When to apply a correction dose?

[Scottishgal991]

Hey everyone.

I was wondering how long after taking your dinnertime novorapid should I take a small correction dose if my sugars are still slightly high?

Just started on insulin on Friday so I'm on small doses.

I had my dinner at 8.40 this evening and took 4u novorapid and ,1000mg metformin.
I also take 10u of lantus every 24 hours at 8.30am

My reading just now is 7.7mmol

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[tim2000s]

Then you don't need a correction dose. Your bg level will come down from here. 7.7 isn't high.

 

[Scottishgal991]

Thanks for the reassurance. They didn't really explain much at the hospital. Whole appointment felt pretty rushed so I'm pretty confused about everything.

 

[BooJewels]

I wouldn't take any more insulin, with a reading of 7.7 in an evening, you're likely to go too low overnight. When I have good control, I'd consider that about perfect for going to bed.

As a T2 on insulin (which is what your profile states), have you been instructed to take correction doses, as that wouldn't be an instruction I'd expect other than for a T1?

 

[Scottishgal991]

They said if I was high I was to take 1u novorapid if needed. They are still not 100% sure if I am type 1 or type 2.

Right now I'm classed as type 2 but they ain't sure

 

[BooJewels]

Well, you'll need to be guided by the numbers the medics gave you then, but I personally wouldn't consider 7.7 at this time of day, after a meal, to be too high. I'd be very happy going to bed at that number, knowing it was safe for me overnight and I'd probably sleep well as a result. I'm pretty sure I'll be a chunk higher than that myself tonight, I'll be taking it in about 15 minutes.

NovoRapid has about a 4 or 5 hour profile, so will still be working for a little while, so I bet it drops a little more yet tonight. If you're very new to it, I'd err towards the safe side of higher rather than lower until you get to know how long the insulin takes to work for you and how long it lasts in your system etc.

 

[steve_p6]

Whilst you are early days I would stick to the rules and only do corrections when testing before meals.

 

[Scottishgal991]

Thanks for all advice. So use to having really high readings (17-20mmol) as tablets had no effect I'm terrified of developing any diabetic complications from high readings . thisvis first time since being diagnosed my levels have been under 10 mmol. Don't want to develop complications at 24 .

 

[PD Oz]

Better to remain a bit high and wait to the next normal meal to assess things. If it is still high in my case I tend to add another couple of units as a one off. But you must avoid experimenting without discussing this with your specialist first. Also beware that you will get spikes after eating especially if some foods contain higher sugars and carbs. So avoid overcorrecting.

 

[PD Oz]

Another thing I should mention is that I see that there are doubts about your diagnosis. If you do not have any condition of being overweight for height, (BMI) then you may be heading to type 1. Get some specialist tests going eg C Peptide levels.

 

[Dhafu]

I have type 2 and my reading was 4.6 today at 05:15am.Is it ok.

 

[tim2000s]

Thanks for all advice. So use to having really high readings (17-20mmol) as tablets had no effect I'm terrified of developing any diabetic complications from high readings . thisvis first time since being diagnosed my levels have been under 10 mmol. Don't want to develop complications at 24 .

Hi Scottishgal, have you had the blood tests done for Autoimmune antibodies and the C-Peptide tests? Your results on tablets sound remarkably like LADA, so if you haven't had these done, camp outside your surgery or hospital and demand them. At your age, you should instantly be given the Autoimmune Antibody tests.

In the meantime, if you are on insulin, treat yourself like a type 1 in the honeymoon. Target your blood glucose range according to the NICE guidelines here: http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood-sugar-level-ranges.html and yo uaren't going to go too far wrong.

As you are using insulin, it's worth reading the following two links as they will help you understand what the long and short acting do, and how you can test if they are working effectively:

Long acting: https://mysugr.com/basal-rate-testing/
Fast acting: http://www.bdec-e-learning.com/

 

[Scottishgal991]

Thanks for the advice @tim2000s
Haven't been given the test you mentioned. Never even heard of it so I will defiantly be asking for it!
Thankfully since starting insulin I have managed to get my levels pretty much normal. Amazing how much better you feel with healthy readings!