Hi everyone I am newly diagnosed type 1 and on 10 units Lantus at night and readings vary between 6 and 8 now that the insulin is working.Can I expect to be on this dose for quite a while
Hi, I’m newly diagnosed aswell! About three months into life with T1D but already feel like an expert.
I’m assuming you haven’t done a course or anything yet neither have I. Without the DAFNE course they kind of don’t allow you to do your own thing. They give instructions to you on your doses for the first few months and once you’ve had the course you will learn how to adjust your dose according to your lifestyle. I’ve heard from elders that they usually offer the course when you have been through the honeymoon period which can usually take up to a year. The honeymoon period is a length of time after diagnosis and starting insulin where the remaining pancreatic beta cells that haven’t been destroyed continue to produce insulin, however, unfortunately these remaining cells are destroyed (there is some scientific evidence that beta cells remain years after diagnosis but are dormant in some T1 diabetics).
Naturally as your body starts to produce less insulin you will see a need to increase the dose of your basal insulin (Lantus). Whilst on the other hand some people decrease their dose if they are going to have a particularly active day.
I was diagnosed with a HbA1c of 134 mmol/mol and fasting blood glucose of 19.4 mmol/L. They decided to put me on 14 units of Lantus and just before leaving the hospital they told me to increase it to 16 units, I did what they said and I would get hypos everyday sometimes twice a day. My dietician deals with my insulin doses and she was apparently dealing with COVID patients so I didn’t hear from her for months and when she called we did a basal testing and confirmed that my Lantus should be reduced back to 14 units. That extra 2 units does really make a difference as even small walks to the shops made me go hypo and now I’m very comfortable. I can literally go to shopping and walk around for hours without worrying especially if I haven’t taken any bolus (mealtime) insulin in the last three hours this is because this is a rapid acting insulin and if you do lots of physical activity it can cause hypos. When the effect of the mealtime insulin starts to wear of your liver can naturally release glucose to maintain a constant supply.
In terms of BG reference ranges:
4-7mmol/L before meal
<9mmol/L after meal
6-8mmol/L before bed (what my dietitian advised)
At the moment between 6-8 mmol/L is good for you because your BG was sky high before and your body is slowly getting used to it. By the way what was your blood glucose when first diagnosed and what was your HbA1c