Concerned about sugar levels before I sleep

Michael52

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I checked my sugar levels before I go to sleep, which is 7.6
Should I eat a small meal before injecting my overnight slow release insulin(36units)
 

JayPizzay

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I wouldn't imagine you'd need a meal, sounds like a good level to go to bed with. Do you normally drop overnight with that kind of level?
 

HasanG

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If your levels drop you should be using less basal or a split dose with less before bed. I was told by my doc to wake up at around 3 am to check my b/s levels and if they are below 4.5mmol/l to reduce my basal.
 

TheBigNewt

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Depends on how long ago your last dose of Novolog was. I take my Lantus when I get up for that reason, but I know most people say take it at bedtime. I could never figure out what that was either. Something about taking insulin and going to sleep doesn't sit right with me.
 

Juicyj

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Morning @Michael52 hope you had a good nights sleep. I am quite happy to go to bed at levels from 5.5 to 8 without the need for a snack, if higher then I take a correction and wait up until I can see my levels fall, lower and I'll have some carbs and wait for them to come up to a comfortable level. Past 2 mornings I have woken at 3.8 and this morning 3.6 so have reduced my basal as my overnight rate is slightly high but I wait for 2 consecutive readings before making an adjustment.

Can you explain more about your levels dropping during the night and what background insulin you are on, also how long have you been diagnosed ?
 

Michael52

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Type of diabetes
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Good morning @Juicyj having a level of 7.6 before bedtime last night, I had a small snack consisting of 3 provita biscuits and then proceeded to take my insulin dose(36units). Slept well, got up this morning and my levels were at 4.8Then injected10 units of the day insulin before having a bowl of oats porridge which I believe is good to start your day.
Please excuse my ignorance, but what do you mean using the term correction (do you mean inject more insulin) and also carbs and lastly basal.

I sometimes wake up in the morning having high levels and also sometimes low levels. The insulin I use overnight is Protophane which I will be changing to Humulu and the day insulin is Novorapid which I will also be changing to Humalog. I inject Novorapid 3times a day, 10units before breakfast, 12units before lunch, 18units before supper and then proceed on to the overnight insulin Protophane 36units
I've been diagnosed now 30yrs+
 
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Juicyj

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Hello @Michael52 Thanks for your message.

By correction I meant that if my levels before bed are higher than my bedtime target (but after my last quick acting has depleted) then I take extra quick acting to ensure they come down to target, so I don't wake high with high BG levels.
Basal is your background insulin - Protapane, Carbs are carbohydrates - as I count carbohydrates for my quick acting it means I can adjust the dose to meet the carb content of the food I eat, which gives me flexibilty over what I can eat. If you speak to your nurse about getting onto a Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating course (DAFNE), this means you don't have to take 3 set doses of quick acting, but instead will take the necessary dose as and when you need to (however this is based on calculating your carb ratio, something that your DSN or DAFNE can help you with).

I personally wouldn't snack before bed unless my blood glucose levels were below 5, as I wouldn't want to go high over night, so the fact you have eaten biscuits before bed and woke at 4.8 means that you're background level is too high, something that can be addressed by speaking to your DSN, and can be assessed if you attend DAFNE and this will be reviewed then too.

Hope this helps.
 
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TheBigNewt

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Protophane sounds a bit like what I used to use before Lantus came out: Ultralente. That was animal insulin Protophane is synthetic human insulin with protamine to slow it down. I bet it's pretty reasonably priced. They took Ultralente off the market here, and I don't think we have Protophane but it's probably pretty good.