Correction doses

[Emmal31]

Hi All,

Probably a silly question but just tested my blood suagr level and it's 10.1 so I want to bring it down before lunch. I've just done a correction dose, how long does it take (roughly) to come back into normal blood sugar levels?

Usually I wouldn't bother giving myself a correction a little before lunch and would just give myself a few units on top of my dose for lunch but as some of you may know I am 23 weeks pregnant and have to keep a record of all my blood sugar levels for the consultant also supposed to have blood sugar levels below 7 🙄 so 10 is a little too high for me.

Thanks in advance for any help 🙂

Emma

 

[Adrienne]

Hi

We are told to test an hour later and in theory you should be down to whatever you corrected down you. This could well be possible as you were 10.0 but if you were higher than that then it would normally take longer.

 

[Copepod]

I'm sure you've sorted yourself by now, but how about having insulin (including whatever correction dose you need) and lunch a little earlier than normal, if that's possible at your work.

 

[sofaraway]

Hi

We are told to test an hour later and in theory you should be down to whatever you corrected down you. This could well be possible as you were 10.0 but if you were higher than that then it would normally take longer.

Can that be right?, if insulin works for around 4 hours and at 1 hour you are back to range then you must be heading lower.

If it was me I would expect to see myself in or virtually to range at 2 hours, as my novorapid is almost done by then.

 

[Northerner]

Can that be right?, if insulin works for around 4 hours and at 1 hour you are back to range then you must be heading lower.

If it was me I would expect to see myself in or virtually to range at 2 hours, as my novorapid is almost done by then.

I must admit it's one of the reasons that I have avoided doing corrections outside of mealtimes. The NR is going to work in me for 4-5 hours (I know this to be true), so if I correct then eat again a n hour or two later I have to try and take account of 'insulin on board' and it gets too tricky for my small Victorian brain. Having said that, my levels very rarely warrant a correction - and yes, I know I'm a lucky so-and-so!😱😉

I wouldn't have corrected a 10.1 with lunch an hour away, I'd have waited to see what it comes down to.

 

[rossi_mac]

I rarely correct for reasons others have said unless I'm well into double figures, as you can end up going up and down all day!

But having said that whilst pregnant they are very strict on the range to stay within so probably more reason to do said correction, hope you managed to get it down Emma🙂

 

[Adrienne]

Can that be right?, if insulin works for around 4 hours and at 1 hour you are back to range then you must be heading lower.

If it was me I would expect to see myself in or virtually to range at 2 hours, as my novorapid is almost done by then.

Yep that is right but don't forget this is with a pump so rules are all very different. When you start pumping you literally have to start from scratch in your way of thinking.

But even when we were MDIing we used to test an hour after a correction, we only ever corrected in the afternoon though never morning, as you would know by that time whether you are coming down or going up. Sometimes the correction did nothing and you were still going up.

 

[Emmal31]

Thanks for your replies especially to adrienna that helped me out a lot 😉 I gave myself a correction and after an hour it was 7.8 so managed to get it down before lunch.

I need huge amounts of insulin at the minute because I'm in those middle months of pregnancy so a few units don't really do a lot anymore so I didn't have any problems in the afternoon with hypo's with the extra insulin on board so to speak.
They always tell me off for my higher numbers at lunchtime 😡 which is why I've been doing correction doses before lunch recently I wouldn't bother usually but have got another little person on board to think about as well now.

x

 

[Northerner]

Thanks for your replies especially to adrienna that helped me out a lot 😉 I gave myself a correction and after an hour it was 7.8 so managed to get it down before lunch.

I need huge amounts of insulin at the minute because I'm in those middle months of pregnancy so a few units don't really do a lot anymore so I didn't have any problems in the afternoon with hypo's with the extra insulin on board so to speak.
They always tell me off for my higher numbers at lunchtime 😡 which is why I've been doing correction doses before lunch recently I wouldn't bother usually but have got another little person on board to think about as well now.

x

Sounds like you are doing an excellent 'job' of looking out for the little fella/lady Emma! 🙂

 

[Copepod]

But Emma isn't on a pump, is she? She has already said she's pregnant, so things are likely to very different to children on pumps. I would split this thread if I had the time, but perhaps Northerner can split it?

 

[randomange]

But Emma isn't on a pump, is she? She has already said she's pregnant, so things are likely to very different to children on pumps. I would split this thread if I had the time, but perhaps Northerner can split it?

I know Emma isn't on a pump, but the hyper rules are very similar to what I would do, obviously ignoring the bits about sets etc. The only thing I would do that's really different is that if I haven't come down at all in an hour, I would only give a partial correction, rather than the full correction again.

I do have a good idea of what my correction factor is, and I'm not pregnant, so I appreciate that some of this may just be down to confidence with giving corrections, but I don't think the advice on MDI would be too different from what Adrienne has given (although individuals may differ on what they do!) 🙂

 

[Adrienne]

I know Emma isn't on a pump, but the hyper rules are very similar to what I would do, obviously ignoring the bits about sets etc. The only thing I would do that's really different is that if I haven't come down at all in an hour, I would only give a partial correction, rather than the full correction again.

I do have a good idea of what my correction factor is, and I'm not pregnant, so I appreciate that some of this may just be down to confidence with giving corrections, but I don't think the advice on MDI would be too different from what Adrienne has given (although individuals may differ on what they do!) 🙂

Thanks Randomange. You are right, they are very similar rules, after all a high is a high and we need to get them down.

 

[sofaraway]

So what would you guys do if you were say 15 (and corrected to 7) and after an hour you were 11. You are coming down but not to range. Do you give another correction, would the pump even allow you to correct again at that point or would you have to override it?

John Walsh says that "a properly set correction bolus allows you to bring down high blood sugars to within 1.7mmol of your target blood sugar after four hours with novolog or humalog insulin"

Not saying you are wrong, not that at all just trying to understand.

ok just saw the other thread and you've answered what you would do already

 

[tracey w]

But Emma isn't on a pump, is she? She has already said she's pregnant, so things are likely to very different to children on pumps. I would split this thread if I had the time, but perhaps Northerner can split it?

the thread is about corrections, and Adrienne clearly states that corrections are different if on a pump.