Gaps between meals

[Berniecdj]

As a fairly new T1D I’m very conscious about leaving 4 hours between meals and avoid bolus related snacks completely to avoid the prospect of insulin stacking. Is this standard behaviour for Type 1 diabetics or am I being over cautious.

 

[helli]

The reason for the 4 hours between boluses is that fast acting insulin remains active in our body for about 4 hours.
Taking insulin with “active” on board, risks “stacking”: having too much insulin. This is something some people fear.
However, you can eat snacks requiring no insulin (typically, something with less than 10g carbs) or calculate insulin dose taking “insulin on board” into consideration or not including a correction component in your second dose.
I understand as someone fairly new, this could sound daunting. It could be but it is not “standard behaviour for Type 1” to let diabetes control when you eat.
I am a grazer, always have been. The idea of 3 (or 2) substantial meals a day and nothing else does not suit me. So, I have learnt to calculate my insulin for every time I eat whenever that may be.

 

[Inka]

As a fairly new T1D I’m very conscious about leaving 4 hours between meals and avoid bolus related snacks completely to avoid the prospect of insulin stacking. Is this standard behaviour for Type 1 diabetics or am I being over cautious.

No, it’s not usual behaviour but as you’re fairly recently diagnosed, it’s sensible behaviour. As you get more experienced, you can change things a bit. Better to be cautious, especially early on.

 

[Lucyr]

As a fairly new T1D I’m very conscious about leaving 4 hours between meals and avoid bolus related snacks completely to avoid the prospect of insulin stacking. Is this standard behaviour for Type 1 diabetics or am I being over cautious.

I’d say you’re being over cautious. Don’t stack corrections within 4hrs unless you account for previous corrections, but for food it’s fine to bolus within 4 hrs.

 

[pistolpete]

I think over cautious too, dont be scared to experiment with insulin. Getting your insulin to carb ratio is a game changer, I count every carb I eat and bolus accordingly. Dont be too put off by feeding lows, it is ok to start with but if your feeding them everyday then your doing something wrong (or its an excuse to eat jelly babies🙂). Raw nuts, cheese and berries are good and wont affect your levels, everything in moderation of course.

 

[Berniecdj]

Thanks all for replying. Some crucial insights

 

[SB2015]

Thanks all for replying. Some crucial insights

There are lots of different approaches as you have seen. I think at the start we also ‘hear’ different bits that seem relevant to us at the time. I remember missing this idea of a gap between meals at the start, and happily ate snacks of less than 10g carbs without insulin, however I found that that made working out my ratios a bit hit and miss. At the time I was on injections and had no sensors available to see what was happening in between meals.

It is definitely a process of trail and improvement as we work out what works for us in different situations. As you gain confidence you will start to adapt the ‘rules’ to suit you and what you choose to do. @SimonP mentioned elsewhere how useful it can be to read about what others do and to describe what you are doing. This helps each of us each make decisions about what suits us.

Keep the questions coming.

 

[mitchsi]

I’ve also recently been diagnosed T1D but prior to that I only ate lunch, dinner and perhaps a snack before 8pm as I understood the importance of keeping blood glucose levels steady and not grazing a lot of the day plus the principles of intermittent fasting. It helped to reduce weight slowly over months and I felt better for it. Not for everyone but it works for me.
This practice made it easier for me to track what I eat and the required insulin after diagnosis so now I kinda have an idea of carbs per unit.
This kind of method might be suitable until you gain experience. I do stack insulin but now I can kinda work out where I am with the balancing.
Good luck, it’s tricky