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Blood sugar levels.

N

Nick Watts

Member
Messages
19
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hello folks

I have a question that I hope you can help,with.

I have recently been diagnosed with potentially type 1 diabetes and as part of my blood sugar checks, I noticed that tonight my levels have dropped from 7.2 mmol to 6.5 two hours after. I have just checked again and they are 5.7.

As this is all new to me, am I about to go in to a hypo or is this normal behavior?

I should mention that I take a low dose Novo Rapid insulin injection before meals and am also on Metformin.

I hope someone can put my mind at ease as I’m not sure what I should do.

Thanks.

Nick
 
Hi @Nick Watts, 5.7 should be ok but how long ago did you inject? If it's less than 4 hours-ish then you might go lower as you will probably still have active insulin. Are you going to bed soon? If so, check your blood again before you go to sleep and if it's any lower you might want to have a small snack, such as a biscuit or drink of milk to ensure you don't go hypo overnight.
Hypo is less than 4, so no need to worry at this point.
Hope that helps
 
Hello

thanks for getting back to me so quickly.

it was about 4 and half hours since my injection. It was 6.2 before bed but checked it an hour later at 5.7. I’ve checked again after another hour and it’s still 5.7.

As it seems to have leveled off, should I still have a glass of milk or just relax a bit?
 
It's up to you if you want to have something small, some people prefer to run a little higher overnight, some would be happy to go to sleep on 5.7, so it depends if you're happy to go to sleep at that level or if you'd rather have something for piece of mind if you'd be kept awake worrying about a hypo otherwise.
 
Hi all

Apologies for all the questions.

My sugar levels are at 5.3 pre lunch but I’m supposed to take my insulin before I eat.

with levels that low, should I still take my shot but have more carbs or eat, monitor my levels and take the insulin post meal?
 

Id always say bolus (take insulin) before you eat, it’ll stop any spikes. The guidance is usually 15-20 minutes before you eat to take your insulin. 5.2 isn’t considered low to be honest & the more you get used to your diabetes you more you’ll actually want to be seeing a reading of 5.2.
 
Thank you Maco.

I’m not sure what my “normal” levels should be so don’t know what’s good or bad.

I’ll do as you suggest but keep an eye on my levels.

Thank you again.

Nick
 

Hi,

Personally i would bolus for what i am about to eat at around that level. I aim to keep any spike below 7.8mmol. but that's just how i roll.
 
At 5.3 I would bolus 15-20 minutes before I eat, but I use Fiasp which works quicker for me than Novorapid. Over time you'll find out how quickly Novorapid works for you, and be able to work out how long prior to a meal you need to give it, depending as well on your blood sugar pre meal.
 
Thank you all for your help.

It’s very difficult to get accurate info from the web so I really appreciate the information.

I do have one final question: How many carbs should I aim for in a meal? Just had a prawn stir fry with a small amount of egg noodles but is that too rich?
 


Very interesting question & a one that you’ll get a 100 different answers too. Your type 1 so you don’t need to restrict carbs, as long as your covering it with correct carb counting. I’ve managed to correctly carb count a take away & desert on a weekend which came in at over 200g of carbs just for the one meal and I stayed in range. Typically in a day for me I eat anywhere between 150-200g of carbs a day using my FitnessPal & a set of scales to make sure I carb count perfectly. On a typical week day my highest carb meal would be 66g of carbs which consists of 200g of rice with chicken & stir fry veg.

I apologise to other members on here who have seen me rabbit on about this before, but I actually train in the gym with 2 Type 1 bodybuilders & they consume 500g of carbs a day. Personally not something I’d ever want to try & cope with but it’s certainly possible so don’t be scared of carbs.
 
Thanks again Maco.

I was only diagnosed last week and not seen a dietitian yet and my nurse is on holiday. There’s only so much reading I can do.

I’ll measure my levels in an hour and I’m keeping a diary too but I hope my 2 units of NovoRapid will keep it in check.
 
No worries @Nick Watts, it can be a minefield. Have they started you on 1:10 for carbs & 1:2 for corrections?
 
No. I’m only taking the 2units pre meal as I’ve been told. Nothing about correctional dosages which is a concern to me in case my levels get too high. I’m also a bit unsure about taking insulin pre exercise.

It’s on my list of questions when my Diabetes Nurse returns.
 


2units per meal no matter how many carbs you eat? Just about sums up how silly the advice can be that the nurses give
 
Hopefully I’ll get to speak to a dietician soon and I’ll certainly raise the question when I speak to the nurse.

Thank you again.
 
Despite all the education courses I have completed and advice and input from the diabetes team I still struggle with my diabetes. You will learn so much more from this site.
 
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