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Type 1 Levemir split dose

conniecar

conniecar

Well-Known Member
Messages
299
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi - I’m on Levemir now - 21 at breakfast and 6 at tea. My nurse said 50/50 was ‘normal’ so I feel totally abnormal, but it’s working for me. Anyone else have a low dose at night? Anything more and I’m low when I wake up. Been at this 43 years, so be nice to get it right occasionally
 
No, you are not abnormal.

The 50/50 rule really applies more to the basal/bolus ratio.. but even on that some of us vary to 70/30.

Nurse needs to feed "normal" and stop using that classification... horrible expression of words used.

Please recognise instead that actually we are all individual, and should be treated as such.

Nobody I know has my regime of insulatard at 3.30am, another insulatard at 8am, and 2 units of tresiba at 4pm. Do I classify myself as abnormal, no, unique and I fall into the 5% top category of results at hospital. The consultants and nurses have all let me steer myself totally now instead of insisting putting me through "average/normal" regimes...

Nobody can be classified as "normal" or not in my eyes.. we all need to find our unique regimes and what works for us. No way, should we try to be "normal" to manage our diabetes. We do however, have to prove that our management works...

I wish I knew where they got their statistics from... I really do... they do not know what changes we make and do when you get to just annual appointments.

My hospital(s) trying to have put on the normal regimes caused me hell.

Now even the consultant this week could offer me no advice about regimes and told me to just keep playing around myself....

I believe there should just be a starting point of the basic acerage doses given etc when setting up new diabetics or changing insulins... but some individuals have rises in mirnings, some work nights, shifts or not working so its up to us to manage our unique bodies and prove to hospital staff that we know our bodies on a day to day basis. They only know normal from manufacturers of insulin and text books-not individuals...
 
Hi @conniecar Not sure where your nurse got 50/50 is normal from, basal/bolus more like.

What's normal is what works for you, I was on a split of about 65/35 when I was taking Levemir.
 
Hi @conniecar you are far from abnormal - I can't remember the exact details any more, but when I was on levemir it was not even close to a 50 50 split, maybe around 70/30?

Besides, surely the most important thing is what works for you - being low overnight is a really bad thing.
 
Thank you - that makes me feel better. I’m not sure how Basal and Bolus 50/50 works though? I thought she was referring to the fact I have 21 in the day of basal, and only 6 at tea time ( not before bed either ). I had nocturnal hypos as a child so maybe that’s all I need. Any more than 6 at night then I wake up at 3.30 hypo or at 6 with a big headache and a need to have a bigger breakfast, and that backfires on me later. Think I’m preaching to the converted. I’ve treated myself to a Libre sensor for a fortnight so that I can really see what my levels are up to, so that’s helped. X
 
Think I’ve worked something out ..... 27 to 41? Roughly that’s 27 of Basal and usually about 41 of Bolus. I have a ratio of 1 unit to 10 carbs for each meal, apart from breakfast which is 1.5 - 10. That sound about right? Maths isn’t my thing so doing this is sending my sugars up ( my Libre can shout this at me ). X
 
Again, it all depends what your readings are looking like... if you are going low 2-3 hours after meals then you could be top heavy on bolus. However, if like me you only low carb and have one meal a day but needing a bolus just to get out of bed, then your needs will differ to "the average"....

Nobody is "average"... its the people outside the average, that make the average!!

Its understanding the way insulin wirks and finding what suits you that is the driver here... not "normal" or "average"...

For me, its the health professionals that drive everybody towards average , normal dosing that is partly responsible for the poor levels of achievement with diabetics as a whole nowadays.
 
The desang magazine had an interesting article in its recent online magazine recently, and one that will make more sense to you on a libre... its not what your hba1cis... its the time that you are in target range for that is the marker to go by for us individual, unique people. I so wish health care people would pay more attention to that....
 
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