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Maximum Amount Of Novorapid?

A

AubreyV

Member
Messages
8
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi everyone, hope you've all had a good weekend. I got diagnosed with t1d about 6 weeks ago, obviously still learning a lot.

I've noticed that no matter what I'm eating, 7-8 units of Novorapid appears to be the most I ever need. I had a particularly carb heavy takeaway the other week and planned to split my Novorapid, taking 7 units before the meal, then another 6 later. However 2 hours after eating my bg was 7, so I didn't take any more.

This has happened a couple of times since, and if I take any more than 8 units I start getting low bg, around 4 before I can tell I'm getting low and treat it.

Is this normal? Anyone else with similar experiences? Thank you!
 
How are you calculating your insulin doses? Are you carb counting?
If you are, your experience, suggests your insulin to carb ratio is too high.
 
There is no "normal" - everyone is different! I am no expert but I expect what is happening is that you are still producing some insulin of your own so your pancreas is "helping you out" and topping up the NovoRapid to keep your levels down to numbers that would be much higher if you relied on NovoRapid alone. I have been diagnosed nearly 4 years and I am in a similar situation, although be careful if you are not using Libre or Dexcom as for some meals (especially carb/fat heavy take aways) you may not start rising until 3-4 hours after eating (so even if you're at 4mmol at 2 hours you may then start rising sharply 3-4 hours after eating and at that point you may need a correction/top-up of NovoRapid). For example: if I have a full blown pizza take-away (c. 150g-200g carbs) I take 4 units just before eating, 3-4 units 1-2 hours later and then another 3-4 units 3-4 hours later. If I took the 6-8 units all together at 1-2 hours I would certainly go too low.
 
pinewood said:
There is no "normal" - everyone is different! I am no expert but I expect what is happening is that you are still producing some insulin of your own so your pancreas is "helping you out" and topping up the NovoRapid to keep your levels down to numbers that would be much higher if you relied on NovoRapid alone. I have been diagnosed nearly 4 years and I am in a similar situation, although be careful if you are not using Libre or Dexcom as for some meals (especially carb/fat heavy take aways) you may not start rising until 3-4 hours after eating (so even if you're at 4mmol at 2 hours you may then start rising sharply 3-4 hours after eating and at that point you may need a correction/top-up of NovoRapid). For example: if I have a full blown pizza take-away (c. 150g-200g carbs) I take 4 units just before eating, 3-4 units 1-2 hours later and then another 3-4 units 3-4 hours later. If I took the 6-8 units all together at 1-2 hours I would certainly go too low.
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As you have said we all different. For 150 g of carbs on a pizza I would need to take around 30 units of Novorapid, probably slit 18 units then 12 I am on a ration of 1:5
 
smc4761 said:
As you have said we all different. For 150 g of carbs on a pizza I would need to take around 30 units of Novorapid, probably slit 18 units then 12 I am on a ration of 1:5
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Absolutely. I am still "honeymooning" so no doubt my fast acting requirements are lower than the average. On top of us all being different, it's also worth remembering that we will all individually face different requirements at different times as well - type 1 does not make life easy! For example, the pizza example I gave above is based on me having the pizza for dinner and then lazing around on the sofa/at home afterwards. If I went for a walk afterwards, or did any kind of exercise, my requirement would be lower. I had a pizza in Milan over the weekend and, because I had a (long) walk back to my hotel from the restaurant afterwards, my usual requirements were basically halved. So much to consider when dealing with ratios/carbs etc.
 
As Pinewood said there is no normal. We are all different. You may notice a lot of differences for an unspecified period of time from day to day. At only 6 weeks your body will still be getting used to insulin. For most T1's once on insulin after a period of time (everyone is different) your Pancreas, well the islet cells to be more accurate, start working again, you may not even need to take insulin, however most diabetic support teams will insist we still take a unit or so, however it doesn't last and when the islet cells pack it in for the second time that's it there is no repeat performance. It's called the honeymoon period.

It will take you a while to work out what works and doesn't work for you. Even after you think you have it worked out, things will go awry. Stress is a well known factor to make bgl go up or down, sickness, exercise even the weather can have an impact with some people. Diabetes is a spoilt brat, it can't stand competition, if get sick due to a cold etc, it will play up to make certain it's got your full attention back, not that jumped illness that is wanting attention for a few days.

Don't worry it does get much easier after a number of months, it doesn't stop many of us from doing anything we want and when we want.
 
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