High blood sugars and long term health

[nmr1991]

I have been managing insulin and my carbohydrate intake well, but I am always thinking if I am getting too high on my blood sugars after let's say around 3 hours after lunch or tea.

Here is what my typical day is:

- I either have breakfast or lunch first depending on the time of day I wake up, before this I test myself at an average of 4.5 bs (usually early in morning for breakfast), at which point I don't take insulin because my 24 hour lantus can manage the carbs provided.

- I test myself again before lunch (if I had breakfast), and it averages out at 6 to 7, again I don't inject any insulin for it when I eat for example 60g worth of carbs.

- At tea time, I usually take a test afterwards rather than before, and also wait for an hour after tea, before I test and inject, to see how much insulin I need. Sometimes it raises quite high up to 13 and even up to 18 if I have had some serious amount of carbs and so I inject some 6 units of NovoRapid to bring it down but not too low - just to around 4 - 5 bs.

- Before bed I take another test along with my 10 units of Lantus. If my sugars are low e.g 3 to 7, I will take a small amount of carbs, if I have a hypo I will do the necessary procedures.

So taking the sugars up to 18 after dinner most days, is this going to put a risk on my health in the long run or will my usual dosage of insulin be alright?

 

[Fallenstar]

Looking at when you were diagnosed you are probably still in the Honeymoon period ,which is why you can get away with not injecting after your breakfast and much later on after your tea...but it looks like your meals/carbohydrates are catching up with you later on in the day.

Blood sugars of 18 are never a good thing but they do happen it' a fact of life for a Type 1 diabetic's, but you could try a few little adjustments to try and counter act this. I think if I were you I would certainly test before your evening meal and take your bolus injection for the amount of carbs you eat with your meal, instead of an hour after you have eaten...as the carbs are out in your blood with no insulin to get them "used up".

Can I ask why you do wait so long after a meal to have your injection? Were you told by your DSN to do it like this? Are you nervous of Hypo's?
It is hard in the Honeymoon period of early diagnosis as your Pancreas can and often and still does produce some insulin. I remember my Pancreas spluttered on for quiet some time ,which was a bit of a double edged sword really ...as you could get unexplained lows... but I remember I did not get the highs that I got later when it totally went to the wall :roll:

Hope some of this helps ,but if I were you I would put this question to your DSN I think you need some professional advice , and all the very best of luck

 

[wendy_doncaster]

wow you must really be in your honeymood period to get away with barely using any insulin, yet keeping your average bg quite low! As to the evening meal dose, I'd suggest testing and injecting before or immediately after eating. going up to 18 is high, and if this occurs often then you will certainly suffer long term for it.

To help prepare for change, try just changing the time of your test, recording the amount of carbs you eat on an evening and how much insulin you take to bring your sugars down. This will help you to get a better idea of how many units you would need to take immediately after eating. and when you feel confident to inject straight after food, you'll avoid the massive peak after tea.

Recording blood readings, carbs and insulin will be really useful.