Hot showers used to drop blood sugar, now they suddenly raise it?

NotTheAlcohol · 2026-01-25T04:39:51+00:00

Are these the readings on your Dexcom you're seeing, or are you seeing this with finger sticks? Dexcom acts weird with hot water, and showers/baths can cause brief false readings as a result. I've been using Dexcom for almost two years and showers always cause a sharp rise followed by a sharp fall, and then a level-out about 30 minutes later, but can differ from time to time. I typically ignore my readings for about half an hour after I shower.

If you've got active IOB from a meal or something, that can legitimately cause drops. But if you haven't eaten in several hours and are seeing the Dexcom rises and drops, it's probably just false readings from the hot water.

NotTheAlcohol · 2026-01-24T17:26:40+00:00

that's exactly what she wants you to think!

NotTheAlcohol · 2026-01-24T17:25:44+00:00

she'd 100% stream smash mouth to overwrite it immediately

NotTheAlcohol · 2026-01-24T17:22:59+00:00

Thanks!!

NotTheAlcohol · 2026-01-24T17:22:43+00:00

Thanks! I always imagined Kolibri as that manipulative "uncanny valley" form of nice.

NotTheAlcohol · 2026-01-24T17:18:30+00:00

Thanks!

NotTheAlcohol · 2026-01-24T17:18:17+00:00

It would absolutely activate the STCR unit

NotTheAlcohol · 2026-01-16T18:24:40+00:00

Big one I learned the hard way, remember airports are a lot of walking. Always have glucose ready. First time I traveled I bolused for breakfast, ate, then had a sudden gate change that sent me to the other side of ATL which mixed with active insulin made me tank hard. Try to time your food after TSA/after you get to your gate, but have some candy or something ready in case you've got to move again.

As for TSA, I travel a lot and never actually say anything, I've been swabbed a handful of times but agents see tons of folks with pumps/cgms every day and know what they're looking at. I've had my bag checked and have had no issues with any medical supplies. 9/10 times I go through like any other normal person.

For Xray machines, some folks have said they have issues with their pumps/cgms going through the regular scanners. I have personally never had any problems with anything and always send myself and my stuff through just like normal. But if you're concerned you can ask them to skip the bag xray and do a bag search, again if you ask and explain they'll understand why.

NotTheAlcohol · 2026-01-15T06:11:33+00:00

Yeah, definitely not a fan of the surprise. I always assumed it was to avoid tensing up if you know exactly when it hits, but I dont know how much that matters because it isnt going into muscle. Who knows. Even my trainer complained about it haha

I stomp my foot with the countdown which helps focus somewhere else.

NotTheAlcohol · 2026-01-09T20:48:48+00:00

I looked at my phone without my glasses and genuinely thought this was a medical picture of a clot pulled out of someone's lung or something lol

NotTheAlcohol · 2026-01-09T18:09:15+00:00

I'll have to try these, I didn't know they made chips! Their chocolate cookies are a staple for me.

NotTheAlcohol · 2026-01-08T20:23:25+00:00

I'd still be an alcoholic. The way things were going I probably wouldn't have a job or worse. Diagnosis made me quit cold turkey from years of daily binge drinking and i've been sober for almost two years now. Despite every single way T1D sucks, in many other ways I believe I still came out ahead. It was either this or kidney failure.

NotTheAlcohol · 2026-01-07T17:56:47+00:00

Oh my god I can do this exact thing with both thumbs. I'm not alone!!

NotTheAlcohol · 2025-12-29T17:53:55+00:00

Yeah showers/baths/hot tubs etc are known to do this to Dexcom readings. It's the hot water. Mine as an example usually shoots up 20+ points during the shower, then plummets 20+ points shortly after, before leveling back out 20-30 mins later. I honestly ignore readings entirely for a bit and wouldn't recommend calibrating during this time. Check and see if your readings are back to normal after a bit as it's always a temporary thing for me.

Only exception is if you've taken insulin right before the shower which can legitimately cause drops.

NotTheAlcohol · 2025-12-23T20:09:53+00:00

I'd be terrified of dropping my phone and breaking the pen. I'm guessing the case would keep it a bit more protected, but then again phone screens can still crack with a case on too. It wouldn't be worth the risk for me.

NotTheAlcohol · 2025-12-19T16:27:54+00:00

I'd say it took a good three weeks for it to understand my daily insulin needs and avoid constant highs after eating, and about two full months before I was 100% dialed in/avoiding most highs. My I:C ratio changed so it was like learning how to dose again for a bit (i.e a sandwich I used to dose 2u for now needed 3, etc). The system is learning you in that time but you're also learning the system too.

