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New to insulin

sarah1282

sarah1282

Well-Known Member
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136
Im a bit worried. Ive been on insulin for 5 days 8 units of lantus and 4 units 3 times a day of nova rapid is it normal for my levels to be all over the place to start with. One minute my level is 19 then drops to 9 and then 14 and since I started insulin I keep getting headaches :(
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Hi sarah set doses dont really work unless you are eating the same amount of carbs each meal and taking the correct amount of qa four the carbs. Also your long acting (basal) needs to match your livers output. You need to chat to your dsn to get you on dafne (dose adjustment for normal eating). This course will help you carb count and adjust your qa accordingly to what you eat. it will also teach you about basal testing to get that right.

Early days for you being so new on insulin and can seem alot to take in, but honestly does get better. Headaches is a common side effect of erratic sugars but will settle as your sugars do.

How this has helped, please ask any questions or concerns, all here to help :)

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I'm gonna guess you're not counting carbs yet... If that is the case, i'd say don't worry too much yet, basicly you're not compensating for your Carbohydrate intake yet, so you're likely to swing a little bit or remain high (I was initially untill I started counting carbs).

Next time you see your Diabetic specialist, let them know what's happening (since I'm going on what happened with me) and chances are they'll say it's normal to to swing a bit.
As for the headaches, your body isn't used to changing blood sugars like that yet. Your brain needs glucose to function, if you start swinging (going from highs to lows quickly) your brain will be getting varied levels of glucose, causing headaches.

Just don't change your insulin intake quite yet, as your diabetic specialist will tell you all you need to know about the ratio of Carbs to insulin units and how to count carbs. Usually though, they'll keep you on a set amount for a week or so to make sure you get the hang of taking insulin. Your Lantus, usually (or atleast for me. and yes, I am on the same as you) doesn't change, that just provides an overnight 'background' of insulin to keep you going over night.

If you've got any more questions, feel free to message me, I'd be more than happy to help! :D
 
Hi Sarah,

The best way IMO to manage diabetes is not a strict regime with the novorapid, but to use it with carb counting. This is essentially what your pancreas would do if it was functioning properly. If you eat some carbs, it releases the necessary amount of insulin to correct your blood glucose.

Now the long acting (lantus) is a background correction so this shouldn't be messed with initally very much. This normally is taken once per day and has no peak in its action. So for now, stick with what has been recommended for this.

Try to look at whenever you eat, and determine the carb content of what you are eating. Most people will need 1IU of your fast acting insulin per 10-15g of carbs. Everyone is slightly different though. For example, a piece of bread will commonly have say 17g of carbs in it. If you have 2 normal pieces of bread as a sandwhich, just the bread alone would mean you should take anywhere from say 2-4IU of insulin. Then if you have some crisps with that sandwhich and a piece of fruit say an apple, you might then have another 20-30g of carbs to account for. Therefore you might actually need up to 7IU of your fast acting to correct this.

It is very difficult and overwhelming when you are new to it, but I would invest in a book that lists the carbs in most common foods (see high reviewed ones on amazon) and try and manage it this way. You sound generally hyper and this can contribute to headaches but this can also happen when you start insulin with the rapid changes in BG levels especially if up and down a lot. Remember fast acting will start to work from 15min, will peak 45-90min in and last 3-5 hours max. Realistically for most it does little after 3 hours when you are talking about a few units, unless you are right on the edge of a hypo level.

Good luck,
J
 
Thank you all so much im going to definitely ask about the dafne course. I do eat bread and potatoes every day. Ive cut all sugar out but im definitely struggling to give up potato.

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Shouldn't have to give up anything once you have done the dafne course and get used to it :). Just follow a normal healthy diet and if poss swap all white carbs for wholegrain and obviously not eat to excess as a normal diet would require. More carbs = more insulin = weight gain.but, if you stick to normal dietry requirements of normal carbs, good fats, normal calorie intake, regular excercise shouldn't be a problem. Always avoid high sugary drinks full cola, lucozade etc, save them to treat a hypo :) liquids convert very quickly into the blood as the body doesn't need to break then down first.

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Thanks brett your really helpful. I used to have a really bad diet I would fry everything but now im grilling my food and ive started losing weight cos im not snacking anymore. Ive also been doing 10 minutes an evening on my exercise bike. Do you think thats long enough

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Yes and no to the 10 mins excercise lol, although it all helps and will benefit you. All depends on your fitness level and effort. I would say if your recently new to excercise, take it steady and build up to more. if your doing 10 mins all out great, it is a matter of debate that 10 mins vigorous excercise has the same effect of 30~40 Mins steady excercise. But, please don't over do it if only recently started has as you will learn excercise does affect insulin requirements both during and after, always test sugars regularly when exercising. Again you would go through affects of excercise on dafne.

Hope it helps, please feel free to pm if your stuck with anything, or post on message board. it is alot to take in to start with.

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I started on insulin in November and it took a month before I got up to the right dose. After that it's been something of a struggle to get my insulin adjusted to my carb intake. But I've finally got the hang of it (well, most days, anyway!). Had my HbAC1 test results today and I'm down to 6.1, from 9.2 in January. It all seemed rather overwhelming at first, especially when I couldn't get it right, but now I've got the hang of it, it all seems quite routine and not so bad after all... Once you're a bit further down the line I recommend a book called Think Like a Pancreas - very good on the sort of things that make your blood sugar go up and down, and it gave me a much better idea of how to keep my blood sugar under control.

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Speaking purely from my own personal experience, don't worry about carb counting too soon. Just keep good records of your BG levels so your care team can advise you and you can get used to being a diabetic first of all! The carb counting will follow and that's when you can take on the responsibility of managing your insulin levels. It is, however, a huge responsibility and you'll have enough to think about in the first couple of months as it is.
 
sarah1282 said:
Im a bit worried. Ive been on insulin for 5 days 8 units of lantus and 4 units 3 times a day of nova rapid is it normal for my levels to be all over the place to start with. One minute my level is 19 then drops to 9 and then 14 and since I started insulin I keep getting headaches :(
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Everyone else's advice is great, Brett knows his stuff so listen out for what he's saying!

On the headaches, I had that. They took about 2 weeks to go. It's just your body adjusting to the new "normal" BG levels and its kicking up a fuss. It does go though, honest! It is possibly also a hit of a tension or stress headache as there is a lot to take in!
 
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