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A very silly question

LordGrep

Member
Messages
6
So I was sat there twiddling about with my NovoRapid stabby thing, I've been doing the whole stabby stabby now for a couple of years, so it's kinda strange it took me this long to do this. I am so used to just dialling in the 8-12 units I tend to take, and then doing the deed, and putting it down.

Today though, I had a little play, and I went past the usual number, and it kept on going.... Aaaand going, and going, and going. I don't know why, but I kinda assumed it only went up to maybe fifteen, or like twenty, tops, so when it just kept going aaand going, to SIXTY, it blew my tiny mind, like just how many doughnuts do you need to eat to need a 60 unit blast?
 
Different pens allow different maximum units, the reusable Novopen Echo for instance does increments of 0.5u and it's max dose is 30u, we all have different insulin sensitivity and those with insulin resistance do tend to require larger doses
 
As @Kaylz says, different people have different insulin sensitivities/resistances but I too am surprised how high the pen doses go.
Occasionally, I may need a dose in double numbers when I eat a pizza but usually I need much less.
I have noticed that higher doses are absorbed better when I have a split dose. Maybe this is a perception vs reality thing but I thought there was a recommended maximum single dose and then you need a second jab.

On the other hand, there are days when I could fancy a whole box of doughnuts ... at least I think I do.
 
My novo rapid pens goes to sixty too, I’ve never put it up that high I’ve have had a jab of 20 though when I needed to drag an extremely high sugar down quickly , I prefer to treat hypos rather than hypers as the latter makes me feel like the perverbial #£&* .
I can only imagine how many doughnuts it would take for 60 units , I think I’d go for Wispa Gold myself they are a firm fav for me if I fancy a wee cheat , you just got to sometimes hehehe
 

Some people do of course, but the pens last out of the fridge for a month so it's not as if a person is taking 60 all at once.
 
KK123 said:
Some people do of course, but the pens last out of the fridge for a month so it's not as if a person is taking 60 all at once.
Click to expand...

No, I do mean "at once".. You twist the end to dial-in the dose, and it goes up to 60. So a 60 unit single dose.

Like I said though it's a stupid question, I don't know why, I just find it amusing.

I took a picture of it:
 
LordGrep said:
No, I do mean "at once".. You twist the end to dial-in the dose, and it goes up to 60. So a 60 unit single dose.

Like I said though it's a stupid question, I don't know why, I just find it amusing.

I took a picture of it:
Click to expand...

Hi there, I think we are talking about the same thing, my pen does the same as in you can take up to 60 all at once.
 
LordGrep said:
Spinal Tap's, only went to 11, ours goes all the way to 60!
Click to expand...

I hadn't really thought about it until your post. I think I just saw it as the manufacturers making a pen that lasted a while instead of one that you had to change every day.
 
Err, I don’t think it would take too many doughnuts for me to need 60 units, a petrol station chicken salad sandwich would need 12 units, Although I am not going to test the theory, I’d say 2 or 3 doughnuts would need an awful awful lot.
 
Fenn said:
Err, I don’t think it would take too many doughnuts for me to need 60 units, a petrol station chicken salad sandwich would need 12 units, Although I am not going to test the theory, I’d say 2 or 3 doughnuts would need an awful awful lot.
Click to expand...
I note that you are the only type 2 commenting so far. As a type 2 insulin resistance is type part of the package, not so much for a type 1. I frequently see mentioned in here type 2 often have much larger doses of insulin as a result of their inherent IR.
 
I was curious early on to see how far the pens went up, I think the Lantus goes up to 80. The dose just looks so big & I wouldn’t want my hand to slip!

But I think you can get more concentrated pens too if you need high amounts of insulin.
 
My youngest son played with my pens early in my diagnosis and I freaked when he twirled it all to the end!!!
 
Obviously this was how these pens were originally defined for max load, but Dr Bernstein recommends no more than 3U per injection site and for past few years I never do more than 5 units per site. But I typically inject 25 units or less per day on a MDI protocol. Well aware there are some T1s and many T2s this is difficult if much higher does needed.

Edited to say - this is why some insulins are available in more concentrated solutions of 300U or 500U per mL to allow very high doses in less fluid.
 
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Very insulin resistant T2 here. I reckon about a bag of those cheap supermarket jam doughnuts, and probably a bowl of frosties would do it :-D
When not low-carbing, I can easily require 20u for a normal roast dinner. On low-carb, I'm at about 6u of Novorapid per meal. I take a U300 basal, and at my worst stage that dial had to be wound all the way up, injected, and then halfway up again.
 
Type 1.

I am very much insulin resistant,

Especially in the morning, I would generally take my fast acting insulin 1hour before breakfast to keep me sitting at around 7mmol.

Eating salads and low carb food throughout the day I would be taking between 12-15 units on a meal..

On the other hand at the weekend,
If I was to get a takeaway for instance a chicken burger and a small chip, I have seen myself taking the full dose of 60units and still running high through the night.
 
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