Basal Testing

[hellokitty]

Hello all,
just a quick question for you. I can't find my dafne manual at the mo but I know that all of you stars will be able to help me 🙂
When basal testing do you eat no carb foods during the process? I was planning on doing a lot of basal testing tomorrow starting in the morning however I will be out for the day and was thinking of having two eggs for breakfast ( cook in a cup in the microwave and then 1 tsp of butter being added afterwards and mashed in with a fork) and a cup of tea, without milk like a herbal tea. Do you guys think that this will be okay or will it interfere with results too much?
Thanks very much for all your support and help in advance guys,
I really really want to crack this diabetes lark.
love Lucy x

 

[aymes]

Sounds fine to me. When I did dafne we were told to basal test with no carb meals. Some would argue that it should be no food at all but this can cause problems for some people, I know for example if I don't eat for a while my body will raise my sugars in response.

If you register on the dafne online site you can have access to an online version of the course manual, I've found it helpful when I've not been abl to find mine.

 

[bev]

Hi Lucy, to get the most accurate test possible - you really shouldnt eat anything - sorry! We have just started to count eggs as 5 carbs because for some reason they do send levels a bit high. Children hate doing basal tests so we try to give things like bacon or cheese etc - but there is no real way of knowing whether the fat etc has any effect on levels - so the best idea would be to not eat.😱🙂Bev

 

[SilentAssassin1642]

Sounds fine to me. When I did dafne we were told to basal test with no carb meals. Some would argue that it should be no food at all but this can cause problems for some people, I know for example if I don't eat for a while my body will raise my sugars in response.

If you register on the dafne online site you can have access to an online version of the course manual, I've found it helpful when I've not been abl to find mine.

if you havent done DAFNE can you register and get a copy of that? I could do with something at hand with all these changes going on with me. A basal test would be good for me too I think...but I'm too scared of doing it 😱

 

[aymes]

if you havent done DAFNE can you register and get a copy of that? I could do with something at hand with all these changes going on with me. A basal test would be good for me too I think...but I'm too scared of doing it 😱

I think when I registered I had to use the code from the 'centre' I did it through and the date I did it. I think you can regiester to use the forums anyway but I'm not sure you have access to the handbook unless you have a code, I signed up a while aho though so worth checking out http://www.dafneonline.co.uk/signup?to=%2F

 

[rawtalent]

I always read with interest the posts regarding basal testing.
I always find whatever happens, my levels rise when i don't eat-no matter what.
Recently, i have increased my lantus by 2 units and i know from the affects that i can't increase any more or i will suffer with continuous hypo. Yet, i also know that if i do a basal test i will go high within 2 hours. It's the same when i miss my usual mealtime. For example, i have lunch about 1-2pm each weekday. If i miss that time , by 2.30 my sugars will rise; infact i will have to take a small amount of short-acting even if i'm missing the meal completely.

Does anyone else have this problem?

 

[bev]

I always read with interest the posts regarding basal testing.
I always find whatever happens, my levels rise when i don't eat-no matter what.
Recently, i have increased my lantus by 2 units and i know from the affects that i can't increase any more or i will suffer with continuous hypo. Yet, i also know that if i do a basal test i will go high within 2 hours. It's the same when i miss my usual mealtime. For example, i have lunch about 1-2pm each weekday. If i miss that time , by 2.30 my sugars will rise; infact i will have to take a small amount of short-acting even if i'm missing the meal completely.

Does anyone else have this problem?

Hi, in theory - you should be able to go 24 hours without eating anything and your background insulin should keep you steady. However, this rarely happens and there can be a change either higher or lower.

If you were on a pump - it would be a lot easier to sort out your basals. Alex has 8 different basals over a 24 hour period!

If you go quite high without eating I do think its a sign that you have your basals wrong. Have you had the use of a CGM from your team - this is a great way of checking both bolus and basals?🙂Bev

 

[Northerner]

I always read with interest the posts regarding basal testing.
I always find whatever happens, my levels rise when i don't eat-no matter what.
Recently, i have increased my lantus by 2 units and i know from the affects that i can't increase any more or i will suffer with continuous hypo. Yet, i also know that if i do a basal test i will go high within 2 hours. It's the same when i miss my usual mealtime. For example, i have lunch about 1-2pm each weekday. If i miss that time , by 2.30 my sugars will rise; infact i will have to take a small amount of short-acting even if i'm missing the meal completely.

Does anyone else have this problem?

Hi Ian, that would be me too. I'm pretty sure my basal is spot on, but if I skip a meal my levels rise. If I eat only a little, even no-carb, my levels stay steady.

 

[rawtalent]

Hi, in theory - you should be able to go 24 hours without eating anything and your background insulin should keep you steady. However, this rarely happens and there can be a change either higher or lower.

