Daily Diabetical Carbcount conundrum

[rossi_mac]

Hello people,

I thought it might be an idea to have a thread where you can quickly note what insulin (or other meds) you have taken for a meal or snack and how you worked it out.

We could go on and discuss the other factors and see what your levels are like an hour or two or later to see how well we are carb counting!

Together we can share some insight to how we all work the carbs out and how other factors affect us in working out the carb count! Maybe one day I'll stop guessing!

Hopefully it will help share our knowledge and maybe if we're on mdi or a pump we can tighten up our understanding even work out our ratios and dual waves! (Sorry not really sure about pumps, but notice the phrase dual wave mentioned a fair bit)

I'll start with first post below...

Cheers

Rossi 🙂
-----------

Morning,

Last night I was a good 5.8 before tea (not that great I had corrected after lunch as was in teens!), had a bowl of pasta I would guess 70gramms of pasta when dry and alsoa small portion of cabbage and corgette with it, and a little pot of yoghurt, I inject 6 units of novorapid, I think I had guessed it would be a 80 grams of carb meal? I was shaking like a leave whilst shifting a washing machine around about an hour or so later! I really am struggling with evening meals the most at the moment!

Does that carb count seem right to any of you?

Cheers

Rossi

 

[Ellie Jones]

Hi Rossi

I've got a snotters with a cough So I've got my the TBR of 150% seem's to be holding my BG's at the 6mmol/l mark.. So a lot of my figure for next day or so are going to be hit and miss

Pasta meals, not surprised that you felt a bit shakey when moving a washing machine after, as the pasta is only really starting to asorb into the system, one to watch is pasta, pastry is another one... When I was on MDI meals like pasta I used to split my dose, inject some before my meal then the rest about an hour after..

The Pump bolus brillient things you get three types (different manufacturers have slightly different names for their bolus)

Basic/Standered delivers insulin all in one go..
Square wave/Extended wave the insulin is delivered evenly over a chosen period of time

Multi Wave/Dual Wave, combination of Standard and square wave, Insulin is split, first part of dose is delivered in one go, the 2nd part of dose is delieverd evenly over a chosen period of time..

 

[MeanMom]

Last night I was a good 5.8 before tea (not that great I had corrected after lunch as was in teens!), had a bowl of pasta I would guess 70gramms of pasta when dry and alsoa small portion of cabbage and corgette with it, and a little pot of yoghurt, I inject 6 units of novorapid, I think I had guessed it would be a 80 grams of carb meal?

I'm new to this too, but I would weigh the pasta once you've cooked it (and also dont over cook) 70g dry weight would I think make about 150g cooked so just under 30g of carbs. The 'little pot of yogurt' is a bit vague I'm afraid, my Collins Gem says a 125g fruit yogurt is 17g carbs, a plain yogurt about 10g, but Mullerlight fruit yogurts are about 10g carbs. My rough guess would therefore be between 40g and 50g of carbs - so you have overestimated. Plus did you have some protein and/or something high fat with it (like cheese)? As Ellie says Pasta can be quite slowly digested and if you have protein with it even more so, so you might want to split the dose or just inject after the meal (as my daughter does)

As for the 6 units of Novarapid, cant tell if this is correct for 80g carbs as dont know your ratio - but for 80g of carbs K would have injected 16 units as she is on 1 unit for every 5g of carbs 😱

Good idea for a thread by the way🙂

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Last night I was a good 5.8 before tea... had a bowl of pasta I would guess 70gramms of pasta when dry and also a small portion of cabbage and corgette with it, and a little pot of yoghurt, I inject 6 units of novorapid, I think I had guessed it would be a 80 grams of carb meal? I was shaking like a leaf whilst shifting a washing machine around about an hour or so later!

Hi Rossi

I also suspect you might have over estimated the count. We always weigh pasta dry like you (that way the water absorbed during cooking, which can vary a lot, doesn't matter).

