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I'm concerned with the readings-really high!

Amrit1712

Well-Known Member
Messages
107
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I've been diagnosed for 2 months now and I'm in the transition of fixed doses and carb counting, I have to weigh my food but don't have a ratio yet. My levels are normally ranging from 5-8/9 throughout the day. However, yesterday after having the same breakfast I always have of oatabix and 3.5 units of novorapid, my level rose to 11.1 after 2 hours from 7.1. At lunch I was at a restaurant and only carbs were chips so I took 5 units as my levels were still high. Before dinner it was 10.3, not too bad as they hadn't risen. For dinner I had rice and a chocolate Eclair and took 6.5 units after calculating everything and ended up with a reading of 12.7 before bed, quite high considering I compensated for the high level before dinner and even added half a unit extra. This morning my level was 8.0 which was high and I had my normal dose of 12 levemir before bed. Had eggy bread for breakfast, calculated it to take 5.5 units of novo which should've been more than enough. 3 hours later my level was 14.7!

Apologies for the long post, I'm just not quite sure what's wrong. Could it be a bad insulin cartridge as I changed it on Tuesday I think.

Thanks Amrit
 
Hi, I'm a type 2 so cant really assist, I do note that from the info given you are eating a lot of Carbohydrates, that convert to sugar.
Have you thought of trying a diet if Low Carbs, as Im certain it will assist in Lowering Blood Glucose levels.
Lots of info on the site if interested, or ask and someone will assist
 
Hi Amrit,

Given how recently you were diagnosed you are probably still in something of a state of flux. It could well be that you Carb to Insulin ratio has changed and you need to adjust it. I would suggest that you contact your Dr or (better still) DSN and discuss your readings with them.
If you are keeping a full set of logs showing your readings, carb intake and doses they should be able to help you work it all out and get back into a better range.

/A
 

Hi, thanks for the reply, I don't tend to eat to many sweet things but agree that things like chocolate Eclairs are sugary but chips and oats are more starchy am I right in saying?
 
I have considered a low carbon diet but I reckon I'll struggle a bit with school. In the morning, having cereal and making a sandwich is the easiest thing to do
 
There could be several things going on here.

It could be the honeymoon period coming to an end which means you'll need more insulin.

The fact that you don't have your ratios yet makes it difficult to work out how much insulin should be taken for meals. I say "ratios" because it could be you end up with different ratios for different meals.

If you changed the cartridge on Tuesday and your levels were OK on Wednesday, I'd say it's not likely to be bad insulin.

The best thing to do is contact your DSN and see what is suggested. Don't worry if you can't speak to her/him until next week, as long as your blood sugar comes down after correcting, there is nothing to worry about.
 
Amrit1712 said:
Hi, thanks for the reply, I don't tend to eat to many sweet things but agree that things like chocolate Eclairs are sugary but chips and oats are more starchy am I right in saying?
Click to expand...
yep, that;s close enough..the link that was put up is well worth taking a week or 2 to go through..
 


Thanks Andy, I'll take time to read through the link. I'm contacting the diabetes nurses soon anyway and I'll mention what's happening. I've got a record of everything I've eaten, carb count etc... For the last two weeks. Have a feeling it may have something to do with the honeymoon period if my levels don't come down soon.
 
I think perhaps you need to do some basal and bolus testing.

If you are waking up to a reading of 8 in the mornings, you likely need more then 12 units of levemir, which could explain why you go higher then expected after eating, as your sugars would just slowly be rising all day and the bolus would bring them down a bit but not enough to do what is intended.

Try waking up in the morning, and check your BS and then don't eat anything or drink anything with carbs for like 4 hours, check 2 hours in, and 2 hours after that, and compare the readings to that first reading so if your levels go up or down. If they are going up you likely need more basal.
Do this on a couple days to be sure your results are correct before adjusting, and then add 1 unit, and try again, and continue until you don't see any rise, or even a very small drop (less then 1.5mmol/l)

Also, try at night or after lunch... this ones trickier because it should be a time when you know all the food in your body has been digested, and that you have no active bolus insulin in your system. Check you sugars, fast for a few hours and check every 2 hours. again see if your increasing or decreasing. Repeat a couple days to confirm and then adjust and try again.

