Diabetic Recipes
Surely, I thought when Toohey beeped at me mid-morning, it was one of those random beeps that I couldn't explain. Maybe even a no-delivery message.
"LOW RESERVOIR" was not what I wanted to see. With my new job in a new city, my commute is no longer just four blocks. Now I'm an hour away from home. I can't just scoot out for a few minutes if I forget something.
I scrolled down; 7 units would barely get me through lunch. I kicked myself because this morning before I left for work I checked how many units I had and knew I wouldn't be able to make it through the day. I made a note to stick a reservoir and a bottle of Novolog in my purse so I could make the change this morning when I ran out.
Clearly, I forgot.
I was so angry at myself for forgetting. I had done this once before, but ran out closer to the end of the day so it was not as big of a deal as it was to be out of insulin by lunchtime.
Not to mention that today is one of those days when I'm craving carbs. I had talked myself out of a bakery bagel this morning once I got to work, but most of the day I've been thinking about thick, warm bagels; pastries and gooey cakes. Oh the injustice of it all!
A friend of mine offered to drop some insulin and reservoirs off to me, but I told her I'd be OK, completely forgetting how rotten it feels to be so grossly high. Forgetting that it takes an hour to drive home and that I'd have to fight to stay awake.
I'm now counting the hours until quittin' time--battling the fatigue, headache and general lack of brain function that come with this nastiness.
I know you have a Paradigm. It generally hides 10 units. If you have an open circle low reservoir, you're not actually out of insulin, solid circle means you're actually out. A lot of people don't realize this and think they're "dry" when they still have 10 units or so.
I have A Paradigm 522, and the quick set 23' tubing has about 8 extra units and the 43' has about 14 extra. So you really are not "Out' unless you have to bolus a large amount. This has happened to me 3-4 times,: I drink a lot of water, check my blood sugars every hour or so, and if I must eat, it is something like a salad and cottage cheese. this will hold you for a few ( 4-5 hours) dependent on your carb ratio and insulin sensitivity, until you can get that resevoir and infusion set changed. And may I suggest that you NEVER turn down an offer for help from your friend like this!! That is like having your own back-up Angel!!
Take Care
Wow, you aren't alone. I have knowingly done this several times, too. It always seems to end up with me saying "I need to just change the set before I leave next time". And more often than not, these things occur when there is something super cool happening right after work!! Maybe you can keep a few back-up sets at work in your desk and store the insulin in the office fridge.