Basal dose time

[Martin62]

Hi all
This may sound like a silly question, but here goes, as I am a night shift worker Monday to Friday, I take my basal ( tresiba ) when I get up at 3pm. At weekends I revert to normal sleeping hours, but still take my basal at 3pm.
I am on holiday in a couple of weeks, so should I stay taking my basal at 3pm, or switch it to when I get up in the morning?
Martin

 

[helli]

Long acting insulin which is used for basal on MDI* has a flat profile and, typically lasts for a multiple of around 12 hours (Levemir lasts for around 12 hours, Lantus lasts for about 24, Tresiba lasts for 3 days, I think). Therefore, we should take our long acting, basal insulin at the same time each day, regardless of what time we get up and what we do when we are awake.
If we fly somewhere with a large time difference (remember those days of long distance travel?), we may need to adjust the timing. But one or two hours different for short haul flights or when the clocks change, has little impact.

Sorry, that was a long winded way of saying, I would stick with your 3pm basal dose.

Enjoy your holiday.

*Apologies for my pedantry. I didn't want to confuse this with basal on an insulin pump where we use fast acting insulin which allows us to adjust the basal level throughout the day.

 

[cameron]

Not a silly question at all! I agree with @helli, I'd recommend keeping your Tresiba dose at 3pm if you can, give or take an hour. I also use Tresiba and inject it at the same hour no matter what.

Have a good holiday! 🙂

 

[Martin62]

Thanks for your replies, very helpful as usual

 

[trophywench]

Don't stress about exact timing of it unduly - it doesn't ever instantly stop like you've driven into a wall so if 3pm isn't exactly convenient every single day - it's unlikely you'll drop dead without warning!

 

[Lucyr]

I’d keep it between 2 and 4pm, or 3pm if I could. Saves worrying about it.