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What is Your Correction Ratio - Using Novo rapid? How long should this take to work?

susan j

susan j

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Two Questions for all of those fast acting insulin users... Please would you tell me your corrective dose ratio? I currently use 1 unit of insulin to reduce my BM count by 2 (as instructed by my diabetes nurse) This doesn't seem to be correct for me as If I currently take 3 units of insulin and expect my BM to reduce by 6 I'm lucky if it reduces by 3.. The second question is, When you take a corrective dose, how long before you expect the desired results. Thanks in advance.
 
The way to get correction calculations correct is to add up all yr bolus doses plus correction doses and also yr basal and then divide it all into 100 and then that will give you a better calculation, but, you should also look at the times you are needing to do your corrections and whether they could be prevented by altering the carb bolus dose. In general, if bg goes too high 2.5 to 3hrs after the bolus, then its the bolus that needs to change but if the highs are random, then look at the basal. If yr bolus doses are outweighing the basal, then unless you have done a bit of basal testing to determine the basal effect without eating any carb so no bolus, then it could be that you need to increase the basal which will also change bg levels. As a general rule, most diabetics try the 50/50 rule first of all so that the total bolus doses equal the basal dose. Look on google for TDD diabetes and how to go about determining the correct amounts of insulin we all need. It is thought as a rough guide that we need 0.5 to 1.0u of insulin for every 1kg of bodyweight and that 50% should be basal and the other 50% should be bolus

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1 unit brings down my bg by around 2.5 mmol, insulin peaks at around 90-120 mins so this is the time I'd expect to see a reduction in bg levels.
 
1 unit drops me by 6-7 mmol/l if I am around 10-12. However, at higher blood glucose levels I require more insulin to get the same drop.

Everyone's correction dose is different.

I see a change in BG with 2 hours, but I would not give a 2nd correction until the 3 hour mark just to be sure. This is my own personal preference.


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susan j said:
Two Questions for all of those fast acting insulin users... Please would you tell me your corrective dose ratio? I currently use 1 unit of insulin to reduce my BM count by 2 (as instructed by my diabetes nurse) This doesn't seem to be correct for me as If I currently take 3 units of insulin and expect my BM to reduce by 6 I'm lucky if it reduces by 3.. The second question is, When you take a corrective dose, how long before you expect the desired results. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Hi my ratio is 1 unit of NovoRapid should bring me down by 3, but it doesn't always work like that. If I'm active it brings it down much quicker than when I'm immobile and there have been occasions when, my blood sugar has actually gone up:eek: no sense or reason sometimes. Tbh, I think the desired results would probably differ with each individual. But good luck and I hope you can get it 'tweeked' just right:)
 
Robinredbreast said:
Hi my ratio is 1 unit of NovoRapid should bring me down by 3, but it doesn't always work like that. If I'm active it brings it down much quicker than when I'm immobile and there have been occasions when, my blood sugar has actually gone up:eek: no sense or reason sometimes. Tbh, I think the desired results would probably differ with each individual. But good luck and I hope you can get it 'tweeked' just right:)
Click to expand...
Thank you for the replies, I appreciate all of your words of wisdom. I will be doing a carb counting and insulin dosing program in the next few weeks so that I can improve my current situation.. Thanks again everyone.
 
susan j said:
Two Questions for all of those fast acting insulin users... Please would you tell me your corrective dose ratio? I currently use 1 unit of insulin to reduce my BM count by 2 (as instructed by my diabetes nurse) This doesn't seem to be correct for me as If I currently take 3 units of insulin and expect my BM to reduce by 6 I'm lucky if it reduces by 3.. The second question is, When you take a corrective dose, how long before you expect the desired results. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Hi Susan. You don't need answers from anyone else, or guesses, or formulas. Correction factors are very individual and also vary significantly in the same individual over time. No nurse or doctor can tell you from a book what your correction factor is (nor your carb ratio, nor your basal dose). The only way to determine your ratios is by blood testing on yourself.

The good news is you have already done this testing and it shows your correction factor is about 1.0 mmol/L per unit of Novorapid. Keep an eye on this as it may change over time, particularly if you change your exercise pattern or lifestyle. It may also vary at different times of day - the DAFNE course says to have a morning, lunch and evening ratio in case they are different. Look into this if correction doses seem not to work as expected at certain times of day.

The correction takes about 5 hours to fully work but should be almost completely done after 4 hours.
 
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