monkeynuts
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Regards
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Basal-Bolus - Not eating raises blood sugar dramatically???
- Thread starter monkeynuts
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angieG
Well-Known Member
Re: Basal-Bolus - Not eating raises blood sugar dramatically
Hi
Have you tried not giving any fast acting if you are not eating? Your liver is bound to chuck out if you inject and not eat as it is defending you from going low.
Why not miss the fast acting or have a small snack for breakfast and see if it helps.
If I eat a real low carb meal I still need to inject a little fast acting to cover it but if I over inject I end up much higher before my next meal, as my liver seems to rebel.
If your basal is set right you shouldn't vary much one way or the other if you miss a meal.
Hope you get it sorted.
Angie
Hi
Have you tried not giving any fast acting if you are not eating? Your liver is bound to chuck out if you inject and not eat as it is defending you from going low.
Why not miss the fast acting or have a small snack for breakfast and see if it helps.
If I eat a real low carb meal I still need to inject a little fast acting to cover it but if I over inject I end up much higher before my next meal, as my liver seems to rebel.
If your basal is set right you shouldn't vary much one way or the other if you miss a meal.
Hope you get it sorted.
Angie
monkeynuts
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Re: Basal-Bolus - Not eating raises blood sugar dramatically
Angie
If I dont take any fast acting my bloody sugar gets out of control, up to 15's. I tried increasing my long lasting from 36 but then my morning bloody sugar is to low (2-3).
The body is a funny old thing ill just have to keep trying different things
Regards,
Angie
If I dont take any fast acting my bloody sugar gets out of control, up to 15's. I tried increasing my long lasting from 36 but then my morning bloody sugar is to low (2-3).
The body is a funny old thing ill just have to keep trying different things
Regards,
Trinity_32
Well-Known Member
Re: Basal-Bolus - Not eating raises blood sugar dramatically
Hi monkeynuts, I have found something very similar with my regime, I am on Humalog and Lantus and if I don't eat my blood sugar can go up from 'normal' to anything up to about 20. We are still trying to get my Lantus dose correct though so that probably isn't helping me much at the moment! Good luck
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Hi monkeynuts, I have found something very similar with my regime, I am on Humalog and Lantus and if I don't eat my blood sugar can go up from 'normal' to anything up to about 20. We are still trying to get my Lantus dose correct though so that probably isn't helping me much at the moment! Good luck
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Re: Basal-Bolus - Not eating raises blood sugar dramatically
Have you tried splitting your lantus dose? I've not done this but many people do as they find they run high at certain times of the day, hopefully someone will be along with an idea on how much to inject in the morning
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Have you tried splitting your lantus dose? I've not done this but many people do as they find they run high at certain times of the day, hopefully someone will be along with an idea on how much to inject in the morning
Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
monkeynuts
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Re: Basal-Bolus - Not eating raises blood sugar dramatically
I havent tried splitting it but that sounds a good idea. I will give it a try tonight and see what happens.
I havent tried splitting it but that sounds a good idea. I will give it a try tonight and see what happens.
Re: Basal-Bolus - Not eating raises blood sugar dramatically
Change back if you're not happy.
I too used to be a bit like you but once I changed to injecting the basal twice per day instead of just once and opted for Levemir instead of staying on Lantus, that's when my bg levels stayed a bit lower in the morning without needing to use a bolus to lower them.
One of ways bolus/basal insulins achieve any success is through bg testing and altering the bolus insulin using a carb to insulin calculation, so probably that's why your consultant has persuaded you to use it, so that you test more. All diabetics do need to test their bg levels, even twice daily users so hope that you were testing at least 5 times a day when on Humalin M3. Your hba1c is ok but ideally it could do with being somewhere between the high 6% to low 7% and not 8% as that will put you in some danger of probably developing background retinopathy after a few years (presuming that you are newly diagnosed).
It is a complete PITA testing bg levels as I dont like doing it myself but its a necessary evil in order to be well using insulin. Take care, you do get used to bg testing.
monkeynuts said:
Change back if you're not happy.
I too used to be a bit like you but once I changed to injecting the basal twice per day instead of just once and opted for Levemir instead of staying on Lantus, that's when my bg levels stayed a bit lower in the morning without needing to use a bolus to lower them.
One of ways bolus/basal insulins achieve any success is through bg testing and altering the bolus insulin using a carb to insulin calculation, so probably that's why your consultant has persuaded you to use it, so that you test more. All diabetics do need to test their bg levels, even twice daily users so hope that you were testing at least 5 times a day when on Humalin M3. Your hba1c is ok but ideally it could do with being somewhere between the high 6% to low 7% and not 8% as that will put you in some danger of probably developing background retinopathy after a few years (presuming that you are newly diagnosed).
It is a complete PITA testing bg levels as I dont like doing it myself but its a necessary evil in order to be well using insulin. Take care, you do get used to bg testing.
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Re: Basal-Bolus - Not eating raises blood sugar dramatically
As your already aware basal insulin is just a background insulin which deals with the slow trickle of glucose from the liver, it cannot cope with a liver dump and this is what's happening in your case when you don't eat breakfast.
I experience the same if I were to skip breakfast, the body needs food (glucose) upon waking for the day ahead, if you don't supply it via food then your liver will compensate, try eating something tomorrow morning and take your QA insulin to match the carbs you eat.
As your already aware basal insulin is just a background insulin which deals with the slow trickle of glucose from the liver, it cannot cope with a liver dump and this is what's happening in your case when you don't eat breakfast.
I experience the same if I were to skip breakfast, the body needs food (glucose) upon waking for the day ahead, if you don't supply it via food then your liver will compensate, try eating something tomorrow morning and take your QA insulin to match the carbs you eat.
Re: Basal-Bolus - Not eating raises blood sugar dramatically
Two things jump out at me here:
You could be experiencing the Dawn Phenomenon, where your body will naturally raise it's BGs around the time you wake up. It happens to me and I need to take 2 units of Novorapid to cover this, whether I'm eating or not.
Secondly, if you experience this rise in levels between other meals or overnight then it means that your basal needs increasing.
Two things jump out at me here:
You could be experiencing the Dawn Phenomenon, where your body will naturally raise it's BGs around the time you wake up. It happens to me and I need to take 2 units of Novorapid to cover this, whether I'm eating or not.
Secondly, if you experience this rise in levels between other meals or overnight then it means that your basal needs increasing.
