Confused

[Louise38]

Hi there, my son has been newly diagnosed with type1 he’s 24. He had a 8unit shot of 24hr insulin on Thursday from the nurse then went to hospital the next day and was told to have 4 units of fast acting before breakfast before lunch and before tea plus the 8 units at 3.30 which is the time he had it the day before, my question is say he has his tea at maybe 2.30 should he still have the 8unit so close to the 4unit fast acting? Total newbie question I know thanks

 

[Kaylz]

Hi there and welcome to the forum

Yes he should always have the long acting even so close to fast acting, they do different jobs so can even be taken just minutes apart
xx

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome

Sorry to hear about your son's diagnosis. There is no problem injecting the two different insulins at the same time although we would suggest using two different sites... ie not put them both into the same place. I tend to inject my long acting insulin into my thighs or bum and keep my stomach for my fast acting, meal time insulin.... 2 reasons for this. Firstly the stomach area tends to absorb a little quicker so is more useful for quick acting insulin and it is more easily accessible to inject before a meal, particularly if you are eating out (chance would be a fine thing!!).... unless your son wears a dress, in which case thighs are probably more easily accessible.
Personally I would be looking to slowly move his long acting insulin to a more convenient time of the day to inject like bedtime or getting up time, but be guided by the nurse's advice at this point. It is just easier to jab yourself whilst you are getting dressed or undressed on a morning or evening, particularly if you are using a site other than your stomach and don't wear a dress 😉.

 

[Louise38]

Hi there and welcome to the forum

Yes he should always have the long acting even so close to fast acting, they do different jobs so can even be taken just minutes apart
xx

Oh that’s great to know, thankyou so much I can relax now

 

[Louise38]

Hi and welcome

Sorry to hear about your son's diagnosis. There is no problem injecting the two different insulins at the same time although we would suggest using two different sites... ie not put them both into the same place. I tend to inject my long acting insulin into my thighs or bum and keep my stomach for my fast acting, meal time insulin.... 2 reasons for this. Firstly the stomach area tends to absorb a little quicker so is more useful for quick acting insulin and it is more easily accessible to inject before a meal, particularly if you are eating out (chance would be a fine thing!!).... unless your son wears a dress, in which case thighs are probably more easily accessible.
Personally I would be looking to slowly move his long acting insulin to a more convenient time of the day to inject like bedtime or getting up time, but be guided by the nurse's advice at this point. It is just easier to jab yourself whilst you are getting dressed or undressed on a morning or evening, particularly if you are using a site other than your stomach and don't wear a dress 😉.

Thankyou so much for your reply, that’s great advice. Yes I thought it would be better to have it nearer bed time also. I’ll ask the nurse on Monday about it. As for the dress I’m sure he doesn’t but you never know

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Yes I thought it would be better to have it nearer bed time also.

Plenty of time to experiment with this, but yes, ideally you woind find a time when it’s convenient (since he has to do it every day) but also where the action of the insulin works well with his insulin needs.

Modern basal insulins are mostly (but not completely) even in action, and most take somewhere between 30 and 60 minutes to get going.

Your lad’s basal needs through the day and night may have significant increases and decreases, and the insulin may have rises and falls in action, along with its onset and duration (how fast it starts acting and how long it lasts). Annoyingly all these variables can be different from person to person, so there’s a bit of pragmatism and trial and error involved to get the dose and the timing to work best for his needs.

His long acting 24 hour insulin should just hold him steady when he isn’t eating and overnight, leaving the meal doses a nice solid base on which to work. His Consultant and DSN will gradually work with him to get things fine tuned.

 

[trophywench]

Plus basal dosn't ever last exactly 24 hours or whatever length of time the leaflet says - it's approximate.

 

[Louise38]

Plenty of time to experiment with this, but yes, ideally you woind find a time when it’s convenient (since he has to do it every day) but also where the action of the insulin works well with his insulin needs.

Modern basal insulins are mostly (but not completely) even in action, and most take somewhere between 30 and 60 minutes to get going.

Your lad’s basal needs through the day and night may have significant increases and decreases, and the insulin may have rises and falls in action, along with its onset and duration (how fast it starts acting and how long it lasts). Annoyingly all these variables can be different from person to person, so there’s a bit of pragmatism and trial and error involved to get the dose and the timing to work best for his needs.

His long acting 24 hour insulin should just hold him steady when he isn’t eating and overnight, leaving the meal doses a nice solid base on which to work. His Consultant and DSN will gradually work with him to get things fine tuned.

Thankyou so much for this information, I just need to get to grips with all this and there’s so much to learn. Think I’m over thinking because it’s so early in his diagnosis but with help from you amazing people in this group I know I’ve always got people to talk to and that’s immense