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Type 1 Insulin pump basal

A

adi_mrok

Member
Messages
22
Type of diabetes
Family member
Treatment type
Pump
Hi guys, T1 here. I have a question about your basal rates - would anyone of you insulin pumpers would be able to share with me your sample basal rate per 24h so I can compare it with mine?

I've heard that it's better off to have even basal throughout the day (i.e. 8am 1u 9am 0.9u 10am 0.8 11am 0.9u etc) rather than inject 0.6u at 9am 1.5u at 10am and 0.5u at 11.

Thanks all for help, trying to get my Hb1ac down but really struggling with the spikes!
 
Here’s my usual one in units per hour:

00:00-03:30 1.15
03:30-06:00 1.25
06:00-09:00 - 0.85
09:00-11:00 - 1.25
11:00-14:00 - 1.15
14:00-18:00 - 0.75
18:00-24:00 - 0.90
 
Hi @adi_mrok, From my TID and pump experience, not as professional advice or opinion.
I would urge caution in comparing basal rates with another pumper or expecting one pattern of basal rates to suit you.
We are all different in the way he absorb food, what that food does to our BSLs what we eat, how we 'burn up' food, how exercise affects our BSLs, what influences our BSLs overnight etc. My unit of insulin to correct x mmol/l BSL will be different to yours as will my unit of insulin to g of carbs.
I believe that the value of @Mel dCP 's answer is that it shows you one example of how another person's basal rate differs from yours as will the ratio of inits of basal ; units of bolus.
With diabetics being started on insulin pumps my endo says he 'sculpts' the basal rate to the individual. No one rate is the exactly the same as another. There may be "rules of thumb' which he incorporates in the sculpting but his skill is the hard-earned one of long experience with many, many variations.
Others on site can help you with how to perform 'basal testing', a way to measure how well your current basal rate is working (or not)! That I suggest is far more valuable than comparison with others. Best wishes
 
Insulin pump uses tend to have basal rates that look like the image below.



It's not usual to have a single rate throughout the day.

However it's also worth bearing in mind that long acting insulins are very different from using a pump, as the following image shows:


When you add into that what happens around meals and dose requirements, it's quite a complex arrangement.

I would start by basal testing and working out whether my current basal was right and my approach to mealtime insulin in relation to spikes, before moving on to perhaps looking at alternative options. You can learn about basal testing here: https://mysugr.com/basal-rate-testing/
 
My question more relates to the statement of my doctors saying my basal rate should be as even as possible throughout the day cycle rather than having jumps between 0.5 or more units per hour. Basal rate is just for my reference to check that statement
 
But your body has very different insulin needs throughout the day... your basal rate should reflect this. If you’ve got it right, you should have a steady BG while fasting.
 
Hi again @adi_mrok, again from past experience as a diabetic, not as professional opinion or advice.
I cringe wherever a doctor says 'should'. "Should" according to whom, ? what they read last year? what someone told them but has no proof for? Unfortunately there can be a tendency for some doctors (by no means all) to try to simply things for themselves and apply a type of cook-book' mentality to diabetes. Yes, there maybe general trends but is this type of advice right? Are you expected to fit into what they say is expected? Or is it a matter of doing your own basal testing and seeing what works for you.?
Flexibility is the key. Being told to fit into a square when your 'shape' is a star, or whatever is a bit much. And there is also the blame game where, if you do not fit into that square there must be something wrong with you, not with what they have said.
Yes, I might end up with a basal pattern like they describe but there is no guarantee of it because everyone of us is different.
We wear different size shoes, wear different clothes, have a range of blood pressure, have different faces, moods, emotions etc etc. Find what works for you !!
 
Doctors saying the basal should be this and should be that is nonsense..........the delivery of basal insulin is what you have established you need to hold your BG steady in the absence of food or bolus insulin.......

Just for information, here my daily intake:

00:00 - 1.4u/H
01:00 - 1.45u/H
05:30 - 2.6u/H
07:30 - 1.5u/H
09:00 - 1.7u/H
11:00 - 1.0u/H
16:00 - 2.0u/H
19:00 - 1.45u/H
22:00 - 1.5u/H

As you can see its evolved to almost unmanageable levels......
 
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