I can’t believe I just over dosed my son!

[WillowBean]

Instead of 1 unit of lantus I just gave Josh about 2 ½ units! We usually draw up the needle then let Josh watch us squirt out the extra. When he was first dx in March this was the only way he would sit still for the shots. Well, tonight I forgot to shoot the extra off and he got more than double his dose. I called the doctor and she said to start giving him ice cream or other diary products to bring his bs up and keep it up. She said to get him over 200 and keep him there and to check him every 2 hours.

Josh is now eating his second bowl of ice cream with a chocolate milk chaser. He is in heaven – up after bedtime and eating all the ice cream he wants! While on the other hand I feel like crap. It is so hard to know that you are the one responsible for putting your child in danger. Thankfully my dh has been wonderful about this.

Has everyone else done this or am I on this island alone?

[georgia]

I haven't over dosed (yet!), I have miscalculated. AND, I've forgotten a shot. ONce I drew it up and left it on the counter only to rememer an hour later while we were at the playground. My husband has actually forgotten twice!
Don't beat yourself up. Everyone makes mistakes, and you'll probably make more.. Be glad you caught it!

[BrendaK]

We did that -- actually grandma did it :o. It was several years ago when we switched to Lantus. The other insulin we gave (ultralente) was twice a day. So grandma forgot during a sleepover and gave him the full dose of Lantus at bedtime AND in the morning. Oops!! It wasn't a big deal at all. He just got some uncovered snacks and was fine. We checked him every hour. Lantus is so slow acting that even if there is a downward trend, it won't be as dramatic as overdosing with Novolog. I'm sorry it will probably be a long night for you :(

[Heather(CA)]

Oh no, you are not alone...Once I switched Seth's Lantus and Novolog. So he didn't get enough Lantus, and he got WAY too much Novolog:rolleyes: Poor kid just wanted to go to bed. Not stuff his face. Then, when I was upset with myself...He was busy trying to make me feel better...:rolleyes:

Try not to beat yourself up...Most of us have been there, if not yet...We probably will be eventually...

Here's my motto...Learn, and move on:D

P.S. I'm usually up late on the chat if you need company tonight..

[3js]

i`ve only been at this a short time- so not yet. but i worry about it too! my son is older than yours- and we check with each other. we have caught a couple of mistakes :o this way.

be glad that you caught it- i`m sure you are not getting any arguments from your son about having to eat some ice cream:)

[Momof4gr8kids]

When Julia was on lantus Dad gave her her shot. Then I looked at our chart, Dad hadn't marked it, so I assumed that he hadn't given it, and gave it to her. We weren't the first parents to do this, and you wont be the last to do this. It happens. It sucks, and it makes you feel badly, luckily lantus isn't as bad as say a rapid insulin given in double dose. Weather it is missing a dose, giving the wrong dose, or overdosing your child these mistakes are bound to happen. We all deal with this daily, and most of us do not get all of the sleep they need.
Regaurdless, we love our kids dearly. We don't mean to mess up when we do. We just have to learn from that, and move on the best that we can cause if it holds us there to long then we'll go insane.

Take care, and relax a little. I'm sure he'll be ok. Specially with a good mom like you to watch after him.

[Caynuns mom]

I've forgotten to give an injection once and one time I drew up 18 units of regular at dinner and almost gave it to him when I relized that I had drawn up his morning NPH dose! Thankfully I caught it prior to injection!

I think we all have or will have done some of these kinds of things sooner or later so like everyone else has said... Dont beat yourself up! I'm glad you caught it and your doing whats needed to correct it! :)

[sam1nat2]

My first time, I gave 2 units of humalog vs lantus, it was ds who said to me "why did you just give me 2 units of Humalog" I panicked, called the endo and then our minimed rep (who was a friend at the time). Rep came running over and we started giving Pepsi and glucose, then waffles with peanut butter and honey, did I mention this was a Sunday morn? thankfully he was able to eat his way out of it and it was fast acting. Poor kid had such a sugar/caffeine buzz, he was running circles around the house!!

Second time was a few months ago, and we're pumping now. We had done a set change and he bolused for a cookie. He was 420 and I knew, that even if he didn't get that bolus, it was too high. Figured this out after he corrected for 420 plus dinner carbs. Washed hands and he was 180, so another overdose. I wasn't too worried since his max bolus is 2.5 units, nothing he can't eat his way out of.

It is a most horrible feeling for a parent, however kids kind of like the license to go crazy. DS was upset that he couldn't eat ice cream, candy, regular soda, and s'mores all within 2 hours every night. I had to remind him, D or no D, we don't eat like that.

Cut yourself some slack, he is safe and you caught it!!

