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Help with basal dose

samantha13

Well-Known Member
Messages
392
Hi I'm really struggling to get my basal dose right. To be fair I'm not really on top of my diabetes at all.

Iv been diagnosed 2.5years. I started on 8u levimer at night. I was eating well and my readings were between 5-8 for the first year. Then I jus started eating badly again and not checking bg etc.

I really want to get on top of it and have been told I need to get my basal dose right first. Up until last week I was taking 16u levimer at night. My morning bg is always 14+. Last week I increased it to 18u and my morning bg is still 14+

I'm scared that I'm going to end up on huge doses of insulin. I'm also trying to carb count and take 2u per 10g carbs but my bg still 10+ 2hours after eating.

Feeling really disheartened today and that I'll never cope. I'm 29 and 13stone.


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Hi Samantha

Have you tried testing during the night? You might be dropping low during the night and getting a rebound from a liver dump.
 
If you go low during the night you'd need to take a bit less. Do some tests during the night for the next few nights to see what's happening.
 
Just wanted to add... well done for trying to sort this out. It will be well worth the trouble. Don't get disheartened if things go wrong at times, there's always another day. Have you asked about going on a DAFNE course? It will really help you get your doses sorted out.
 


Well said Robert! And I'm going to echo this... good on you for trying to get to grips with this. It's not easy and it takes time, trial and error. But it's very good that you're trying to get it sorted! I've struggled with this too and I'm sure many diabetics do!


From what I learned from my consultant, he advised that to get the basal dose right you need to look at your morning blood sugar level. So to aim for around 6 before your breakfast will mean you've got the right amount of your basal insulin. But of course, you do need to have the right bolus ratio to achieve this too. Have you checked that that is correct for you? For some people the ratio you need changes during the day so although you can be taking the right amount in the mornings, you might not be taking enough come the evening time, or vice versa. It's worth doing some blood sugar monitoring to make sure and then trying to adjust your basal levels once you know the bolus amounts are definitely correct (or as correct as they can be!).

Good luck and keep persevering!
 
Last night at 10pm bs was 13.4
2am. 8.4
4am. 10.1
7am. 11.6

Although its still high does this mean my basal of 18u levimer is about right and I should be working on my bolus doses now or should I increase the levimer?


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Hi Samantha
First off... Good for you.
Next... Do you normally have a novorapid dose at 8pm? Was that 8pm dose with food or because your levels were high and you wanted to bring them down?
 
Hi Samantha

Probably better to follow this up in your 'Stress and high levels' thread as it's all part of the bigger picture. Will also save needing to post results in 2 places.
 
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