Our ready reckoner is 100g pasta = 60g cho (though wholewheat is a little less)
Yoghurt often 15-20g per pot (for the no added sugar varieties)
I wouldn't count for cabbage/courgette, or even for the proportion of tin of toms if that was involved since we split between 4.

My guess would be more 55g - 60g for the meal.

Not sure when your correction dose was administered, but you may have had some active insulin on board. Plus over estimation of carbs. Plus effort expended in washing machine shifting.

Since you started on 5.8 before tea hardly surprising that you went low I guess!

If you are anything like me you need less insulin in the evenings anyway.

Tch! Diabetes... never easy is it

 

[Phil65]

Hi Rossi,

My ratio is 1 unit of Humalog to 5g of carb, so for 80g of carb I would take 16 units, obviously dependant on activity etc,etc if I was going to do something strenuous I would take a couple of units less. There is no need to guess carb count by the way, it is really easy when you get used to it, I thought it would be much more of a pain!! Information if not on food labels can be got from internet or a brilliant book that I always use is Carbs and Cals......there is even an iphone app now for it!!

 

[novorapidboi26]

For lunch yesterday I had the following:

Numbers in grams;

Homemade salad (lettuce, tomatoe, cucumber, coleslaw, sliced pepperoni) = 0

Muller Corner = 20

Bannana (ripe) = 30 (usually 20, but ripe)

Apple = 10

Plum = 10

Snickers = 30

Total = 100, if 1 CP (Carbohydrate portion) is 10 grams = 10 CPs

Lunchtime ratio is 2 units of Novo: 1 CP = FINAL DOSE = 20 units

BGs

12:00pm - 6.6 mmol/l - pre lunch

2:20pm - 5.9 mmol/l

3:20pm - 3.9 mmol/l

I think that my decision to add on and extra carb portion for my bannana was the reason for this low, it has worked in the past but it obviously was not as ripe as anticipted......

Pre dinner reading after 6 jelly babies

5:10pm - 5.8 mmol/l

 

[MeanMom]

We always weigh pasta dry like you (that way the water absorbed during cooking, which can vary a lot, doesn't matter).

Understand this point but can never work out how you do that if cooking for more than one person? (Same with rice)

 

[novorapidboi26]

Understand this point but can never work out how you do that if cooking for more than one person? (Same with rice)

I agree, if cooking for a mob, weighing after it has been cooked is the the most accurate way, I seldomy cook, I come home to my dinner and a CP amount too...........gotta love the misses......

 

[Ellie Jones]

I'm not so lucky I am the cook (and chief bottle washer)

What I do is sit my plate on the kitchen scales, as I dish up I wiegh as I go, electronic scales are easiest as you can zero them, piece of paper + pen by time it's dished I've got my carbs...

Mind you I tend to weigh my Pasta cooked, just find it easier that way...

 

[MeanMom]

I'm not so lucky I am the cook (and chief bottle washer)

What I do is sit my plate on the kitchen scales, as I dish up I wiegh as I go, electronic scales are easiest as you can zero them, piece of paper + pen by time it's dished I've got my carbs...

Mind you I tend to weigh my Pasta cooked, just find it easier that way...

same here Ellie 'cept not the bottle washer bit - we have a dishwasher 😱 (wedding pressie so OMG its 17 years old - no it cant be????)

 

[rossi_mac]

Wow cheers guys, no worries about going off topic, it's what I'm good at!!

Yeah okay I guess I over estimated, my pot was little and I would have said 15gramms, the pasta was with bacon as a carbonara type dish.
I think my ratio is 1 unit of Insulin for 10 grams, but as I thought I still had some in and as I had been a bit active and about to fight a washing machine I dropped it to 6 units!

So maybe my method and ratio was correct (slight positive) but my counting sucks! I guess it was not a lot of veg really, and the 70 grams of pasta was a guess as wifey puts a cup full in the pan which is either 100 or 115 grams can't remember, and I have the bigger half, so thats why I thought 70 grams!

