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Are my ratios normal?

H

Harry2001

Member
Messages
11
Hi,

I am currently 19 years old, 53kg, 5 10" and was diagnosed 3 years ago. Initially i started on a 1:18 ratio which was fine for most of the time and that slowly worked its way down to 1:10. During last summer i was on 1:6 and in the space of 1-2 months that rapidly changed to 1:24 with no serious lifestyle changes. Currently, i have been sitting around 1:4 to 1:5 which seems way too much for someone of my weight, height and age (19 years old, 53kg, 5 10", 8% body fat). This is making me worried when im injecting and im paranoid that i will end up having a massive hypo so im typically eating 20-30g of carbs per meal but this is not a sustainable solution. Ive spoken to the hospital several times and they were not helpful as to why i have seen these extreme changes.

My questions are:

1. is this very unusual for somone of my weight, height, age etc?
2. is there anything i can do to slowly raise the ratio to around 1:8?
 
Lots of people have different ratios to each other and different time of the day, there is no "normal ratio"
When I went on a carb counting course the ratios went anywhere between 1unit:2 carbs upto 1unit: 50carbs - very very variable

Since you're 19 maybe you need more now that puberty has ended or maybe your honeymoon period has come to an end thus your ratios have changed
It may just be you need those carb ratios, no ratio is wrong. Why do you need to raise the ratios?

If you're worried about hypos just keep an eye on your sugar levels. If you have a CGM system like the libre this will be easier toc heck but I realise not everyone can get them.
 
Hi @Harry2001 , and welcome to the forum!

As far as I understand, height and weight don't really have a 1 to 1 relation with ratio's, it's only used as a starting point in newly diagnosed to safely start insulin treatment.
Personal ratio's are always found by trial and error. They vary massively between people, but even depend on time of day or time of month within the same person.

Personally, my ratio is much higher than yours in the morning and only a little higher in the evening (depending on time of month) but I'm a fat 43 year old, so not a clear comparison.
But I've read from parents with diabetic children their insulin needs can go up and fluctuate by a lot during puberty. Which is normal.

Being 19 years old and only 3 years diagnosed you may be seeing puberty hormones, the end of the honeymoon period, or both.
Harry2001 said:
2. is there anything i can do to slowly raise the ratio to around 1:8?
Click to expand...
Is there a specific reason you want your ratio to be 1:8?
To my thinking, the best ratio is the one which keeps your blood glucose at healthy levels, 1:8 is not better to me than 1:3, as long as it works.
 
Hi @Harry2001 ,

Take a warm welcome to the forum from me... I don't feel any of us can define "normal."
We can empathise & advise with our own experience?
But dosage...... That is your experiment under advisement & liaison from your HCPs..

I can tell you the heat for me during summer or a break in a certain climate increases insulin sensitivity.. So can a day's graft..
 
I think I use all of those ratios in one day! You can have/need/use different l:C ratios at different times of the day. In the morning I need more- 1:6. Lunchtime is 1:8. Dinner is 1:10. On weekends 1:6 in the morning and the rest of the day is 1:10. Less stress on the weekends and more activity.

So don’t think you have to be a fixed ratio. You only need to test and retest and then use what works for you.
 
Thanks for the reply, i think i feel like i need to raise my ratios as more of a phycological thing as i am not really comfortable injecting what i consider and awful lot of insulin hence why im keeping my carbs at 20-30 per meal
 
Thank you
 

Thank you for the reply, to be honest im starting to think its more of a psychological thing which is why i have an issue injecting a lot more insulin than i used to a short period of time ago so my logic was if i can get that to a level that i deem to be more comfortable then i can eat more carbs without being worried. At the moment staying on 20-30g of carbs per meal isnt a sustainable thing for me to keep up over the long term as its difficult to eat that lower amount of carbs.
 
Hi. I would just accept your ratios as they are and there is no need to try to change them. I find my evening ratio is way above my morning/lunch ratio i.e. 1:5 rather than 1:10 in the morning. I would increase the carbs a bit if you want to and increase the insulin. As long as your weight doesn't increase you shouldn't need to worry
 
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