# Temp basals



## Admin (Jan 18, 2010)

Out of interest - I am not using temporary basals yet - as not doing sport etc at the mo - but when do you all/your kids tend to use them? I am wondering if implementing one when I am having these ridiculous random highs will help rather than just giving myself a wallop of bolus - which is a habit I guess from my MDI days which I haven't stoppped yet...
Cheers chaps/chapesses xxx


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## Adrienne (Jan 18, 2010)

Admin said:


> Out of interest - I am not using temporary basals yet - as not doing sport etc at the mo - but when do you all/your kids tend to use them? I am wondering if implementing one when I am having these ridiculous random highs will help rather than just giving myself a wallop of bolus - which is a habit I guess from my MDI days which I haven't stoppped yet...
> Cheers chaps/chapesses xxx



Oh yes indeedy.   Myself and my buddies over on the children's email list use temp basal's like they are going out of fashion.   Once you get the hang of them you use them.

If a bolus hasn't brought Jessica down, I will try another bolus, if still no joy I whack on a temp but only hour by hour as you don't know what it is going to do.

If Jessica is going down at a rate of knots, I whack on a lower temp basal to slow that right down.    

We use them for all sorts of stuff.

When you do though, test more and only set one for an hour at a time or even 30 minutes at a time.   Remember it will have an effect 2 hours ish later as well.


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## bev (Jan 18, 2010)

We use TB all the time! I was VERY nervous of using them at first - but Adrienne explained to me that 130% on a small basal rate wont make a huge difference and is very unlikely to cause chaos. So i started using this and gradually went up until i was comfortable using 230% - one time Alex was ill and the pump only goes up to 200% - so set a new pattern and using the 200% figures and added another 30% on top - worked a treated and he stayed in the 5's all day.

I dont just use the TB for sports - i use it if he is having a lazy day - or when the weather was really cold he was going low so set him at 65% for a few hours during the day etc..

It does help take the edge of random high's and brings him down at a lovely rate - not too quick or slow.

I promise you once you have tried a few - you wont know what you did without them. It is hard to change your whole mindset from mdi isnt it?Bev


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## Viki (Jan 18, 2010)

I use mine for a different (hopefully!) reason. ALCOHOL!! 

I bolus as normal for any food i have, aim for a bedtime BG of 8-10 then reduce my basal by 20% for 8-10 hours and ive found it stops me hypoing!



Bev/Adrienne you might want to save/hide this little nugget of pumping knowledge for a few years!!!!


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## Becca (Jan 18, 2010)

Oh yes all the time 

Mornings at the moment are a nightmare with food spikes so we bolus and then do a temp basal of 175% for 2 hours on top (about 0.8 in the end an hour) and its reducing it


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## randomange (Jan 18, 2010)

Viki said:


> I use mine for a different (hopefully!) reason. ALCOHOL!!
> 
> I bolus as normal for any food i have, aim for a bedtime BG of 8-10 then reduce my basal by 20% for 8-10 hours and ive found it stops me hypoing!
> 
> ...



Ohhh...I shall be filing this nugget away for when I start on insulin (only a week!) - it may come in handy!


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## Cate (Jan 18, 2010)

I use temp basals quite a lot now (never used to!  Took about 3 years to start using them...).

If slightly low before bed, I knock the basal down to 25% or so for a couple of hours (depending on the BS reading).  I'm really bad for using temp basal to treat small hypos, but it does solve the problem of overcorrecting.  Also I used to suspend the pump to treat a hypo, but once fell asleep suspended and woke up high as a kite the next morning, d'oh!  So temp basals where you programme the time in works much better for me!

I've used it to treat highs too, I got betamethazone (steroid) injections a few weeks ago as I was at high risk of early labour, these injections caused BS levels to go bonkers for nearly a week.  I ran my basal at 400%  or thereabouts for 4 days, then 200% for another couple of days, which knocked it all on the head - just as well, else I was going to be admitted and stuck on a sliding scale, ugh.  But that was on the suggestion of my DSN, I wouldn't have gone that high myself I don't think.