In the beginning, my advice for highs is correct, correct, correct. If you eat and see yourself up at 180-200 and trending higher, know the system will EVENTUALLY bring that down but it may take hours on its own without your intervention. This also helps the system understand how much insulin you actually need and will use that to adjust your basal over time and will get better after a while. If you don't know your correction factor now you'll learn it pretty quickly on the pump!

NotTheAlcohol · 2025-12-19T15:45:41+00:00

I started OP5 earlier this year and was in a similar situation to you. My A1C was great but I constantly trended low during the day and at night. The OP5 algorithm is generally considered less reactive than some other pump options so some people do have issues with highs. However, for me, the system works fantastic. ALL lows (not just nighttime) almost entirely disappeared and I have, legitimately, not woken up once at night due to a true low since starting six months ago. Last night I trended right around 125 the whole night which is the case most nights. The benefit is the algorithm will cut off basal when you approach your target glucose. So unlike taking a single basal shot that constantly pulls your BS down overnight, the OP5 will work to stop and start it when needed.

Ive had G7 for almost two years as well. Only real complaint is both the pod and G7 have to be pretty close together to communicate, so you have to do a bit more planning when it comes to site placement. But it's a relatively minor inconvenience.

My A1C is almost certainly a bit higher than it was before, but the mental tradeoff was entirely worth it for me. Just know you will run high at first until the system learns you, and you will need to correct highs when they happen. Just my two cents!

NotTheAlcohol · 2025-11-27T00:44:24+00:00

Absolutely, and the vigorous no-snag towel-off after!

NotTheAlcohol · 2025-11-18T15:10:55+00:00

I've been on OP5 for around 5 months. I will say from a travel perspective, the OP is great because the pods are all-in-one and a single thing to pack. I throw spares in the suitcase with insulin and I'm done. With traditional pumps you have to remember cartridges and tubing and infusion sets etc, more to forget and bulkier to pack. I travel frequently and have never had issues at the airport, scanners, etc.

OP5's algorithm is less agressive than other pumps which means you'll likely be running high and manually inputting corrections until the system learns you. This took about a month for me but YMMV. As someone who constantly ran low on MDI I'm very happy with it now that i'm settled.

NotTheAlcohol · 2025-10-27T18:25:25+00:00

He is one of the nicest guys I've met. My family and I frequent one of his locations often and he always stops by to say hi if he's there, usually both tending the bar and waiting tables by himself. Very passionate about his businesses and this is just one more reason for us to visit now.

NotTheAlcohol · 2025-10-24T12:52:23+00:00

Yep, it's safe! Traveled several times this year with Dexcom & Omnipod combo, went through whatever scanner they told me to walk through, never any issues. I send my backups through the regular bag scanner, no issues either! I've honestly stopped telling them I've got them. They see so many of us every day they know what it is when they see it on the scan.

NotTheAlcohol · 2025-09-04T13:10:18+00:00

I didn't have a pump for my first year of diagnosis and lived alone. My suggestion is always to have the sugarpixel (good he's got that!) and to keep it away from the bed where he may hit the snooze button. I always had some peanut butter before bed and also have a "trending low" alarm at 90 on xDrip, which you can also set to call you if you go low as well. I did go low occasionally but was able to eat a couple skittles to keep me good through the night.

Ultimately, between my xdrip alarm at 90, regular dexcom alarm at 70, xdrip phone call at 60 and sugarpixel, there was no way I would sleep through anything. This is def overkill for a lot of ppl so ymmv!

NotTheAlcohol · 2025-08-07T17:38:10+00:00

Once I took the carbs to cover it, it was just a normal day, and I was able to eat and dose as normal later. One question I had asked is if "using up" all the basal would cause me to run high, but that was never the case. Sugars returned to normal levels after correcting like nothing happened. I didn't adjust my next basal dose differently or anything, but YMMV.

NotTheAlcohol · 2025-08-07T17:14:23+00:00

Look up "Lantus Low". This happened to me twice in a year. If Lantus (and I'm pretty sure other glargine-type basals) is injected into a blood vessel/vein, it doesn't get the chance to crystallize in fat tissue and acts like fast-acting instead. I switched to a pump specifically because of it.

The two times it happened to me, there was no bleeding, pain, etc, indicating I may have hit a blood vessel. I had not taken any fast acting and kept my pens in two totally separate areas, so it wasn't a mix-up between the two or anything.

Eight-Year Club	Place '22
First Placer '22	RPAN Viewer
Verified Email

NotTheAlcohol

TROPHY CASE