Correction doses at bedtime?

[mum2westiesGill]

If when i've done my bedtime test & found i had a high reading would it be advisable to do a correction dose of QA as well as doing my BI. I do my BI (lantus) at bedtime so not a slipt dose but am always afraid to do any corrections of QA.

 

[Northerner]

I would only take a correction dose at bedtime if things were really bad, like if I was ill and levels were high teens. I think if you do decide to correct before bed then you should set your alarm for a test two or three hours after to be on the safe side. 🙂

 

[mum2westiesGill]

I would only take a correction dose at bedtime if things were really bad, like if I was ill and levels were high teens. I think if you do decide to correct before bed then you should set your alarm for a test two or three hours after to be on the safe side. 🙂

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Clarkey]

I correct at bedtime now as I have my BI at the correct amounts. I have Levemir and split mine, but I take it at 8pm so not bedtime. Although rarely need to correct at bedtime now.

 

[robofski]

Not often required but if I am high at bed time I will correct but maybe just half what I might usually do. Half unit pen really helps!

 

[MaryPlain]

It's very unusual that I go to be without active bolus insulin on board, as I normally eat after 7 and go to bed around 10, so I don't often correct. Sometimes I set an alarm for when the bolus should be out of the system so I can check again to see if I need a correction.

If I had no bolus insulin on board and was over 9 I would certainly correct, yes, but that's because I'm reasonably confident that my background rate keeps me relatively level overnight. When I was on Lantus I wasn't anywhere near as confident.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

The difficulty for me with correcting at bedtime when taking Lantus in the evenings was that Lantus's peak activity (it's not really got a flat profile) coincided with my body's lowest output of glucose where cortisol drops off at around 3-4am, so I risked dropping low.

If i've tested my overnight basal activity and know I am holding steady *and* have taken any active insulin into account, then yes, I would be happy to correct at bedtime.

 

[trophywench]

And I would, I couldn't do it on Lantus for same reasons as Mike, but did do it on 2x daily Levemir, and still do now I'm pumping when necessary.

However although during the day I 'correct down' to 5.5 or 6-ish, at bedtime that increases to 7.

On MDI when correcting, I aimed for 7 throughout the day and night.