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## Adrienne (Jan 19, 2010)

Viki said:


> I use mine for a different (hopefully!) reason. ALCOHOL!!
> 
> I bolus as normal for any food i have, aim for a bedtime BG of 8-10 then reduce my basal by 20% for 8-10 hours and ive found it stops me hypoing!
> 
> ...



Excellent advice there, thanks.  

I once had a bloke fit a stairs carpet and found out he was type 1.  He had to eat his lunch at a certain time.   Jessica was only about 1 years old and on injections then.   I was already worrying about the effects of alcohol and sex and she was only 1.  Poor guy, I quizzed him about both !!!  He left quite quickly.


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## Patricia (Jan 19, 2010)

Adrienne said:


> Excellent advice there, thanks.
> 
> I once had a bloke fit a stairs carpet and found out he was type 1.  He had to eat his lunch at a certain time.   Jessica was only about 1 years old and on injections then.   I was already worrying about the effects of alcohol and sex and she was only 1.  Poor guy, I quizzed him about both !!!  He left quite quickly.



Hilarious Adrienne!

We use temp basals for everything everyone else is saying too...The other thing we've done a lot of -- at this age and stage I imagine -- is whack on a 120% or so temp basal when we suspect that the overall levels need changing...This keeps us from fiddling with every single basal and ratio for the moment, while we look at the effect of a blanket raising. We have had to do this TWICE in the last 10 days. After a day on 120% or thereabouts, we can be pretty sure that on E's basals everything needs to go up an increment or whatever. Also, of course if he's gone low at any point, we know that the basal there needs to stay the same.

He also uses basals for walking around town or any kind of shopping etc. 

Best!


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## Admin (Jan 19, 2010)

Righto - temp basal are a go go! Knew they would be - just haven't done 'em yet - am going to start trying them out! Was most interested in lowering basal to get rid of hypo! Never even thought of that - the obvious can be smacking you in the face sometimes and you don't see it!


Cheers all xx


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## Adrienne (Jan 19, 2010)

Admin said:


> Righto - temp basal are a go go! Knew they would be - just haven't done 'em yet - am going to start trying them out! Was most interested in lowering basal to get rid of hypo! Never even thought of that - the obvious can be smacking you in the face sometimes and you don't see it!
> 
> 
> Cheers all xx



We do this sometimes and it works sometimes but generally to stop a hypo happening.    If you use just the 0% to treat a hypo it may have no effect at all as in theory what you do with a basal has an effect 2 hours later not immediately BUT saying that we do sometimes do a 0% if the first treatment hasn't worked ie coke, and have to do it again and then I will put on a 0% for 30 minutes/hour as well as second coke.  

It can however help stop or slow down an approaching hypo.


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## Viki (Jan 19, 2010)

Adrienne said:


> We do this sometimes and it works sometimes but generally to stop a hypo happening.    If you use just the 0% to treat a hypo it may have no effect at all as in theory what you do with a basal has an effect 2 hours later not immediately BUT saying that we do sometimes do a 0% if the first treatment hasn't worked ie coke, and have to do it again and then I will put on a 0% for 30 minutes/hour as well as second coke.
> 
> It can however help stop or slow down an approaching hypo.



I agree, i dont ever adjust my basal because of lows. Only ever if i think im at risk of a hypo when im likely to be asleep. Just dont find it effective enough at the time but can make my rebound worse.


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## Mand (Jan 21, 2010)

Yesterday I posted on the general pump thread but thought i would move to here.

What i said in my previous post was that my son is unwell at moment and we have had him on a temp basal of 200% during Tuesday and Wednesday which was keeping him at around 5.5 with the odd 9.something. He was off school so we able to check regularly. But i was wondering what to do during last night.

In the end we came to the decision to put him on 120% and check.
Midnight = 8.1
3am = 7.0
7am = 5.6

so we pleased with what we did.

This is the first time we have used the temp basal properley and i am delighted with the results.

Just thought i would tell our experience in case it of help to anyone else.


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## Adrienne (Jan 21, 2010)

Excellent stuff Mand, that is what the temps are for.


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## Mand (Jan 21, 2010)

Absolutely, Adrienne. My son still ill and still off school and the temp basal working a treat again today!


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