What am I doing wrong?

[luzanmurphy_]

This morning my BG was 9.0
Had 6 units of Insulin. Had 50g of porridge with semi skimmed milk. Then 20 minutes later had an apple. Two hours later my BG is 12.5 is this when I give myself a correction dose of 2 units (I think) Or do I wait until lunch time & have it with my lunch time dose?
All in all my breakfast was 50g. Did I have too little insulin?
Thanks in advance x

 

[himtoo]

hi there
perhaps a bit more info -- there are loads of different kinds of porridge with different carb values , and apples come in at approx 11 carbs per 100 gram -- did you weigh it before eating ??
just trying to get a total for amount of carbs you ate

 

[TorqPenderloin]

I wouldn't say that you're doing anything wrong, but you're creating an incredibly complicated math problem for yourself.

Your breakfast seems to be almost 100% carbs. Not only that, but you have simple carbs (Apple), complex carbs (porridge), and carbs from dairy (skim milk). Each of those will be digested at different rates based on their respective glycemic indexes.

You're then trying to adjust for those carbohydrates by using artificial insulin which doesn't have the ability to be absorbed at the same rates as those carbs.

So it's not an issue of doing anything wrong, but to a certain extent, you're creating this situation for yourself. I'd dare to say people who have been insulin-dependent for decades would have trouble correcting for that breakfast.

While I'm not going to say that you need to go to a lower carb diet, this is a perfect example of why many of us do (myself included). It's a heck of a lot easier to count <10g of carbs and a heck of a lot easier to calculate your insulin dose than it is to try to count >50g of carbs, 5x as much insulin, and hope everything gets absorbed at the same time.

 

[noblehead]

Did I have too little insulin?

That would depend on what your bg levels were like before lunch, did it eventually come down, if not then you may need to look at your insulin dose but check again tomorrow before making adjustments.

I eat porridge every morning (I'm type 1) using Jumbo Jumbo Oats and add seeds (linseeds, pumpkin & sunflower), natural Greek Yogurt and a small handful of Blueberries, the fat in the seeds and yogurt help reduce the postprandial spike but I still bolus 20 mins before eating.

 

[Kristin251]

I agree with all Torq said. This is why I am also low carb. I could never get my insulin and food to meet together and bs was all over the place. Both high and low.

If you are new to insulin please remember a correction dose as much more of an effect when it's taken away from food so error on the side of caution.

 

[david1968]

I found porridge was giving me massive spikes so avoid it now.

 

[mbudzi]

Porridge for breakfast never works for me - I stayed high well into the afternoon on the 1:3 ratio and if I increased the ratio I tended to hypo. Generally I do better if I low carb in the morning (eggs, cold meat and cheese, sauted mushrooms).

 

[Mep]

I'm a person that eats porridge and prefers it over anything else for breakfast. I don't eat fruit though. My diet is quite restricted due to other illnesses so it's not like i have a huge choice of what I can eat. In fact most of the safe foods I can eat that don't cause me a world of pain are in fact carbs. So my dilemma is nothing really I eat is suitable... it's choose the lesser of 2 evils most of the time. But what I do is inject the bolus at the same time I start eating and I find that works better for me. It keeps me going for the next 4 hours before I can eat again anyhow. When I test 4 hours later I'm usually 5-6 mmol. I admit though I don't test 2 hours later these days. But I eat breakfast and I don't eat 20 mins later like you did. So I'd say your apple being a carb added to your total of carbs. I would probably wait until you eat something else and bolus for that (eg. snack). I'm a bit cautious about correction doses myself as I get a mixed reaction... sometimes I hypo and other times it doesn't seem to work too much (usually because I'm sick with something). But I usually just guess the dose.

 

[Mars1946]

About use of Insulin

On the marked there are different types of insulin. As T2 diabetic you must have first an injections of BASAL insulin type. The best basal insulin on the marked is TRESIBA (degludec) from Novo Nordisk. Tresibas acting time is 42 H. Obtaining of steady state rate is injections of three day.

After three day you have a constant insulin level in the body. Your physician can help you to start using Tresiba. He or she can help you how to make a titration of dose.

I like to show the use of insulin on my body:

1. I take 10 IE Tresiba (Basal INsulin) on the morning. My BG on the morning is 5.5 mmol/l (99 mg/dl). On the morning moreover I take 8 IE Novo Rapid, a fast acting insulin for about 4h, and 500 mg Metformin. My breakfast is of 50 g porridge with milk. The breakfast depend on my physical activities.

2. At 12.00 midday, I can eat what I like. My BG before eating is abut 5.0 mmol/l ( 90 mg/dl).

I take 1000 mg Metformin. By 15.oo I can eat an apple or a piece of chocolate or something other.

3. By the evening ( 18.oo) my BG is 4.6 mmol/l ( 82.8 mg/dl). I eat normal what I like. I take 1000 mg Metformin.

Next morning my BG is 5.2 mmol/l (93.6mg/dl)

My HbA1c is 38 (IFCC)

My opinion is it is not difficult to control the BG.

Ask your physician for help.

 

[Mep]

About use of Insulin

On the marked there are different types of insulin. As T2 diabetic you must have first an injections of BASAL insulin type. The best basal insulin on the marked is TRESIBA (degludec) from Novo Nordisk. Tresibas acting time is 42 H. Obtaining of steady state rate is injections of three day.

After three day you have a constant insulin level in the body. Your physician can help you to start using Tresiba. He or she can help you how to make a titration of dose.

I like to show the use of insulin on my body:

1. I take 10 IE Tresiba (Basal INsulin) on the morning. My BG on the morning is 5.5 mmol/l (99 mg/dl). On the morning moreover I take 8 IE Novo Rapid, a fast acting insulin for about 4h, and 500 mg Metformin. My breakfast is of 50 g porridge with milk. The breakfast depend on my physical activities.

2. At 12.00 midday, I can eat what I like. My BG before eating is abut 5.0 mmol/l ( 90 mg/dl).

I take 1000 mg Metformin. By 15.oo I can eat an apple or a piece of chocolate or something other.

3. By the evening ( 18.oo) my BG is 4.6 mmol/l ( 82.8 mg/dl). I eat normal what I like. I take 1000 mg Metformin.

Next morning my BG is 5.2 mmol/l (93.6mg/dl)

My HbA1c is 38 (IFCC)

My opinion is it is not difficult to control the BG.

Ask your physician for help.

That's great it works for you on just basal only. It depends why type 2's are on insulin though. If on insulin because of insulin deficiency (insufficient insulin being produced) then both bolus and basal is needed. If you don't have insulin deficiency then maybe you can get away with just basal like you're doing. Personally I couldn't just take basal as I have hardly any of my own insulin... I need that bolus with meals.

 

[Kristin251]

That's great it's working for you but you are actually taking a lot of meds. So I guess they would help control.

It's not always as easy as it sounds. We all have different circumstances, different insulin levels and crb tolerances.

Glad you found your answer no regimine but for some it isn't as easy as you say.