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

How low before eating and injecting?

Riri

Riri

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,174
Location
Mid Wales
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
The conservative party, people who are cruel to animals and aggressive people
Hia, I just wanted to ask others to see if there are people like me around (rolls eyes!). If my blood sugars are below 5.5 I always eat first and test sugars again to see that they have started to creep up before I bolus/inject for my food. It's become a habit of mine as I always fear the insulin will start acting sooner than the food and I'll get a major hypo. Does anyone else have a level they like to be above before taking their insulin to cover food?
 
I don't worry about it I just inject then eat straight away and I have never had any bad reaction to it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Unless I'm very low I don't let the figure dictate when I eat. A lot depends on what you eat, GI etc. If it's high in GI, I inject 5 mins before eating to give the insulin time to negate any spike. If I eat low GI, or in a restaurant, I usually inject after.
 
Typically 10-20 mins before eating unless the meal is quite low in gi carbs or the meal is highish in fat. If I'm in the 4's and especially the low 4's I will inject after eating just to throw caution to the wind, otherwise I inject ahead.
 
Hey Riri, I had to smile when I read your comment, like you I used to worry about taking my insulin, (Novarapid ) before eating, in case it worked to quickly , and I would end up having a Hypo, went out for dinner one time, ordered the meal, worked out approx how long it-would be, so injected, imagine my horror, when we waited and waited, and waited for our meal to arrive, I panicked , and had to ask for bread and butter to stuff down my neck, to compensate for the insulin, it turned out fine, but I'd rather lost my appetite then, because of the bread, and then of course my Bs shot up, so I can see where you are coming from, so totally agree with Mo and Noblehead.
 
I usually inject after I've eaten.
I worry that I'll inject and not eat all of my food, causing a hypo later on!
I test before I eat, if it's high I'll inject first but if it's normal I inject immediately after.
If it's things like pizza or pasta then I inject first for that too.

I think I'm a bit back to front sometimes!

Indiana x


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Think I'm a bit like you Indianna. I don't pay any attention to what I eat, it's just the number of the meter that dictates to me whether I give the bolus the green light on my pump ....or not! I think it goes back to an incident with me as well. I'd tested and I was 5.1 but within 15 mins of bolusing and eating my BG had plummeted again to hypo level and then the panic set it. Never really got that out of my head so I need to see an upward trend in blood sugars before I bolus!! Ah well - the quirkiness of us all :)
 
I inject just b4 i eat usually,
if my bloods 4 ish then i will inject after eating:)
 
I like my food so i inject before as i never leave anything! Lucky im not sweet toothed so id rather have a good big dinner than small n a sweet so always ok to inject before!


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Njieberridge said:
Hey Riri, I had to smile when I read your comment, like you I used to worry about taking my insulin, (Novarapid ) before eating, in case it worked to quickly , and I would end up having a Hypo, went out for dinner one time, ordered the meal, worked out approx how long it-would be, so injected, imagine my horror, when we waited and waited, and waited for our meal to arrive, I panicked , and had to ask for bread and butter to stuff down my neck, to compensate for the insulin, it turned out fine, but I'd rather lost my appetite then, because of the bread, and then of course my Bs shot up, so I can see where you are coming from, so totally agree with Mo and Noblehead.
Click to expand...
I tend to wait until the food is on the table infront of me. Then, and only then do I inject.
 
Half an hour before brekkie, (porridge, injecting early kills the spike) but normally about 15 mins before, unless its a high fat meal and I'll inject just before or split it and take some just before and the rest about an hour later to spread the insulin release.
 
Back
Top