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Type 1: I can't get my levels down :(

Kristin251 said:
Are you only having problems in the mornings? I need to take my normal basal dose, then an hour later another small dose to counteract the cortisol rise. Sometimes I even need another small dose around noon.
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Just to avoid confusion, you are referring to bolus insulin here @Kristin251?
 
It's all day to be honest. I'll wake up high and always got to correct but corrections don't even work then even after lunch times I could eat like a tuna salad with yogurt and by tea time I'll still be like in the 9s/10s. Hopefully once I do all this basel testing I can see what's what. Sounds like it's going to take a while :)
 
Also am I allowed to exercise through the week when I'm doing all this or will that mess it up?
 
Lucielu said:
Also am I allowed to exercise through the week when I'm doing all this or will that mess it up?
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Just do whatever you would do normally, this will allow you to set the correct basal dose depending on your lifestyle. If you're very active, you'll likely need less basal than someone who is less active. So it's important to keep to your typical routine when carrying out the testing.
 
See before lunch I was 6.2 ( lowest I've been in sooo long) then had for lunch 2 ryvitas and a tin of tuna, took 1.5 units as the ryvitas came to about 13g and I've gone up to 9.8. I ate lunch about 11.45 :(
 
Lucielu said:
See before lunch I was 6.2 ( lowest I've been in sooo long) then had for lunch 2 ryvitas and a tin of tuna, took 1.5 units as the ryvitas came to about 13g and I've gone up to 9.8. I ate lunch about 11.45 :(
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I might be an anomaly here but adding corrections to my bolus dose usually does very little for me. I need a staggered injection. Further away from food. About an hour or hour and a half later. Then it at least does something.

Are you including bolusing for protein? I need to take insulin for half my protein. If I eat 20 G protein ( about 3 oz) I need to bolus as it was 10 carbs. Excess protein turns to bs and even non excess requires insulin. Are you eating a lot of protein at one meal? Here again, if i eat more then 3 oz per meal I will need to split my bolus. I eat 6 oz per day split over 3 meals. 1 at bf, 1.5 lunch and 3 dinner. I can't snack on protein. I need 4 hours between protein meals. I only snack on fat like nuts or olives or I will go up.

Hope some of this helps.
 
Ummm no I don't really take for protein. Maybe I'll try taking 1 next time for a tin of tuna or something?
 
Lucielu said:
See before lunch I was 6.2 ( lowest I've been in sooo long) then had for lunch 2 ryvitas and a tin of tuna, took 1.5 units as the ryvitas came to about 13g and I've gone up to 9.8. I ate lunch about 11.45 :(
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When did you get the 9.8? The best thing to do is test before eating, then again two hours after the start of your meal. Then you can see if your bolus dose was correct.

But - as stressed above - it's best to sort your basal first as if that's wrong it will skew your other results.

If you're having a normal amount of carbs for your meals, you very well may not need to bolus for protein. It's protein without any carbs that's usually the issue.
 
So just done it again and I'm 7.3. Least I'm coming down. Yeah that's where I get confused, I only took for he ryvitas and like for tea I'll have eggs on toast and I'll only take for the toast, it's when I have a meal of like bacon and eggs I never know how much to take
 
Once you get your basal checked, you'll be able to take a look at your boluses. You may find you need varying amounts of bolus insulin, depending on when you eat the bacon and eggs. So you'll have to,experiment carefully to see what works for you :)
 
Lucielu said:
So just done it again and I'm 7.3.
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Looking good, not too far away from your pre-lunch level of 6.2 :)

Many of us find pre-bolusing before meals reduces postprandial spikes, for example for most meals I'll bolus 20mins before eating, it just gives your insulin time to work before the food starts to digest, maybe try it in 5min increments to start off with until you find the right timing for each individual meal.

Some info from the author of Think Like a Pancreas about bolus timings:

http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.c...blood-glucose-management/strike-the-spike-ii/

Lucielu said:
it's when I have a meal of like bacon and eggs I never know how much to takeQUOTE]
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It's trial & error, some of us would have to split-dose for such meals, if unsure how to do a split-dose speak with you.r DSN
 
Yeah I read that on other forums people have found not taking it straight away when u eat has worked. These levels are very rare today, usually I'm double figs. I'll have a look at that, thank you
 
Morning. I done the first over night test last night and just wondering if my levels stayed like this would it mean keeping the lantus the same over night or lowering it ...

Went to bed 7.4
12am-5.7
2am-5.6
4am-5.0
6am-5.5
9am -6.5
I'm surprised myself at how good they are because they have been awful, maybe it's because I had such a small tea last night
 
Good levels but still an initial drop from 7 to 5...

At bedtime with your 7 reading, how long was that after you had ate? I'm wondering whether that was drgs of fast acting insulin working from your last meal.

A dropof2 points to me still means that you couldn't riskgoing to bed at levels lower than 6.0 without having to have a snack without a bolus... to have to have a snack before bed enforced is not really the best thing.. it would be far better to stop that 2 point drop occuring.
 
Had 40g of allbran for breakfast as usually it's fine for me but I've just gone up to 15 :( hope I come down so I can do the fasting at lunch
 
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