Too many carbs in pizza to give insulin??

TorqPenderloin said:

I can understand not wanting to let this disease run your life, but that doesn't mean you can skip pilot school before learning to fly a plane.

You made a conscious decision to eat (what most consider to be) an excessive amount of food and then tried to guess how much insulin you needed to correct for it. That's probably not the smartest decision when you're first learning how to manage your carbs:insulin.

NOW, that doesn't mean you can never eat 6 slices of pizza or cheesy fries ever again. It just means MAYBE you should start with smaller portions until you get the hang of things.

I had around 500-600g of carbs on Christmas Eve so I'd be a hypocrite to say you can't enjoy yourself every once in a while. However, it took me several months to understand how to correct for that much food and I gave myself four shots during dinner alone (after each course).

No one is telling you that you can't do something. We just hope you'll be smart about it. We all know it's frustrating, but be patient and you'll eventually figure it out.

Click to expand...

Yeah pizza is a pain in the butt, same for chinese and indian takeaway/food, go between 100-150 carbs for a meal and in my case 20 units of novorapid. Tend to avoid it and have once in a while now. If your insulin sensitivity changes then the more bad junk food carbs you consume the more difficult it is to manage. Trial and error really.

When I treat myself to take-away pizza I always try to make sure I have dinner early that night, because otherwise I'd be asleep when the serious sugar peak starts, so I could potentially spend the whole night in the mid to high teens. Previously I'd devour a pizza and go to sleep happily at 5.5mmol feeling pleased that I'd dosed correctly and then would realise the next morning (or when waking during the night) (thanks to the Libre) that my sugar rocketed upwards at the 5-7 hour mark after eating.

For me, I inject 4 units 15 minutes before eating the pizza, 3 units 1 hour after eating, 3 units 2 to 2.5 hours after eating and a final 2 or 3 units (depending on where my levels are) at 4 to 5 hours after eating. It's a pain to have to inject so many times but that's the only way I can keep a flat line when enjoying high fat / high carb food like pizza. I guess this is the perfect example of where a pump extended bolus would come in handy.

As others said, you'll get used to what works for you after a bit of trial and error. Don't expect it to be perfect on the first few attempts. Pizza is worth the multiple injections for me!

Yes @pinewood, the pump options as in the Dual-Wave bolus is great for handling high-fat meals, like you I'd need to inject 2-3 times depending on the meal.

if you are running 13-22 then you are losing a lot of the cals eaten, and may have been for a while pre-diagnosis, so maybe have got used to eating more? when all you eat is absorbed things will sort out, Best wishes

lizziewizzie said:

I honestly didn't think 6 slices of pizza and some cheesy fries was eating in excess :/ I'm a UK size 8 and have eaten a lot for a while I guess, so just used to it. I move in with the other half soon though and we have a lot of meal plans etc for good healthy eating, so a change is on the way.

I had an appointment with the dietician today who said not to worry about it, just eat what I want for now and give Novarapid 1 unit for 10g of carb regardless of what it is. She was more concerned that I had given the 17units but only ate half of it and my BG has remained on the same high level since. Increased my Lantus now to 14units a day instead of 12, as regardless of the pizza and chips I'm running on 13-22 every day.

I'll get there one day I'm sure. I have to see the nurses again Thursday as they're concerned about my constant headache and lack of energy, so I'll go from there. Gah!

Thank you all for the advice and information, it's much appreciated!!

x

Click to expand...

As ann34+ mentioned, there's a reason you can eat that much food. A good bit of it is going unused as it passes out through your urine. Unfortunately, that will lead to kidney failure over time (among many other things).

I realize I sound like a parent when I say this, but knowingly allowing your levels to run that high, eating the kinds of things you're eating, and guessing how much insulin you need isn't real smart.

There's a reason many of us cut back when we're first diagnosed. It doesn't have to be forever. It's just until you learn how to manage things.

Best of luck in figuring things out. Sounds like there's definitely a few areas of opportunity to make changes.

@lizziewizzie just remember, Rome was not built in a day.

43 years down the road and I am still learning on a regular basis, mainly due to this site and back in the day nothing like this existed, just be patient and things will start to run alot better for you

Good Luck

Polished off many an XL pizza during my time as a Type 1 (21 years)...

I only have pizza in moderation nowadays. A haphazard approach to nutrition resulted in too much of a roller coaster effect on sugar levels..prefer to keep a tight rein presently. Hate real rollercoasters, and metaphorical ones!!.

You're only recently diagnosed, so it will take a while for you to understand how your unique body responds to Insulin/foods etc. It definitely is possible to attain a decent level of mastery in injecting/counting carbs.

So in short, moderation is key.

Or get some Symlin ( NOT really, I'm kidding
It's a contentious drug, only available in US - A lot of diabetics may be unaware that Pancreatic beta cells don't exclusively secrete Insulin...tad bit more complex. Hence a *healthy* individual can polish off a whole box of crispy cremes without adverse effects..would pretty much annihilate a Type 2/1 )

The below video is of a TYPE 1 bodybuilder, who uses Symlin to mitigate the effects of a donut binge..


Not gonna lie...makes me hungry watching it. Last time I had a donut was a couple of months ago...Had half a crispy creme original....

#FoodPorn

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pramlintide

i was i think fortunate when i was diagnosed - i was so ill i was in hospital for weeks so had plenty of learning opportunity. Back then in my hospital there was a strict regime, start as you mean to go on, after visiting time our lockers were searched! nurses found a friend's present of diabetic choc (not nice, or the side effects!) and did not realise it was diabetic at first, and were rushing around in excitement thinking forbidden foods had been discovered. The diet rules were strict and just taking it easy and gradually sorting things was not on the cards - difficult but in a way this was a good thing as i have always had this in the background. i am not surprised you feel you have no energy and have a headache - this is a symptom of persistently high blood sugars - not a good place to be - maybe you can ask when you see the nurses for more suitable advice re control, urgently?

lizziewizzie said:

I honestly didn't think 6 slices of pizza and some cheesy fries was eating in excess :/ I'm a UK size 8 and have eaten a lot for a while I guess, so just used to it. I move in with the other half soon though and we have a lot of meal plans etc for good healthy eating, so a change is on the way.

I had an appointment with the dietician today who said not to worry about it, just eat what I want for now and give Novarapid 1 unit for 10g of carb regardless of what it is. She was more concerned that I had given the 17units but only ate half of it and my BG has remained on the same high level since. Increased my Lantus now to 14units a day instead of 12, as regardless of the pizza and chips I'm running on 13-22 every day.

I'll get there one day I'm sure. I have to see the nurses again Thursday as they're concerned about my constant headache and lack of energy, so I'll go from there. Gah!

Thank you all for the advice and information, it's much appreciated!!

x

Click to expand...

It's not really excess food-wise, it's more that many of us find that too many carbs in one go is hard to deal with in relation to keeping blood sugar under control. For me, prior to diagnosis, I could quite happily eat a whole thick crust pizza, numerous slices of garlic bread and chocolate cake for dessert. I'm slim with a fast metabolism. But after diagnosis, I soon realised that it was far easier to have slightly less of carby foods. It avoids highs and means less stress for me.

So it's not to do with the quantity of food or being greedy or anything, more to do with keeping control and making things easier

And yes, be sure how much you're going to be eating before you bolus, or bolus little amounts as you go along.