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Dialling insulin

FrankieAngels

Active Member
Messages
25
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
3 weeks after diagnosis and I'm no doubt wanting to run before I can even crawl!

Can I ask the forum members how long it was before you were calculating your carbs, and dialling your insulin accordingly?

I'm currently on fixed doses and it's working fairly well (bar the odd spike and dip), but I want the extra freedom.

I'm at the clinic on Wednesday do can ask the nurse myself but wanted some fee ask from fellow T1D's.

Thanks!

Paul
 
Hi

I started after a week, as like you I wanted that freedom and wanted to start as I was to go on I guess! It worked fairly well and my nurse was a great help, as was the carbs and cals app.

Feel free to ask anything you like and I'll help as best I can

Good luck

Bex
 
I did it straight away. I was fed up of constant hypos on mixed doses. I did lots of research and started experimenting. Its really not that difficult. Good luck

P.s you can ask for appointment with dietitian. They will explain how to do carb counting
 
Hi Beckie, thanks very much for taking the time to reply.

Wow you started after only a week? That gives me hope


Ok, you asked for it!

1) what were your levels when first diagnosed and how long before you got them under control?

2) did you ask to dial or was it suggested by your nurse?

3) have you managed with too many spikes and dips in your levels?

4) apart from Carbs & Cals do you use any other tools to get accurate dialling?

Thanks

Paul
 

Hi Ewelina

I'm at the clinic on Wednesday and will definitely be asking to start dialling sometime soon.

My levels were too high to read initially and then 24 when I was admitted to hospital. I've managed to get them down to normal range mostly bar the odd spike.

I've been off for 6 weeks as I had a nasty bought of Shingles, so will be much busier and organising my food in advance isn't going to be so easy.

I'm carb counting at the moment as I have a target per meal and snack to make sure I've got enough insulin to cope so that doesn't bother me.

I thought I might need to finish a DAFNE before given the freedom to dial so I'm really excited about the prospect!
 
Hi. At the same session my DN added Bolus to my Basal she taught me carb-counting. It's so obvious what you need to do that I'm surprised it isn't more commonly done at the start. My DN gave me a leaflet by Roche of pictures of typical carb plates and what 10 gm looked like. She also suggested I Google for more info as well. I was started on 1 unit per 10gm carb which is the usual start ratio.
 
I also started straight away, as I was told the importance of setting a legacy early on of good control. I would definitely talk it with your DSN, but as you are already carb counting to match a given figure, if they give you the go ahead then I would try altering from that figure a little bit and trying it out - for example if you have a target meal of 50g carb, try having 40g or 60g and taking a different dose. That way if you get it wrong it's easy to correct.

Personally I think the earlier you can get it under control the better - I didn't want to wait for DAFNE before I started working to understand things, as the waiting list can be long and diabetes doesn't wait for you to get up to speed!
 
this topic is right up my street so to speak---- i was diagnosed in 1972 --long before carb counting existed -- i learned about it myself about 6 years before any courses were available in the \uk so I basically taught myself through trial and error

big advantage now is that all the info is out there -- just be sensible and do not make too many adjustments too quickly
remember first to be sure your basal rate is good and you are getting good consistent results with out eating.
 
You don't need to finish DAFNE to start carb counting. As you said, you already do that to match your mixed insulin doses. Try to eat a bit less/or more at some meal and alter your insulin. I really cant understand why they don't teach it at the very beginning. Some people stay on mixed doses for years. Its like being a slave to diabetes!
 
I was diagnosed over 20 years ago and was taught to count carbs by the dietician when I was still in hospital. The hospital had a basic little booklet with carbs of ordinary foods in. I initially had a set target of carbs per meal and per snack, but I then started adjusting that to suit me.

I think it's wrong that they don't teach carb counting from the start now. It's not hard and it makes control easier.
 
Hi

On diagnosis I was hba1c of 141 and dka so in a pretty bad way! Was under control within a week or so, with the odd high along the way of course!

Dial was mentioned to me at hospital and then followed up by my community nurse, I phoned and asked for an appointment and they were great! Would definitely recommend doing that if you can.

I have struggled with morning readings on and off but with lots of testing (fingers crossed) I seem to have nailed it!

I have recently been given an aviva expert meter which has a bolus calculator incorporated and I have found this to be fantastic so it maybe worth enquiring about one of those.

Hope I've not rambled on too much and it has been of some use to you!

Bex
 
I started as soon as I went on basal/bolus. You don't need DAFNE to carb count. And there's always B-dec.
 
Thanks everyone for the responses, it's given me lots of useful info!

It was my first day back at work today after 6 weeks off with a nasty bout of Shingles and then the Diabetes. I'm absolutely exhausted and had a 4.4 when I pulled over for my lunch. I obviously has to treat it following the DVLA guidelines so lost an hour+ and messed my diary up big time. I'm pretty frustrated and confused right now as I'm up to 10.8!

It just reinforced my feeling that I'm not in control yet and want to grab it by the neck.

I know it's early days but an Omnipod & Libre combo sounds like the way to go for me and my lifestyle/career.
 
I started doing it about 10 years before they taught it. Tried explaining my thinking, but it was, "No, the consultant decides the best dose for you." I didn't have much to do with the people after that. We sort of "diverged" for 20 years.
 
@FrankieAngels you don't need to have had diabetes for years in order to be engaged and want to take control of your health - you should be proud that you're thinking ahead about how you want to manage your condition.

It sounds like today has not gone as you hoped but don't be discouraged because results aren't where you want them - the important thing is to understand what happened if you can and move on.
 
Thanks again everyone for the advice and encouragement, it really has helped


This is a brilliant community you've got here.
 
A wee update after my visit to see the DSN yesterday.

They're pleased with my progress and have given me a small amount of autonomy to be dialling my insulin down on my more active work days.

Once I see the dietician in a couple of weeks I might be able to start calculating my doses. As its early days they're still looking to see patterns for absorption rates and trigger foods etc.

I mentioned the Libre or a CGM and the DSN didn't think I would need it, even though I explained how having an almost constant handle on my levels was vital to me being able to return to virtually full capacity in my very busy career. I may need to self fund but don't have a ton of disposable income

I'm going to be staying away overnight for the first time next week and my wife is terrified I'll have a night time hypo and there won't be anybody around to deal with it. The DSN's answer is for me to load up with carbs at night time and set and early morning alarm to check my levels. I'm a bad sleeper so this will mean me having 3-4 hours sleep as I won't go back to sleep.
 
A Libre won't wake you either. A Dexcom will alarm, but, personally, I find I sleep through it. You'll be OK, though, give it a whirl. If you've got glucose, water, blood-tests kit & insulin handy, what can go wrong. (Oh, apart from the terrible mess water & glucose makes of a bed. Exceptionally embarrassing to get past the cleaner in the morning!)
 
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