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Insulin is a weird drug sometimes

planehazza

planehazza

Active Member
Messages
40
Location
Newcastle upon Tyne
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Had a couple of biscuits with my cuppa this morning and forgot to take some novorapid. Tested pre lunch and it was ~12. Had a lunch (walkers crisps and a granary bread sandwich with corned beef). Had 12 units of novo - 3 for the crisps, 7 for the bread (large bun) and the rest as a corrective dose. Tested two hours later, still 11, so had 2 more units. Just tested again (albeit only 1 hour later) and it's still 11. Just had another 2 units which I'll probably regret.

So when I say insulin is weird, do people ever get this? Sometimes it's like the insulin does nothing whatsoever, then all of a sudden you're through the floor? I inject each dose in different locations to rule out slow absorption as well...
 
Yes i have found that on a few occasions, it either doesnt work or works too quick,
and its not the food etc as i can have done and eaten exactly the same ofn seperate occasions, i dont think its the insulin thats weird,i think its my body lol
 
totsy said:
Yes i have found that on a few occasions, it either doesnt work or works too quick,
and its not the food etc as i can have done and eaten exactly the same ofn seperate occasions, i dont think its the insulin thats weird,i think its my body lol
Click to expand...

I must be weird too then, well I already knew that anyway. Unless the bread has more sugar in it than I realise and it's caused a mild spike that I've partially blamed on the biscuits? I ate at 2 O'clock so all my insulin should be used up by now, other than the last corrective dose?
 
I think as totsy says, the body works in mysterious ways and all the different hormones that are swimming round our bodies can change the behaviour of our insulin if they are out of whack, even a little....

Ii wouldn't normally correct an 11 2 hours later, unless my pump said so, but then my dose or timing would have been out if my pump was suggesting a correction....

are you pumping.....?
 
You know what…it just shows how complicated our bodies are…I eat the same amount of carb and pretty much the same food every lunch time and mostly it is predictable….but there are days that I have like that or the opposite and I suddenly have a low for no obvious reason.

Be careful on the correcting - try and work out how much active insulin you have and give it a chance to work - on average novorapid is a 4 hour insulin for most people so if you divide your dose by 4 you can work out how much insulin you still have onboard and working per hour (albeit it in a very rough format and not really taking the fact that it peaks and then drops off) - but I reckon that it takes about 1/2 hour for novorapid to start lowering my blood sugar (if I use my arms) so just be careful about it stacking up and then causing a nasty low - you do need to give it a chance - but the long of short of it is I think most of us are weird too :)
 
kkkk said:
You know what…it just shows how complicated our bodies are…I eat the same amount of carb and pretty much the same food every lunch time and mostly it is predictable….but there are days that I have like that or the opposite and I suddenly have a low for no obvious reason.

Be careful on the correcting - try and work out how much active insulin you have and give it a chance to work - on average novorapid is a 4 hour insulin for most people so if you divide your dose by 4 you can work out how much insulin you still have onboard and working per hour (albeit it in a very rough format and not really taking the fact that it peaks and then drops off) - but I reckon that it takes about 1/2 hour for novorapid to start lowering my blood sugar (if I use my arms) so just be careful about it stacking up and then causing a nasty low - you do need to give it a chance - but the long of short of it is I think most of us are weird too :)
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4 hours? I thought it was ~ 2 1/2?
You inject into your arms? How do you manage that? Thanks for the advice, appreciated :)

novorapidboi26 said:
I think as totsy says, the body works in mysterious ways and all the different hormones that are swimming round our bodies can change the behaviour of our insulin if they are out of whack, even a little....

Ii wouldn't normally correct an 11 2 hours later, unless my pump said so, but then my dose or timing would have been out if my pump was suggesting a correction....

are you pumping.....?
Click to expand...

Nope, just regular epi pens
 
did you go low then?

how long did you leave from injecting and eating?

lol...yeah novorapid is 4-5 hours duration....
 
You answered my question….here is a graph anyway just incase you like pictures

http://www.diabetes-support.org.uk/info/?page_id=408

It's peak is around that 1-3 hour mark (but then for some people it is quicker and can be out their system in 3 hours, and others it is slower and out their system in 5)

Bizarre but I injected in my stomach as a teen and it put me off my meal and I haven't been near it since - there is something fairly irrational about me and my stomach that means that I don't like injecting there…having said that, that is where my CGM goes and where my pump will go - it is just visual needles going in there (completely irrational) - so I have short needles and just inject in my arms (which is where I go for if we are out), I also use my legs, but arms are quicker than legs so I tend to use that for the longer acting insulins. Did try my backside at one stage but when your bruise there you can notice it when you sit down :D plus it's really hard to see what you are doing :D!
 
Insulin is certainly indeed a strong and weird drug .
Somedays quietly doing its thing and we just chug along .

