I was diagnosed with diabetes 2 5 years ago and cannot control my levels. Now taking Levemir 12 units in the morning and 10 units Novorapid before meals. Took these at 7.30 this morning had a cup of tea and a toasted tea cake and sugar levels 2 hours later are 27.6. What am I doing wrong
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high sugar level
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glucosegirl
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Hi.
Sorry to hear that you are struggling so much with your blood sugar.
You say in your post that you take 10 units of NovoRapid before meals. I think that the problem is that you are not matching the dose of insulin to the amount of carbohydrate you are eating which is why your blood sugar ends up so high after eating. The first thing you need to do is work out how much carbohydrate is in the food you are about to eat. You can look at the label to do this or use a carb counting book. Once you know that then you need to work out how many units of NovoRapid you need per 10g carbs. This is called your insulin to carb ratio. For example you may need 1 unit for every 10g carbs, so for a meal of 40g carbs you would need four units. Your ratio may vary a different times of day as well. Many people find they need more insulin at breakfast than at lunch for example. There are several carb counting courses that you can take that are available on the NHS and you should ask your nurse or GP about this. I think there is also an online course you can take.
However in the mean time here are the names of some book that can help. They are all available from amazon.
Carbs and Cals - this is a carb counting book with pictures of the food that you can compare to your own portions.
Think Like A Pancreas- this book covers everything to do with taking insulin
There are also several apps to help with carb counting if you have an iPhone or Android. My favourite is DiabeticFriend
To get you started you could use the 500 rule (this is talked about it Think Like A Pancreas). It will give you a starting point on how much NovoRapid to take for your food. Divide 500 by your average number of units of daily insulin (Levemir plus NovoRapid) and you should get a reasonable approximation of your insulin to carb ration.
Hope this helps and please let us know how you get on.
Sorry to hear that you are struggling so much with your blood sugar.
You say in your post that you take 10 units of NovoRapid before meals. I think that the problem is that you are not matching the dose of insulin to the amount of carbohydrate you are eating which is why your blood sugar ends up so high after eating. The first thing you need to do is work out how much carbohydrate is in the food you are about to eat. You can look at the label to do this or use a carb counting book. Once you know that then you need to work out how many units of NovoRapid you need per 10g carbs. This is called your insulin to carb ratio. For example you may need 1 unit for every 10g carbs, so for a meal of 40g carbs you would need four units. Your ratio may vary a different times of day as well. Many people find they need more insulin at breakfast than at lunch for example. There are several carb counting courses that you can take that are available on the NHS and you should ask your nurse or GP about this. I think there is also an online course you can take.
However in the mean time here are the names of some book that can help. They are all available from amazon.
Carbs and Cals - this is a carb counting book with pictures of the food that you can compare to your own portions.
Think Like A Pancreas- this book covers everything to do with taking insulin
There are also several apps to help with carb counting if you have an iPhone or Android. My favourite is DiabeticFriend
To get you started you could use the 500 rule (this is talked about it Think Like A Pancreas). It will give you a starting point on how much NovoRapid to take for your food. Divide 500 by your average number of units of daily insulin (Levemir plus NovoRapid) and you should get a reasonable approximation of your insulin to carb ration.
Hope this helps and please let us know how you get on.
Robinredbreast
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maz1221 said:
Hi there Probably the best thing to do is see your dr, who will then refer you to the Diabetes Nurses at the hospital and then they will help with trying to get your BS down. I only take my Levemir at night and NovoRapid with breakfast, lunch and Dinner. I went on a Carb counting course and it really helped me
Good luck to you and I hope you get some good levels soon. Take careMake sure you are testing before you eat as well to get the full picture of how much the food is raising your BG levels. The insulin you are taking could be ok for what you are eating at certain meals but if you are already way too high then you need to adjust.
I have good control just now but during the periods when I struggle to keep my BG levels down I will test 8-10 times a day, before and after each meal, first thing in morning, last thing at night and anywhere inbetween where I feel too high. That gives a much clearer picture as to when your BG are rising most and why.
I have good control just now but during the periods when I struggle to keep my BG levels down I will test 8-10 times a day, before and after each meal, first thing in morning, last thing at night and anywhere inbetween where I feel too high. That gives a much clearer picture as to when your BG are rising most and why.
