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Brain freeze...

Debloubed

Debloubed

Well-Known Member
Messages
828
Location
Aylesbury
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
When people say 'Pacific' instead of 'Specific' :-)
my brain has frozen, remind me please, does 15g quick acting carbs raise your BG by 3mmol? or can it vary? just doing some calculations and I've forgotten my 'bible' of INSIGHT notes!! :P
 
Hi Deb

Its difficult to know the exact answer to this but for me 5g of fast acting jubly raises me up by about 2mmol but 15g does it by about 8mmol.

Suck it and see :?: :wink: :mrgreen:
 
lol, yep, I would say around 3-4 mmol raise for me but then surely, if I was (hypothetically!) 2.0 then the 15g would be perfect to get me to 5 or 6 but if I was 3.8 then I would be hitting 8 after correction, which is a tad too high. Just wondering if there was any logic behind the 15g rather than suck it and see :lol: 8)
 
thanks Dolly rocker, is that something which you ahve found works for you or is it something you have been taught? or both?!
 
Hi Deb

That's just what I've always been told to use.

10g carb = +3 BS
1u Bolus = -3 BS

Is that not what they teach on the Dafne course as the rule of thumb? It will vary of course from person to person or at different times of the day though
 
Hi, well, what works for me is about 10 grams, if I am 3 to 4 mmol/l, or about 15 grams if I am below 3..although sometimes it is not an exact science...and depends very much on what I am doing, and when I am next eating (and whether I plan to drive)
 
agreed! I often wonder if I should pay more attention to it rather than correcting with 15g (usually x5 fruit pastilles in my case) regardless of whether I am 2.1 or 3.9. I always check again 15 mins later and if I see a rise I can relax. As I am on a pump I don't have to follow up with longer acting carbs so I just have to wait until I am 5 or 6 before I drive. Usually takes around 30 mins, depending on how low I was, like you say.
 
You use a formula called the 1800 rule to determine correction for inuslin..

It uses your TDD (assume though your basal is 50% of this)

1800/your TDD= gives the figure that your BG would be expected to drop by..

Or you can do it by experience, where on several occasions, after you've taken a correction, don't eat for 3.5 hours (unless you'll avoiding an hypo) divide how many mmol/l's you've dropped by the units taken, the you take an adverage (not including the hypo's too low ones) of these results and this is your correction factor..

My correction factor is
1 unit of insulin = 7 mmol/l drop
10g carbs= 6 moml/l raise
 
that's a really good point actually Jopar, just reminded me that my pump is set for insulin sensitivity at different times of the day so at 5am my correction does will be higher than it is at 3pm (for example). because of the varying carb ratio and sensitivity calculations. I wonder if I should set them all to be the same.......hmmmmmm............(sensitivity, not carb ratio!)
 
Debs

Do they work at they are presently set?

You need to look at each one, to see if they need fine tuning a bit...

I haven't got the calculation wizards on my pump, so have to work out mannually every time, but this does have it's advantage though at times with ease of adjustment to suit the situation, as even with a very fine tuned settings, there are times when you know that they ain't gonna work..

Like tea at mother-in-laws, a wizard would fail, by experience I have learnt that when dining at MIL's I take my BG, total the carbs, crunch my numbers then have to add 1 unit of insulin to the total :? If I don't my levels will rocket big time.. Why it happens and why it works I haven't got a clue, I thought at first it may be the driving (as she leaves 20 miles away) so tried a TBR, but that would over shoot for me, so fail on the add a unit theory, and it works lovely..
 
actually, my current 'system' seems to be working ok, my correction of 15g seems to hit the spot, my original question was out of curiosity more than anything ie: how can it be the same for everyone?! and I think the answer is clear, it's not :twisted: I often adjust the 'recommended' dose my pump calculates for me depending on where I am and what I'm doing. Sometimes Pumpy, I know best! :lol:
 
I never realised that pumps could be tuned so finely, to take into account sensitivity etc, tyhat's pretty impressive.

I'm almost 100% sure I want one now whereas a year ago I was adamant it wasn't for me!
 
I love mine Dollyrocker, it's the Accu chek Combo so I have a remote control handset which doubles as the BG meter and allows me to make adjustments without actually getting the pump out. The time slots allow me to manipulate the ratio's and sensitivity as much or as little as I like and my basal rate changes almost hourly. it's very personal! I can also select different basal rates for different days which I tend to use at the weekend if I'm planning a hectic schedule :lol:
 
They can be fantastic pieces of kit, but they are only has good as their users though, they no magic wand or plug and play items...

As debs will tell you ALL the wizards have to be set up to suit the individual, you've got to work out how long insulin lasts in your body, other wise your IOB (active insulin still in your system) will be out, so all your the other wizards with be out as well, as they all use IOB as part of their calculations.. You've got to work out all your parimeters for the wizards, carb ratio's, senstivities levels, for exercise, times of days etc... Get one of these wrong and the wizards are totally useless, as all the calculation will be out..

And this takes a lot of work and understanding of your self to sort out, and the story doesn't end there as you've got to continue to review to ensure that your settings remain good..

Even though I haven't got the wizards I make the same calcuations on a daily bases, I have to store the information in my head and not on my pump :(

I'm looking forward to when I get my new pump as it will have the wizards on, so it's going to be interesting to see how good my calculations are! And whether the wizards will improve my excellent control further??? But I do know several pumpers who like myself started on pumps without wizards, and now they've got them don't bother to actually use them, due to finding no advantage!
 
I'd be more than happy to put some hard work into fibne tuning a pump, I've been working hard to fine tune my Lantus/Novo regime for 2 years now with surprisingly little return for my efforts!

I'm getting hooked up to a CGM next month so hopefully that will be the last step towards getting a pump
 
Dollyrocker said:
I'd be more than happy to put some hard work into fibne tuning a pump, I've been working hard to fine tune my Lantus/Novo regime for 2 years now with surprisingly little return for my efforts!

I'm getting hooked up to a CGM next month so hopefully that will be the last step towards getting a pump
Click to expand...

Go for it!! 8) :D
 
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