Best snack for mixed insulin

[cott97]

Hi
I am a type 2 on mixed insulin and low carbing. I appear to have my night time dose sorted but during the day it's a bit mixed. Suggestions seem to be that I might need a snack to stop going too low - what sort of snack do people recommend? It needs to be simple, portable and potentially able to be eaten in a meeting! Long term I plan to move to a basal/ bolus regime but this is an interim position getting used to insulin. I have a significant family history of T2 with complications both ulcers and cardiovascular, so much as I would like to believe I can manage without drugs experience has shown I can't and I am doing my best to preserve as much of my pancreas as possible hence the insulin.

 

[azure]

If you're going low, you need a measured carb snack - usually 10.15 or 20g carbs.

A digestive biscuit is 10g, an apple is 15g approx, so you could construct a snack from that, or have other fruit or a lower carb cereal bar or a slice of bread, Ryvitas, etc etc @cott97

You'll have to,exoeriment to,see what works best and in what quantity and at what time.

 

[cott97]

Thanks. I appear to go low as the quick acting finishes and the long acting starts - I am assuming they are working together at a peak at that point. The rest of the time I am around 7. Ideally I would prefer to be a bit lower and was thinking if I had a snack at this low point then I could up the insulin a little to reduce somewhere between 5 & 6

 

[azure]

Thanks. I appear to go low as the quick acting finishes and the long acting starts - I am assuming they are working together at a peak at that point. The rest of the time I am around 7. Ideally I would prefer to be a bit lower and was thinking if I had a snack at this low point then I could up the insulin a little to reduce somewhere between 5 & 6

I'd try the snacks first and keep records of your blood sugar results with the snacks.

I wouldn't advise adjusting your insulin yourself because mixed insulin is more complicated due to any increase having to be to both types of the insulins it contains when actually you might only need to increase one of the components.

Run any changes past your diabetes nurse first to be safe.

 

[cott97]

Thanks I am working with her to get things right. I am thinking I may split my Lunch and have some around 11am and then some around 2.30 instead of having it all at 1pm. I think breakfast at 6am with lunch at 1pm is just probably too long.

 

[azure]

Thanks I am working with her to get things right. I am thinking I may split my Lunch and have some around 11am and then some around 2.30 instead of having it all at 1pm. I think breakfast at 6am with lunch at 1pm is just probably too long.

It's a long time since I used mixed insulin but I found that I couldn't leave long gaps between meals. I ate my breakfast slightly later to,enable me to not have to have lunch before 12.

Experiment with moving/splitting your lunch and see how that goes. Watch out in case it affects your afternoon readings.

 

[cott97]

I think this is why long term I will move off mixed insulin but at the moment I am following the CCG process - skipped very quickly to this stage and have had a lot of support so want to give this a good go before saying it isn't working. Will try to eat breakfast a bit later and lunch a little later. The evening meal will be more difficult as I work an hour from home so the earliest I can eat is 6.30pm.

 

[azure]

Basal bolus is more flexible but there's nothing wrong with mixed insulin if you like routine and less injections. See what suits you : )