• Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
  • We seem to be having technical difficulties with new user accounts. If you are trying to register please check your Spam or Junk folder for your confirmation email. If you still haven't received a confirmation email, please reach out to our support inbox: support.forum@diabetes.org.uk

BIT OF A MOAN RE SUPPER INSULIN

Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
mum2westiesGill

mum2westiesGill

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
My DSN can sometimes give me some good advice and she wants to keep things as simple as possible so I don't want to pull her to pieces but......

I don't know where I'm up to because a few weeks ago she was saying if my bedtime BGL is under 8mmol to have some supper maybe 10g to 20g of carbs with no fast acting insulin - now she's saying if I'm having carbs for supper I need to have fast acting insulin. She did say to maybe have a smaller amount of supper but at this rate less than 10g when I really like to have a sandwich arghhh!

I do like to have a bit of supper I always have it makes me happy - but supper and bedtime are usually around 10pm to 11pm ish and fast acting insulin before bed isn't that dangerous?

I had 16g of carbs last night which was in the rich tea fingers (which felt like I wasn't having anything compared to a sandwich with 1 round of bread) and MySugr bolus adviser based on my BGL and carb amount at the time advised 1 unit of insulin.
 
Some people don’t like to have fast acting insulin too close to bedtime in case their BG drops too low in the night, I must admit we’ve always been told to bolus for whatever eating regardless of what time! If your carb ratio is correct any insulin you inject should be used up by the carbs and shouldn’t make you drop low. We are pumping though so can probably fine tune things a bit better.

However I think we can make something of what your DSN is telling you.
1. She said if your BG is below 8 then have 10-20g carbs with no insulin. Fair enough.
Which would suggest that if your BG is above 8 then have your snack with insulin.
Or if your BG is below 8 but you want a larger snack then just bolus for the extra carbs, e.g. if you have a sandwich that’s got 30 carbs then maybe bolus just for 10 of them and then you have your 20g booster to stop you dropping in the night.
2. She said have insulin with carbs. So if your BG is above 8 then just have whatever snack you like with insulin - but if you’re a bit worried about taking insulin so close to bed time maybe tell the bolus adviser you’re having 10 carbs less than you actually are, so that it will give you a smaller dose. Then hopefully that will keep you safe.
 
Last edited:
The word supper is very confusing term to use because depending on where you live, supper can be anything from a small snack just before bed or a full blown meal which some people call supper, some people call dinner, some people call tea. Of course a midday meal is sometimes called lunch or dinner. The only consistent one seems to be breakfast.
 
Sally71 said:
Some people don’t like to have fast acting insulin too close to bedtime in case their BG drops too low in the night, I must admit we’ve always been told to bolus for whatever eating regardless of what time! If your carb ratio is correct any insulin you inject should be used up by the carbs and shouldn’t make you drop low. We are pumping though so can probably fine tune things a bit better.

However I think we can make something of what your DSN is telling you.
1. She said if your BG is below 8 then have 10-20g carbs with no insulin. Fair enough.
Which would suggest that if your BG is above 8 then have your snack with insulin.
Or if your BG is below 8 but you want a larger snack then just bolus for the extra carbs, e.g. if you have a sandwich that’s got 30 carbs then maybe bolus just for 10 of them and then you have your 20g booster to stop you dropping in the night.
2. She said have insulin with carbs. So if your BG is above 8 then just have whatever snack you like with insulin - but if you’re a bit worried about taking insulin so close to bed time maybe tell the bolus adviser you’re having 10 carbs less than you actually are, so that it will give you a smaller dose. Then hopefully that will keep you safe.
Click to expand...
Thank you @Sally71
 
Leadinglights said:
The word supper is very confusing term to use because depending on where you live, supper can be anything from a small snack just before bed or a full blown meal which some people call supper, some people call dinner, some people call tea. Of course a midday meal is sometimes called lunch or dinner. The only consistent one seems to be breakfast.
Click to expand...
We call it breakfast, then it's either lunch or dinner, then dinner or tea, then supper which is really a small snack
 
I’ve always understood it that dinner is your main (hot) meal of the day, whenever you have that, then lunch or tea are sandwiches etc. So you either have dinner and tea or lunch and dinner. I’m a southerner by birth but I’ve never had supper, I’ve always imagined that being late in the evening. I have a friend who has breakfast, lunch, tea (cup of tea and piece of cake or something small) about 4pm and then supper at about 8pm which is a cooked meal. That’s too late for me to be eating big food!
 
It’s only the posher people I know who have ‘had people round for a spot of supper’ meaning a full meal. I only ever knew it as a small snack immediately before bed.
 
My area of Scotland it's breakfast, dinner, tea and supper, tea is main evening meal and supper can be any size even up to a meal and eaten even later than 8pm mentioned xx
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
It’s only the posher people I know who have ‘had people round for a spot of supper’ meaning a full meal. I only ever knew it as a small snack immediately before bed.
Click to expand...
We got caught out as in Lancashire supper was a biscuit and milk or a bowl of cereal before bed so when invited for a spot of supper we ate before going and were presented with a full scale meal, stuffed or what, as too polite to say anything.
 
Leadinglights said:
We got caught out as in Lancashire supper was a biscuit and milk or a bowl of cereal before bed so when invited for a spot of supper we ate before going and were presented with a full scale meal, stuffed or what, as too polite to say anything.
Click to expand...

:D:D:D
 
I wouldn't have more than 10g carbs unbolused at bedtime unless my levels were in the 4s and then I would stretch it to 15 or 20g.
 
rebrascora said:
I wouldn't have more than 10g carbs unbolused at bedtime unless my levels were in the 4s and then I would stretch it to 15 or 20g.
Click to expand...
Thank you
 
I don't mind bolussing before bedtime and I'm also happy to go to sleep on a reading of 10.
You've got to be careful though as you'll be unconscious for such a long time.

As for the big debate of this thread - what to call your meals.

Breakfast, lunch, dinner and bedtime. Everything else is just a fancy word for snacking. 🙂
 
rebrascora said:
I wouldn't have more than 10g carbs unbolused at bedtime unless my levels were in the 4s and then I would stretch it to 15 or 20g.
Click to expand...
Yeah I'm probably the same. If I'm under 8 I'm happy taking up to 20g on board unbolussed. Beyond that I'd bolus.

Ooooh it's Thursday night - chocolate night!!!!
Sorry, gotta go before Asda shuts...... 🙂

Come to daddy you brown slice of deliciousness...
 
I’m a northerner at heart but have lived in the south for 10 years so I’ve got stuck in between and call it breakfast dinner and dinner.
 
mum2westiesGill said:
When you say a small amount of carbs how many grams would you say to have?
Click to expand...

That would depend on your blood sugar, your target blood sugar for going to bed, and how your basal works overnight. Somewhere from 10-20g can work but it completely depends on the individual. As I mentioned before, when I was on injections I had around 15g.

You should be able to work out the amounts depending on your blood sugar at your supper-time. See what works and then put a little reminder chart up somewhere eg “Blood sugar between 6-8mmol, have 10g, etc etc” NB - those are just made up figures. You must find what works for you.

If your blood sugar is above 8, which I think is your bedtime target,I’d have a non-carb small snack rather than bolus.
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Back
Top