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is this too much insulin?

R

royalflush

Newbie
Messages
1
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
hi ive been diabetic about 10 years I had my isulin changes once in the last 4 years no im taking 60 units of levimer a night and 14 novaraid twice once at night once during the day
 
royalflush said:
hi ive been diabetic about 10 years I had my isulin changes once in the last 4 years no im taking 60 units of levimer a night and 14 novaraid twice once at night once during the day
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With 60 units of levimer I wouldn't be here to write this I use 13 units of Levimer with my 7.5 evening mealtime bolus of humalog I can't understand what you are doing here are you only having 2 meals a day I think you should see your endo or educator to get things under control.
 
I don't think there is such a thing as "too much insulin". We all have different insulin requirements depending on our weight, activity level, stress level, body composition, hormones. It is a very individual thing to find the insulin doses that are right for you.

So the better question to ask is probably "is this the right amount of insulin for me?" If your blood sugar results are in range and you don't have problems with hypos then there is no reason to think it's too much insulin just because it's a high number.

A TDD of 88 might not be that unusual in someone who is 200lbs + and under a lot of physical stress factors (other illness or medication) or pretty sedentary.

Diabetesnet.com has got a total daily dose estimator so it uses age, weight, activity to tell you the average TDD, but remember, you aren't average, you are you, it's fine to not sit in the average so long as your doses are working well for you.

However, if your blood sugar readings are out of range or you are getting a lot of hypos then it is probably worth investigating whether this is the right amount of insulin for you.

You can do this investigation by:
1) basal testing to see if your levemir keeps you in range - https://mysugr.com/basal-rate-testing/
2) having a look at your insulin to carb ratio - http://www.bertieonline.org.uk

Are you on fixed units of novorapid with no carb counting? Do you find that you have to eat to your insulin to keep your sugar up?
 
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Hi. The Novorapid should be taken before each meal and not 'at night' and thru carb-counting adjusted for the carbs in each meal. Can you let us know what your weight/BMI is? That level of insulin might suggest that you have some excess weight or are just a big build? If not already on a lower-carb diet it is probably worth doing as taking insulin if overweight can be a vicious circle due to insulin resistance.
 
The correct dose of insulin is the one that produces the best long term results. This might be quite different from the one that matches your current carb intake.
Look at the doses used by T1s of retirement age who are fit and healthy. Find out for yourself how little they use.
And ask your doctors why they refuse to formally collate this vital information.
The combination of strategies that will give you the best result in 20 or 30 years cannot be determined by looking at your own life and measuring short term outcomes such as HbA1c and lipids. Avoiding CVD should be your priority.
 
nickm said:
Look at the doses used by T1s of retirement age who are fit and healthy. Find out for yourself how little they use.
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For what it's worth, I am 68, 17 st, 6'4" and reasonably fit. I take 18 Lantus each morning and typically the following doses of Novorapid: Breakfast 3, lunch 4, supper 7. I'm a fairly recent T1 and my DSN says I may still have some insulin of my own so can expect to need higher doses in future.

The important thing to remember is that we are all different and 'correct' doses can vary enormously.
 
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