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Bed time BG figures

Sibyl

Well-Known Member
Messages
177
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi Everyone! Just wondering what sorta BG numbers you guys felt happy to go to bed with. I vary but have happily gone to bed with 4.5 to 5 and woke to similar figures. Am I courting trouble? I use 12u Lantus at 8am and use Apidra as my fast acting insulin. I've been on this regime since my diagnosis in October 2014 - still a newbie!!
 
It depends very much on whether you are confident in your basal levels and reaction. With Lantus, I never went to bed on lower than 6mmol/l. With Levemir and an altogether more flat basal profile I'm comfortable on 4.5. This is predominantly because Lantus didn't really work very well for me. It seems a whole lot better for you!
 
At the moment everything thing seems to be working as intended, but after reading everyone's posts on here I realise that things can and no doubt will change. Knowing this I think I won't panic now if that happens. Yes I think I do feel happier at bedtime nearer 6. Without a CGM I can't be sure what's happening at night - I hope I stay fairly level!
 
Wow Sibyl,
Most diabetics would love to have stable evening/overnight bg numbers like that!

And if it works for you? Great !!

Can see I am more or less on same type of therapy as you: 11 units of long-acting glargine Lantus at breakfast as basal and fast acting at each main-meal to counteract respective glucose impact. Personally though I have periods where my bg levels drop slightly during night sleep (e.g. after a day of more exercise than previewed in the morning when taking the long-acting), so target therefore to be not below 5-5.5 at bedtime (midnight) on such days. Do though also take insulin if above 7.5 at same time.
If you are courting trouble will be answered best by yourself than anybody else.
Do you experience hypos? Do you wake up at times a bit too low for comfort?
If not - Great, you seem to have found your sweet-spot !
Nothing to be pursued on purpose, but I have no trouble handling bg at e.g. 3.5 when waking up. So your 'flexibility' in this area is also a parameter to consider on how low you should/can target to aim for.
 
As I said, it's still early days for me yet so not getting complacent! I make no bedtime insulin corrections and most times wake with my usual 4 to 5. Of course, what from what I've read on here that will probably change. Odd though how some of us get a more difficult struggle. All a big bloody mystery to me. I tend to eat a diet of 90 to 130 carbs daily even before diagnosis. My consultant feels this is why I wasn't very ill as she felt I had been T1 for 9 months before I was diagnosed. I'm 56 and walking the dog is my main exercise now so not having much affect on my sugars. Only night hypo I had was on Saturday - went to bed with 9.5 after eating at a friend's. Discovered the hard way the effect too much vino has on my liver! Woke from a nightmare at 3am and after a while realised it was a hypo. Drank my juice and ate my 20g long lasting carbs. Luckily I was only 2.8 so could deal with it myself. I was high when I got up but corrected at breakfast. Seem to be ok at 5 but aim for higher for driving etc.
 

Each to their own but I wouldn't be happy going to bed on the lower figure of 4.5mmol, when on MDI and using lantus like you are my lower limit was 5.5 and only then if I knew that my previous bolus insulin was exhausted, tbh I don't see any benefit from going to bed on a level of 4.5 than 5.5, at least with the 5.5 you have a scope to drop a little without going hypo.
 
Good points Noblehead,
Just checked the Apidra pharmacokinetic curve as not familiar with this fast acting myself:
http://www.lantus.se/Global/Docs/DIABETES/Patientinformation/Apidra_Engelska.pdf
(from Sanofi Aventis' own website, see page 4)
Apidra does actually have a substantial effect tail still like 4 hours after injection. So effect exhaustion will not happen until like 5h+ since last injection. Meaning, dinner injection should not be after 19:00 if you want to measure and go to bed at midnight expecting a flat bg curve from then. (assuming also that food digestion has completed by then)
 
Thanks, Peeps! this is exactly the type of advice I was hoping for! We do tend to eat at nursary times when at home - 5:30 to 6pm so I must be getting a fairly accurate reading by our 11pm bedtime. When we were away on a cruise we ate a tad later and I did set my alarm for 5 hours later to test my bloods - better safe than sorry!
 
I won’t go to be less than 11. Even then I can eat 5 biscuits and wake up around 10 – that’s usually if I do exercise though. I did it last night and woke up at 21.5!
 
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