You may have issues with either you basal or bolus ratios, one or both.

It could be that your honeymoon has just ended, which would mean your pancreas has totally retired, and that would mean you would need more insulin all around, and could be the cause if you haven't re-adjusted the ratios. But that is the same as i have mentioned above.

I have a link to a youtube video i made in my signature that kinda describes the process if you wanted to give it a watch.

Cheers
 

Make sure your logs also have your BG readings and the insulin you have been taken. Typically it is easier to see what is going on for the insulin if you record it as CP Insulin + Correction.
For example at lunch today my BG was 10.5 (no idea why) and lunch was 58g of Carbs. So I took 6UI to cover lunch and 2.5UI to correct.
I recorded that as 6+2.5 Units Insulin. That way it is quite easy to see what is covering and what is correcting.

If you do nothing else have a look at the BDEC course as it gives a really good base for carb counting and correction etc.
 

Ok, I'll start doing that as at the moment I just record the total amount of insulin I take and my BG level.
 
UPDATE: I just checked my level now after lunch and it was 6.9, much better as it was 13.7 before lunch. I changed my novorapid cartridge before lunch so I have a feeling that the cartridge was the problem as I replaced it on Tuesday, just before the problem started.
 
Something I have recently learned from others on this forum and since starting LCHF which may help is that protein should also be considered with your bolus...

All other potential issues considered, experiment with bolusing for 30-50% of the protein content in your meal and see if that helps. This needs to be done via an extended bolus/ delayed bolus from your carb bolus as protein digests slower than carbs...

Google "total available glucose" for further info.
 
Amrit1712 said:
Hi, thanks for the reply, I don't tend to eat to many sweet things but agree that things like chocolate Eclairs are sugary but chips and oats are more starchy am I right in saying?
Click to expand...

A chocolate eclair contains far less carbs than chips or oats...,

All carbs break down to glucose, the more you eat, the more errors you can get...
 
Amrit1712 said:
Hi, thanks for the reply, I don't tend to eat to many sweet things but agree that things like chocolate Eclairs are sugary but chips and oats are more starchy am I right in saying?
Click to expand...
Yes - but just be aware too that both sugary and starchy foods contain carbohydrates, and both can therefore affect your glucose levels.

Robbity
 
Robbity said:
Yes - but just be aware too that both sugary and starchy foods are carbohydrates, and both can therefore affect your glucose levels.

Robbity
Click to expand...


I am aware of that, it's just the point I was trying to make was that the carbs I eat don't tend to be sugary carbs so they aren't as bad as eating lots of sugary carbs. 40g of oats won't affect your levels as quickly much as 40g of milk chocolate. Also I never normally have trouble managing my glucose levels with carbs, I think I had a bad cartridge.
 
Glad your sugars are back in range. It's important to note 40g of sugar and 40g of other carbs are pretty much the same in terms of affect on blood glucose - the only difference is the time taken for any rise (assuming non of the carbs are fibre).

Fat and protein content also impact rate of BG change and total "glucose" content of meal.
 
May I just clear this up, I understand that sugar and starchy foods BOTH contain carbohydrates and that they have similar effects on my body and that sugar causes levels to rise faster which in my opinion is worse and more risky. I normally don't have any problems with my levels when having any amounts of Carbohydrates as I know how to carb count but I find that when I have something sugary it's harder to manage as it rises quickly which is why I was saying that tend to have more starchy carbs which make controlling levels easy rather than sugary foods.
 
I thimk that as you have only been diagnosed for 2 months that your body is going thtough a last few spurts of its own insulin which is lowering your blood readings and at other times it isn't and causing higher readings.

On days when you are havinb higher readings then to me you would be better off lowering your carb intake.

What insulins are you using?
 
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