How much Insulin is too much?

[goanna]

Hi everyone, I have now been told that I am Type 1 and have had Novorapid added to my Insulin regime (I have been on Lantus 25 units for about 6 months) I am currently taking 8units of Novorapid twice a day at breakfast and dinner. My endo said to keep going up by 2 units until my reading is less than 8, 2hrs after eating. At the moment I seem to have it pretty stable but am just wondering "when is too much insulin?" Am I taking what would be described as a usual amount? I have put on an extra stone since starting the Novorapid and found Christmas very difficult. Thankyou for any advice. :crazy:

 

[noblehead]

but am just wondering "when is too much insulin?" Am I taking what would be described as a usual amount?

There's no set amount really but most type 1's will typically inject 1-3 units of quick-acting insulin for every 10g of carbohydrate.

 

[slimtony]

Hi,

As a general rule, the larger the dose of insulin that you inject, the less predictable its action will be. So you need to keep this in mind when deciding whether to increase your dose or reduce the size (most usually the carb content) of your meal.

Effectively, this means that everyone sets their own dose limit based on the kind of control they're looking to achieve.

 

[CarbsRok]

Hi everyone, I have now been told that I am Type 1 and have had Novorapid added to my Insulin regime (I have been on Lantus 25 units for about 6 months) I am currently taking 8units of Novorapid twice a day at breakfast and dinner. My endo said to keep going up by 2 units until my reading is less than 8, 2hrs after eating. At the moment I seem to have it pretty stable but am just wondering "when is too much insulin?" Am I taking what would be described as a usual amount? I have put on an extra stone since starting the Novorapid and found Christmas very difficult. Thankyou for any advice. :crazy:

May be a dumb question but why aren't you taking novo with your lunch?
If you don't eat lunch then fair enough. But if you eat lunch without a bolus (novo) then you will be running far to high by the time your evening meal is due and needing massive corrections.

 

[Pneu]

Insulin needs vary by individual... weight does play a part in how much insulin you need to inject along with the activity level of your lifestyle, the amount of carbohydrate that you consume and your own reaction to the type of insulin (many of us find that our bodies react better to different types of insulin). So as you can see it is by no means a one figure fits all approach..

The general rule of thumb is that you need .55 units of insulin per KG of body weight.. split 50 / 50 between bolus (rapid acting) and basal (long acting) insulins. These figures are based on a 'normal' level of carbohydrate intake and activity level and should act as a guide.

 

[goanna]

Thankyou for your replies. I know it was a very basic question but wondered just what amount was considered usual. I am not injecting at lunch because my endo still has me on a small amount of glicazide and at the moment my after lunch readings are staying down. He did say that I would eventually go off the medication and simply rely on Insulin. Thankyou again everyone, this site is so informative!!!