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Lowering your basal insulin.

nessa1970 said:
Oh no I definitely understand and I do not atall think blah blah. I'm really very appreciative to you all. Yes I will be telling my endo I want to learn the carb count matching insulin. Is there a certain way to say that or does it have a name ? I'm writing everything down so nothing gets missed at my appointment.
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It's just called 'carb counting' in the UK but it would be best to explain exactly what you mean by that so there's no confusion.

For some reason, it seems to be the fashion now to not teach carb counting on diagnosis to 'make things easier', but it doesn't make them easier at all. It makes them much, much harder. It's like not giving someone the crucial piece of a jigsaw puzzle. So don't be palmed off with delays and 'Oh, you don't need to bother with that yet'. Push to be given the tools you need.

Carb counting is like a big light bulb in your brain - it shows the way to get control.

Writing everything down is a great idea - and make lots of notes at your appointment too!
 
azure said:
It's just called 'carb counting' in the UK but it would be best to explain exactly what you mean by that so there's no confusion.

For some reason, it seems to be the fashion now to not teach carb counting on diagnosis to 'make things easier', but it doesn't make them easier at all. It makes them much, much harder. It's like not giving someone the crucial piece of a jigsaw puzzle. So don't be palmed off with delays and 'Oh, you don't need to bother with that yet'. Push to be given the tools you need.

Carb counting is like a big light bulb in your brain - it shows the way to get control.

Writing everything down is a great idea - and make lots of notes at your appointment too!
Click to expand...
Okay thank you. And is there a set measure say from 50g carb equals how much insulin. Like 10g Is 1 unit. And is the unit worked out by say my weight?
 
nessa1970 said:
Okay thank you. And is there a set measure say from 50g carb equals how much insulin. Like 10g Is 1 unit. And is the unit worked out by say my weight?
Click to expand...

No, there is a range of ratios, and they vary from person to person. Although things like weight can help make an estimate, it's not an exact science.

You should be given a ratio to try and the proof that it's the right one for you will be in getting blood test results in range.

Sometimes people have different ratios for different meals eg for me, I need most insulin at breakfast
 
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azure said:
No, there is a range of ratios, and they vary from person to person. Although things like weight can help make an estimate, it's not an exact science.

You should be given a ratio to try and the proof that it's the right one for you will be in getting blood test results in range.

Sometimes people have different ratios for different meals eg for me, I need most insulin at breakfast
Click to expand...
Oh boy.... well hopefully I'll be given information about all this... it's a bit confusing. I found a great sight tho called diabetes online education. It was a bit lost on me to be honest. But I'll read it again tonight....
 
nessa1970 said:
Oh boy.... well hopefully I'll be given information about all this... it's a bit confusing. I found a great sight tho called diabetes online education. It was a bit lost on me to be honest. But I'll read it again tonight....
Click to expand...

It sounds difficult but if you think about it we're all different. All the insulin to carb ratio is is trying to work out what suits you best for that meal, so you can eat varying amounts of carbs but always be able to work out a sensible dose of insulin to cover them.

Often people are started on 1 unit to 10g of carbs (easy Maths!) but if that clearly wouldn't work for you, a different ratio may be suggested eg 1 unit to 15g carbs, just as an example. It's what works :)

It also helps to have a half unit pen(s) for your insulin(s) as then you can get your doses closer to what you need.
 
azure said:
It sounds difficult but if you think about it we're all different. All the insulin to carb ratio is is trying to work out what suits you best for that meal, so you can eat varying amounts of carbs but always be able to work out a sensible dose of insuoin to cover them.

Often people are started on 1 unit to 10g of carbs (easy Maths!) but if that clearly wouldn't work for you, a different ratio may be suggested eg 1 unit to 15g carbs, just as an example. It's what works :)

It also helps to have a half unit pen(s) for your imsulin(s) as then you can get your doses closer to what you need.
Click to expand...
Ok thank you I'll ask about the pen too. Ausom cheers
 
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