So here's a heart attack for all the good LADAs....

I think this is one that all we can say is from personal experience and as Alan says we vary immensely (weight, gender, age, hormones, other medications , I notice Alan takes a steroid could effect his dose )
. I started with a basal bolus regime of 34 units total (17 basal/17 bolus) but as I gained control this reduced.
Now 9 years later (and using a pump which reduces need by a small degree) it's variable between when I'm very active at around 20 units to about 28-30 when in the midst of winter and being lazy and eating too much.

elaine77 said:

Took the increased evening dose at 6.30pm and my bs has dropped from 16 to 5.4 so now I'm too scared to go to bed.... Is 5.4 too low to go to bed on? I'm scared it will keep dropping?

Click to expand...

The quick acting component of your insulin will be out of your system by now. If you are worried about sleeping at 5.4 then have a snack before going to bed - a couple of digestives or similar - and set your alarm for 3am to do a test.

Hi Elaine!

Sorry you have had to go onto insulin - I know you were hoping to avoid that for a while.

I'm a little surprised that you've gone onto a mixed insulin - I thought they would probably start you on a basal-only regime (either long or intermediate-acting) and see how you got on with that for a while before deciding whether you needed a bolus introducing. Did you choose the mixed to avoid the multiple injections of the basal/bolus regime or was it the one your consultant/DSN recommended?

I can't really help with mixed doses as I've never been on that regime, but overall I take 13.5 units basal and between 7 and 10 units bolus daily depending on what I eat. For me, 5.4 would be a little low to go to bed, but my BG has been really unpredictable overnight so I'm just not confident it won't fall from there.

I was a little concerned with a comment you made about skipping your lunch in an earlier post - I don't think mixed insulin regimes are flexible enough to skip meals - you need to eat the right amount of carbs at the right times to use the insulin you have injected - if your dose is about right and you skip a meal, you will probably hypo. I know you got away with it the other day, but i think that was because your dose wasn't high enough for your needs. If you need to skip meals, you need a more flexible regime - and that means more injections unfortunately.

I hope it's settling down for you.

Smidge

Hi Elaine,

Yeh, I bruise sometimes too - I don't think there's anything you can do about it. I inject the 3 daily bolus in the stomach but the 2 basals in thighs or bottom - maybe you could try that if your stomach is sore? I don't like the number of injections either, but I put up with it for the flexibility.

When that bad headache and high BG has happened to me, DSN and consultant have suggested that I'm hypo'ing in the early hours and the high BG is the rebound - I have no idea if they're right though because I've not managed to catch this happening when I've tested in the night. You're wise to wake up and test in the early hours for a while though until things settle down.

Smidge

Perhaps rethink about using a basal bolus regime. You can't separate the fast acting from the slower acting insulin so you have to eat the right amount of carbs for the rapid insulin .
There are lots of places you can inject. The Brits seem to like the stomach and rarely use the arms but I didn't realise that until I got onto online forums in English. I was taught to use my arms and stomach. I used my arms for the rapid and my stomach for the 1 lantus a day for at least 2 years. It worked fine for me.

Oh dear you don't want that Elaine. Maybe you will need a reduced dose soon. After a few days on intermediate insulin I had to backtrack my doses pretty fast because my body seemed to want to help again. It will take a while to settle down, so stick with it.

Smidge

If it was me I'd want to ditch the mix and go to my free choice of bolus and basal. Because then you wouldn't be mortgaged to a high dose which you have to cover by super-eating. I hear what you say about injections not suiting you ..

Time to make some choices? Maybe? You're the boss. Good luck Elaine.

Wow @elaine77 Thank you so much for this thread .
I've had a BG between 12/30 for over six months now despite all meds and diet changes .They want me on insulin but I had no idea about the insurances, driving licence ect !! My endocrinologist stated nothing would work but insulin but I refused.
Having said that I'm now on 1500SR Metformin and today I started on Sitagliptin and for the first time since diagnosis I have a BG of 7.5 !!
Praying that this is the answer because there is NO way I'm taking insulin after reading about your experiences .

@Susiespearish, insulin is very manageable and not anything like as scary as you think. By all means avoid it as long as you can remain healthy without it, but don't resist insulin therapy if and when you need it, out of fear. There is really nothing to worry about .

Hmmm didn't last long .Back up to 27mm and I didn't even eat dinner *sigh* That's just it Elaine .They think my pancreas has stopped producing and that meds and lifestyle aren't going to help .Guess I'll just hold off as long as I can .

Susiespearish said:

Hmmm didn't last long .Back up to 27mm and I didn't even eat dinner *sigh* That's just it Elaine .They think my pancreas has stopped producing and that meds and lifestyle aren't going to help .Guess I'll just hold off as long as I can .

Click to expand...

Suzie,

Insulin is a lot less bad than you are picturing it .. Those levels are too high. Please go and get help.

You might well find that the reality isn't quite the same as the picture you have. Good luck anyway.

Hi susie
Have you tried a low carb diet?. No bread, no pasta, no potatoes, no rice, no cakes etc.
This works for a lot of us on here. If you want to lower your blood sugar levels without insulin it might be worth a try.
I have been on it for around 6 months now, it's working for me.

And me. Lucy

@Ian DP I've been low carbing for months guys .Lost a lot of weight but it really hasn't affected my levels that much .they've upped my meds and tried others and my GP has now referred me to the endocrinologist who wants insulin :-(