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My Ongoing Basal Testing

C

Chris Bowsher

Well-Known Member
Messages
207
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Do you think 5 hours after injecting original Novorapid dose is about right time to make any corrections, assuming food was consumed four hours prior to that? Or do you think i should wait the full 6 hours.

thanks

chis
 
My Dr says wait 4-5 hours but depending on the level I sometimes do it at 3 hours, but then again I have a Libre and end up scanning religious after the correction, and if it ends up crashing take some dextrose to stabilise before things get low.
 
I would say if you're still hyper after 3 or so hours you should correct it, but I'm sure someone will disagree and say you should wait. Just be careful of stacking, as it can suddenly drop more than expected if you've injected previously that hasn't taken effect yet.
 
I see no problem correcting after 5 hours.
We are all slightly difference but, typically, there is very little NovoRapid left after 4 hours.

If I am very high, I may correct before then and assume some NovoRapid insulin is still active (Insulin On Board - IOB).
I use a very simple formula to work out what is still active - after 2 hours, I assume half of the insulin has been used up.
This is only an approximation but it is quite conservative as the peak is earlier.
 
@O_DP_T1 @helensaramay @jlarrson @karen8967

thank you for the responses

having done the charting over the last few weeks it sort of feels like the Novorapid is still working at five hours,

but then i still haven't undertaken a basal test so i don't know if i've got that right yet.
 
@Juicyj

yes you are right. And even though i keep detail daily records of my BG, carbs, insulin, ratios i am for some reason putting it off.
 
Juicyj said:
Hi @Chris Bowsher Personally I would start with basal testing before reviewing bolus requirements, simply because the basal is the foundation insulin so getting this right supports the bolus function otherwise you're working backwards.

http://www.salforddiabetescare.co.uk/index2.php?nav_id=1007
Click to expand...


@Juicyj

Just reading the bottom section of this information, it describes making basal rate changes for each period that you test for.

I only take one basal injection a day - 22:30 - so would i test all four periods separately three times before making any changes to the dosage? (so i.e 12 basal tests?)
 
Hi @Chris Bowsher The instructions really apply to pump users as the ratios can be tweaked to suit any time frame when using this, the idea behind breaking it up into 4 test periods is that it's easier doing this than trying to starve yourself all day.

What basal are you on ? Some basal insulins work more efficiently if taken twice a day to give a better 24 hour coverage, basal fasting would give you better insight on how effective your coverage is over 24 hours.
 
Chris Bowsher said:
@Juicyj

Just reading the bottom section of this information, it describes making basal rate changes for each period that you test for.

I only take one basal injection a day - 22:30 - so would i test all four periods separately three times before making any changes to the dosage? (so i.e 12 basal tests?)
Click to expand...

To do it by the book, yes.....you should confirm each basal test......

ultimately your on a single dose, so there will be some tweaking to be done to get it right over the full 24 hours....its may even identify the need for a split basal...
 
Hi @Chris Bowsher I really do recommend starting on the basal testing first, you can then see how effective your levemir dose is and if this needs splitting - personally when I used levemir I split it, I found it was running out around 22 hours so taking it twice a day helped me.
 
@Juicyj - sorry one last question.

if i was to start basal testing tonight @ 7pm (5 hours after my last novorapid dose) would i still take the 22:30 dose of Levemir during the test?

thansk

chris
 
I’m not @Juicyj but hope that doesn’t matter.
You should take Levemir, which is the basal insulin, as you’re observing the effectiveness of the basal.
The novorapid is your bolus insulin.
It might be easier for you to see how Levemir affects your blood sugar if you begin the first basal test at the time you inject it, and conclude the last of the four basal tests just before you inject Levemir.
It’ll then be easier to chart and to see whether your once-a-day dose is level all day or whether it would be more effective if you split it into two doses 12 hours apart which is what many people do with Levemir.
 
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