Basal

Hi @alphabeta, Thank you for the question but there are a number of categories to consider: approx 12 -16 hour acting basal insulin like Levemir, 24 hr like Lantus and longer like Tresiba vs the basal of insulin pumps, and the possible interactions of all the above with with exercise, food and bolus insulin.

If it's set at the right level, it shouldn't drop you. That's the whole point of it - it should keep you at the same level when not eating.

Many of the issues which T1s have stem from having too much or too little basal.

Too much, there will be a slow drop, requiring snacking.

Too little, there will be a gradual rise, requiring an occasional bolus.

Unfortunately, or perhaps, fortunately, because human bodies are not exactly replicable, everyone has a slightly different experience.

A small rise or fall, of maybe 2mmol, over a time period is probably ok, but obviously that is dependent on the starting point. If you start on 4mmol and it drops 2mmol, that is not good at all. Whereas if you go to sleep on 7.5mmol, and wake on 5.5mmol then that is just fine.

There are so many caveats here, it's hard to give advice, it has to be a matter of judgement. I suppose the question is does your basal dose keep you within your target range, overnight, and during the day, when there isn't any other insulin on board, The night time is easier to test than the day time,as we don't eat then.

But you can do a basal test on the daytime.