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Basal Levemir. Time of Day and Sugar Levels

R

RyDawk

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hello!

New here, so, here’s the intro.

Pancreatitis at 9, major op, Spleanoctmy(think that’s how they say it), left with half a pancreas. Diabetic since June 2013, joined here 2015, plucked up courage to post 2018.

I’ve got a generalised question regarding Basal, background, Insulin and times of day.

I’ve been waking to 11.0’s in the mornings. I use to inject when I first work up, which could be anything from 07-8.30 and then again at night before bed could be anything between 10-12. I used to wake up in the 6-7 range.

As times gone on I’ve stuck to a more rigid 7am and 7pm to take the Basal no matter what, however, as mentioned I’m waking to highs in the morning.

My question...do I rigidly need to stick to exactly 12hours between injections, and if so, when I take it before bed at 10pm, does this mean I should do it at 10am the next day?

My situation is particular sticky as I’ve got to team up with half the pancreas’s that kind of works but is becoming less of a team player as time goes on.

Any advice would be great. Thanks.
 
Welcome to the forum, @RyDawk !
Can't answer your question as I've never been on Levemir and I still got a complete pancreas, although it's team-playing abilities are questionable. But my answer will bump up your post, so that might help :)
 
Antje77 said:
Welcome to the forum, @RyDawk !
Can't answer your question as I've never been on Levemir and I still got a complete pancreas, although it's team-playing abilities are questionable. But my answer will bump up your post, so that might help :)
Click to expand...

Thank you.
 
Hi!

How many units do you take each time?

How long has this high morning result been going on? and has anything changed?

What are your injection sites like? it could be something as simple as you do your morning basal in your left thigh and your evening one in your right, and the right one is suffering bad absorption?

Have you tried basal testing? What is your BG levels like throughout the day?

I'm sure theres more questions to be asked, but lets see what you say to these! :happy:
 
Hi @slip

I take 3.5 units.
It’s been about a months now, nothing’s changed. Everything is the same.

I inject only in my stomach, however, I did it in my right thigh and woke up to an 10.1.

I’m not sure what Basal testing is? Over the last week BG levels are between 8.5 - 6.4 throughout the day.

I hope that helps.
 
Hi RyDawk,

I've been diabetic for over 30 years and on Levemir for the past 2 years. I'm using a Levemir / Humulin S regime, and for me it is the best insulin combination I've ever had.

But when I started my Levemir I assumed, like you, that 2 injections a day meant they should be about 12 hours apart, however my diabetes consultant was very insistent that the nighttime injection should be done just before bed - regardless of whether that is 12 hours since the morning injection or not.

It works for me.

I hope that helps.
 
have a look at https://mysugr.com/basal-rate-testing/ for basal testing procedure.

Basal requirements do change from time to time and basal testing will tell you if you need to change it.

As quanti has said, I too wasn't told it had to be exactly 12hrs apart, and I don't usually 7:30 every working day (weekends it's usually later sometime between 08:30-09:30) and evening is usually around 10:30 but that can vary! I do 18u in the morning and 23u in the evening - 99% of the time my morning result is within spitting distance of the nights before so 23u is right for me - I suspect if I did do them exactly 12hrs apart I'd have to tweak those dosages. With Levemir it's length of action is depends on number of units against body weight also, so if you've weight has changed that can also make your basal requirements drift.
 
@Quanti999 @slip

Thank you so much for your advice.

It takes the rigidity of diabetes away to say the least.

The Basal rate testing, seems scary from first look, especially with starving myself through different times of day.

I’ve tried your advice with the times of day and places to inject and woke up to a 9.2 this morning. Hopefully it will continue to improve.
 
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