If you were on a pump - it would be a lot easier to sort out your basals. Alex has 8 different basals over a 24 hour period!

If you go quite high without eating I do think its a sign that you have your basals wrong. Have you had the use of a CGM from your team - this is a great way of checking both bolus and basals?🙂Bev

What's CGM beV?

Hi Ian, that would be me too. I'm pretty sure my basal is spot on, but if I skip a meal my levels rise. If I eat only a little, even no-carb, my levels stay steady.

Northerner,
I haven't ever tried a basal test in the way described here but like you, i'm sure my levels are right. If i ever got to a stage where i could go 24hrs without eating any carb and my sugarlevels were the same, i'm sure i would be running very low all day long and it would be risky having even the smallest amount of short-acting without going seriously hypo.

 

[bev]

What's CGM beV?

Hi Ian, that would be me too. I'm pretty sure my basal is spot on, but if I skip a meal my levels rise. If I eat only a little, even no-carb, my levels stay steady.

Northerner,
I haven't ever tried a basal test in the way described here but like you, i'm sure my levels are right. If i ever got to a stage where i could go 24hrs without eating any carb and my sugarlevels were the same, i'm sure i would be running very low all day long and it would be risky having even the smallest amount of short-acting without going seriously hypo.

Hi,
CGM is continuous glucose monitor. It measures your blood levels every 3 minutes and produces data for the team to look at and decide if you may have a problem with your basal or your bolus. You wear it for a week and give it back to your team who will interpret the data and give you advice as to whether anything needs changing etc..Alex wears one all the time (we self fund) and we know if he is about to go hypo or hyper so most of the time we can 'catch' things and react to them, but at the moment he is very high and needs 220% more insulin than usual!😱

I am puzzled as to why you say you would go hypo after short acting - because you would be eating - so not sure what you mean?🙂Bev

 

[rawtalent]

Hi,
CGM is continuous glucose monitor. It measures your blood levels every 3 minutes and produces data for the team to look at and decide if you may have a problem with your basal or your bolus. You wear it for a week and give it back to your team who will interpret the data and give you advice as to whether anything needs changing etc..Alex wears one all the time (we self fund) and we know if he is about to go hypo or hyper so most of the time we can 'catch' things and react to them, but at the moment he is very high and needs 220% more insulin than usual!😱

I am puzzled as to why you say you would go hypo after short acting - because you would be eating - so not sure what you mean?🙂Bev

Thanks Bev.
What i mean is some people here seem to be able to go virtually all day only using their long-acting insulins from the night before - that is, if they don't eat any carbs.

I cannot do this. No reason too anyway i suppose. But for me, if i was to get up in the morning and eat a carb free breakfast and have no short-acting insulin, i'm sure that by 11 ocklock i'd be reading high levels. Don't know why. I just would. I would need to inject some small amount of short-acting just to prevent myself going on a high. Don't know why, that's just how it works for me. The basal is simply not enough on its own to keep me stable.
Ian

 

[bev]

Thanks Bev.
What i mean is some people here seem to be able to go virtually all day only using their long-acting insulins from the night before - that is, if they don't eat any carbs.

I cannot do this. No reason too anyway i suppose. But for me, if i was to get up in the morning and eat a carb free breakfast and have no short-acting insulin, i'm sure that by 11 ocklock i'd be reading high levels. Don't know why. I just would. I would need to inject some small amount of short-acting just to prevent myself going on a high. Don't know why, that's just how it works for me. The basal is simply not enough on its own to keep me stable.
Ian

Ian, I understand what you mean - but I suspect this is because your basals are out. I really do think you would benefit from a CGM🙂Bev

 

[margie]

It could be that you have different basal requirements at different times of the day.

Insulin resistance is higher in the morning, and so in the same way that you would need a higher insulin to carb dose with food in the morning, you body may needs a higher basal dose at that time of the day.

 

[rawtalent]

Ian, I understand what you mean - but I suspect this is because your basals are out. I really do think you would benefit from a CGM🙂Bev

Maybe i would; it's perhaps worth investigating. Although, i have recently increased my lantus at night from 12 to 14 units and the result of this is simply waking slightly lower than before and having to reduce my novorapid at breakfast so that i don't hypo too heavily 2 hours later. My experience in the past with increasing Lantus has always been reaching a point where even the smallest amount of short-acting insulin will lead to me being hypo all morning and it's then a constant battle keeping levels up.

I've always put this down to the fact that we are all different and bodies react to similar circumstances in odd ways.


Frankly, whether i'm taking a bit more lantus and a bit less novorapid , or the other way round makes no difference to me as long as my control is good.

Always looking to improve things though if possible. I'll have a look into it a bit more.