[caspi]

Whooo Hooooo for Josh!!!!! Ice cream and chocolate milk!!!! :D;)

In the big scheme of things, this is just a minor blip on the radar! Don't beat yourself up over it, although I know as a Mom we can't help but do so! Your son, I'm sure, is LOVING your mistake!!

{{HUGS****

[JenFur]

Been there, done that. :p

Way back when Kimberly was first dx'd, I gave her the morning dose of nph instead of the small evening dose. Yep, went to the store and she got to pick out a bunch of stuff. We checked her every hour through the night, gave her too much to eat because she actually ran high through the night. :eek:

Live and learn, things happen. Don't be too hard on yourself. I'm sure all will be fine, just keep an eye on him.:cwds:

Jennifer

[jeep_bluetj]

It's more common than not to do that.. We have (wife gave lantus dose, I gave lantus dose, 2x dose)

The very important part is to realize it, and treat it (lots' o ice cream).. If so, no damage was really done, and a bit of education of how to deal with adversity was there.

[sam1nat2]

I just did it again:eek:
Did a set change tonight and I broke the needle on the way out. I wasn't sure if the set kinked in the process. checked an hour later 403, gave correction. Hour later 431, this time gave double the correction and decided if he didn't come down, i'd do my first set change at night. I just went up there to test and possibly take off the pump, 30 min past last correction, he's 308, huge drop in 30 min:eek: Suspended basals for an hour.

I sure hate how sometimes they respond to a correction and then when you are dealing with colds, they need more, then they decide the correction is fine.

I'm calling to see the status of CGMS on Monday, I'll need it after tonight's all nighter!

[aidensmom23]

This is the first time I'm really fessing up to this because it was sooo horrible but I messed up so bad once that Aiden wound up back in the hospital. It was about a month after diagnosis. Of course, he happened to have a higher carb meal than usual and required a decent dose of the diluted humalog. Well I had the Humalog and Lantus out on the counter to warm up and I accidentally gave him the Lantus!! Fortunately, I realized it right away but because it was such a big dose and he was only 20 months we had to go back to the hospital for an IV. Talk about guilt! Don't beat yourself up... it is going to happen at some point.

[melissabeth]

In the dark days right after diagnosis when Colby was 10 months old we were on NPH and Humalog, and I mixed up the dosages - I don't remember the specifics but he was due for a little humalog and lots of NPH (or the other way around- again, dark days, everything is fuzzy), and I got the dosages reveresed. .. anyhow, when I realized I made a mistake I called the endo in tears, had to feed Colby sips of caffeine-free coke every 20 minutes - what a nightmare. Then I made the SAME MISTAKE a few days later. I swear, I thought he would get taken away by social services.

[momofphoenix]

Hi my name is Jessie my son Phoenix has T1 dx'ed Jan 3rd 2003 age 3....
We just switched from the pen refills to the normal viles of novolog and lantus and guess what I did....
I switched the insulins around and gave the wrong doses of each..... 2 1/2 lantus and 10 novolog.............
you are not alone with a mistake.... I now keep each in a different place novolog is kept in his meter case and lantus is kept in the drawer..

Jessie

[JenFur]

How did last night turn out??:cwds:


It seems everyone gets a turn at this mistake. You think stress has anything to do with it?? :p

[Ali]

I have done this and I have often wondered if they could use different shapes or different glass colors for the different types of insulin. Before pumping I tried putting different colors of tape on my bottles. The different locations is a good idea also. Plus the mistakes seem to happen so often at night!! Which means little sleep.

[WillowBean]

Thanks for all of the replies. I guess I am not alone in this.

Josh is doing fine. He went high through most of the night around 400. By morning he was in the high 200's. The endo said to run him high today so we have kept him over 250.

[MLH]

I've done this---twice. :eek: Once when she first went on the pump and once dad and I both bolused her for desert. I felt so horrible,:( however, my daughter was in heaven with all the cookies and cake she got to eat!:D

You live and you learn.

[Heather(CA)]

I have done this and I have often wondered if they could use different shapes or different glass colors for the different types of insulin. Before pumping I tried putting different colors of tape on my bottles. The different locations is a good idea also. Plus the mistakes seem to happen so often at night!! Which means little sleep.

I keep Seth's insulin in these little foam containers. TYo shove the insulin in then it has a top. I have to pad the Lantus with paper because the bottle is thinner. The Lantus is in the purple, and the Apidra in in the green one. The containers also protect the insulin if you drop it. They're kinda hard to describe...They look like really fat rounded at the top bullets. Or for those of you old enough to remember...The weebles wabble but they don't fall down toys LOL. Then I keep those in a case, the kind people carry their meds around in. Works great:D

[Noel]

We have done several crazy things! One morning Aidan got bolused 3x for the same thing. (Me, DH, and himself)....this was on his old animas pump which didn't have the active insulin feature so he got 3 full doses. Good thing he is always hungry and can eat alot for a little guy. It was humalog so it was fast acting. He just ate 2 more of his breakfast and went about his day. We were lucky because it never really effected him.

