Basal question now :)

[MeganN]

Last night before bed I was at 6.8.
I had a small drink of milk before bed and woke up at 8.9

Do I have to give up my milk or does it sound like I don't have enough basal on board overnight?? I really struggle with morning readings but am worried about putting on weight by using more insulin

I can't work this lark out at all

 

[novorapidboi26]

how much milk............?

you did go up, but its wasn't a lot to be honest......you could check to see what happens without the milk......

 

[MeganN]

Without the milk I go up about one point.
I was lead to believe that your basal should take you down about a point overnight and it should be able to cover small snacks but I don't seem to be able to get away with anything.

It was only a small amount if milk, max of 100ml which I think is about 5g

 

[novorapidboi26]

your background should hold you steady, but it can be between 1-2mmol/l either way.........

I would test to see if you could fine tune the overnight dosage, and then the milk might not have a noticeable effect......

 

[Northerner]

I would say that a rise of 2.1 mmol/l overnight would not suggest you need to adjust your basal - it's pretty much spot on 🙂 Like financial investments, the value of your blood sugar levels can go up as well as down 😉

The thing is, if you had been lower before bed, say 5.5, the rise wouldn't have looked as dramatic. I would say that, if you want to enjoy your milk before bed then aim to be a little lower before bed (which, of course, is soooo easy to achieve - NOT!)

Try not to worry about small individual fluctuations like this, I tend to feel action is necessary only if there is a rise of 4 or 5, or if I am waking hypo or low 4s. 🙂

 

[MeganN]

Okay. Just frustrating as my morning corrections are not working either.
Annoyed.com

 

[trophywench]

Well - do you have a higher carb ratio at brekkie time Megan?

How long between fasting blood test and brekkie?


Or just FHTF syndrome?

(That's kinda like DP except it doesn't start till your feet hit the floor!)

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Given that you are on one of the older 'peakier' long acting insulins, the advice to snack before bed is probably more understandable. But whether or not *you* need it will be very much personal IMO.

It would be well worth running some overnight tests I think, to see just what is heppening to your levels during the night, rather than relying on guesswork and (probably excellent, but nevertheless not 100% precisely personal) advice from an experienced DSN who suggess what works for 'lots' of people.

Run the tests, say midnight, 2am, 4am, 6am a couple of nights and see what happens to your BGs on a 'normal' night. (so avoid days when you've had pizza/been to the chippy/got severlely addled at a party blah blah blah..!). Essentially watch what happens to *your* BGs when the only thing acting is your dose of Insulatard.

Then see what you think regarding snacks etc, and whether you should just bolus for them when you want them, like you would at any other time of day.