You know that's been my greatest struggle living with Type 1 for the past 50 years - finding a Health Care Team that know what they're talking about. I have encountered two doctors in the last 50 years who seemed informed and progressive. The rest seem to fall in that dullard category. You should adjust your insulin for both carb and sugar intake but determine the dosage adjustment yourself.just seen diabetic nurse. don't think she has a clue what she is on about. don't do this don't do that. now this one says only use insulin if eating carbs. the other one said if sugar is high then up the insulin.
Neither of these is correct and both are. Insulin Carb ratio is something that is worked out personally. Typically, T1s are started on 10g per 1u of fast acting insulin. From there you go up or down, depending on what happens to your glucose levels as a result of eating and taking insulin. You might find this helpful: http://www.bdec-e-learning.combeen told 10g carbs =2 units of insulin. some articles says 15g-1 unit
been told 10g carbs =2 units of insulin. some articles says 15g-1 unit
just seen diabetic nurse. don't think she has a clue what she is on about. don't do this don't do that. now this one says only use insulin if eating carbs. the other one said if sugar is high then up the insulin.
just seen diabetic nurse. don't think she has a clue what she is on about. don't do this don't do that. now this one says only use insulin if eating carbs. the other one said if sugar is high then up the insulin.
been told 10g carbs =2 units of insulin. some articles says 15g-1 unit
wow that makes alot of sense thank-you very muchThey are both right.
"Only use insulin if eating carbs" - generally you usually only bolus for carbs. Yep, sometimes you might want to have some insulin to correct a high blood sugar when you aren't eating. But if you are newly diagnosed and not yet confident with using insulin and your correction factor, it's probably sensible to try and correct with meals so as to try to avoid dropping your blood sugar too quickly and having a hypo.
"If sugar is high then up the insulin" so this could mean a couple of things:
- If you test before a meal and your sugar is high you might want to round your dose up or add on a correction
- If your sugar is remaining high you might need to think about adjusting your insulin to carb ratio
- If youre drifting high without food, you might need to think about increasing your basal dose
- All of the above or a combination of several - you should have a chat with your DSN about any changes.
Everyone has their own individual insulin to carbs ratio. It takes a bit of trial and error to figure out what suits you and you have to start somewhere. For some people insulin to carb ratio can change throughout the day.
It's really frustrating that there aren't any black and white answers. I'm afraid that's the way it is. Not necessarily the nurses' fault - although perhaps they haven't explained it very well. If they are saying things that don't make sense or sound contradictory, it's fine to ask them to explain again. There's a lot to take in and diabetes is tough to get to grips with. I agree the recommendation to read "Think Like a Pancreas" it's a great introduction to things that it would be useful for someone with type 1 to know.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?