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Is it possible to inject 1 unit as a correction???

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O_DP_T1

Well-Known Member
Messages
458
Location
United Kingdom
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
As mentioned. Say my level is like 10 is it possible to inject 1u through the pen to bring it down to around 7. What I am asking is if you dial up just 1u is it actually administered or should u do 2u to be on the safe side?
 
Yes it's possible - I've been so sensitive to insulin at times during my honeymoon period that I have taken 0.5u corrections on occasion to nudge me in the right direction as 1u would have sent me too low.
 
O_DP_T1 said:
As mentioned. Say my level is like 10 is it possible to inject 1u through the pen to bring it down to around 7. What I am asking is if you dial up just 1u is it actually administered or should u do 2u to be on the safe side?
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Providing you do the appropriate air shot first then there's no problem with injecting 1 unit.
 
I do this regularly. I make sure I keep the needle in for a count of seven just to make sure it all goes in.
 
Yes from me too. I'd always been a bit sceptical about the efficacy of 1u - it seems like such a tiny amount - but since getting cgm, it's easier to see that, yep, it has an effect.

One thing to watch out for, though, which might make it appear to be ineffective, is that if we're at 10, there's a reason for that, that reason is maybe a miscalculation on the last meal bolus shot, or just some T1 randomness, so the 10 might still be getting pushed up by the food, so that 1u on its own might be fighting an uphill struggle, so seems like it's doing nothing, so 2u or more might be needed, depending on how out the miscalc was.

If, though, it's a steady 10 with no food still pushing it to 11, 12 (and to infinity and beyond!), 1u can be surprisingly effective.

Still takes an irritating amount of time though....
 
I’m going to ask about a half unit pen. Sometimes a unit is a bit much, say if my BG is at 8 before bed. I’d like to nudge it down a little, but not as low as 5...
 
Mel dCP said:
I’m going to ask about a half unit pen. Sometimes a unit is a bit much, say if my BG is at 8 before bed. I’d like to nudge it down a little, but not as low as 5...
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I have a half unit pen and although it is good for the small insulin dose, I find having to insert new insulin cartridges fiddly
 
Agree with what has already been said, as long as the air shot is fine then 1 unit should show effect
@Mel dCP half unit pens are fantastic! I have a NovoPen Echo and I absolutely love it! (yes I'm strange haha) xx
 
SueJB said:
I have a half unit pen and although it is good for the small insulin dose, I find having to insert new insulin cartridges fiddly
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I was ok changing cartridges before the single use pens came along, can’t imagine it’s much different?
 
Mel dCP said:
I’m going to ask about a half unit pen. Sometimes a unit is a bit much, say if my BG is at 8 before bed. I’d like to nudge it down a little, but not as low as 5...
Click to expand...
The Novopen Echo is brilliant. I often find half a unit is exactly what I need rather than going any lower with a full unit.
 
Mel dCP said:
I was ok changing cartridges before the single use pens came along, can’t imagine it’s much different?
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I suppose it's because I started with a single use pen that I find it an unnecessary job.I like simplicity
 
What do you find fiddly about it? It's a 15 second job on my Echo to chuck a new cartridge in - most of it walking to the fridge for the cartridge.
 
Yes, a 1u or .5u correction is sometimes all that’s needed. It depends on the circumstances, as @Scott-C has suggested.
I’ve used a half unit echo pen for years, wouldn’t be without it. I’ve just been given a number of single use pens in a new prescription from the consultant and I have to confess they offend me: why throw away all that plastic that housed just one vial? The energy used to manufacture them plus the extra transport costs, the materials, the waste all add up. They seem like a small thing but multiply them by the number of people who use disposable pens and they become more considerable. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
 
I always laughed at the idea of half units but having been given a 'Humapen Luxura' from the manufacturer as the local pharmacist had had another outbreak of idiotitus and couldn't source a Humapen and find the half unit option useful for bolus.

But yes, a single unit can be good for a correction.
 
Tbh if your worried about taking the one unit have a digestive and take the one unit correction Then ull be injecting 2 units and it will put your mind at ease a bit that's what I used to do before I got an echo
 
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