Stupid Move

[Talking Hands]

I did a really stupid thing today. Accidently took my insulin twice. Crashed real good at Walmart. Any ideas on how to avoid doing this again? I'm open to just about any idea that will stop a repeat.

 

[problemchild718]

I'm a nurse-I tell my pts to turn the bottle upside down after giving the dose-you could also keep a notebook with time of day, dose and any adverse reactions to help you get in the habit. Some pts say they set out the next syringe and alcohol making a little note of time for next dose. Hope that helps

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I'm on twice a day. I will have my first dose in the morning and will then check my e-mail and certain boards and then have breakfast. Since I won't start checking things until I've had my shot I can't double dose in the morning.

Likewise for the evening, I will have my shots before starting to prepare dinner; once I've started fixing dinner I know I've had my shot.

If I will be eating out, I will carry a charged syringe wrapped in an alcohol swab in a toothbrush holder. I will stop in a rest room before dinner to use it.

 

[rascalmom]

My daughter's friend has a couple of the "Live Strong" type bracelets, but anything like that would work. She puts them both on her left arm first thing in the morning & switches one to her right arm after she has her insulin, then switches the other one later in the day when she has another dose. Also helps her family know - she's just 13 & this works very well for her.

 

[momsgoofy]

TalkingHands...my dad takes his insulin 4 times a day and was having the same problem...either double dose or forget, so he just started putting a tally mark on the calendar he keeps on the fridge so he's see it when he's getting the insulin out. So far it seems to be helping. I use the bottle flip for my allergy meds...I take it 2Xday and would forget if I'd taken it or not, so I put it lid down if it's ready for my night dose...like my head's down on the pillow. So far it's helped me.

I hope you're recovering from the mishap and aren't feeling too badly now!

 

[SueM in MN]

I don't think it's a stupid move. {{hugs}}
Hope you are recovered from your mishap and are none the worse for wear.
It's one of those things that happen when you do something so many times that it becomes austomatic. After a while, you don't think about it, you just do it on "automatic pilot" and that's when it's easy to make a mistake.

I took one of my DD's pills once instead of my own
I had hers and mine sitting next to my plate at the table (out of the bottle ready to pop in the mouth). I was talking to someone and not paying attention to what I was doing. The second that I swallowed it (and it was too late to do anything about it), I knew what I hade done.

Luckily, it didn't really do anything to me and I did not give mine to her.

After that, I separated giving our pills so that we were not taking them at the same place and time.

What I do with her medications is when I give her evening and midday dose, I prepare the next dose and put it into a "holding bottle". She has a morning and evening dose of medications that are the same and a midday dose that is different. So, if I look into the bottle and see the morning pills still in there, I know I didn't give them yet. The evening dose isn't put into the bottle at all, I give it right away, but at the same time as I'm giving the evening dose, I prepare the next morning dose. So, if I'm not sure I gave the evening dose, an empty "holding bottle" tells me I'm right.
This sounds pretty confusing seeing it written out, but it's kind of the same idea that Cheshire Figment mentions - have something else that you don't do until you have taken your medication.

When I was a public health nurse, I used all the hints that other people have mentioned (the upside down bottle, the calendar, not doing something else until after taking the medication). Another thing some of my patients used was a container with enough separate spots for the number of doses of medication to be taken each day. You start the day with all the bottles in the first spot. As the first dose is taken, the bottle(s) move to the next bin. At the end of the day, all the bottles are moved to the next morning slot.
The common thing to all these strategies is that they are building another habit into the medication habit.

 

[TiggerCate]

This isn't the fanciest example, but I once had all five of us on antibiotics at once (all different doses, times a day). I made tick marks on a paper for everyone to keep track of our doses. You could also make tick marks on a calendar to count how many you have had for the day.

 

[Laurajean1014]

How about putting a sticker on the bottle once you have given yourself a shot?

 

[Talking Hands]

Well I am doing 2 things. A container with separate areas for morning and evening, and I will move it after each dose and a daily log with insulin, bs and oral meds, foods and any reactions or problems.

Thought of the band one but I am allergic to the plastic used. If I could find a clothe zlick one I would use on side for morning and the other for evening.

 

[JenJen]

Wow this post is great for anyone taking meds thanks for all the helpful advise everyone!!!! I use to take a lot of medication but I am down to three medications so it is easier to deal with it. I have a pill box that has morning, noon, and night on it. I also care for someone that takes 12 differant medications and for him I do the same thing.
jenjen

 

[Talking Hands]

Jen Jen, the problem was not the pills. That I had figured out. It was the insulin. I have been on insulin and it has become so routine that I was forgetting whether I took it or not so I double dosed. With the pills I set them up once a week and if they aren't in the container I took them. If they are I need to take them.

 

[eeyore45]

talking hands, what about the bracelets they sell at Hallmark Stores? They are jewel toned, and I see them everywhere - they slip on and off also... they are kinda fitted so they may not interfere with signing...

 

[SplashMom]

Hope you are feeling much better after your incident! It is so easy to skip or double dose when things are so automatic. My kids are both diabetic and they now use insulin pumps (which are working fabulously!) However, when they were taking shots, they had to rotate their sites and I found it difficult to remember who was getting their shot where?? At that point, I was still doing most shots. To keep track, we wrote the child's initial with appropriate abbreviations on the calendar (LA for left arm, RT for right thigh, etc.). This let us keep track of the shot as well as the site so we could rotate regularly. It only took a minute because we always used the Disney World calendar in the kitchen which was close when preparing the shot. They liked writing on this calendar! Hope this helps!

 

[Talking Hands]

Feeling much better but still running somewhat low. 70 fasting this morning but part of that is a change in schedule with school starting today. Took fasting bs an hour earlier than usualy since I can't take it at school. Have to be up at 5:30 am now to be at school by 7am.

 

[welovedis]

I have used a couple of different methods, but unsure of whether these would work for you. My mom was on injectible meds and we used the bracelet method for her. No bracelet on meant no morning meds, bracelet on L arm meant morning meds given, bracelet on R arm meant afternoon meds given, taken off at bedtime to start over again. We also used a written log just to be safe. We used a soft woven bracelet, similar to these:http://cgi.ebay.com/The-Faith-Heali...020609017QQcategoryZ92727QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

A method I use with DS' pills is to affix a small amount of magnetic strip to the back of a pill bottle (empty) and put it on our fridge. That way I am looking at it when we prepare breakfast, snacks, lunch, PM snack or dinner and we rarely miss a morning/evening dose.

Again, I realize you are talking about injections, but hope this helps & glad you are better!

 

[LittleDino]

Hello fellow Diabetic! I was taking 3 injections a day before I went on the insulin pump. I'd remember by the "placement" of my insulin vial in the refrigerator. I'd always store the vials on the top shelf, but place it to the left, middle or right side of the fridge depending on what shot was next. So for breakfast, I'd find it on the left side, take my shot, then put it in the middle knowing that's where it needed to be for my dinner shot. At dinner time I'd take my shot, and place the vial to the right side of the shelf. Same thing for my bedtime shot, I'd find it on the right side of the fridge, take my shot, then place it back to the left to start over the next morning.

I do like the pump though, because it shows the time of your last bolus and how much you gave yourself. This way I don't even over-dose. Although I have forgotten to give myself insulin before. But I'm able to see my last dose of insulin given, and then give myself an immediate bolus to compensate for the carbs and time that had lapsed.