Certain type of insulin for low carbing?

S

stephie84

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hiya,

I've decided I want to try low carbing to see if I can even out my BMs and loose a wee bit of weight. Currently on humalog short acting and lantus background insulin. My diabetic nurse (who has advised the DAFNE principals for good control) says that if I eat a meal without carbs (eg chicken salad) then no insulin is required. However yesterday I did just that, with a starting BM of around 5.8, 4 hours later it had jumped up to 10. something and I had to take a correction dose. As protein takes longer than carb to raise blood sugar do I need to be on a diff insulin type? Or do I need to up my background lantus?
Any suggestions would be gratefully received,
Steph x
 
borofergie

borofergie

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,169
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Racism, Sexism, Homophobia
What was in the meal? What had you eaten earlier that day?
 
noblehead

noblehead

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
23,618
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Disrespectful people
Hi Steph,

With luck someone experienced at low-carbing with type 1 will be along shortly to recommend suitable insulin's, however can I just say that your DSN is quite wrong to say you don't need insulin to cover meals without carbs, protein in the absence of carbs converts to around 60% glucose in the body - but as you say over a longer period.

Today I had a 3 egg omelette with some low-carb veg for dinner and I needed 4 units of insulin to cover this meal, yesterday I had a chicken salad sandwich using Burgen bread followed by a fun-size banana to which I needed 5 units of insulin, so as you can see it's not all cut and dry excluding carbs!

Hopefully over time you'll begin to notice how much insulin is required to cover certain low-carb meals, it's really trial & error but recording & monitoring like you did on DAFNE should have your levels stable again.

Nigel
 
phoenix

phoenix

Expert
Messages
5,671
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Like Nigel I need to take insulin to cover a very low carb meal (especially eggs!) Its not surprising because in non ds insulin is elicited by proteins.
You are right to think that using different insulins may be better than rapid for very low carb meals. Dr Katherine Morrison has a site about insulin regimes and low carbing. I won't link to it though because my virus checker indicates a threat from the site
In this post she recommends using 2units of regular insulin for 3 oz of lean meat
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=7034&p=61596&hilit=+regular+insulin#p61596
You may be able to find more by searching her posts.
 
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