diff --git a/src/connection.cc b/src/connection.cc
index 9666e4c1..d6cf3284 100644
--- a/src/connection.cc
+++ b/src/connection.cc
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ void IBConnection::flush()
 
     auto elapsed = timer.elapsed();
     if (elapsed > MSCCLPP_POLLING_WAIT) {
-      throw Error("pollCq is stuck: waited for " + std::to_string(elapsed) + " seconds. Expected " +
+      throw Error("pollCq is stuck: waited for " + std::to_string(elapsed/1e6) + " seconds. Expected " +
                     std::to_string(numSignaledSends) + " signals",
                   ErrorCode::InternalError);
     }
diff --git a/src/include/connection.hpp b/src/include/connection.hpp
index 5f764b05..4b2b5907 100644
--- a/src/include/connection.hpp
+++ b/src/include/connection.hpp
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 #define MSCCLPP_CONNECTION_HPP_
 
 // TODO(saemal): make this configurable
-#define MSCCLPP_POLLING_WAIT 10000 // in microseconds
+#define MSCCLPP_POLLING_WAIT 3e7 // in microseconds
 
 #include "communicator.hpp"
 #include "ib.hpp"