Type 1 Serious spikes after 3hrs... HELP :(

I would advise that blood glucose is normally highest at the 1-1/2 to 2 hr mark. I myself also get highs 3 to 4 hrs after eating, especially when I've eaten something like pasta which takes longer to digest.

What was your main meal? Fatty foods like cheese can also slow down digestion.

What basal do you use, when do you take it and what time was your meal?

Hi there, I don't know the answer but EVERY time I have a higher carb meal than usual (rarely), I bolus for it and the 2 hour mark shows well within target, then I check after 3 hours/4 hours and sometimes 5 hours and my levels have always gone up. This happens whether it contains fats or not, for me it seems to be about the amount of carbs in that meal that my body seems to take more than the 'magic' two hours to bring my levels back down. I've experimented a lot with this and if I take an extra unit after that 2 hour mark (to keep it down over the next few hours) I always go hypo.

Highs after 3/4 hours can be for a number of reasons.
Firstly glucose release from protein generally peaks around 3-5 hours, so if its high in protein that will cause a spike.
Foods or meals high in fat will cause delayed absorption, therefore cheese or cakes which may also be high in fats, will cause the glucose levels to increase after several hours. The only way to counteract this is really to split bolus.

Peaks at 1/2 hours after is generally only applicable for meals predominantly of carbs as they are the fastest releasing sugars. (again not all carbs are the same either).

Other factors to consider:
Is basal correct.
Is fast acting insulin still working (not gone off)
Any physical activity that may affect it.
Stress

Also some days no matter what you count for, it has a mind of its own. So just have to monitor and adjust.

Vix85 said:

Hi thanks for your reply; my main meal was a chicken breast with a bit of cheese and some chips (I’m used to carb counting chips though)

I use lantus, usually take it around 10:30pm
Meal was 7:15pm

Probably should have added that I’m also 9weeks pregnant ‍‍

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Hope I've got this right but from your timings I deduce that you were taking your blood glucose readings just before your night time basal injection?

Do you only inject basal once a day? Many of us find that the efficacy of basal insulins like Lantus and Levemir starts to tail off after 18hrs or so. Is it possible that you are seeing the tail end of the basal here?

Many of us on the forums split our basal dose and inject twice a day.

Congrats on the baby front.

How many carbs were in the Brownie? did you bolus for that at the same time as the chips?

I assume this isn't a regular 'thing', the rise to 15 3 hrs later not the baby thing

Hi and agreeing with the advice above! Baby on board at 9 weeks should not make a difference unless you've changed eating habits.
The only other things to consider are delayed stomach emptying but you'd normally get a low prior to a high with that. it is a consequence of diabetic bgs causing damage to the nervous system controlling digestion.
Timing of insulin could be a factor if, like me, your insulin is not hitting your system in time to counteract the brownie spike.
I know you will be worried about the spike and the baby but all I can say is that in each of my 3 pregnancies I had occasional spikes early on with no damage apparent to the babies given that my blood sugars were mainly good like yours.
Perhaps have some double cream with the brownie to further blunt the spike or tell the baby to stop making you eat sweet stuff!

Vix85 said:

Hi all

Tonight at dinner I treated myself to a brownie for pudding. I always thought if you check an hour after injecting that’s a good indicator as to if you’ve injected the right amount?
However this has happened a few times with various foods lately..
Before meal 6.6,
One hour later 5.2
Two hours later 5.8 and I’m thinking PERFECT! Three hours after that, over 15!!!! Any ideas?! Is it the type of food I am eating??

Thanks so much!

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It was because you ate the chocolate brownie