Untethered For a Day

When I woke up yesterday with no more Novolog in my pump, I did what any sensible insulin addict would do and took some expired Lantus. How much? To be safe I took 50% of my total daily dose, 18 units. Immediately my levels returned to normal and I felt that twinge in my gut that signals glucose dropping quickly. It was such a distinct sensation that I wondered if Lantus loses it's time-release function and acts quickly when it's old? It leveled off in a comfortable range and I relaxed.

I disconnected my pump, but carried it around all day since it could receive data from my CGM and help me keep tabs on my levels. During the day I had to do corrections of expired Novolog from a pen. They sort of worked... I was able to keep my glucose at or below 200 all day. Due to a busy day and subbing for a colleague, I didn't have lunch, so I was able to skip the mealtime bolus drama. The corrections throughout the day were already keeping me pretty busy. (Meanwhile, in the pharmacy, it was taking them all day to get a hold of my doctor and get me some emergency insulin. Good thing I didn't throw that expired insulin away. )

I picked up some legit Novolog pens, but didn't want to start the pump back up until the Lantus was out of my system. I did have a low after dinner and had to do some snacking to keep things in check. I had been a bit aggressive with corrections since I suspected the Lantus would eventually start to taper off. Of course, overnight my levels started to rise and I was awakened by high blood sugar at 2:30am. I couldn't sleep so I got up, loaded the pump, took a Symlin aided correction and have been up since. I probably will regret not sleeping, but the week is winding down and after lying in bed for an hour, there's no point in staying horizontal.

It was an adventure. I kind of liked being free from tubing for the day, but correcting with Novolog every couple of hours was similar to being tethered to something. I didn't relax about it too much.