Our issue is usually not overdosing it's underdosing....DH will think I gave him isulin and I think DH gave it too him and neither of us did. :(

It's hard with everything life throws at you and them if you have more than 1 with d. My poor non-d son has even almost been tested, injected, and site changed more than once!!

Hang in there everything seems like it's fine!!:cwds:

[momofphoenix]

I know I posted earlier but the last post just reminded me of my husband and I. I would think he did the injection and he thought I did it, same thing with his medications he would either get a double dose or none at all.
I told my husband who ever makes his plate gives the shot and the medication. This has worked out great for us. although I am the one who does it all now when my hubby was helping with them it made it less stressfull for everyone.

Jessie

Mom of Phoenix dx'ed 2003 at age 3 now age 7

[caspi]

I asked the pharmacy for an empty pill vial and that's what we put the Lantus in and I put a piece of tape across it that says "LANTUS - NIGHT TIME ONLY". Not to say that there hasn't been a few times when, out of habit, I've gone for the Humalog, but luckily we've been able to catch it in time.

Glad he's doing great today!!! I'm sure he enjoyed his extra snacks last night!!!! :)

[Emma'sDad]

Don't worry, I've actually done this before as well. It was at lunch, I calculated 2.5 units to give her, so I gave her 4.5 units instead. As I was walking away to get back to work, I realized what I did and ran back to the day care. Put my strong mathematical skills to work and calculated that I needed to give her 20 some carbs extra to compensate. The only thing that was left over at lunch was apple sauce. So I calculated what 20g of carbs was for that apple sauce and gave it to her. Was like a cup of apple sauce, that doesn't sound like alot until you scoop it out and put it in front of a 5 year old! I was like, I am so sorry, I am so sorry, I am so sorry. "That's all right daddy, I'll eat all the apple sauce for you." If anybody here remembers, she's the one that said, that it was alright that I stuff my face at free samples. This girl is going to grow up hating me.

[momofphoenix]

I asked the pharmacy for an empty pill vial and that's what we put the Lantus in and I put a piece of tape across it that says "LANTUS - NIGHT TIME ONLY". Not to say that there hasn't been a few times when, out of habit, I've gone for the Humalog, but luckily we've been able to catch it in time.

Glad he's doing great today!!! I'm sure he enjoyed his extra snacks last night!!!! :)

My son is on a few different medications and I had an empty pill container and I figured "hey why not try it"
I LOVE IT!!!!!!! I now know for sure without second guessing myself that I have given him the right dose of the right insulin

thanks so much for the idea....


Jessie

Mom to Phoenix dx'ed 2003

[CatiesDad]

You are not alone.

A couple of months ago I inadvertently gave my daughter 6 units of novolog instead of lantus:eek:. My wife always gave the dinner bolus...this time should have been 2 units of nl. I always gave the night time lantus. For some reason we switched and I gfave the dinner bolus. Being so used to drawing up 6 units I pulled this amount of novolog. I realized what I had done as soon as I pushed it in. I could not believe what I had done. We too were instructed to have ingest a boat load of carbs. Wife ran out and got the ice cream, chocolate sauce, cookies, etc. In the end she was ok and we were able to keep her bg up throughout the night.

Funny part of this story is that this came on a day when all 3 kids were acting up. We don't usually do this but on that day we mandated that there would be no desert of any kind after dinner because of the behavior. So, you could imagine how happy all the kids were (because of my mistake) :rolleyes:.

[mrjester12]

Don't feel bad my husband just did that last night.:D Thachary's endo changed his Lantus to 4 from 6 and he forgot and he gave him 6. :eek: About a hour later he felt all shaky and his abdomnial was hurting so he grabed his monitor and checked himdelf and it was 52. So we told him to get a snack. He got one of those Handi snacks (the cookie one), was about 20 carbs. 30 mins later it was up to 108. So not bad for hubby making a mistake.;)

[Twinklet]

The very week Emily was diagnosed I gave her double her dose of Novolog for a correction! She was at school and thank God I stayed in the classroom chatting with the teacher for a few minutes. Emily layed her head on her desk and said, "I don't feel well at all.....I'm so tired..." Then it hit me like a ton of bricks! :eek: I totally flipped out, grabbed a juice box and called the Endo in tears. Her BG was 32! They were having pizza at school that day, so it all worked out. I never forgot it, though! It scared the crap out of me and I beat myself up over it for a LONG time.

In a hospital setting, anyone administering insulin has to physically verify the dose with another licensed person before administration. Now I know why!