Struggling with insulin doses

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Emu Rob

Newbie
Messages
3
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi

I am engineer working on export projects which means I travel a lot

I take Novorapid and Levemir slow acting

Because customers dislike diabetics working on machinery in their factories and breakfasts abroad can vary so much and I don't always get lunch I tend to cut down on morning Novorapid and put up with higher blood sugars.

Better that than trying to explain I need something to eat or drink if my sugars get low.

Bear in mind its not always easy to be allowed to eat or drink in clean rooms

So would I be better off taking Novorapid and Levemir in the evenings and maybe some more Levemir with breakfast

I have been diabetic for over 25 vyears with no real problems

It just that mt HCAB reading is a bit higher than I would like

Having said that I am 73 years old, still working, still travelling 40% of the time so I can't be doing too much wrong

Thanks for any advice

Rob
 
noblehead

noblehead

Guru
Retired Moderator
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23,618
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Pump
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Hi Rob and welcome to the forum.

On a basal/bolus insulin regime you can skip meals when it suits, your basal insulin (levemir) should be enough to keep your bg levels stable whilst you don't eat, but if your work is strenuous/stressful then you may still get a liver dump that will push up your bg levels.

So, if your on a split-dose for your levemir just have your levemir dose the night before (plus novorapid if you are eating) and just your levemir in the morning if you are skipping breakfast, after this try and monitor your bg levels to see how your bg levels behave until you next eat.

Not sure if you've done a carb counting course such as DAFNE, if not do try and get your name down with your DSN for the next available course, however in the mean-time you might want to have a look at the following which is an on-line version of the DAFNE course:

http://www.bdec-e-learning.com/

Good luck.
 
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Daibell

Master
Messages
12,653
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi. I'm on the same insulins. My DN and I have chosen for me to only have one dose of the Basal a day and that's at night. This means only one Basal injection. Now we all know that Levemir doesn't last more than 12 to 18 hours but in it means for me it is at it's highest in the morning so I don't take a Bolus for breakfast (it's small carbs anyway). This means I start the day and driving not having had a Bolus so I'm in a predictable state at least until lunch and dinner time 9I do measure before driving of course). I do have a breakfast Bolus if I've had a large meal. We're all different but you might want to think about options like this?
 
Spiker

Spiker

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,685
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Hi Rob and welcome.

If you can't eat in a clean room and you can't inject in a clean room - problem solved right?
@noblehead is spot on, get your basal right and then there should be few if any unexpected needs to eat. Can you carry something discreet like a tube of glucotabs or a packet of glucose gel for emergencies? I understand not wanting to cause concern with clients on site. What do you do when you go to their canteen? Are you a master of doing sneaky blood tests and insulin shots out of sight? You might want to consider a pump. A pump with a wireless remote is the device par excellence for a sneaky bolus.
 
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