Lowering your basal insulin.

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!

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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

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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.

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