Fat, protein and carbs question...oh and booze!

[Peely66]

I've read on here about taking into account the various components of your meals ie that a high fat content will slow down the absorption of the carbs in the meal but I also wondered if I'd misremembered that some of that fat and protein should be accounted for in your insulin dose as some of it is converted to glucose? Or is that effect negligible?

Last night I had a shop bought pizza and since my bg was at around 9 I decided I needed to prebolus but also account for the fat content so waited 20 minutes before eating. (I might have waited longer if it hadn't been a pizza) If my bg is lower and I'm not eating such a fatty meal I don't appear to need to wait that long to eat in the evenings. Three hours later I was at 15 with an arrow pointing straight up. I was in the pub and had drunk one pint so only had another half before leaving. I decided not to correct once I got home as I didn't want to over do it and also thought the booze might drop it. Woke up with a 9.

Anyone got any thoughts or any strategies they use? More insulin? Should I have waited longer? Split dose?

Obviously more experimentation with beer and pizza is needed!

 

[trophywench]

Split dose, every time for pizza or eg pasta with a fatty sauce or sometimes even with a not particularly fatty sauce to which you then add shedloads of parmesan prior to feeding your face!

With a pump, you can usually programme in a 'multidose' bolus where you have x percent up front then deliver the remainder over the next y hours. My standard for this (currently) is approx a third upfront and the other 2/3 delivered over the next 90 minutes - but I've only got here by trying varying amounts and timings over the last decade or so. A 40/60 split was suggested to me to start with. Like so many things D-wise - your mileage may vary cos we're all different!

 

[nonethewiser]

As above, split dosed on injections now use extended bolus on pump.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Sometimes I find with bigger, carbier, fattier meals, as well as needing to delay part of the dose for the late rise I also seem to need a slightly different ratio.

I think it’s John ’pumping insulin‘ Walsh who suggests your weight in kilos as grams of carbs might be the tipping point.

As you say, a little experimentation can help! (well it’s a good excuse anyway).

I‘d also have been tempted to bolus for the beer (up to the first 2 pints) but then I get very little in the way of ‘alcohol crash’.

Happy experimenting!

 

[Benny G]

Your glucose level started at 9 mmol and finished at the same level, so insulin appears to be the correct amount. Pizzas are always tricky to split bolus for and even a couple of pints of alcohol make me edge towards caution.
I think it's better to fix higher glucose levels in the morning, than lows during the night.