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Post meal downward spike

C

col101

Well-Known Member
Messages
358
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi. This is my first post although I've been reading threads on the forum for a few months and find them really helpful and interesting.
I was diagnosed as Type 1 in February at the ripe old age of 59 and put on novarapid and levemir.
I find that if I test 1.5 to 2 hours after a meal then my BG drops below what I would expect and then rises again when I test for the next meal.
e.g. last night before meal it was 8.9. I had a meal with 50g CHO and took 7 units novorapid 15 mins after starting meal, 1.5 hours later BG was 5 then 2 hours after that it was up to 7.
I've tried delaying the bolus like last night but still get the same effect.
It makes it hard to go for my target of BG 6 as to hit this I'll probably be at 4 or below first.
Any similar experiences or thoughts and advice would be really welcome.
 
I would suggest you take novorapid 15 minutes before you eat, as it can take that long to start working. Taking it after you eat will inevitably lead to a mismatch in the spike from the carbs and the period of time the insulin works for so it can lead to you getting low bg.

edit by mod -- removed specific advice on insulin doses as we are all different
 
Hi @col101
welcome to the forum

i think you might be doing yourself an injustice
all those numbers look pretty good.
that is why there is a range -- i don't think any of us could hit 1 number consistently -- life tends to get in the way

here is the guideline recommendations for type 1's BG's

Type 1 diabetes 5 to 7 mmol/L upon waking 4 to 7 mmol/L before meals 5 to 9 mmol/L 90min to 2 hours post meal
 
col101 said:
Hi. This is my first post although I've been reading threads on the forum for a few months and find them really helpful and interesting.
I was diagnosed as Type 1 in February at the ripe old age of 59 and put on novarapid and levemir.
I find that if I test 1.5 to 2 hours after a meal then my BG drops below what I would expect and then rises again when I test for the next meal.
e.g. last night before meal it was 8.9. I had a meal with 50g CHO and took 7 units novorapid 15 mins after starting meal, 1.5 hours later BG was 5 then 2 hours after that it was up to 7.
I've tried delaying the bolus like last night but still get the same effect.
It makes it hard to go for my target of BG 6 as to hit this I'll probably be at 4 or below first.
Any similar experiences or thoughts and advice would be really welcome.
Click to expand...
There are a couple of possible answers.

The first is that you are still in the Honeymoon period and are producing "first phase" insulin when you eat. This is combining with the novorapid to drop you to 5 at two hours.

The second is that you are taking longer to digest food than you expect (and that would depend on what you are eating).

To be honest, your levels seem to be okay, and if you want to aim for a target of 6, then I'd suggest testing at 1, 2, 3 and 4 hours to fully determine the pattern of your blood glucose. This should help you adjust your timing and dose accordingly.
 
Hi Micky - everyone is different so your carb ratios would be different to mine, also they can vary through the day, so my carb ratios are different to my afternoon ratios, so @col101 ratios would of been agreed with their HCP.
 
Juicyj said:
Hi Micky - everyone is different so your carb ratios would be different to mine, also they can vary through the day, so my carb ratios are different to my afternoon ratios, so @col101 ratios would of been agreed with their HCP.
Click to expand...
I know, for instance I take 1 unit novorapid per ever 15g of carbs.... I can lower my bg if I wave insulin in front of my face it seems as I am so sensitive to it! That's why I suggested 1 unit to every 10g, as that tends to be more standard. It's not often that a type 1 is so resistant to insulin.
 
col101 said:
Any similar experiences or thoughts and advice would be really welcome.
Click to expand...

If the meal has a high fat content it can delay the digestion of the food which leads to a postprandial dip in bg levesl and then a rise later on, however 7mmol/l is still fine but if you find your bg goes higher than 7 before you next eat then it's worth doing a basal check, this will determine if its your basal or bolus dose that needs adjusting.

Although the following is for pump users it explains it well how to do a basal check throughout a 24 hour period:

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

Welcome to the forum btw :)
 
Think I've got a handle on this now, combination of using wrong ratios and not accounting for high protein and fat. Trying splitting or tiering the bolus for lowish carb meals with biggish protein and fat and libre shows smoother line :-) . Am learning so much from this site and the beast people on it, thank you.
 
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