Basal question

[MeganN]

Hi everyone.

Well I started basal bolus regimen last night.

Went to inject my basal insulin and my blood tested at 4 so I had a biscuit and a swig of milk first and then injected 15 mins later when my bloods were more reasonable.
An hour later I was at 10.8 (oops been a while since I've seen double figures) I figured t was better to be high at night until I've got the hang of things so I didn't stress about it and went to bed.

Had a bad nights sleep. Kept feeling hot and had some funny dreams lol.
Anyway my morning reading was 5.9.

My question is do you think my basal could be too high?
Should I lower it tonight? Or keep it the same for a few days to settle and just test during the night to keep track of it??

On the mix I was taking much larger doses with almost no effect. Shall I write this one reading as a one off??

 

[Northerner]

Hi Megan, I would schedule a test at 3 am so you can find out what is happening, as it does sound like your basal is set too high given that you dropped 5 mmol/l. Ideally, you wouldn't vary more than 1-2 mmol/l between bedtime and waking.

Hope things go better tonight. Can you contact your nurse for advice?

 

[Abi]

It sounds as if you went to bed not long after that test i.e an hour or so after eating. I suspect the drop was due to having active bolus insulin still on board but I second that advice about doing some basal tests. If you've only just started on lantus however it's probably best to wait a few days before doing this as it can take 3 days or so for it to settle into your system

 

[MeganN]

Thanks guys. I'm now on insulatard.

My bs had gone up to 8.5 by breakfast so maybe the first one was a misreading??

I'll keep an eye on it for a few days before I change anything

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Hi Megan,

Insulatard can be quite 'peaky' so you may need to time your injection so that the peak in activity of the insulin matches your requirement.

As an example, I have a 'dip' in basal need at around 3am, but then I suddenly need loads more at more like 6am. If you can get insulatard to work with this pattern then great, if not it might be worth trying an alternative intermediate (like HumulinI) or a more peakless analogue like Lantus or Levemir

 

[MeganN]

If I cannot match the peak then I'm pretty sure this insulin can be split into a morning and evening dose.

I'll have a word with the nurse. I had an allergic reaction to humalog so I can't change to that and I'm worried that lantus will sting as I'm quite sensitive. Might have to ask about levemir if I can't fiddle around

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I had an allergic reaction to humalog so I can't change to that

Humalog is very different to Humulin I so your reaction to one would not necessarily mean an reaction to the other - though I can see why you would be cautious! One is an analogue rapid, the other is a human intermediate.