I really agree I shouldn't guess, and I have the internet and collins gems books, and hope this thread will steer me to being a bit better!

I kind of understand that fat makes things release slower but didn't think pasta would itself, then again we're also on brown pasta! Maybe I'll split does next time.

What I would like to do is weigh the finished meal I'd happily do that, but how do you work out the carbs of it all mixed up??

Thanks peeps you're great!

Novo, wicked numbers and wifey you got there pal!

Yes another washing up ma(n)chine here one of my few skills!

For those interested I won the battle with the washing machine and the drip has stopped so yay!

Cheers again

Rossi 🙂

 

[rossi_mac]

Lunch today

pre lunch 6.8, yes my breakfast I think I have sorted, when I have the same thing. I have 2 shredded wheats and semi skimmed millk, and take generally 3 units, ifI'm low or high or am going to be on my feet etc I adjust my 1 or 1.5 units.

So lunch I have treated my self as feeling a bit low about not much work on the books. I went to Greggs..

Tomatoe soup (guess at 10gramms)
Chicken Bake (40 gramms I think)
Pepperoni pizza slice (40 gramms I think)
Cheese and ham wholemeal bloomer (60 gramms I think)

Quite a lot of carbs don't normally have this much total 150!! So 15 carb units, I have already injected 10 units as I like the idea of injecting 15 mins before, and am unsure weather to inject 5 more or more! I think when I have finished eating it all I will inject 6 more then all is covered (aftenoon biscuit!) assuming I'm on a 1 unit to 10 grams of carbs.

over & oot,

Rossi.

 

[novorapidboi26]

All you have to weigh is the pasta, everything else has labels or tiny to no carbs in it, veggies and meat.

Good luck for next time............

 

[Phil65]

12.29 - BG 5.3, Lunch - Jacket Potatoe (55g Carb) and Chilli con Carne (30g Carb) and an activia yoghurt (15g Carb) 100g Carb took 15 units of Humalog.

14.45 - BG 6.2

🙂

 

[novorapidboi26]

Today wasnt as succesful as yesterday.....

Salad - 0
Bannana - 2
Satsuma - 1
Cocolate - 1 (dont laugh - chocolate santa lollipop, where for my son from gran)
Muller Corner - 2
Mattesons Rippa Dipps Sausage and Tomatoe Dip - 1

Was 7.4 mmol/l before lunch, even though everything was exactly as it was yesterday, exactly....

Took 14 units - 7CP(70gram)x 2 as 2 units:10grams

2:00pm - 11.4mmol/l

3:00pm - 8.7mmol/l

No dount I will be on target at tea but its still annoying when everything is the same, more or less..........

 

[rossi_mac]

Gonna have jacket potatoe tonight do most of you split the dose here? as when I did Bev's big night in I went a bit low!
Just weighed the spud and it is 245grams pre cooking (cheating and cooking in microwave!)

weighing is winning!!😛

 

[MeanMom]

would probably weigh after cooking and if K would split the dose would try that (she wont split so injects all after meals) Carb count of jacket depends on if you eat the skin or not - almost double if you dont. Would guess that one was about 70g carbs if you ate the skin. Hope it was yummy

 

[novorapidboi26]

Everyone is different but if my meal is over 15 units I do a 75-25 split before and after meal

 

[MeanMom]

Everyone is different but if my meal is over 15 units I do a 75-25 split before and after meal

Most meals over 15 units at the moment Novo ('cept Brekkie) but unfortunately K will not split the dose. I can't make her - it's her diabetes not mine

 

[novorapidboi26]

Most meals over 15 units at the moment Novo ('cept Brekkie) but unfortunately K will not split the dose. I can't make her - it's her diabetes not mine

As I say its just a rule I have implemented to try and birng down my spike a bit, sometimes it send me a bit to low, as I am assuming that the variety and amount of carbs will delay the release of glucose, but it doenst always work out like that...