How to calculate my basal requirements?

[Dixon1995]

Hello. Are there any tips for getting my basal where it needs to be. Is it dependent on amount of carbs I eat.

The reason I ask is because, I was on Levemir until 1 month ago, I was on 40 units in a 24 hour period of it, 20 on a morning, 20 on a teatime. All was well.

I got put on Glargine again recenty and I couldn't handle 20, as my sugars lowered too much when fasting.

Now today I am on 24 units of Basal in a 24 hour period, 12 on a morning, 12 at night.

My blood sugar 2 hours ago was 6.9mmol/L and have not taken any Novorapid the last was 6 hours ago, and my blood just now is 5.9mmol/L, so it has dropped 1 whole number.

I assume this is my basal at work, I have dropped it 16 units already, and im going day by day reducing 1 unit from my morning basal if i notice a fasting drop during the day, and 1 unit per night if I notice a drop while fasting whilst sleeping.

Am I almost at the sweetspot? Thanks

 

[urbanracer]

Hello. Are there any tips for getting my basal where it needs to be. Is it dependent on amount of carbs I eat.

The reason I ask is because, I was on Levemir until 1 month ago, I was on 40 units in a 24 hour period of it, 20 on a morning, 20 on a teatime. All was well.

I got put on Glargine again recenty and I couldn't handle 20, as my sugars lowered too much when fasting.

Now today I am on 24 units of Basal in a 24 hour period, 12 on a morning, 12 at night.

My blood sugar 2 hours ago was 6.9mmol/L and have not taken any Novorapid the last was 6 hours ago, and my blood just now is 5.9mmol/L, so it has dropped 1 whole number.

I assume this is my basal at work, I have dropped it 16 units already, and im going day by day reducing 1 unit from my morning basal if i notice a fasting drop during the day, and 1 unit per night if I notice a drop while fasting whilst sleeping.

Am I almost at the sweetspot? Thanks

When you make changes to basal you should wait 4 to 5 days for each change to reach a stable state. That's just the way basal works, and if you're changing doses on a daily basis you may overshoot.

You can check if your basal is correct with a basal test. Your glucose level should stay flat(ish) even when you don't eat.

Interesting post though as I am going the other way, from Glargine to Levemir at the moment and am increasing my dosage as the 16u I was using before just isn't enough with Levemir. Currently up to 18 and looks like I might need more.

 

[Dixon1995]

When you make changes to basal you should wait 4 to 5 days for each change to reach a stable state. That's just the way basal works, and if you're changing doses on a daily basis you may overshoot.

You can check if your basal is correct with a basal test. Your glucose level should stay flat(ish) even when you don't eat.

Interesting post though as I am going the other way, from Glargine to Levemir at the moment and am increasing my dosage as the 16u I was using before just isn't enough with Levemir. Currently up to 18 and looks like I might need more.

Thanks. At first I was waiting a bit but recently started changing it daily as the fasting drops became too much. I'll go back to checking it every 3rd or 4th day.

It's certainly a strange one. I take abasaglar twice daily to stop the rising sugar levels towards the end of the insulins life if I was to take it once daily. It seems to me that Levemir does the same job as abasaglar if taken twice daily, but that levemir needs a higher dosage to do that job. Or at least thats what happened to me, and as you're increasing yours, may be happening to you.