I TOOK 10x TOO MUCH INSULIN!!

Storytime! From when my sleepy and low brain accidentally bolused for 111g of carbs instead of 11g of carbs. *facepalm*

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Snapchat: DeeMarieIsMe

[DISCLAIMER: While I am a Registered Nurse, nothing that I post should ever be taken as medical/nursing advice. Please consult your doctor if you have questions about your individual diabetes management and overall health.]

[Triviaboomer]

Dear Danica. I’ve been watching your videos since my diagnosis 5 years ago. You’ve taught me so much! I like that you don’t pretend that this is an easy job that we T1’s have and actually share your ‘imperfect’ struggles with us. Thank you for all you do to help us manage this condition!

[tamiivory]

I am a mom to a newly diagnosed T1 11 year old daughter. I am watching all your videos. You are so encouraging. Keep it up!

[christopherone]

I did this too. I had just started Tresiba (7 units)...wasn't sure how it was working...woke up at 3:30am my BG's 330's....I gave a manual correction, was just going to do 1/2 to maybe 1 unit correction (I'm very insuln sensitive). I was feeling so sick from the high, half asleep lethargic, too...I injected and after I pushed plunger on syringe realized (thank god) that was not 1/2 a unit. Thank god I didn't go back to sleep. Started downing glucose tabs probably at least 15 tablets, got in car drove myself to ER, only 3 miles away. sat there outside for a minute, double arrows down on CGM, eating more glucose...by the time I got to triage ER my BG's were 30 and still dropping. Orange juice given while the ER team pushing IV glucose, asking me, "How are you still talking?" I was there half the day next day, just kept dropping, they made me eat a turkey sandwich, too. I probably gave myself 3 units, it dropped me 300 points. I thought I'd be sky high too with IV glucose + orange juice + at least 15 - 16 glucose tabs + huge turkey sandwich...only ended up at around 250. Scariest thing I've ever been thru. If I hadn't realized it, and just gone back to sleep I would have died. It still horrifies me and has given my PTSD everytime I bolus, wondering if I gave correct amount, questioning every bolus injection. Why I'm starting on InPen, at least I can see what I've actually done. I vowed never to take insulin in middle of night...but I did it a few weeks ago and drove myself to ER, just waited outside and was able to come back up. I HATE THIS DISEASE, IT IS SO SCARY, HORRIFYING TO ME.

[bmason]

That is such a scary thing! My son did that a little over a year ago when he was ten. He decided to dose himself on his own and didn’t pay enough attention to what he was doing bc he was more worried about getting back to his XBox. He bolused himself for over 100g instead of the 10-15g he ate right before bedtime. He didn’t have a CGM at the time and dropped in his sleep but it just so happened that his dad was still awake and heard him moaning right as he was starting to seize! I had to administer a Glucagon shot for the first time after almost 9 years of being diabetic. His sugar was in the teens with a considerable amount of insulin still on board. Had his dad not been home that night (he was working out of town a lot at that time), we could have lost him. Looking into my sons glazed over eyes with pupils blown and his whole body convulsing trying to get the Glucagon in was the single most terrifying 10-15 minutes of my life!

[DianeHeeney]

Boy howdy, yes! Our daughter several years ago grabbed the wrong pen for her Lantus shot at night. I can't remember now how many units she was doing of long-acting, but it was probably 25+. That was super fun. Ugh. We ended up using Glucagon because she made herself sick trying to consume so many carbs that she threw it all up and then we had no idea what still remained active in her body. Thank God, it kicked in and it was all good--so far (7 years now) we've managed to stay out of the ER--but she was shaking and so lethargic it was scary. The only time something that bad has happened, and we keep her pens in two separate places and she has to show us which one she's got in her hand before she administers it.

[jeanvignes]

THANK YOU for this story. I just now injected my FIASP (fast-acting) instead of my BASAGLAR (long-acting) at my normal Basaglar rate. So 32 units of fast-acting instead of long-acting. I will need to eat about 10x my normal carbs to cover this. Fortunately, the fast acting will be absorbed within three hours, I'm awake, I caught myself immediately after injecting (OH and I'm wearing a DEXCOM with will alarm me if I get distracted. On the down side, I'm on a very low carb diet, have almost no high-carb foods in the house, and...yeah. I'm relying on sipping canned evaporated milk to get me though this. I'm sorry that we're all human and make mistakes, but it's kind of reassuring, too. We're all human and make mistakes.

