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Background insulin

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Nicola1873

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
I was diagnosed Type 1 a month and a half ago so getting used to it slowly but still learning. I've had quite a number of hypos recently, and put it down to over estimation of carbs in food but was wondering whether I should maybe reduce my background insulin by 1 or 2 to see if that helps also? Is it ok to trial and error these things?
Any advice/guidance appreciated!
 
Nicola1873 said:
I was diagnosed Type 1 a month and a half ago so getting used to it slowly but still learning. I've had quite a number of hypos recently, and put it down to over estimation of carbs in food but was wondering whether I should maybe reduce my background insulin by 1 or 2 to see if that helps also? Is it ok to trial and error these things?
Any advice/guidance appreciated!
Click to expand...

Hiya.

Do yo have a DSN yet who you can talk it over with? They would help you look at the reason for the hypos (too much insulin with meals, wrong carb count, exercise/activity, time of the month etc.) and see if there is a pattern so you can make a change. My DSN advised me not to make any changes until something has happened for 3 days.

If you do decide to change then be preapred to wait 2 or 3 days to see if it makes any difference.
 
You should really talk to your DSN and see what they think, but I have been adjusting my basal for quite a while now, and it can fluctuate quite a bit. What sort of levels are you waking up to? If I wake in the mid to low 4s then I adjust my basal down, because there is a risk I am going lower in the night and the possibility of night hypos. I was originally on 20 lantus, currently on 2, although last October I was on 11 to give you an idea of how things can fluctuate for me! We're all different though. What is your current basal dose? When I first started adjusting I tried not to decrease by more than 10% at a time, although that is now impossible on my current very low dose.

I would suggest doing some basal testing through the day to try and determine if your basal is too high. This link gives you an idea of how to approach it (it's directed at pumpers, but the principles are similar):

http://www.diatribe.us/issues/13/learning-curve.php

As you are so new to things though, do seek advice from your DSN 🙂
 
I'm here to help 🙂

Well I would say yeah go for it, but the thing is, you are a newly diagnosed so you still have a bit of your own insulin producing, but later on that might slowly die down when you get to a point where you are no longer producing any insulin and your body is totally dependant on the artificial insulin (the stuff you are injecting now), this is why I think you are hypoing at the moment quite a bit, so I would say wait a while until your bodies own insulin dies down. But if you feel strongly about doing this, ask you diabetic consultant or nurse.

Just to ask, what insulins are you on?

I have been a diabetic for 3 years now, and not everything is quite straight forward with me... almost like I am not a proper diabetic... because I am still producing my own insulin up to now! Amazing right... ?

I just want to also know how old you are you don't need to give ,me that exact age, but you can say if you are a teen(like me) or an adult, and do you have any basic knowledge about diabetes?

One more thing... what are your blood sugar levels like? as in what is it usually between?
 
Welcome FunYoungAndDiabetes.

You might like to introduce yourself with your own thread in Newbies section. You're welcome to join in anywhere, anyway.
 
Yeah, think I'll contact my dsn and get advice just to clarify. I'm 27 years old and on novarapid and lantus. I usually wake up to bloods around 5, never usually above that mark. Today before lunch my bs levels were 8.3 and I had a small pasta dish and 2 pieces of fruit but never had any insulin with this. Went to a meeting at work, stroll home lasting 10-15mins and my bs levels were 5.9 then. So possibly my body could still be producing insulin?
 
Nicola1873 said:
Yeah, think I'll contact my dsn and get advice just to clarify. I'm 27 years old and on novarapid and lantus. I usually wake up to bloods around 5, never usually above that mark. Today before lunch my bs levels were 8.3 and I had a small pasta dish and 2 pieces of fruit but never had any insulin with this. Went to a meeting at work, stroll home lasting 10-15mins and my bs levels were 5.9 then. So possibly my body could still be producing insulin?
Click to expand...

Yes, it's not uncommon to still have some 'native' insulin production after diagnosis, which can make things a little unpredictable at times - kown as the 'honeymoon' period. My consultant thinks I may still be producing some insulin after nearly 4 years because I only need 2 units of lantus. I'm not producing enough to cope with meals though, as you appear to be.
 
Good luck Nicola...it really is all just a game of trial and error at the beginning, so the good thing is that you're not expected to know all the answers 🙂 that's what your DSN is there for....to help you through it all.

If you have any questions though along the way, all of us here will be more than happy to help if we can 🙂
 
Thanks very much, it's really nice to get some support from
others who have been or are going through it all too 🙂
 
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