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Potato and hypos

D

dectjoh

Well-Known Member
Messages
53
Hi there - newly diagnosed type 1 trying to get the hang of carb counting and insulin dosage. On Sunday I had mashed potato with my beef casserole and administered what I thought was an appropriate insulin (novorapid) dose. Went hypo an hour later and really struggled to pull out of it and sustain higher BG levels (it took two hours in all, testing every 15 minutes and consuming 6 dextrose, 2 bananas and an oatmeal bar during that time - felt very sick after all that!). Tonight I had new potatoes and, you've guessed it, an hour later I'm hypo having dosed appropriately I thought - in fact I erred on the side of less novorapid given Sunday's experience.

Anyone have anything similar happen when they eat potatoes or have I missed something fundamental in terms of carb counting and potatoes?

Thanks in advance,

Tracy
 
hya,
i cant eat potatoes at all , they are a slow release carb and no matter when i inject to cover them i used to always go low before going extremely high, others may be able to advise u but i personally stay clear of them
 
Hi Tracy

Don't give up just yet. I can usually manage potatoes ok. I have only been diagnosed for about 6 months but have eaten all types of potatoes from chips to roast.

To help balance the insulin with the amount of carbs I use a book with pictures in for the portion sizes. It works ok for me, could be worth a try if you havn't used a book to help with the carb counting yet. if you do try a book to help. make sure you get one with pictures in for the portion sizes as they show the amount of potato you have on a standard size plate.

Neil
 
dectjoh said:
Anyone have anything similar happen when they eat potatoes or have I missed something fundamental in terms of carb counting and potatoes?
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I don't have problem whatsoever with potatoes Tracy and eat them 3-4 times a week, I would say your insulin/carb ratio is wrong and you need to work on this further. Try and persuade your diabetes nurse to enroll you on a carb counting course such as DAFNE where you will learn all you need to know about carb counting and matching your insulin to suit.

Nigel
 
As a NIDD i found problems with potatoes until I tried reds roasted in beef dripping ... they did not give me spikes unlike boiled whites.

If you try different varieties and different cooking methods you might be lucky like me and find summat the suits you as an individual without being aggressive.
 
I would love to go on a course - especially since I'm off work at the moment post diagnosis and therefore have the time to attend. It would also be good to meet some other people in my situation whilst I am mostly staring at my own 4 walls all day. However, my hospital say they won't enrol me until 6 months after diagnosis. This seems a shame - even if I can't use all the information yet, surely it wouldn't hurt to get going?

I too have managed roast potatoes without problems, it's just the mashed and boiled that have caused issues. Maybe if I waited an hour before giving myself my insulin? Or having something else on the plate with a faster release? Or, dare I say it, a small pudding afterwards?

Tracy
 

Not advisable to wait a hour after before injecting Tracy and you would be far better cutting back your insulin dose than having to resort to eating puddings. As I said earlier, your insulin/carb ratio is wrong so next time try reducing your usual dose for that particular meal by 1-2 units and this should resolve the post-meal hypo's. Remember to record everything in a diary.....carb value, insulin dose and pre/post meal readings so that you can ask your diabetes nurse to analyze the results and advise accordingly. Good luck!

Nigel
 
Thanks Nigel. The same thing happened last night with pasta which surprised me because I thought this was a faster release carb. I'm so new to all of this and am losing what little confidence I had in terms of being able to manage it. T
 
All the starchy carb containing foods are slower release. However it also depends on how you cook them. Pasta, if overcooked, will release carbs more quickly than al dente pasta as more of the starch has been burst in the cooking process.

Potatoes roasted in fat will have a longer spike time as the fat slows down the absorption of the carbs. Have those of you who think they have no effect tried testing three,four hours or even more after to check there is not a delayed spike ? The so called 'pizza effect' .
 
dectjoh said:
Thanks Nigel. The same thing happened last night with pasta which surprised me because I thought this was a faster release carb. I'm so new to all of this and am losing what little confidence I had in terms of being able to manage it. T
Click to expand...

No problem. It's evident now that your evening ratio is all to pot, just remember that insulin ratio's can vary throughout the day, I need less insulin per 10g of carbs in the morning than I do in the evening, others find they need more in the morning and less in the evening, so don't take it as written that your morning and lunch insulin/carb ratio will be the same as your evening.....it's not always that simple!

Nigel
 
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