Hoping someone can help. I'm going out for a meal tomorrow night and was wondering how you go about your insulin when having a 2 course meal. I use novorapid with every meal so do I insulin all at once with the main or split a dose? Help please x thank you.
Type 1 Eating out.
- Thread starter type1lozzie
- Start Date
When I was injecting (I'm on the pump now) I personally would inject all at once as the insulin takes time to start working 20-30 mins, as opposed to your food which will effect your blood sugars pretty much straight away.
I had the dawn rise, I would wake with blood sugar readings of an average of 13ish, I was asked if I would like to go on one, but was extremely apprehensive. it took me around a year for me to agree, I can honestly say its the best thing I've ever done for my diabetes. my blood sugar when I went to bed last night was 6.7 and when I woke up it was 6.3. They take a lot of initial hard work to set up to your own levels but I'm now reaping the benefits. My hba1c has also come down to 6.3. Talk to your consultant to see what the criteria is. I can also recommend the DAFNE course.
It depends on what you know: do you know how big the portion is 20 minutes before it arrives? do you know whether you will like it and eat all of it? do you know how long you will be waiting between courses?
If you are not nervous about injecting, I would split the doses. I usually
- once the order has been taken, start with a smallish dose to cope with the minimum carbs I would expect in the first course and any correction dose if my current BG is high.
- when I have finished my first course, I would have a top up injection to cover the actual carbs I have eaten and my minimum expectation from my second course.
- when I have finished my second course, I would have a top up to cover anything I missed.
This probably sounds like quite a faff but
- it allows for the insulin to start working before you eat
- takes into consideration what you have actually eaten (you don't have to force yourself to continue eating something you don't like because you have taken the insulin)
- allows for the kitchen and waiting staff to take their time (and you and your fellow diners to have a relaxing meal)
- you do not have to take a BG reading before every injection (only the first)
- to make it quicker, I arm my pen with a needle before I go out and don't change it during the evening (yes, I know this is naughty but saves me looking for a sharps bin)
If you are drinking with your meal, don't forget to take this into consideration and don't forget to take a BG reading before you go to bed. And don't worry if you were slightly out - you don't go out very often so you should enjoy it.
If you are not nervous about injecting, I would split the doses. I usually
- once the order has been taken, start with a smallish dose to cope with the minimum carbs I would expect in the first course and any correction dose if my current BG is high.
- when I have finished my first course, I would have a top up injection to cover the actual carbs I have eaten and my minimum expectation from my second course.
- when I have finished my second course, I would have a top up to cover anything I missed.
This probably sounds like quite a faff but
- it allows for the insulin to start working before you eat
- takes into consideration what you have actually eaten (you don't have to force yourself to continue eating something you don't like because you have taken the insulin)
- allows for the kitchen and waiting staff to take their time (and you and your fellow diners to have a relaxing meal)
- you do not have to take a BG reading before every injection (only the first)
- to make it quicker, I arm my pen with a needle before I go out and don't change it during the evening (yes, I know this is naughty but saves me looking for a sharps bin)
If you are drinking with your meal, don't forget to take this into consideration and don't forget to take a BG reading before you go to bed. And don't worry if you were slightly out - you don't go out very often so you should enjoy it.
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Depends on the dishes, if you have a starter and it's low-carb (a prawn cocktail say) then I would just inject for the main meal and correct later if necessary, if the starter was a soup with a roll/liver patie & toast then I'd bolus before and then bolus again when your main meal arrives.
The best advice is, if your unsure about the carb content of the meal then just underestimate the value so that you don't go hypo and spoil your evening out, if you end up high later on you can always give a correction dose.
The following should help in the mean-time, it's based on the DAFNE teachings:
https://www.bertieonline.org.uk/
Have a good time
This is so helpful! I've been trying to figure out big meals out for the last month, and this would really work for me. I eat out way too much!
