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Hello. Bob here.

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Hi Bob - welcome to the club no-one wanted to join! - still - you do tend to meet very nice people in it .......

There is actually a scientific way* of discovering whether your Lantus dose is sufficient - BUT - please be aware that 'adjusting your dose to control your blood glucose' - is a moveable feast that is now with you for the whole of the rest of your life. Doesn't stay exactly the same for more than a month or two at most. It is as changeable as the weather - literally - as well as all the things they DO tell us that affects insulin needs (food, obviously - drink -alcohol especially can have surprising BG effects - exercise - stress - accompanying other illness - trauma - other hormone levels, true for men in certain circumstances, as well as girls for obvious reasons - excitement, depression -the weather and the temperature - whether there is an R in the month or the Moon is in Aquarius ....) This is not an exhaustive list, I've probably forgotten no end of other reasons!

*You are so new to this I would suggest you simply do the tests the doc has asked you to, but between meals and those test times - test on a regular basis - eg today test every 2 hours at 'even' hours, and tomorrow the same but at 'odd' hours.

With seeing the results together with your Dr requested tests and all the food details - it will be easy for the trained eye to see where you lack insulin and whether it is basal or bolus insulin that you lack. For the finer measurements and adjustments, you would need to do it the 'proper' way. http://www.diabetes-support.org.uk/info/?page_id=120

Finally - I have to ask why they have put you on Lantus? 10u a day sounds nowhere near enough for a bloke unless he is a skinny midget. I weighed approx. 54kg when using it, and the least I ever got away with was 18u. I would obviously expect someone heavier, to need correspondingly more. The most up to date 'Gold standard' treatment for newly diagnosed Type 1s is for the basal insulin to be 2 x daily Levemir. When you already have to take 4 jabs daily , another one is neither here nor there really - and Levemir is MUCH easier and logical to adjust more quickly, than Lantus.

OTOH - when you are first diagnosed, one's pancreatic Beta cells sometimes have a nasty habit of refusing to lie down and die quietly and keeps sticking its oar in by supplying random amounts of your own insulin at random times, - so it is exceedingly important not to put you on too high doses of basal or bolus.

Soooooo - Patience is a virtue - find it when you can. Always in a woman - seldom in a man !

Good luck mate - and keep posting and asking questions.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum
 
Ow that's a bit high. However if you were only diagnosed last week your medical team won't have got your doses sorted out correctly yet, keep in touch with them and I'm sure they will gradually Increase your doses until your numbers come down to a sensible level. I think it's actually not very good for you to come down too quickly post-diagnosis, so I'm sure they know what they are doing!
 
Lantus needs can vary quite considerably. I weigh around 62 kilos, and I need 7 units per day. Trophy's 18 would floor me. 10 is the sort of figure it was suggested I start on, it's a good start point, and as you fine tune, you can up it or down it as you need. The new NICE guidelines do now recommend Levemir, unless you were already on Lantus, in which case you're not expected to change. Some doctors may just still prefer Lantus, NICE is a guideline, not an absolute.
 
I've met the medical team twice now and they told me they didn't want me coming down too quick. Went down to 4.6 before my dinner today (took a high dose after a big lunch) and felt very weak and faint. I know that's acceptable levels but I'm just wondering if I felt that way because my body hadn't been there for a while.

But agree. Patience definitely a virtue.
 
BobAird said:
I've met the medical team twice now and they told me they didn't want me coming down too quick. Went down to 4.6 before my dinner today (took a high dose after a big lunch) and felt very weak and faint. I know that's acceptable levels but I'm just wondering if I felt that way because my body hadn't been there for a while.

But agree. Patience definitely a virtue.
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That's quite normal, Bob, if your body has been used to higher levels, you can get a 'false hypo' i.e. a feeling that you're too low, even though you're not. That will settle once your body gets used to normal levels again.
 
Robin said:
That's quite normal, Bob, if your body has been used to higher levels, you can get a 'false hypo' i.e. a feeling that you're too low, even though you're not. That will settle once your body gets used to normal levels again.
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That's what I thought but it didn't stop me raiding the fruit pastels. Need a bit more discipline I think.
 
I weigh a lot more than Trophy and Robin but I still only need 12u Lantus per day if I want to avoid hypos. We're all different in our needs, so you're in for a period of adjustments till you find your level and, as Trophy says anything can bollix it so it's best to take each day as it comes. Doesn't mean you can't get pretty good control, you just have to include Murphy in your calculations.
 
AlisonM said:
you just have to include Murphy in your calculations.
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What with Murphy, his first cousin Sod and the Diabetes Fairy one has to be flexible🙄
 
Bloody Murphy! I hear you though. Ups and downs ahead. But I'm confident I'll get to grips with it. Definitely great hearing from everyone. I've no doubt I'll have loads of questions to come.
 
Welcome bob, just keep learning pal.
 
Hi Bob and welcome to the foum. Cant really advise on the type 1 side of things as I'm an odd ball and a MODY (maturity onset diabetes of the young), but just wanted to say hello.
 
BobAird said:
Hi Susan
The site looks great. Definitely helping hearing from others. Been diagnosed long?
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Not long only since the 22nd January this year.
Not in full control on my bloods yet but slowly getting there.
I'm a gannet too so desperately learning all the under 10 carb snacks
 
Hi Bob welcome to the forum. As you say it is a lot to learn at first, and it takes time to adjust the doses of the two types of insulin.

Good that you have started on carb counting from the beginning and you will find that you start to remember a lot of the carb values for things that you eat regularly. Like others I find the Carbs and Cals app very useful.

There are lots of people on this forum with a lot of experience so just ask questions as you go along.
 
I've halved my basal dose on the pump - I am currently at 9.98 u/day - that should go down a bit if the weather ever gets warmer LOL - but I only vary between c 9.5u and c 10.2u anyway these days.

Makes ALL the difference to how much you need, when your body is actually getting it a lot nearer when it actually needs it, rather than throwing anything long-acting at it and hoping for the best.
 
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