No Carb/Little Carb Meal - Still Bolus?

JoeT1

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277
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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So I managed to throw myself into "Think Like a Pancreas"....enjoyed it, got a great understanding from it, got a little scared, got some comfort...and probably need to read it again to take some notes :)


One thing that struck me from it, going over the meals and/or snacks that do not have carbs in them, for example some salami and cheese, hot dogs etc, little carbs, perhaps 2-3grams. Do you still bolus?

An example given in the book claimed that if you eat mostly protein for a snack or meal, along with fat, that the body absorbs it and glucose is released into the bloodstream. So the book mentioned whatever the protein content is, perhaps half it and bolus for that. Anybody notices this or have an opinion?

Also, 2-3grams were of carbs, say a good amount of nuts, or a snack containing little carbs, how do you feel about not bolusing for those?

Hope you are all enjoying your week. On holiday, finding it tough to judge meals, especially when blood sugar is not stable. The only positive I am taking is not having a reading over 13mmol in a few days. Not often I am hitting targets though.
 

CathP

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194
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Insulin
Hi,
For my 6 year old daughter I bolus for protein eaten at 50%. It tends to hit later than carbs, between an hour and about 4 hours later. We used to watch the dexcom and give an extra injection for protein but have recently started pumping and find the extended bolus a fabulous feature. With small amounts of carbs we still bolus. 1g carbs raises my daughter 1mmol, so we can’t get away with anything. But I think everyone is different, so it’s all trial and error.

Good luck!
 
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Member34835

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ou will have to be your own experiment but I agree with CathP that 50% is a good rule.
The body still converts protein to glucose albeit far less efficiently thatn it does with carbs. So my bg is flat if I just eat fat (e.g. bulletproof coffee) but if its protein, fat and non starchy carbs I will need a little bolus. I also find that the less carb I eat then the more sensitive I seem to be to it! Whatever happens I think I get a much more even ride than if I eat carbs so for me its worth it.
 
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catapillar

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3,390
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Type 1
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Whether you bolus for a small carb (2-3g) snack depends on what your insulin to carb ratio is, what your blood sugar is doing, what you are doing.

Gluconogenisis (where the body turns protein into glucose) happens. But if you are not low carbing and your diet includes reasonable carb content your body will have easily accessible glucose available from the carbs and won't need to bother going through all the effort of turning protein into glucose. So if you don't low carb, you shouldn't worry about bolusing for protein.
 

JoeT1

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Messages
277
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Ah yes, I think I should discuss this with my DN next week.

For example, if I am looking at a meal that has the following macros, and my I:C ratio is at 1:10, am I working it out correctly if taking 50% protein into account.

Carbs - 60g - 6 Units Insulin (15-20 Minutes before meal)
Protein - 40g - 2 Units insulin (Straight after meal)

OR

Just Bolus for the carbs as I have read that when consumed with carbs, there is no need to bolus for the protein.

People say it's not an exact science....:)
 

JoeT1

Well-Known Member
Messages
277
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I think Catapillar answered my question about bolus for protein with carbs.

I think for now anyway I will not bolus for protein when consumed with carbs over 8g. Anything lower and I will look at the possibility of a bolus.