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No Bolusing

beastchips

Member
Messages
7
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has tried not bolusing and just using their basal insulin.
How are you going about it?

Question goes out to newly diagnosed diabetics who may be honeymooning and any T1Ds that have had it for a number of years and manage without bolusing?
 
if your just new and your readings are telling you no bolus is OK then that's fine, you just need to keep and eye on it constantly....
 
novorapidboi26 said:
if your just new and your readings are telling you no bolus is OK then that's fine, you just need to keep and eye on it constantly....
Click to expand...
Yeah for sure. I'm just trying to see if and how people are able to manage good control without bolusing.
 
I am lucky to keep my bloodsugar in good range without Insulin since 3 monts. I was diagnoed 5months ago with Typ 1.
I am enjoying my honeymoon but i kepp testing my BS.
 
Swissgirl said:
I am lucky to keep my bloodsugar in good range without Insulin since 3 monts. I was diagnoed 5months ago with Typ 1.
I am enjoying my honeymoon but i kepp testing my BS.
Click to expand...

Do you do anything different from before you were diagnosed?

Did you change your eating habits at all?
 
if you are getting away with no bolus, it bay be an idea to make sure your basal is right. One reason for low bolus needs is that the basal is too high - I was certainly that way when on MDI, and it is always a good idea to do periodic basal checks
 
ElyDave said:
if you are getting away with no bolus, it bay be an idea to make sure your basal is right. One reason for low bolus needs is that the basal is too high - I was certainly that way when on MDI, and it is always a good idea to do periodic basal checks
Click to expand...

If you don't need to bolus and you're not having lows (or highs) with the basal alone. Why would you want to dial your basal down in order to need to bolus? Is there a reason why the bolus needs to happen?
 
beastchips said:
Do you do anything different from before you were diagnosed?

Did you change your eating habits at all?
Click to expand...
I was diagnosed about a month ago, since then I have not changed much, I don't drink sugary drinks any more. It's not a big change for me because I never ate that much sugar to begin with but you do have to watch your blood sugar - for ecample, eating a doughnut and a piece of cake is fine on insulin but it's not a good idea when your BS is 10.4 and you haven't had insulin.

It's also a good idea to check your BS regularly and carry dextrose with you if you go on a hike and bring a friend if possible.
 
beastchips said:
If you don't need to bolus and you're not having lows (or highs) with the basal alone. Why would you want to dial your basal down in order to need to bolus? Is there a reason why the bolus needs to happen?
Click to expand...

You don't need to dial it down, but you can do a basal check to make sure you're on the correct amount.

I believe @ElyDave was suggesting your basal might be covering your food. You could do a basal test to check.
 
I am not doing a lot different. I have stoped eatong sugar and food with a high glycemic index after my diagnose. And then I have reduced my carbs even more. But I could eat almost everything, if I want to, (very ralerly I eat some cake or chocolate) but my sugar go down everytime sometimes faster depends on what it is. However I try not to eat to much carbs so I can keep my Honeymoon as long as possible and my BS won't spike to much.
 
beastchips said:
If you don't need to bolus and you're not having lows (or highs) with the basal alone. Why would you want to dial your basal down in order to need to bolus? Is there a reason why the bolus needs to happen?
Click to expand...
if you basal test, and your BG is falling in the absence of any other insulin, then basal is too high. If your BG goes up, in the absence of carbs, caffeine, other stimulants, the the basal is too low.

Broadly, the basal should keep your BG flat, if it doesn't, you need to adjust. You should check periodically as your basal needs can change.

It's certainly not the case that you must have bolus insulin, but its unusual not to.
 
Until I joined this forum, I didn't even know what "bolus" meant because I was only prescribed a (basal) dose of insulin (Levemir).

I managed reasonably well for a year, but it's hard work I.e. I have to keep tight control of my carbs (same number of carbs for each meal and no snacks) and can't eat what I want, when I want. This has led to arguments with my DSN (based at my GP practice) particularly as this tight control has added to substantial weight loss.

A recent hospital stay has added a basic bolus routine to my control, as advised by the hospital diabetes' specialists, but I've yet to discuss this with my DSN. I can see bolusing giving me much greater flexibility over what I can eat and the chance to gain healthy weight.

(Before anyone says, I can't LCHF for medical reasons.)
 
LCHF isn't compulsory We're all different and all eat various amounts of carbs.

I hope you get on with the bolus
 
I am so glad someone has brought this up, I thought I was the only one.

I was diagnosed last Christmas with Type 1 - and think I'm still in my honeymoon period. I never required much insulin at the start, but when my blood ran a bit higher I increased my basal bonus - now I would only ever inject if i was going to have a substantial amount of carbs, like a big bowl of pasta or sweety/ dessert stuff. But I read on this forum that i should try to incorporate it into my daily routine to inject for every meal (even if it is only 1 unit). I avoid chocolate at all costs, it's my weakness, and makes my bloods skyrocket and then plummet when I try to inject and account for the carbs.
 

Speaking as a fellow chocoholic, I find the more expensive chocolate has less sugar in and doesn't raise my blood sugar much. Eg I had one nice rich chocolate truffle and my blood sugar didn't rise more than a decimal point or two. Controlling the quantity also helps a lot eg even with a normal cheap 50g approx bar of chocolate, I tend to have a small piece and spread it out through a day or more. If I'm doing something like a walk or other exercise I can eat more eg I used to have a Creme egg before swimming.
 

Found this thread interesting as I decided I needed to check my basal levels and I started this morning. I started drifting upwards mid-morning and thought that it was due to my basal being to low, the only thing I've had is coffee, will the caffeine in my coffee affect this? If so I'm going to have to stick to water for the next few mornings to get a better idea.
 
caffeine can affect the basal testing as it can mimic the effects of adrenalien i.e. release stored glycogen in the liver and raise blood sugar.

Think big bear - Run, that's adrenaline (normally coloured brown ) making sugars available which are easily utilised.

Best to go with just water for a decent basal test.
 
Thanks ElyDave. I'll do that tomorrow see if there's any difference.
 
Did the basal testing without anything but water and found a massive difference to yesterday. I didn't realise how much just drinking coffee affected it. I'll repeat it tomorrow and hopefully get the same straight line.
 
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