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Type 1 Carb advice

slikwipman

Well-Known Member
Messages
182
Location
west yokshire
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Intolerance
Good morning, I am looking for some education on carbs, yesterday I had a day where I had a couple of walks and a good appetite, over the course of the day I ate approx 290g of carbs with 25 units of novorapid. After breakfast my sugar spiked at 14 but after this it didn’t rise above 9 all day despite all the carbs. I would like an opinion if this means everything was running well. Thanks
 
Do you carb count? The walks might have played a factor in why you didn't spike too much as gentle exercise can affect insulin sensitivity etc, the spike after breakfast isn't ideal and could do with some work but nobody can tell you if things are well or not, you could do exactly the same today and have completely different widely varying results xx
 

I do carb count. The pre breakfast reading was 10 so I didn’t think the jump to 14 was too bad. I am not sure if it matters how many carbs you eat as long as I don’t spike too much. 2 miles in morning and 3 in afternoon so I didn’t think this was enough to have much effect. I really do struggle to understand what I’m doing and am in need of advice I can understand. Thanks
 
Even a trip to the shops can have an impact on BG, housework, changing the bed etc, unfortunately although we have the same condition diabetes is such an individual thing that you just have to learn for yourself through trial and error what works for you personally xx
 
what do you have for breakfast and how far in advance of breakfast do you inject? what insulins are you using? xx
 
slikwipman said:
I do carb count. The pre breakfast reading was 10 so I didn’t think the jump to 14 was too bad.
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Did you correct for the 10 (ie correction dose plus dose for food). In that position I'd ideally let my insulin act for a bit before eating....
 
kaylz91 said:
what do you have for breakfast and how far in advance of breakfast do you inject? what insulins are you using? xx
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2 weetabix, immediately before eating and Novorapid, Levemir. I am also finding that if I have stomach pain or a vomiting feeling my sugars rise
 
slikwipman said:
2 weetabix, immediately before eating and Novorapid, Levemir. I am also finding that if I have stomach pain or a vomiting feeling my sugars rise
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To avoid such spikes in BG you could try pre-bolusing which is taking your insulin further in advance before eating, the timing is completely individual to you but the general way of going about it is increase by a few minutes at a time until you find what works for you, cereal is notorious for spiking so it may be some hard work to find your "sweet spot" for pre-bolus, it also completely depends on where you are injecting so you need to be wary of that, legs take longer to absorb insulin than the tummy, yes illness can cause a rise in BG along with stress and even a change in the weather unfortunately, we've just got to roll with it and try and spot patterns and adjust as necessary xx
 

 
slikwipman said:
Above are today’s tests which for me is great?
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I agree that they are great for a type 1 and agree that the next step if you are going to keep on eating a high volume of carbs is to take the bolus 20 minutes before to smooth out your body's reaction to carbs (the minute you see the carbs and put them in your mouth your bg will rise and in those with a normal pancreas insulin is immediately generated but in type 1 there's a lag between the jab and the insulin working).
Sounds as if you have a working ratio of 1 unit for about 10g carb? That makes the maths easier!
Variances can be caused by all sorts of things such as fat and protein taken with the carb, exercise, illness and stress.
 
Are you newly diagnosed? I only assume this as you don't seem to know too much about it and how you react to different things xx
 

I’ve been type 1 for about 6 years but have never given it the importance it deserves. Recently I have experienced a sharp education and in no way will I ever see such days again. The main problem I suffer with is not being able to understand the complexities so am now trying to establish a set of rules for me to follow. Started keeping a diary I can look back on to pick up trends. I have never thought much about carbs. My average meal count seems to be between 40 to 60 but could be as high as 80 although not often.going to inject 5 minutes before meals and see how it goes.
 
Keeping the diary is great but in my experience there are so many variables it can be hard to compute. Adam Brown does a fab book available on Amazon or free on the DiTribe site called Landmines and Rainbows which may give you a few clues and shortcuts. For example to avoid dosing errors he limits himself to 30g carb per meal. Also lots of stuff about exercise.
 
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