New to using Humalog and more or less guessing how many units to inject based on 1 unit per 4g of carbs. BG results generally higher after 2 hours than after the first hour, is this normal? Having horrendous high teens readings again, despite trying to follow a low carb diet despite spectacular fail other night!
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BG higher after 2 hours than 1
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Northerner
Admin (Retired)
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- Type 1
It depends on a number of factors, the most important being what you actually ate, of course, but also the timing of the insulin. It's probably better if you reach your peak BG levels at two hours as this suggests that the food has released its energy slowly and should roughly coincide with the peak action of the insulin. However, if those tw hour levels are very high then it would suggest that you didn't have enough insulin to cover the carbs in the food.
Northerner
Admin (Retired)
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Some food 'spikes' your levels within an hour, it depends a lot on the GI/GL of the food consumed. Insulin can take a little while to get up to speed, despite it being called 'rapid' or 'quick acting' - I've found that injecting around 15 minutes before eating helps reduce post-meal spikes, but it does come down to personal experience and some experimentation to find out what works best for you. Same goes for insulin:carb ratios - people vary so much that it is impossible to compare one person's needs to another's. I need around one unit for 4g in the morning, but more like 1 unit for 10g lunch and 1 unit 15g in the evening.
I've so much to learn but little enthusiasm. I do feel I'm going backwards not forwards. Been having BG's back in high teens and twenties, a couple of hypos to add to the mix - rubbish medical support - mood swings back in full force - shoving injections in with little real knowledge of what the hell i'm doing - stopping all medication and just seeing what happens is a very tempting prospect.
Northerner
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Not a good idea, I'm afraid, as you clearly need the insulin if you're getting high levels. It takes a while but things do start to become clearer. I'm about 4 years in and I am still learning things, but I've also been able to put lots of things into practice that have improved things for me. You'll get there!
Perhaps it would help if you posted some details of your day here - what you ate, what insulin you took and before and after levels? I'm sure lots of people will be happy to try and help 🙂
Thanks Northener
I had 2 high meat content sausage and 2 eggs followed by raspberries and cream for tea, roughly calculated I need 10u. After 1 hour, 9.6, 2 hours, 13.7. I thought 10 would possibly too much and was dismayed to be so high. So bl**dy fed up with no-one to turn to for help. I've picked up loads on this forum from reading old posts but still really struggling both physically and mentally with Insulin. How did things get so bad so soon? One minute on metformin next injecting 4 times a day.
I had 2 high meat content sausage and 2 eggs followed by raspberries and cream for tea, roughly calculated I need 10u. After 1 hour, 9.6, 2 hours, 13.7. I thought 10 would possibly too much and was dismayed to be so high. So bl**dy fed up with no-one to turn to for help. I've picked up loads on this forum from reading old posts but still really struggling both physically and mentally with Insulin. How did things get so bad so soon? One minute on metformin next injecting 4 times a day.
Mark T
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Maybe you were not actually Type 2 and your pancreas just upped and died on you? Of course that's pure speculation!
Northerner
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That is quite a rise given the low carb-content. What was your level before eating? A lot of Type 2s need much higher doses of insulin than you are currently on, so it may be that your doses are a little on the low side still. What sort of levels do you wake up to in the mornings?
Northerner
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Are you able to discuss things with a DSN? Your fasting and pre-meal levels look good, so it does sound as though your meal insulin still needs some adjustment. It does take some time to learn what works for you, so keep at it and things should improve. 🙂 Don't think of it as failure if you get high levels after eating something, treat it as something to learn from and try something different next time. This can be very hard to begin with, but don't lose faith and keep posting your results so we can help support you through it 🙂
Thanks again, I don't have a friendly DSN, I don't feel she is particularly approachable and efforts to talk to her haven't been succesful. She has the 'it's only disbetes' attitude which isn't helpful at all - hard to believe I know but true. I may have been conservative with Humalog as I have a real fear of hypos. One more question, do all carbs get the same ratio whether 'good' ones or 'bad' ones, for example brown rice v chocolate?
Northerner
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It's a shame your DSN is like that, perhaps you could ask to be referred to a different clinic? Carbs are carbs whether good or bad, so the same ratios apply, but what does change is how quickly they digest and convert to glucose in the blood - chocolate is quicker than rice for example. I would recommend getting a copy of The GL Diet for Dummies for a good guide to planning diabetes-friendly meals 🙂
How low are your hypos usually, and have you been able to determine what might be causing them??
Lowest hypo 2.1. Night before last, 2 hours after I went to bed, woke up to BG 2.9 after going to bed at 7.6. Came close to one this morning, 10.30 am 3.9 after pate on toast for breakfast and having 6u for it at 7.30. They are a bit unpredictable but definitely easing off now on Humalog as opposed to gliclazide although still happening.
Northerner
Admin (Retired)
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I wonder if your HumulinI needs adjusting also? Night hypos usually point to a background insulin being too high. I'm afraid I don't have any experience of HumulinI that might help. When did you get the 2.1 - can you remember what you had eaten and injected for it? Do you get good warning symptoms of hypos?
Again my 2.1 was a night time. I can't remember what I had eaten but it was a couple of weeks ago when I was still taking the gliclazide. I do have warning if I am awake but especially lately, I think I'm having hypo symptoms only to find I am actually >10.
Northerner
Admin (Retired)
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I've had quite a few occasions when I've felt low only to find that I'm not! Always worth a test just to be on he safe side 🙂 Usually it just boils down to me being hungry 🙄
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