Taking insulin to combat highs --- opinions please ?

ryan1990

Well-Known Member
Messages
73
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi Iv been taking insluin to combat highs and I'm just wondering what are the long term complications from this obviously I know about hypos and that kinda thing but I mean should I be doing that I just do it occasionally when my blood spikes to like 10 so I can keep a steady 5 to 8 reading ??
 

urbanracer

Expert
Retired Moderator
Messages
5,187
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Not being able to eat as many chocolate digestives as I used to.
Hi Iv been taking insluin to combat highs and I'm just wondering what are the long term complications from this obviously I know about hypos and that kinda thing but I mean should I be doing that I just do it occasionally when my blood spikes to like 10 so I can keep a steady 5 to 8 reading ??

@ryan1990

I am not sure how to interperet your question? Am I to understand that you wait for blood sugars to get high before injecting?

You should be injecting before you eat to prevent your blood sugars from rising in the first place.
 

azure

Expert
Messages
9,780
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Hi Iv been taking insluin to combat highs and I'm just wondering what are the long term complications from this obviously I know about hypos and that kinda thing but I mean should I be doing that I just do it occasionally when my blood spikes to like 10 so I can keep a steady 5 to 8 reading ??

Are you talking about correction doses @ryan1990 ?
 

catapillar

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,390
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I'm a bit confused about what your asking? This is what insulin is for?

If you have noticed you peak at 10 and have to do a correction dose quite a lot after the same meal you might want to look at the ratio for that meal to try to avoid the peak in the first place, but no body's perfect and correction doses are a perfectly reasonable tool in the diabetic kitbag
 

ryan1990

Well-Known Member
Messages
73
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Yeah I am talking about correction doses I know but I have only recently got my ratios right but this has taken me a very long time due to my busy lifestyle which means I'm either running high or dropping really low so it's been a real rollarcoaster but was just wondering if the correction doses are bad ? In long term obviously like I said I'm aware of the hypo implications and the rollarcoaster of bad sugar control
 

TorqPenderloin

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,599
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Ryan, I think your question is a little difficult to understand as others mentioned. Correction doses are actually a good thing (when done properly) and the point of administering them is to avoid hyperglycemia (high blood sugar).

The goal in all of this is to maintain "Normal" blood sugar levels and avoid hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia. Of course, that's easier said than done and there are plenty of people who have lived with diabetes for decades who still deal with the "Rollercoaster."

As someone who was diagnosed about a year ago, my general approach is to give myself a correction dose, give that insulin time to be absorbed, test 20-30 minutes later, and repeat as necessary. I know how frustrating it can be to give yourself too big of a correction dose and then find yourself sucking down sugar shortly after.

Personally, I'd much rather brave giving myself multiple smaller injections to correct a high than to try to fix it all in one single injection. The same is true in the opposite situation (hypoglycemia). I usually eat one or two glucose tablets (4g or 8g, respectively), test ~20 minutes later, and repeat as necessary.
 

azure

Expert
Messages
9,780
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Yeah I am talking about correction doses I know but I have only recently got my ratios right but this has taken me a very long time due to my busy lifestyle which means I'm either running high or dropping really low so it's been a real rollarcoaster but was just wondering if the correction doses are bad ? In long term obviously like I said I'm aware of the hypo implications and the rollarcoaster of bad sugar control

Correction doses aren't bad. I think you might be asking if they're bad for your body? No - properly done, they're not bad for you. Just be careful not to over correct.

If you're asking whether correction doses are bad because they're a sign of failure, then still no. But you may want to look at your ratios.

As @TorqPenderloin says, the main aim of diabetes control is to keep your blood sugar in range as much as possible. If you need a correction dose to do that, then that's ok.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people

catapillar

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,390
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Correction doses are fine. While we would all like to avoid going high to start with, sometimes that just doesn't work, so it's sensible to correct - doing a correction is not a sign of failure, the correction itself isn't going to hurt you (provided you aren't over correcting /stacking and ending up hypo) and a brief peak which is swiftly corrected, while not ideal, really isn't bad and isn't going to measurably add to diabetic risks.

If you are looking to avoid the spikes in the first place, you might want to consider:
  1. Your ratios - I know you say your confident you have them sorted, but assuming your ratios are a static thing that will remain fixed in concrete might be a bit over optimistic. A lot of people might have different ratios for different times of day, might chand their ratio to bolus for protein, or just find their ratios change with their weight etc
  2. Timing of your bolus - while the generic advice is inject with or after eating, a lot of people find if they do that it's difficult to avoid a spike because we digest the food before the insulin starts working. So you could experiment with moving your injection progressively 5mins earlier to see if that helps to avoid the spike.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people