How much insulin?

B

bolders

Guest
I've been injecting Humulin for about a year now and currently take approx. 42 units twice a day. Do I have scope to experiment a bit? Can i spread it out or increase the amounts as my readings are normally in double figures still? I was thinking maybe 30 units 3 times a day and see what happens? Due to circumstances including distance I have lost contact with the diabetic team at the local hospital so can't get help there. I think what i'm really concerned about is side effects of insulin other than the obvious hypo's.
 
A

andrewkoudr

Member
Messages
16
Amount of insulin injection should exactly correspond to the amount and schedule of food consumption (mainly carbohydrates). It is groundless to talk about insulin dose alone. There are some figures related to required insulin amount on body weight. You can easily find it on this site hopefully.
 
D

Daibell

Master
Messages
12,652
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi. I think as an insulin user you really do need to make an appointment with your surgery or hospital if at all possible to review your insulin treatment and ensure you have all the other annual checks such as HBa1C. My DN told me quite sensibly to aim for a morning fasting blood sugar level of around 6 mmol so I adjust my once a day bedtime dose to suit. As you take a split dose it is slightly more complicated so seek the advice of the DN or if you just can't contact the DN adjust the dosages slightly waiting 3 days for it to settle and check with the meter to see the effect. Watch out for hypos as usual and only make slight adjustments each time. I don't think you should adjust when you inject or how many times a day without DN advice. It may be like me that you need to be switched to a Basal/Bolus regime (i.e. both 24 hour and rapid acting insulins for mealtime use) which gives you much better control than just the Humulus Basal. This, of course, must be discussed with the DN and some DNs wouldn't do this for a T2.
 
B

bolders

Guest
Thanks for the input, food for thought. NHS is a non starter for me. I think I'd rather see the local vet! I just need them for prescriptions. I'll leave their treatment for the people they feel are important.

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