Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Zoe on June 2, 2012 at 9:53am

Yes, according to John Walsh in Pumping Insulin (a good book to get if you don't have it), "only 9% of pumpers use one basil rate, 14% are on two rates. Most pumpers are on three or more basal rates a day."

I myself have 9. That's one of the beauties of the pump, that we can tweak our basal rates to meet our actual needs which vary throughout the day.

What kind of pump do you have that measures out to 4 decimal places? My Ping only adjusts by .025 and I thought they claimed to have the lowest adjustable rate!

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Permalink Reply by acidrock23 on June 2, 2012 at 10:06am

I have 1/2 dozen, w/ most of the adjustments 12:00 midnight until lunch.

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Permalink Reply by Annie on June 2, 2012 at 10:32am

My son has always had multiple basil rates. It's one of the perks to the pump, to be able to fine tune!

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Permalink Reply by Ruth on June 2, 2012 at 8:47pm

I also have two basal rates: One for daytime and one for sleeping.

That's the beauty of an insulin pump...that you can fine-tune the delivery to your specific body needs!

Ruth

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Permalink Reply by MegaMinxX on June 2, 2012 at 9:09pm

I use 5 rates, with the lowest also being mid afternoon (3-6pm). I use different patterns (Standard, A, B) for different situations. All my patterns have 5 rates.

I think it's normal to start out with 1 rate, and then adjust as necessary to deal with highs/lows or to meet the goals the person is trying to achieve.

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Permalink Reply by Brunetta on June 3, 2012 at 2:58am

I have 5 basal rates, depending on the time of day. I also use different patterns as well. Read "Pumping Insulin" that Zoe suggested for more info. Yes multiple basal rates ARE normal. The pump allows you to set the rates as YOU need to.. there is nothing that is exactly thr same from diabetic A to diabetic B.. Our lives are continuous, individual, mini science experiments; and we are able to use the data and tecnical capablilities from our meters and pumps ( and some of us have continuous glucose Monitors), to better manage our condition.
God Bless,
Brunetta

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Permalink Reply by Richard P Cosgrove on June 3, 2012 at 8:16am

I have 4. 12am, 3am 12pm and 9pm and of course mine are quite hefty.

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Permalink Reply by MyBustedPancreas on June 4, 2012 at 6:24am

Yep, in my standard pattern (which I use on work days) I have seven basal rates. I started with one and adjusted slowly from there over the span of about 5 months. Then, in another pattern which I use over the weekends, I have three different basal rates (and then I still do a lot of temp basals depending on whatever activity I'm engaging in). My third pattern is my "PMS pattern," which I use before my period starts. That hormone surge can cause some wicked high BGs, thereby necessitating another pattern.

Yes, it is VERY typical to have multiple basal rates. In fact, that's one of the beauties of the pump! A normal pancreas secretes varying amounts of insulin throughout the day, and the pump attempts to mimic that. BUT, even with the ability to automatically vary your basal rates, you have to be very familiar with what activities cause your BG to drop or rise. Once you're familiar with those things, you can learn how to do temp basal rates to counteract the highs and lows before they appear. And it's not a science, but more of an art form. It takes practice and trial & error.

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Permalink Reply by Scott Wilkins on June 4, 2012 at 1:19pm

I currently have 3 too. I also have 2 different programs of rates, depending on my activity for the day. Or, in more simple terms, I have a week-day program and a week-end program. I'm much more active on the weekends.

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Permalink Reply by DeeJay on June 8, 2012 at 10:09pm

I have two basal settings

All day: .625
All Night: .600

I also set a temp basal for when I exercise or eat slow digesting foods.

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