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Hi There, I have just started injecting and would like to know ,after injecting ,how long should I wait before testing and eating breakfast?
- Thread starter Major210
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Welcome to the forum @Major210
Which insulin are you using?
If it’s a rapid acting one designed to apply to the following meal the general guide is that these take 15-20 minutes to ’get going’ though some members discover by a process of experimentation that slightly different timings (either waiting longer or not waiting at all) work better for them at different meal times.
I tend to find that at breakfast 20-30 minutes is about right and 10-15 minutes at lunchtime. But much longer than 5 minutes before my evening meal and I risk dropping low before the food is starting to absorb.
Depending on whether you are using rapid analogue, mixed, or long acting insulin things might be quite different though!
Which insulin are you using?
If it’s a rapid acting one designed to apply to the following meal the general guide is that these take 15-20 minutes to ’get going’ though some members discover by a process of experimentation that slightly different timings (either waiting longer or not waiting at all) work better for them at different meal times.
I tend to find that at breakfast 20-30 minutes is about right and 10-15 minutes at lunchtime. But much longer than 5 minutes before my evening meal and I risk dropping low before the food is starting to absorb.
Depending on whether you are using rapid analogue, mixed, or long acting insulin things might be quite different though!
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I am using a Novo Mix 30 pen
I have just taken a reading and it was 17.4. No difference from other mornings!
- Relationship to Diabetes
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Ah OK. As it’s name suggests that‘s a mix of short acting (mealtime) insulin and a longer acting (background) insulin in a 30:70 split.
The DUK ‘meds and kit’ supplement suggests an onset time of 15-20 minutes, a peak action of 4 hours and a duration of the long acting approaching 24 hours.
Your 17.4 is much higher than ideal, and hopefully with the support of the injected insulin those levels will come down over the next few days.
Unfortunately, with a mixed insulin it isn’t possible to directly target any one BG reading, because you can’t increase the short acting correction dose without also affecting the long acting dose, which can lead to confusion and complexity.
I’m not sure how long you have been diagnosed, and how quickly you have moved onto insulin, but it might be worth asking about MDI or basal:bolus, where background and meal (or correction) doses are separated. This is usually a much more flexible system.
Have your clinic given you advice about the carbohydrate content of your meals? It’s important that these are tailored to work with your insulin doses. If you have too much carbohydrate the insulin will appear ineffective. If you have too little you risk hypoglycaemia.
You should probably aim to have a consistent carb count each day for the different meals so that the amount, and distribution, of your carbs works with your insulin.
For example, you may need to have a relatively low carb lunch, as the rapid acting part of your morning dose will have run out, but you will most likely need some carbs at breakfast to avoid a mid-morning hypo.
The DUK ‘meds and kit’ supplement suggests an onset time of 15-20 minutes, a peak action of 4 hours and a duration of the long acting approaching 24 hours.
Your 17.4 is much higher than ideal, and hopefully with the support of the injected insulin those levels will come down over the next few days.
Unfortunately, with a mixed insulin it isn’t possible to directly target any one BG reading, because you can’t increase the short acting correction dose without also affecting the long acting dose, which can lead to confusion and complexity.
I’m not sure how long you have been diagnosed, and how quickly you have moved onto insulin, but it might be worth asking about MDI or basal:bolus, where background and meal (or correction) doses are separated. This is usually a much more flexible system.
Have your clinic given you advice about the carbohydrate content of your meals? It’s important that these are tailored to work with your insulin doses. If you have too much carbohydrate the insulin will appear ineffective. If you have too little you risk hypoglycaemia.
You should probably aim to have a consistent carb count each day for the different meals so that the amount, and distribution, of your carbs works with your insulin.
For example, you may need to have a relatively low carb lunch, as the rapid acting part of your morning dose will have run out, but you will most likely need some carbs at breakfast to avoid a mid-morning hypo.
Hi. Can I ask what your BMI is? If it is high then insulin may have difficulty in working well due to insulin resistance in the body. If so then the solution is to reduce your carb intake to reduce weight. The insulin will then work better and the dose may be able to be reduced. Apologies for the advice if you are not overweight.
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