Am I taking too much insulin??????

Hi kenhue3501 first welcome to the forum regards to the insulin has your surgery got a dsn you could make an appointment to see then you can go through what the hospital said and see what they think I wouldn't like to advise on insulin changes its best to get medical advice hope this helps keep us informed?

The only damage you can do to yourself with too much insulin is a hypo. That is blood sugar below 4 that can be easily resolved with fast acting carbs - dextrose tablets.

From your numbers the insulin you are taking isn't taking you anywhere near hypo territory. It doesn't sound like you are taking too much insulin at all.

If you have a metre with a bolus calculator you can get suggestions on insulin dose adjustments to take account of your blood sugar level. But on injections that would usually be to add insulin to correct a high blood sugar. Correct use of a bolus calculator also requires carb counting, which isn't something you are doing on fixed doses of novorapid.

Kenhue3501 said:

You can see I am newly diagnosed and have a lot of questions but is it normal to be sent out of hospital with a monitor a pack of insulin sticks and told just take 18 units of levemir in the morning and the same at night along side 16 units of novorapid morning, lunch and evening meal, so I am taking 18+16 before breakfast when my blood glucose levels are on a average of 7.8. Lunch time 16 novorapid when before lunch my readings are on average 9.6 after lunch 9.4. before dinner I take a further 16 novorapid when my readings are on an average of 7.1 then 2 hours later 10.4. Then before bed18 units of levemiron a reading of 9.6. Is there anywhere you can check your blood readings against the amount of insulin you should be taking. The hospital has finally sent me an appointment for the 1st August how much damage can I do myself with insulin before that date?????

Click to expand...

It's best to get professional advice where insulin is advised. The reading don't look too bad, but don't jyst my word for it.

Hi. Those insulin levels imply you may possibly have some excess weight? If so, then do reduce the carbs in your diet gradually to lose some weight and also you would need to reduce the insulin in parallel. Apologies if I've guessed wrong but too many carbs together with a fair amount of insulin can cause weight gain. Your levels are not too bad. Over time you may need to tweak your Basal a bit to ensure the balance is right. You will need to start carb-counting after a while with some guidance from your GP/DN. This means adjusting your Bolus shots at each meal to match the carbs in the meal with resulting better blood sugar control; your meter will help guide you with all of this.

Hi, I just got out of hospital and newly diagnosed too.
I was taking similar amount of insulin. Have you returned to normal activity yet since hospital? And what is normal activity for you?
I've found since I went back to work (light physical activity for probably 4-5hrs day) and started exercising/walking more (I live inner city so rarely drive), I've gone from needing 12-16 units rapid to only needing 6-10.

As the others have said, if it's keeping your blood glucose in a good range, it's probably the right amount. That said, I was given a number to call for advice on discharge. You should be able to contact someone

Also depends on food too.. if I ate what I wanted to, rather than what I need, I'd probably need more like 20u of rapid per meal. - hospital food is terrible too, not sure how much you ate there?

(I am technically meant to be on fixed dosing until my endocrine appointment next week, but I have been reducing where necessary)