diet

[kayboy92!]

Hey, I'm on insulin injection. Injecting 20units daily. My levels drop aftr evry 2 hours. Mining I basically hv to eat at most after evry three hours. But now my worry is gaining weight. I nid advice on the types of food I can eat in between meals (breakfst, lunch, supper). And at times I feel weird at the knees.

 

[Daibell]

Can you tell us a bit more about your type(s) of insulin. What sort of diet do you have? Are you low-carbing which is important to avoid weight gain. Snacking between meals is best kept to a minimum; true for T1 or T2 but if you do snack then again keep the carbs down. Nuts, cheese, berries etc are good. The feeling weird at the knees should be nothing to do with the diabetes unless you are near a hypo thru taking too much insulin?

 

[kayboy92!]

I'm on 20 units of actraphane, for brkfst I usually hv weetbix, then 2-3hrs later instnt porridge, lunch: brown rice, chickn, cucumber, lettuce, tomato, 2hrs later a sandwch, supper: same as lunch and then a late night sandwhch ig I sleep very late

 

[Mrsass]

Do you carb count Hun? X


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[Alan S]

I'm on 20 units of actraphane, for brkfst I usually hv weetbix, then 2-3hrs later instnt porridge, lunch: brown rice, chickn, cucumber, lettuce, tomato, 2hrs later a sandwch, supper: same as lunch and then a late night sandwhch ig I sleep very late

You're eating a high carbohydrate load at those meals even though the total calories may not be a lot.

How long ago were you diagnosed and were you diagnosed type 1 or type 2? I'm guessing the latter, but it's probably best not to guess.

When do you test and what numbers are you seeing at those times?

 

[kayboy92!]

I'm a type 1. Usually in the morning my readings are between 5, and 7. In the evening its between 7 and 9. But I hav sudden drops before lunch hour, in the 3's zone but 1 day went as low as 1.7. I was diagnosed 3 months ago

 

[kayboy92!]

Do you carb count Hun? X


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I don't know how to do a carb count

 

[Alan S]

I'm a type 1. Usually in the morning my readings are between 5, and 7. In the evening its between 7 and 9. But I hav sudden drops before lunch hour, in the 3's zone but 1 day went as low as 1.7. I was diagnosed 3 months ago

As I'm T2 I'll leave further suggestions to the T1s. Just one point before I go. When I was first diagnosed I bought Bernstein's book.This chapter made a lot of sense to me: The Laws of Small Numbers

 

[phoenix]

How often and when are you taking your actraphane, is it just one dose of 20U ?
Is it actraphane 30/70 ? Do your instructions explain that this is a mixed insulin and what a mixed insulin is?

( sorry for the questions but this insulin isn't used in many places .The most frequent type seems to be 30/70 but other mixes are available in Germany and a few other countries )
If you are dropping so low, it sounds very much as if you are taking too much insulin at one time for you.
What are your levels like in the evening and first thing in the morning ?
You really need to tell your doctors about these very low levels and your need to eat.

edit , just realised that it used to be used in the UK under the name of Mixtard*
Novo Nordisk has confirmed that Actraphane is identical to Mixtard 30.
ref:
http://iddt.org/news/mixtard-30-update

 

[Mrsass]

Personally I would see DSN and have them look at your levels (if you record them) and would ask for them to be lowered, i do a low carb diet and it works well for helping to lose weight and you don't need to worry too much about bg levels changing if your having carb free snacks, but I would also ask about attending a carb counting course. Why are you on the insulin that you currently have? I was on a Similar one from when I was diagnosed aged 3 until I was 22, it worked great for me when I was younger but not as my lifestyle changed, so maybe that is something to consider xx


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[Mrsass]

Sorry just seen you said you were diagnosed 3 month ago, but the insulin you were put on May not be the best one for you, if you don't know why you were put on that one you could ask why and check it is the best one for you x


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[noblehead]

I'm a type 1. Usually in the morning my readings are between 5, and 7. In the evening its between 7 and 9. But I hav sudden drops before lunch hour, in the 3's zone but 1 day went as low as 1.7. I was diagnosed 3 months ago

Might be that your basal (background insulin) needs reduced or your breakfast insulin. Try skiping your breakfast (and insulin)and take your bg readings about an hour after waking, if your bg reduces by more than 1.5mmol before lunch then it's your basal insulin you need to reduce, if it stays stable then it's your breakfast dose that needs adjusting.

As you say you don't don't know how to carb count I would ask your DSN if you can attend a carb counting course such as DAFNE, the following is a on-line carb counting course that will get you started but you should still ask about the DAFNE course:

http://www.bdec-e-learning.com/

 

[Heathenlass]

I have to respectfully disagree with Nobelhead's suggestion that you skip your morning insulin and breakfast, as you are on a mixed insulin, not a separate basal/ bolus. Missing your morning injection would mean that you would have no basal (background ) insulin in your system and your blood glucose levels would rise.

It does sound as though your dosage is too high though, and it would be a good idea for you to speak to your diabetic nurse or doctor about adjustments .It's early days yet since your diagnosis, and most people need some fine tuning then. Your diabetic team should also be able to tell you roughly when the bolus part of your insulin peaks and tils off, so you can anticipate when you will need to eat and cut down on the snacking in between meals.

It sounds rather like you have been thrown in at the deep end without support and sufficient explanations, as Noblehead said, ask for a referral to DAFNE or similar, and at the very least a one to one meeting with a Diabetic Specialist Nurse. It may well be decided that a different insulin regime would suit you better .

Good luck, and keep us updated

Signy