Other days and times changes how we feel 'dramatically'
HYPO we can go and this knocks me sideways .
Can take me a couple of days to feel safe and steady again .

A HYPO can really wipe me out ! :wacky:
 
Hey guys, nope no hypo. Have just tested (now ~5 hours after my lunch) and it is 7.8, so not bad. That took a lot of insulin to get there, so I'm wondering if my injection sites are getting overused.

I'm skinny so have very little fat on my arms, so it's a no go area. I always do my basal dose in my thigh as I'm at home and won't scare anyone away by dropping my kegs haha.

The problem now is that I'm hungry again haha. So I'm going to buy a meal deal and see how the insulin works this time. I'll be eating again around 9 when I get home too!
 
It could be a problem with your insulin. Try a new cartridge from a new box if possible.
Of course it might be your injection site, a problem with your pen, the state of the tide, the weather, your star sign, the diabetes fairy...
 
I think you are like me about my stomach about your arms (does that make sense) - I bet my arms are skinnier than yours, mainly 'cos you look like a bloke and there is little chance you are as short as me - I think there is less fat on my stomach and it's just closer to valuable organs whereas your arms are just muscle! :) Honestly they are fine :)

Your turn to convince that injecting in my stomach will be ok :)
 
DunePlodder said:
It could be a problem with your insulin. Try a new cartridge from a new box if possible.
Of course it might be your injection site, a problem with your pen, the state of the tide, the weather, your star sign, the diabetes fairy...
Click to expand...


Maybe I should sacrifice something to the God Diabetes Mellitus? :D

kkkk said:
I think you are like me about my stomach about your arms (does that make sense) - I bet my arms are skinnier than yours, mainly 'cos you look like a bloke and there is little chance you are as short as me - I think there is less fat on my stomach and it's just closer to valuable organs whereas your arms are just muscle! :) Honestly they are fine :)

Your turn to convince that injecting in my stomach will be ok :)
Click to expand...

Are you saying you're injecting into muscle? Stomach is just easier, although it's a bit fussy on places that sting. The difference of 5mm can be painful sting, or absolutely painless. Not doing a good job at convincing you am I?
 
planehazza said:
Had a couple of biscuits with my cuppa this morning and forgot to take some novorapid. Tested pre lunch and it was ~12. Had a lunch (walkers crisps and a granary bread sandwich with corned beef). Had 12 units of novo - 3 for the crisps, 7 for the bread (large bun) and the rest as a corrective dose. Tested two hours later, still 11, so had 2 more units. Just tested again (albeit only 1 hour later) and it's still 11. Just had another 2 units which I'll probably regret.

So when I say insulin is weird, do people ever get this? Sometimes it's like the insulin does nothing whatsoever, then all of a sudden you're through the floor? I inject each dose in different locations to rule out slow absorption as well...
Click to expand...
my moto is never let the diabetes take over, your in charge, well i use 12 units of novorapid and if my readings high 2 hours later,i go for a small walk that little bit of excercise brings the reading down.
 
novorapidboi26 said:
Interesting, what is the science behind that....
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No science lol, just what I've noticed for me, I can have breakfast at 7am and bolus a 1\10 ratio, have lunch at 1pm and bolus a 1/15 ratio. skip breakfast, I need 1\10 for lunch.
Same if I miss lunch, I ned more bolus for tea. Always been this way and basal is correct. Found this out from always happening during fasting tests.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
brett said:
No science lol, just what I've noticed for me, I can have breakfast at 7am and bolus a 1\10 ratio, have lunch at 1pm and bolus a 1/15 ratio. skip breakfast, I need 1\10 for lunch.
Same if I miss lunch, I ned more bolus for tea. Always been this way and basal is correct. Found this out from always happening during fasting tests.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
Click to expand...

strange observation.......

my understanding of insulin/carb ratios is that is all about insulin sensitivity at different times of the day.........so your observations add an extra dimension to that....
 
novorapidboi26 said:
strange observation.......

my understanding of insulin/carb ratios is that is all about insulin sensitivity at different times of the day.........so your observations add an extra dimension to that....
Click to expand...

No one else noticed this?
Maybe why people are advised not to skip meals, specifically on weight loss programmes ive thought, as it leads to a higher release of insulin for next meal, which in turn leads to weight gain. And why people are advised to always have breakfast to kick start their bodies. But I can eat a very small carb portion that needs only 1 unit, and ratios stay fine, miss a meal or have a carb free meal, need more insulin next meal.
Thats my theory lol.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Agreed. Sometimes I only have to over bolus by a unit or two and I hit the floor about an hour and a half later. Other times I under bolus by just one unit and I'm in double figures by next mealtime. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and very new to this malrky and when I look at my BM graph, I sometimes feel like a failure when just one reading is outside of the shaded area (shaded area is between 3.9 and 8.9).
 
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