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Please help me get my Basal right

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
K

katie

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
I'm going to see the dietician soon, basically so that I can make a food diary and it will make me try harder - I want to get my HbA1c down to a decent level.

I really want to make sure my Basal dose is correct. What are all the things I need to do to make sure it's perfect?

Thanks in advance.
 
It would be worth you chatting this through with a DSN forst who knows any special circumstances you may have but the below is how I'd go about it.
To test your basal rate over night you would need to test before you go to bed knowing that any fast acting insulin has been 'used up', you've not eaten too recently so that there's little in the way of glucose from that to raise your bg (best to go for something that doesn't contain too much fat which would slow absorption), and that you've not done any unusual exercise. Test your bg when you wake up and if it's roughly (within1 unit or so) the same as when you went to bed your basal is probably right.
A lot of people have different basal rates according to the time of day so it's worth doing the same during the day. I usually do this by having a zero carb lunch so I can see if my sugars stay at a similar level throughout the day.
If you find you're hypoing during the testing then your basal is likely to be too high, if you're rising then you probably need more. My nurses advised me to adjust by 10% when fine tuning but you need to speak with your team to see what they advise for you.
If you're nervous about doing these as you're worried you may hypo if you don't snack before bed/have no carbs then it's worth speaking to your dsn first as it may be necessary to put the basal rate down first, but that's something you need to discuss with them,
 
I managed not to eat late (for once lol) and my BG level was 7.6 but then it dropped to 3.3 whilst I was trying to get to sleep 🙄

I will try again tonight!
 
Yes, Katie, I am struggling with the same thing. i am trying to get my basal dose sorted so I can then work in insulin:carb ratios and carbohydrate counting, it's all proving a bit daunting! I've had lots of good advice - Type one Sue advised me to fast over breakfast and test every hour, if your basal is right your blood sugars should fluctuate very little. Then do the same over lunch, and dinner to midnight then midnight to breakfast(on a different days!) ... Hard work but worth it. Good luck!
 
One thing I hate with a passion is basal testing! I've made dose changes recently without basal testing.

To test in the morning, if your fasting is in range, then skip breakfast and test every hour, if your blood sugars stays stable then your basal is right, if you hypo- then it's too much, if your blood sugars rises it's not enough.

http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/articles/Insulin/Getting_Down_to_Basals/1

I like this article, explaining basal insulin and how to test.
 
thanks Munjeeta and Nikki 🙂 I suppose i'm going to have to get up in time for breakfast tomorrow then :D haha, I need to do some uni work anyway so i'll stop being lazy.

For the past day and a half that ive been doing my food diary ive had quite good levels, but i know that's only because i'm not snacking because i dont want the dietician to think i'm greedy 😉 i'll probably start slipping soon.
 
katie said:
For the past day and a half that ive been doing my food diary ive had quite good levels, but i know that's only because i'm not snacking because i dont want the dietician to think i'm greedy 😉 i'll probably start slipping soon.
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You sound a bit like me... I keep food diaries etc for a while, and during that time manage to keep my levels fairly well controlled. I then get a bad reading or slip up on the food front and give up on it all for a while until I have another attack of the guilts... Although... That said, i've been MUCH better recently. Finding a happy medium with keeping diaries/ testing blood/ working on ratios etc etc that's a bit more sustainable. I think I tended to get mildly obsessed and burnout because it was just too much! The support provided by this forum has really helped, it's nice to know there are other people out there! How long have you been diabetic Katie?
 
Munjeeta said:
You sound a bit like me... I keep food diaries etc for a while, and during that time manage to keep my levels fairly well controlled. I then get a bad reading or slip up on the food front and give up on it all for a while until I have another attack of the guilts... Although... That said, i've been MUCH better recently. Finding a happy medium with keeping diaries/ testing blood/ working on ratios etc etc that's a bit more sustainable. I think I tended to get mildly obsessed and burnout because it was just too much! The support provided by this forum has really helped, it's nice to know there are other people out there! How long have you been diabetic Katie?
Click to expand...

Yeah I know what you mean. The thing is I do try to test as much as I should and carb-count but i dont want to weigh things all the time so i guess alot and my ratio is 2:10g so snacks affect my BG level alot :(

Ive been diabetic since I was 18, so about 5 years now!

My HbA1c was 8.something last time (let's say 8.6, I can't remember) so I really want to get it below 6 like a good diabetic :D
 
Obviously still new to all this - but - I think we must have Alex's basal right as we changed it 2 weeks ago - and apart from sunday nights level 30 he has been a lot better - and he is normally 8 or 9 in the morning . But we didnt do any of the other things described in earlier posts - his DN just told us to do it! Is there any relationship between weight /age for finding out the basal?🙂Bev
 
katie said:
thanks Munjeeta and Nikki 🙂 I suppose i'm going to have to get up in time for breakfast tomorrow then :D haha, I need to do some uni work anyway so i'll stop being lazy.

For the past day and a half that ive been doing my food diary ive had quite good levels, but i know that's only because i'm not snacking because i dont want the dietician to think i'm greedy 😉 i'll probably start slipping soon.
Click to expand...
I know this is slightly off subject but do u find ur sugars are ok if u are lazy and have a lie in? Ive found that I cant lie in til 10/11 like I did prior to diagnosis cos I my sugars are never right that day and I dont feel too good. I'd love to be able to lie in on a sat morn!
 
janine19 said:
I know this is slightly off subject but do u find ur sugars are ok if u are lazy and have a lie in? Ive found that I cant lie in til 10/11 like I did prior to diagnosis cos I my sugars are never right that day and I dont feel too good. I'd love to be able to lie in on a sat morn!
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No, I think it makes them rise alot! but I can't help it, I get tired allll the time whether I get up late or early 🙄

I will find out for sure after ive been doing my food diary for awhile, I shall let you know :D
 
oh noo, just remembered I forgot to put in the coffees with milk and a sugar that i had today. would you write these down too? (anyone who's made a food diary).
 
yeah I'd put them in, because of the sugar and because caffine can affect your blood sugars.

I'm the same whenever doing a food diary in the past it affects the way that i eat, I want it to look good so I eat better. Which isn't that helpful because it's not representative of what i normally eat. I've also lied on so many in the past when I had an eating disorder.
 
sofaraway said:
yeah I'd put them in, because of the sugar and because caffine can affect your blood sugars.

I'm the same whenever doing a food diary in the past it affects the way that i eat, I want it to look good so I eat better. Which isn't that helpful because it's not representative of what i normally eat. I've also lied on so many in the past when I had an eating disorder.
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Ok thanks, I will do. Think I had three because I went to work and they make coffee all the time, oops.

Yeah, I don't want it to be misleading, but whenever I write it down i'm thinking about how much i'm eating more. Also I have recently decided to try eating less and exercising more because I want to lose a bit of weight. The thing is I probably won't last that long because I have no will-power :D
 
ok i really dont understand this :( well, the only thing that's happened today is that I slept in late...

before lunch i was 6.7... now i'm 19 arghhh.

Does anybody take into account baked beans? because I just take insulin to cover the toast.
 
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