Basal/Bolus, correction doses ad nauseum......

[lilibet]

Evening all

Just moved to b/b after a year of strict low carb but good A1c, on premixed

First few weeks ok, seemed to get basal for day and night sorted and was working on ratios
Went on hols, few rogues/inexplicables - par for the diabetic course, but not worrying too much

Been testing in earnest since return, ill at weekend where basal kept me in lovely bg for three days with no food, Since then, all hell has broken loose and not seen a pre meal bg under 7 for the whole of this week. Pretty sure its not infection as at 'height' if illness I was fine bg wise

Basal still seems to be fine (have been testing by skipping meals etc) but I might as well be injecting water as Novorapid. Working on ratios still but finding that for example starting bg of mid 7's then taking 5u Novo rapid for a 20g carbs (yes Ive counted, scientifically, no guestimating for me!) only bringing me back to starting. Trying desperately to correct but not able to establish a correction dose. Taking 1 u cautiously and seeing virtually no change in bg in 4 hours. Upped this to 2, again very little change. Ive read some folks drop 3mmol with 1u but im seeing nowt which leads me to think basal off, but it doesnt seem to be at all.

So, any thoughts? How did others establish their correction doses?
I was on quite low doses premixed, am BMI of 23, rotating sites, changing needles, aspirating needles, chucked novo out in case not working etc etc so short of getting a Witch Doctor or something I am at a loss!!

Any ideas greatly received. Cant believe Ive waited so long to get on b/b and its turned out to be PANTS, even if slightly more flexible pants.

Time to try another short acting? Am getting fairly puzzled now :?

 

[LittleSue]

If bs is very high to start with, 1u may not bring you down as much as you expect. Eg if 1u normally brings you down by 3mmol, you may need 2 units to achieve this drop if starting from 13mmol or higher or more resistant due to illness. (As if when the ratio has to go up, the correction ratio does too - but be careful as it might not change by this much.)

Ratios are trial and error like before, the change is that you see them differently. E.g. if you usually need 4 units for 40 carbs but now need 6 units, that used to be simply a 2 unit increase, but now it's a ratio change from 1:10 to 1.5:10).

Bs can stay elevated for a week or more after a virus. Some viruses cause little trouble, with others I may need to increase bolus only or ratios only, or both. Female hormonal changes can play havoc too, not only in "that" week of the month.

How long have you been using the current cartridges/bottles?

If none of the above, blame the bs poltergiest...