Try several small meals per day.......
Sorry, I don't think this is appropriate advice at the moment for the insulins being used.
The bolus insulin is designed to cover the meal you are eating it starts working within about 20 minutes and is at its peak action for a couple of hours and then has a 'tail' up to about 6 hours after use. It is meant to be taken when you eat and eating in between meals will make adjustment more difficult. graph of action here
http://www.novonordisk.com/diabetes/hcp/pharmaceuticals/novorapid/actionprofile.asp
My suggestion (from what worked for me and difficult to explain carefully, please ignore if too complicated
)
1) get a carb counting book and some scales and if necessary a calculator so you can calculate the carbohydrates in your meals.
2) (for the moment) Eat fairly regular meals Trying at first to keep the carb content similar for each time of day. (ie if you have 40gms of oats and 250ml of milk for breakfast have similar every morning, if you have a sandwich lunch do the same each day (doesn't have to be the same filling but use the same amount of bread) and similar amount of salad, if you have potatoes, rice or pasta with your evening meal try (using your carb book) to have about the same amount of carbs. The carb book can also be used to estimate the carbs in your veg.
3) Keep records (you should have been given a log book and you can find usually places to add carb data)
ie before lunch BGL= 8mmol/l
insulin 3u
meal (sandwich + tomatoes) 32g carb for bread and say 4 for toms =36 total carbs
Bgl 2 hours after 18.5mmol/l (this 2 hour level should normally be where your bg is highest,
when stabil it should'nt be more than about 3mmol more than the premeal level)
Its a good idea to note illness, exercise etc as they have a big influence on levels.
Don't worry it isn't for ever (though most people find keeping a log book of some sort useful)
The reason behind this is that you reduce the variables, making it easier for your nurse to determine the right amount of insulin for each meal. ( it will normally vary between meals as most people don't eat the same amount of carbs for breakfast, lunch and dinner).
If you eat widely varying amounts of carbs it becomes impossible to determine how much insulin is needed to 'cover' each gram of carbs. To put it another way, if you take a fixed dose with a varying amount of carbs you will have high levels one day, low on another, occasionally by chance, you might get it right
When you have a doseage that consisitently works well and you develop confidence, if you vary the carbs you eat you will also be able to adjust your insulin appropriately.
The amount of carbs that you eat for the day is something to discuss with the dietitian. Hopefully she might also discuss the glycemic index with you.
The long term insulin you use is fairly flat, kicks in fairly quickly and should last for 24 hours (though in many people it doesn't last that long). (profile here (glargine)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Glargine_02a.jpg
It is something that will take time to get right. When its right your blood glucose should not go up or down by any great amount overnight or when 'fasting' during the day .Its eventual function (ie when your levels are lower and everything is working well) will be to keep levels stable, not to reduce bgl levels.
Just to add to the confusion, the insulin needed may change quite a bit over the next few months.
(personally the amount of bolus insulin for each gm of carb hasn't changed a great deal since diagnosis but my basal has dropped quite a bit.
