was on injections and we NEVER put them in the fridge. You do have to keep them in a cool spot, room temp, not over 85 deg. Cold insulin burns! Just like an immunization does...and I know youve felt that before. So they told us not to put it back in the fridge once we open it but store unopened vials/pens in the fridge until its time to use them. Hope that helps!
Now...as for the insulin/carb ratio. When Kacey was taking Humalog/Novalog, we worked closely with her CDE and Endo and each week we faxed in blood sugars and they would make adjustments as needed. For breakfast she would be 1:8 ...lunch was 1:8 and dinner was 1:10. Each meal was different because she needed more/less insulin at certain times of the day. Only when she started running high all day did they adjust all 3 meals. Usually it was one meal or another. Remember if she's running high 2 hours after the shot then her insulin:carb ratio probably needs adjusting. Does that make sense? So, if she eats a snack at 10am and you give her insulin based on 1 unit for every 15 carbs....and 2 hours later she's high...then next time try giving her 1 unit for every 12 carbs and see what that does. Also, she's still on that Lantus and that will gradually increase as well.
And no, there are no set amount of carbs she should be eating. Our Endo said that at 9yrs old they are still growing and they should be eating so let them eat! She can eat what she wants as long as she gets the insulin for it :)
Hope that helps!
I'm new to your blog and I will definately put you on my blogroll :) Feel free to email me anytime if you wanna chat! Our girls are the same age :)
Take care!
Jill
mom to Kacey (dx Jul08 at age of 8)
mom2knkc@inna.net
Brenda,
My wife has been on Lantus for a few years and has noticed some unpleasant side effects.
One thing is that the injection site becomes hard and bumpy, also weight gain and feeling blotted.
Also, if you Google “Lantus side effects” you will find that there is a concern about the use of Lantus and cancer.
I don’t want to alarm you but you should be advised.
Dean P. Marx
Brenda,
My sister said that you can refrigerate the pen, but once it is opened, you cannot refrigerate it, and then it goes bad after 10 days. That is just what she told me. She also uses the pen and said she does not use the whole pen. Take it for what it is worth.
Louis Davis
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