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Hungry Before Bed

Rrar

Rrar

Well-Known Member
Messages
67
Location
South Wales
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I am always hungry before bed, do any of you have a snack before bed & do you take bolus to cover any carbs in the snack as well as the basal, or do you just take more basal to last you through the night?
 
Sugar free jelly and cream ;) No carbs, no bolus .

Not that I snack before bed, I don't , but it's my favourite standy for munchies :D

Oh and it's not a good idea to use a basal dose to " mop" for what you eat, that's the job of a bolus.

Signy
 
Heathenlass said:
Oh and it's not a good idea to use a basal dose to " mop" for what you eat, that's the job of a bolus.]
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Sorry if I sound thick lol, what do you mean by this sentence?

I just need something small before bed otherwise my belly keeps me awake :D the more carb free the better lol :)
 
Packet of pork scratchings and full fat yoghurt with a bit of fruit thrown in or and maybe as well .... a Kabanos sausage.
 
Rrar said:
Sorry if I sound thick lol, what do you mean by this sentence?

I just need something small before bed otherwise my belly keeps me awake :D the more carb free the better lol :)
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Hello.

I believe what the "Lass" ;) is saying, is that an increase in the basal to counteract a snack before bed time would result in low sugar levels pretty much through the following day. If you dose your basal at bed time? Due to the nature of the background insulin on how it plateaus for longer you may find you hypo early morning. Possibly again late morning. & dropped again mid late afternoon..?

I'm all for the pork scratching idea...! :p
 
I like some hummus or pasta before bed, something starchy. I agree with not taking extra basal, a small amount of bolus may be required, but I would start off not taking it and see if you go high during the night, bolus before bed can be a risky business with 4am hypos.

Best of luck.
 
Marty10000 said:
I like some hummus or pasta before bed, something starchy. I agree with not taking extra basal, a small amount of bolus may be required, but I would start off not taking it and see if you go high during the night, bolus before bed can be a risky business with 4am hypos.

Best of luck.
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Hi thanks for replying. I just took my usual amount of basal the night before last & had 1 slice of toast, I woke at 5am feeling strange so tested and my sugar level was 28! Last nite I had the same but took 2 units of bolus with my usual basal & woke at 7am with a hypo lol. So I think 1 unit would have covered me...

Just wanted to check that it was ok to take the extra bolus really as my team just say to inject it 3 times a day for the 3 main meals but I get absolutely starving before bed. Thanks for your comment :)
 
Don't worry too much about the "3 times a day" rule that's just based on the general breakfast lunch and dinner. Some days I might inject 8 times if I just have various snacks rather than 3 set meals. As long as you match your units to your carb portions it's fine
 
gemma6549 said:
Don't worry too much about the "3 times a day" rule that's just based on the general breakfast lunch and dinner. Some days I might inject 8 times if I just have various snacks rather than 3 set meals. As long as you match your units to your carb portions it's fine
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Thanks for clarifying gemma :)
 
Rrar said:
Hi thanks for replying. I just took my usual amount of basal the night before last & had 1 slice of toast, I woke at 5am feeling strange so tested and my sugar level was 28! Last nite I had the same but took 2 units of bolus with my usual basal & woke at 7am with a hypo lol. So I think 1 unit would have covered me...
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Those are massive swings in sugars for a very small amount of bolus (assuming this is mmol/l), were your activity levels or food intake very different on those days?

I agree with gemma6549 that the 3 shots of bolus is only the routine and you should feel free to top-up when appropriate.
 
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Marty10000 said:
Those are massive swings in sugars for a very small amount of bolus (assuming this is mmol/l), were your activity levels or food intake very different on those days
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Nope activity & food intake more or less the same, although I wasn't feeling very well the night before last which could have contributed to it being so high.
 
Ah I see, still personally I would be concerned about a 28 reading under any circumstances, I start to feel really bad about 15+. Everyone is different though...

Hope I have helped.
 
Rrar said:
Sorry if I sound thick lol, what do you mean by this sentence?

I just need something small before bed otherwise my belly keeps me awake :D the more carb free the better lol :)
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I knew I should have been a tad clearer, but it was late...:D

Your basal insulin is there to cope with the glucose released by your liver throughout a 24 hour period. The bolus dose is taken to deal with the blood glucose rise from food, which is why the basal dose is more or less constant, as it keeps your background insulin level, and the bolus dose is calculated by the carb load, so therefore variable. The basal should never be altered to deal with a BG rise that comes from what you have eaten. I hope that makes more sense :)

Signy
 
Heathenlass said:
Your basal insulin is there to cope with the glucose released by your liver throughout a 24 hour period. The bolus dose is taken to deal with the blood glucose rise from food, which is why the basal dose is more or less constant, as it keeps your background insulin level, and the bolus dose is calculated by the carb load, so therefore variable. The basal should never be altered to deal with a BG rise that comes from what you have eaten. I hope that makes more sense :)
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Yes perfect sense thank you :)
 
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