• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

four times a day compared to twice a day

L

litto-miss-loz

Member
Messages
14
Hey all :)

i just wondered what u lot thought about the four times a day injection regime compared to the twice day regime wif the mixtard insulin?

is anyone on twice and has good control?


wb xx
 
My son got good control on mixtard twice a day on a low carb diet.

He is now on levemir/novorapid/ hypurin and has a much more flexible diet.

The biggest advantage of the meal insulins being separate from the basal insulin is the flexibility in the timing and content of your meals. After a while you barely notice the extra jags.
 
If you can nail down basal bolus, you're laughing. The problem is that it's much harder to get consistent, balanced results when compared to a mixtard regime.
 
so you think that the twice a day mixtard gives better control than the 4 times a day ??

im thinkin of goin back to mixtard but wanted to get views of people who are on that insulin.

so u get good control wif it??

write back
 
Not entirely. If you stick to a very rigid diet, and time your meals properly mixed insulins (in my experience) can give better overall results than basal bolus regimes. The downside being that you cannot, must not, deviate from your daily routine and carb intake.

With Basal/Bolus you can adjust your insulin intake (and timing) when needed (such as for a late lunch, dinner out, party with cake, etc).

Basically, basal bolus gives you more freedom to eat/workout when you want, but it requires a very good understanding of your insulin ratios (i.e. how many units of insulin you personally need for every x-number of carbs you eat).
 
my cousin is on twice a day and can eat wot she likes lol .... i think it just depends!
it works for some people and not others!

thanks for the info :)
 
There's something that confuses me (what doesn't, at the moment!)

I understand how each form of treatment works, that's okay. Obviously I want to switch onto basal/bolus as soon as I can, because of being young, competing in pretty major sports contests each month but not having a rigid training routine, being used to eating whenever I like etc...

Why am I on humalog 25 (a mix) at all? I mean, am I not just going to get stable on this, figure out what I'm doing and then, as soon as I got the hang of it, change onto a different regime?

Can anyone shed light on this?

Thankyou :)
 
It's much easier to establish a basic (and good) level of control on a mixed insulin regime. Plus, a lot of people on mixed regimes are in their honeymoon period (or the tail end of it) which means is also easier to control using mixed insulin.

As part of the big picture: Basically it's like the training wheels of diabetes. It stabilises your glucose levels and teaches you the basics of insulin management. Once you're a big boy, you get to play with the more dangerous toys - i.e. basal bolus. With a mix you're unlikely to do serious damage... with basal bolus you could spiral out of control pretty quickly.
 
Okay - makes sense, thanks. One other thing to anyone else who has been in my position (ie, itching to get on with the basal/bolus regime and back to a "normal life") ... how long did you have to wait before making the switch?
 
my doctor doesnt think i will stabilise easily on it, i blooxy wont if i dont get chance to try grrrr
 
hya lion,
i go ok for a few mnth then im high alot with lots of hypos too,a diff dr,lowered my insulin and took me off met and then it went high so i asked him bout basal/bolus he said he didnt think it would benefit me and to up insulin by 2, was still high so i upped it by another two and last 2 days im under 10 so ok at mo,taking every day as it comes now grrr
amanda
 
If you stick to a very rigid diet, and time your meals properly mixed insulins (in my experience) can give better overall results than basal bolus regimes. The downside being that you cannot, must not, deviate from your daily routine and carb intake.

This was my experience too. With Steven being a schoolboy he had a pretty routinised life anyway. We used extra novorpid to cover his lunch as well after he was able to cope with doing this at school.

The difficulty in getting the insulin regime you want is still very common indeed in the NHS. If it helps, new GMC guidance to doctors about involving patients in decisions concerning their care has just come out and been posted to every doctor. Would asking about a change now be a good time?
 
hya katherine,
im on just lantus not a mix,this is what worries me,
any advice? plz
 
what do u mean that if ur on basal bolus then u can get out of control compared to wen ur on mixtard??

is mixtard the 30/70 one and its a dark blue pen?
 
Back
Top