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Advice on insulin needed.

A

Andy41

Well-Known Member
Messages
51
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
After taking a week's break off insulin to see patterns more clearly, (I'm in a honeymoon period and still make insulin it seems) I'm now trying to work on keeping my BS below 9. However, after noticing that my readings go up a lot in the mornings I've tried upping my insulin, (novorapid) before breakfast. I used to take 4 units and not bother reading until lunch. After high readings one hour after b'fast I upped to 6 before a small bowl of cornflakes yesterday morning and my BS was up from 7 to 13 in an hour. Today, with the same b'fast, I had similar readings after taking 7 units but it dropped to 5.3 by 10:35. Should I keep increasing my insulin before breakfast until my one hour after breakfast is below 9?
 
Generally, it's best to test two hours after eating. You may find that you can keep the insulin amount the same if you do your fast acting injection further in advance of the meal. This has worked well for many people as it gives the insulin a chance to get working and keep the spike down.

Breakfast is the one meal where I always have to do this if I'm having cereal. I've found it can make a big difference. You could also try a different cereal if you're up for that and see how that goes.
 
@Andy41, are you on a basal/bolus regime or just novorapid? Several things come to mind when reading your post, (and your other one) but to be honest it sounds to me like you need to go back to you diabetic specialist and review what your doing. In the nicest way possible, it sounds to me that it's all abit chaotic for you at the moment. Sue xxx
 
I take levemir at night and in the morning. The diabetic nurse I speak to is very friendly and kind but I find it very difficult to get definitive answers from her. I've never seen a Dr since being diagnosed in casualty in January. I am looking forward to a week course that I'm booked on in February... A Daphne course I think. I know that my questions and actions seem a touch chaotic but opinions and advice from others in the same situation is more helpful.... even the insulting stuff! Let me ask one more question; is a BS of 9 after food the upper limit and should I be happy if I never go above this and is it ok to spike just for a few hours a day and do most diabetics alter their diet rather than increase their insulin. Sorry, that was 4 questions!
 
If your bg are high pre-breakfast then its likely that your basal insulin needs increasing, keep a bg diary and show it to your DSN so they can advise you further.

To do a basal check have a read of the following, its for pump users but the explanation on fasting and testing in different time frames is just the same for those on MDI:

http://www.salforddiabetescare.co.uk/index2.php?nav_id=1007

If you want to learn about carb counting and how to work out your insulin-to-carb ratio's then register with the following:

http://www.bdec-e-learning.com/
 
@Andy41, If you have been diagnosed as LADA type 1 then you should be seen by an endocrinologist/diabetes specialist. I suspect that you were discharged from hospital to the care of your GP. Many GPs don't have the expertise to manage LADAs, in fact often LADAs are treated as type 2until it gets to a stage where insulin is needed or blood sugars are hard to control. Your GP diabetic nurse possibly only has a limited experience in LADA too. You really really really need to go back to your GP and tell him you want to be seen by a diabetic consultant. They will be able to help stabilise you. Sadly I think you have probably been a victim of (seemingly common) circumstance. In the meantime, as I said before, I'm not the right person to advise you because I'm a 3C not a type 1, but there are plenty like @noblehead who can. Of course I will chip in when I can because sometimes I just can't resist!! Take care my friend, Sue xx
 
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