[mjr]

I bet this is too late to ask questions but here goes...I woke up with 336 sugar today. I was taking my am shots normally 42 lantus and 10 humalog. I turned it around and took 42 humalog. I realized it after I pulled the needle out. I am eating and drinking sugary everything I can see. If anyone sees this I would appreciate this. Am I doing right??

[cathyberry]

👍 I always overtreat a low at night ~ my Endo thinks it's hilarious, apparently he's never woken up with a Paramedic pushing Dextrose standing over him!! Thanks for sharing!! ♥️

[TheLinneann]

I’ve typed my carbs directly into the units area! Max bolus saved my butt!!!

[tesicolon]

Your videos are light-hearted and VERY informative!! Thanks so much for all the info. I'm a Type II, recently diagnosed, 67 year old diabetic who knows nothing about insulin pumps!! My doctor just put me on Freestyle Libre, which I love and wants to put me on a pump for better control! I'm researching everything about diabetes like a hungry child and your videos have been so very helpful!! May God bless you and keep you well!

[adamfozz]

Funnily enough I have the Tandem pump too and just upgraded to control IQ a month ago. A few days later right before bed I heard a beep in my pocket and luckily I checked realizing with horror that it had just delivered 20 units.


I cant be sure if it was a pocket bolus (which is the only disadvantage of having a touch screen) or if I had incorrectly keyed 20 units when I did 20 grams of carbs a few minutes earlier. Either way its something we all need to be vigilant about.


I went into hospital as a precaution since it is a very large dose for me especially at night but after 4 hours in the ER there was no big dip. (the fed me lots of carbs and just monitored me). I was panicking to be honest but I felt better knowing that IV glucose was on hand in case of a huge drop in BG.


The next day I lowered the max bolus to around the max I realistically ever take which is 14. It can be inconvenient when it wont let me bolus for a big meal and I then have to go through the settings to allow it but at least I cannot make a 20 unit bolus again.


It would be great in the next update if they let you set a maximum bolus based upon your basal timings. This way at 12pm you could set a maximum bolus of say 5 units but in the day when you are eating you could set it at 15 units.

[asolks]

One time when I was like 6 I was watching shows in the couch my mom asked if I was ok because I looked really pale we checked my sugars (this was before I had a CGM) and I was 1.5 yep pretty close now as I said I was 6 I didn’t know the feeling of s low

[claire]

Before I was on the pump, I had lost my insulin pen so I used a syringe (which I hadn’t done in awhile). I gave myself 100 units of insulin instead of 10 😬😅 But thankfully I realized it, drank a of soda, and never dipped below 80.

[lynnshell]

Been there done that glad your ok be careful my dear

[andreasbb]

Thanks for sharing that frightening and also comforting story Danica! I am so glad that you made it through without any major problem! Stay safe!

[ajbarry]

If you don’t know What this means this basically means death for diabetics out of extreme weariness and lack of sugar

[dinas]

I've done that.... Ugggh! Also so easy when low to mix up BS with carbs where 80-180 makes sense for one but not the other... Thank you for acknowledging that part of being human is making mistakes and hopefully learning from them .... and forgiving ourselves that we occasionally make mistakes.

[damienadams]

I accidentally took my humalog instead of Lantas one time 40 units of humalog... I was eating everything I possibly could!!!

[MarshallChristensen]

I just did this today. I ate two packets of oatmeal (54 gm of carb). Then I entered 54 into the units field instead the carb field. Instead of covering my 54 carbs, I had dosed for 324 carbs A couple of hours later, my Dexcom alarmed and told me I was 54 I double checked with a fingerstick and realized that my BG was actually 36. I ate around 60 carbs to treat the low (since it was quite low). I waited a few minutes and then DROVE MY CAR home from work. When I got home, my wife was asleep and I considered going on a walk I hesitated because my Dexcom still showed me in the 50s An hour later, my Dexcom was still registering as "low" and my BG was in the 40s. At this point, I thought about this video and wondered if I had done something similar. I checked my pump history and realized my mistake. I too thank God for watching out for me today. Thank you for sharing your story (and your faith) with the world and the diabetes community.

[steadyeddie]

I’ve been a type 1 diabetic for 65 years and have been on a pump for about 15 years. I have to laugh because whenever I have a super low I eat as though I’m going to the chair. LOL Super lows are scary but I’m very lucky that my body gives me warning signs. However, I don’t think I ever over dosed 10x be careful