User Manual

82 Chapter 6
Example #1:
Basal patterns
Ken has had his insulin pump for about a month. He tests his blood glucose 4 - 6 times a day and records his
results in his logbook. He is happy with his glucose control during the week but on the weekends, he noticed that
he has to eat more food to prevent his blood glucose from running too low.
Ken has realized that during the week while he is at work, he is very inactive and sits at a desk most of the time.
On the weekends, though, he is busy with yard work, running errands and playing with his kids. He determines
that he needs to have lower basal settings to receive less insulin during active times, such as his weekend.
He can use the Basal Patterns feature to support his weekend change in activity. During the week, he can set his
pump to deliver in the standard setting, and on Saturday morning, he can switch over to Pattern A, which he can
set with lower basal rates for the weekend. On Monday morning, he can return his pump to the Standard setting
for his weekday insulin needs.
Example #2:
Basal patterns
Cynthia has had diabetes for about 12 years and has been on her Paradigm pump for several weeks. Every
Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Cynthia goes on a 2-mile walk in the morning. To prevent hypoglycemia on
these days, she uses the patterns feature. For those days, she simply switches over to Pattern A, which she has
programmed with a lower set of basal rates. Before she learned to use the patterns feature, she would have to
eat more food throughout the day to keep her blood glucose at a safe level. Cynthia has also noticed that a few
days prior to menstruation, her blood glucose levels seem to rise, requiring more insulin. She has programmed
Pattern B on her Paradigm pump with higher basal rates for this time. For her usual schedule, she uses the
standard basal pattern.
Your turn:
Can you think of situations where you might require different basal rate settings on different days?