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Me Again

CornishKate

Well-Known Member
Messages
66
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi everyone,

Sorry for random questions every few days.

I find that if I test 2 hours after meals my readings can be on the high side but by my next meal they’re generally right. The one time I corrected with a unit of insulin led to a hypo 2 hours later. Is it ok that it’s on the high side 2 hours later? Am I testing too early after meals?

Thanks in advance as always!
 
It looks like your post has been missed. Tagging @Jaylee and @Mel dCP who may be online at the moment.

I have a theory that type 1/1.5 posts get missed if they don't mention type/insulin issues in the thread tittle and are in the general areas of the forum. Also as 80% of newly diagnosed members will be type 2 it may not attract attention from experienced type 1's.
 
Sorry we missed this, and thanks for the tag, Alison!

What are your insulin:carb ratios? So you know how much one unit brings you down by? For example, I would take one unit Novorapid for every 10g carbs, and one unit brings me down by 3mmol over the four or so hours it’s in my body.

If you’re newly diagnosed, it may be that you need much smaller doses to get the same effect - I’d suggest asking your team for a half unit pen. That will give you much finer control - you’ll be able to deal with the highs with less chance of going hypo. The half unit pens aren’t disposable like the usual ones, we have to refill them with a cartridge, but they are much sturdier. I have the Novopen Echo, as I need half units, and it also has a digital display on the end, so you can see what the last dose was and how long ago it was taken.
 
Just to add, it’s definitely worth using an abbreviated version of the question you’re asking as your thread title, as Alison said. And maybe ask it in the T1 or LADA spaces, as you’re much more likely to attract someone’s attention that can help. We’re in quite a tiny minority as T1/1.5s, and it’s easy for a post with a vague title to get lost among the others x
 
Ooohh. Thanks for tagging me in @Alison Campbell ,
I work on the premise that you are you & I am I.. @Mrs Allport .

How high, is on the "high side" two hours later after the meal?
 
Hello Mrs Allport. Guidelines vary on what is an acceptable postprandial (after meal) 2 hour BSL should be.
The NICE guidelines quote: For Type 1 diabetics ( and I I think that includes you) BSL for at least 90 minutes after a meal is recommended to be 9 mmol/l or less.
 
I’m interested to know as my Insulin doses seem to take at least 3 hours to bring my bg down to a reasonable level. My peaks seem to last quite long.
 
Thanks Alison, I’ll beat that in mind when I next post.
 
I've noticed that, too. I think it applies to a number of subgroups, including T2s on insulin, and people of (hopefully temporarily) indeterminate type.
 
Hi there again Mrs Allport.
May I ask what insulin(s) are you taking? And when and how much of each?
That way it may be possible to best answer your queries
 
kitedoc said:
Hi there again Mrs Allport.
May I ask what insulin(s) are you taking? And when and how much of each?
That way it may be possible to best answer your queries
Click to expand...
Hi,

It’s Novo rapid and I take a unit per 12g carbs for breakfast and dinner and 1 unit per 20g of carbs for lunch.
 
Have you tried pre-bolusing? For a lot of us the NovoRapid only kicks in after 15 to 50 minutes, so well after your food has started to send your bg up. Be careful when experimenting, keep some sugary food close at hand. I found out by using a lot of test strips that for me I ideally injected 30 to 45 minutes before eating, but it could be very different for you.
 

My ratios are all slightly different at the moment 1:14 for breakfast, 1:20 for lunch and 1:12 for dinner and you’re right I’m newly diagnosed 10 weeks ago. There has been a mention of a half unit pen from my DN.
 
No I hadn’t realised you could inject that far ahead, I currently inject pretty much as I’m sitting down to eat but I’ll certainly start moving it back slowly to try. Thanks.
 
Mrs Allport said:
No I hadn’t realised you could inject that far ahead, I currently inject pretty much as I’m sitting down to eat but I’ll certainly start moving it back slowly to try. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Be careful you don’t end up doing “something else” like the laundry and forget that you’ve injected or you’ll collapse into the laundry basket and won’t be seen for weeks.
 
Dear Mrs Allport,
If you' google' - Novorapid insulin profile pictures - you will see the manufacturing companies 'graph' of how long the blood-sugar-lowering effect of Novorapid lasts and how long after injection it reaches its peak blood-sugar-lowering effect. As you look at various graphs for Novorapid you can see that the peak varies between 1 to 3 hours. The company does its research, other try Novorapid out and you see the variation.
Now, if your injection of Novorapid blood-sugar-lowering effect peaks nearer 3 hours AND the sugar from your meal reaches its peak in your blood at 2 hours, you can see the Novorapid has possibly 'missed the boat' on controlling your BSL. Yes, if you ate food which took a longer time to show up in the blood sugar ( like a bowl of lentils (cooked!) or, in my experience, some Indian take-away food, either with the same carb content as your usual breakfas,t the blood sugar rise might be nearer to co-inciding with your Novorapid's action.
The other point is that if your blood sugar from breakfast peaks before the Novorapid's peak action, then Novorapid may, in its ascendancy of blood-sugar-lowering action, thump your Blood sugar down as the sugar peak from breakfast wanes, and a hypo may happen. Increasing the dose of Novorapid is not likely to help as the mistiming between breakfast sugar peak and Novorapid action peak remains but the ability of Novorapid to bring your blood sugar down increases, risking the occurrence of a worse hypo.
Perhaps discussing these possibilities with your DN and doctor may help you and them to find a solution. Of course my thoughts above are a guess based on your blood sugars and insulin.
Hope that helps. Think of how a sewing machine can drop stitches etc as it loses its timing. Once adjusted the sewing is perfect again !!
 
Thanks, that makes a lot of sense! I’ll give it a try tomorrow and see how it pans out. Thanks so much for all the brilliant advice!
 
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