Hope you had a beautiful and relaxing Thanksgiving!!

luv......linda

Well, at least I'm not completely crazy. I went through my day on Friday worrying about you and your 8 pumpless hours, thinking that I must still have a lot to learn. LOL. I don't know. Maybe you DID have some Lantus in your system still that night. Or maybe your body was just really sensitive to the adjustment of fast-acting insulin being in your system continuously. Lows are pretty common with all new pumpers and/or new insulin types. I know I had lows when switching from Humalog to Apidra a few years ago that went away once my body adjusted.

You have a LOT of options for playing with the amounts, but I think your primary options are (1) leave the original settings you had the low with, but try setting an alarm to wake up at 1, 3, and 5 to see where you are so you can catch those lows you have problems with, (2) lower any of your basal rates by a tenth or even a hundredth (.1 or .05) during certain hours over the course of several days until you like the results - the most basic tiny increments you can change, or (3) try a temporary basal of, say, 80% through the midnight-3am hours and see if that helps.

Remember that many of us go from shots to a pump keeping the same basic amount for our total daily dosage only to find we require LESS insulin than we did on shots because of the absorption being so much more reliable and sophisticated. Then, as we start eating like we are invincible (an unfortunate side effect of pumps!!!), we need to add the insulin back in and start watching the pounds as they try to pack on. LOL.

It's okay. We ALL overtreat and get freaky about our lows from time to time. I've been a type 1 for nearly 20 years and a pumper for nearly 10.

I am not an endocrinologist and I'm sure you trust your doc, but I can tell you what experience and what my doctor and CDEs tell me. Turning your pump off during the time you're having the issue isn't going to stop the issue that's occurring. Turning your pump off from 11pm to 7am will likely cause a slow rise in blood sugar from 2am until lunch. Like I said, basal insulin takes effect later. Seems like your doc should have suggested turning your pump off from dinner until you go to sleep first...But again, I'm not a medical professional and I don't know your personal history. This is just based on what I see/hear/experience.

The purpose of basal insulin is to give you only enough so that the basic metabolic processes (mainly breathing) have the insulin they need and to counteract the effects of your liver's release of glycogen throughout your day. If you're breathing during the night, the thought of 8 hours of no basal seems completely counterintuitive to me. BUT, you may still be honeymooning, since you were just diagnosed in 2008. It's commonly said that we can expect blood sugar to rise 1 mg/dL per minute of missed basal...8 hours lost for me then, beginning 11pm, would cause a rise of roughly 480 mg/dL from around 3am until dawn. I might be DKA in that timeframe, so the idea of turning the pump off sends chills up my spine. But you and I may have completely different insulin needs!

Have you read "Pumping Insulin" by John Walsh yet? It is the absolutely essential guide to using a pump. I read it after 8 years on a pump and realized I misunderstood everything I thought I knew.

Molly, you overtreated that low like a mad woman, girl. How long did you wait between treatments and how much juice are we talking? During the night, you might go more conservatively with 2-3 glucose tabs at a time. You've got to give your body more time to catch up. That 248 was inevitable. (I'm an overtreater from way back, but I've made a conscious effort to stop.)

You could set a temp basal for that time, but you'd have to do it every single night. It's a band-aid solution to a bigger problem. You need to see about reducing your basal rate or your bolus ratio around dinner time. You will see a basal rate take effect about 3-4 hours after it begins. So if it's your basal that dropped you starting around 10pm, it was your basal that started around 6 or 7. If it's your bolus that dropped you (assuming your carb count was accurate), it would have had to be around 7:30 or 8. When did you eat dinner? But the basal sounds like the issue. You probably need to play with a reduction from evening to midnight. Your midnight to 3am is the one that should have the biggest effect on your dawn phenomenon/morning rise, so I would wait to play with that one until you know you're going to bed in a desired range.

Hope your pump start went well, Molly! I'm so excited for you!

P.S. Why don't you update your profile photo? You don't have to put a photo of your face if you don't want. Just something other than the default "upload your photo" here hand. Click on Settings and follow the first instructions about profile photos. Click save the changes at the bottom and it will show up!

I'm so happy for you...you little pumper you! Let me know how it all goes!
Thanks for the good wishes...yeah, we celebrate pretty much the same way you do....T-U-R-K-E-Y!!! As well, one's cultural background comes into play, mine being predominantly French, gives way to pastries (tourtières....yummm!), pâtés, potages(soups)...and whatever other nummies usually found in the over abundant spread...and wine (of course!!). There's music, likely a new dvd with hors d'oeuvres while things get ready in the kitchen, lots of chatter and banter...and after dinner, likely a walk before coming back for coffee/tea and sweets!
Take care...linda.

How have you been Molly? Just stopping by to give you early Thanksgiving greetings from Canada....
ours is on October 12th!
Luv.....linda.

Hi Molly! Thanks for message. We needed an Ohio group :) I had to look up Baltic, Ohio because I had no idea where it was!