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Insulin amount

Strachan1

Strachan1

Well-Known Member
Messages
48
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
trachan1 said: ↑
I'm quite new to injecting. Diabetes nurse gave me my doses of insulin. Now I'm allowed to adjust my doses. I take Levemir at night and Novorapid daily. If I take 9 units of Novorapid at breakfast 8am and then at 10am want a biscuit of 17g carb do I inject more Novorapid? Then I have lunch at noon with Novorapid and then another tea break at 3pm. I take a banana do I take Novorapid again? 10g per 1 unit insulin I have been told. Also is it the amount of carbs that make you fat?
Brain totally frazzled!!!!
 
I'll tag @catapillar and @TorqPenderloin for some great guidance. I don't want to confuse things by me (type 2 on insulin) comparing.
Some great type 1s on here with more relevant experience.

I'm sure you will tweek to excellent control.
 
Hello @Strachan1 - It's good your DSN is giving you more control over your management, it's the best way to look after yourself as you can clearly see what goes on with your doses and reactions as well as empowering you to make these decisions for yourself.

Simple rule of thumb: Whenever you eat carbs, take insulin to cover your carbs.

So yes if you eat carbs you will need to take your dose of novorapid to cover this otherwise your BG levels will start to rise. You need to be aware that novorapid lasts in your blood up to 4 hours, so if you eat at 8am take insulin then eat again at 10am then you will still have left over novorapid in your system from breakfast, so if you are testing your BG at 10am then you won't get a clear picture of your BG levels. If you wait 4 hours before eating again you can then see if your morning insulin dose was sufficient in covering the carbs eaten, it will help you see if you need to adjust your carb/insulin dose therefore.

If you overeat on carbs then yes you will gain weight, but if you're eating as you would do normally then you shouldn't put on weight :)
 
Thanks for that. I'm going to start writing all my blood sugars down. After breakfast I will eat no carb until 4 hrs up. If the sugars are not in range do I increase morning dose?
 
@Strachan1 have you been offered a place on a DAFNE / carb counting course? If not, you should ask for one. They often prefer to wait until 12 month post diagnosis as the honeymoon can make finding your insulin to carb ratio more difficult.

In the meantime, there is a free NHS course on carb counting online - https://www.bertieonline.org.uk

The thing with carb counting is you bolus for the carbs you are eating. If you are eating breakfast at 8 and then a snack at 10 you might need to reduce your bolus to take account of the fact you will still have active insulin on board from breakfast. There are some glucose monitors - e.g accucheck aviva expert - that come with a bolus calculator are will give guidance on how much insulin to take once you've told them:
  • What your insulin to carb ratio is
  • How many carbs you are eating
  • What the duration of action insulin has for you
  • What you correction factor is
There are also apps that can be used as a bolus calculator - eg mysugr
 
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Hi. Your nurse has given you reasonable guidance. Personally I don't bother to inject for any carbs less than 30gm as for me it's not worth it. You might want to avoid the biscuit and banana as they are a bit high in carbs? How about nuts, cheese or berries as a snack? Yes, the amount of carbs if taken in excess can make you fat.
 
hi there agree with @catapillar
you really need to understand carb counting to make dose adjustments to your insulin.
check out this online carb counting course https://www.bertieonline.org.uk/

and do ask your diabetes nurse for further advice and to get on a course near you .

all the best !!
 
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