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Taking Insulin

Andy 505

Member
Messages
8
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I have just been moved from tablets to insulin due to other health issues.

I am taking my insulin at roughly the same time every day which is getting annoying as I am clock watching.

Do I have to take it at the same time or can I vary it ?
 
Hello and welcome to the forum.

It would really help if you could tell us what type and dosages of insulin you have been prescribed, members who are taking similar will be able to advise you more easily.
 
Guzzler said:
Hello and welcome to the forum.

It would really help if you could tell us what type and dosages of insulin you have been prescribed, members who are taking similar will be able to advise you more easily.
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oops sorry.
I am on 14 nova rapid 3 times per day and 14 Lantus before bed.
 
Andy 505 said:
oops sorry.
I am on 14 nova rapid 3 times per day and 14 Lantus before bed.
Click to expand...

Those are mentioned quite a lot on the forum so it shouldn't be too long before members offer up advice.
Unfortunately I know very little about insulin so can't really help. Have a wander around the forum while you wait, we're a freindly bunch (mostly ).
 
Thanks very much.

I will have a wee look
 
Andy 505 said:
oops sorry.
I am on 14 nova rapid 3 times per day and 14 Lantus before bed.
Click to expand...

So you're on a fairly standard regime.

Lantus is supposed to be a 24hr insulin so try to take it at the same time every day but of course, you can choose whether to take it in the mornings or evenings.

Your short acting insulin should be taken before eating but you can sometimes get away with taking it immediately after. If you don't eat, you shouldn't need it.

Multiple Daily Injections (MDI) is usually quite flexible for most people.
 
Thanks for the reply.

So it doesn't matter what times I eat just check blood and take dose before eating ?
 
 
Andy 505 said:
Thanks for the reply.

So it doesn't matter what times I eat just check blood and take dose before eating ?
Click to expand...

In theory.. ...

Your long acting insulin is supposed to deal with the steady trickle of glucose from your liver, if you're dosing correctly then your glucose levels should stay flat(ish) even if you skip a meal or eat later than intended. (EDITED: Your activity levels may affect this so always test if you don't feel right.)

I take my long acting around 19:00 but this can vary an hour either way depending on what I'm doing.

Some people would be more rigid than me with respect to timings but sometimes, life gets in the way.
 
Hi. As you settle down with your insulin you should be shown how to adjust the meal-time insulin dose to take account of the carbs in your meal (called carb-counting). This reduces the risk of blood sugar going too high or two low. In the meantime you can be fairly flexible with meal timing.
 
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