Carb ratios

[Martin62]

Hi all, I am currently using 13 units of tresiba and carb counting for my bolus, using 15 to 1 ratio, which works fine most of the time, but i work night shift in a transport office desk bound, i take packed lunches in with me and have found my post meal levels to be on the higher side, even if i only have a sandwich and crisps.
Would i need to adjust my ratio for this meal to say 10 to 1 to compensate for being sat at my desk all the time?
Martin

 

[Paulbreen]

Hi all, I am currently using 13 units of tresiba and carb counting for my bolus, using 15 to 1 ratio, which works fine most of the time, but i work night shift in a transport office desk bound, i take packed lunches in with me and have found my post meal levels to be on the higher side, even if i only have a sandwich and crisps.
Would i need to adjust my ratio for this meal to say 10 to 1 to compensate for being sat at my desk all the time?
Martin

Hi Martin
You may need to work on a different ratio during the night, it’s the usual diabetic condition of wanting more of your attention now and then and one size never fits all when it comes to treatment regimen, I pretty often find my BG starts to rise around 3:00am causing the DP I often suffer with so your body clock may have not caught up with your work shifts. I would experiment with lower ratios when your on nights and see how it goes, just keep your eye out for hypos sneaking up on you, best of luck with it

 

[Inka]

Yes, it might need changing @Martin62 but don’t go from 1:15 to 1:10. Try 1:12 first, then reduce a little more if necessary. You can have whatever ratio you need 1:9, 1:11, etc etc.

It’s a matter of experimenting, but change things gradually and cautiously, and try any new ratio for a few nights before deciding whether it needs tweaking again.

 

[Martin62]

Yes, it might need changing @Martin62 but don’t go from 1:15 to 1:10. Try 1:12 first, then reduce a little more if necessary. You can have whatever ratio you need 1:9, 1:11, etc etc.

It’s a matter of experimenting, but change things gradually and cautiously, and try any new ratio for a few nights before deciding whether it needs tweaking again.

Thank you for your good advice, i will give it a go tonight and see how it goes.

 

[Lucyr]

If it’s just a sandwich and you’re on pens, then another approach is to stick to the same sandwich for a few days but gradually increase the dose by the minimum amount you can, then calculate the ratio once you have a dose that keeps you level.

The problem with small meals and pens is that if it’s not many carbs eg a 30g sandwich, and you only have a 1u pen, then you only have a choice of 1:15 (2u) or 1:10 (3u), so changing the ratio too slowly doesn’t actually change the dose

 

[Martin62]

Yes I'm on pens, and as i can only dose in units of 1 i generally either round it up if over. 5 or round it down if under

 

[Lucyr]

Yes I'm on pens, and as i can only dose in units of 1 i generally either round it up if over. 5 or round it down if under

What kind of insulin do you take? I have a half unit pen (sanofi junior star for apidra) which helps, they are available for all the main insulins

 

[Martin62]

I am using novrapid flex pens

 

[Inka]

Novorapid has a half unit pen, I think. They’re very useful. If your Flexpen is a disposable pre-filled pen, ask to be changed to a re-useable pen (half unit one) and cartridges. They’re much more robust, more environmentally friendly, and just better pens all round.