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How do other Type 1's calculate quick-acting insulin before a meal as it can be quite complicated - in your head, on a piece of paper or using an app?

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rnmuk

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I'm interested to know how do other Type 1's calculate quick-acting insulin before a meal as it can be quite complicated. As you need to work out what blood level you are before the meal and also how many carbs are in your meal and adjust according, do most people work this out in their head, on a piece of paper or using an app (if so which one please)?
 
rnmuk said:
I'm interested to know how do other Type 1's calculate quick-acting insulin before a meal as it can be quite complicated. As you need to work out what blood level you are before the meal and also how many carbs are in your meal and adjust according, do most people work this out in their head, on a piece of paper or using an app (if so which one please)?
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When I first started, I used a pencil and paper. I also had a crib sheet of all the things I ate fairly regularly, where I’d worked out the carb count and written it down, so I didn’t have to keep calculating from scratch. After a few years, I knew most of these off by heart, or at least different components, so I could quickly add up a meal, so don’t often refer to it any more. These days, 15 years on, it’s more a question of eyeballing what I’m about to eat, and having a gut feeling about the units, which includes variables such as, what’s my starting BG, is it falling or rising (only possible since I've been using the Libre) have I been gardening, am I going to be drinking wine with the meal, etc etc. Then I roughly balance out in my head the factors that might mean I need more insulin, and factors that might mean I need less, then inject according to basic carbs plus instinct.
I also look at my Libre graphs, and if I spot that several days a week, say, I seem to be high after lunch, I might address the problem more closely and do a few tweaks.
 
I used to work out in my head - I got experience of counting 10g portions of carbs on my plate (potatoes, pasta, rice, bread, etc.). My insulin to carb ratio was a simple 1 unit to 10g carbs and my correction was pretty straightforward too.

I say "used to" because now I have a pump, it does everything except count carbs. It does all the sums 🙂

Probably worth mentioning that I am an engineer so doing sums is part of my daily life.
 
I’m quite capable of doing it myself( sometimes aided by a calculator), but having different ratios for different meals is quite a lot for my ageing brain to cope with and I have to use it for important stuff like remembering people’s birthdays and knowing when to put the bins out! So I use MySugr as that’s where I record all my diabetes info anyway.
 
I use a calculator. I have used my head on occasions where I have been out and my phone died but that's log time. Although dinner at moment can be easily done in my head.
 
All in my head.
As @Robin says, there are so many other factors to consider, not just the carbs, but any correction, timing of dose, exercise/activity done before or going to be done after, alcohol, am I going to be driving after the meal and perhaps want to ensure my levels are a bit higher etc.
The wonderful thing about now having Libre is that I can jab a very rough estimate up front, bearing all those things in mind and then keep an eye on my Libre and do a correction later if I didn't get it quite right. I no longer consciously look at a plate and count carbs, I just look at a plate and think that is about x units of insulin. Libre has taken so much strain out of my diabetes management in this respect.
I am very much the same with recipes at home. I don't weigh and calculate, I just look at it and think that is about x units of insulin and Libre will let me fix it later if I am too far wrong. Yes, it means an extra injection quite often but that is far easier that all the faff of weighing and measuring and calculating and worrying about not getting it right
 
If I was to adjusting for excise or anything else I would still work out whaty usail.doae would be then take it off. I'm still asking myself questions "like am I going to be excising' "what's the weather like" (yes it does make a difference). Or as lernt recently when I spent time with my nice and nephew. "I'm going to have small children around mdthat will want my attention regaully"
 
I’d weigh out the different carby items in the meal and add them up in my head...eg 60g of carb.

Then I’d prick my finger - if I was in my pre-meal range, I’d just go ahead and work out how much insulin those 60g required...eg if the meal’s insulin-to-carb ratio was 1:15 for 60g = 4 units of insulin.

If I was over my pre-meal range, I’d use my correction factor to decide how much correction dose to add to those 4 units. My correction factor is 4 mmol...eg my BG’s at 11, so I’d add 1unit = 5 units of insulin to cover my 60g of carb.

OMG, what an effort! I’m now lucky enuff to have a pump, so those days are behind me. 🙂

Just remembered - before switching to a pump, my DSN got me to use the mylife app in readiness - it did some of the work for me.
 
I'm lazy and use an app , mysugr is a paid for one with a bolus calculator and mylife is a totally free one with a bolus calculator.
 
Bolus wizard on insulin pump.
 
I work it out in my head by adding up the carbs and dividing by my meal ratio. If I need a correction or a reduction for exercise, I then add/deduct that. It’s all a question of estimating anyway. You need to think about various things and then make an informed decision.
 
Ditto with @Pumper_Sue - bolus wizard, but anyhow the maths is still dead easy however pre pump, the only thing I ever found I couldn't judge very well was insulin on board when I'd had a snack requiring insulin between meals and hence, I didn't very often have one - which was no bad habit to get into, all in all.
 
Thank you for all of your comments, which I found extremely interesting.
I have been a type 1 diabetic for nearly 45 years now, but only moved to the new insulins (and pens) in the last couple of years, when I was trying to get the Libre on prescription. The Libre has been life-changing for me as it has for most. I have never really considered an insulin pump but it sounds like they do some of the working out for you (providing you know your current blood level, carbs in the meal and if you are going to exercise too). When I moved onto the new insulins I created a spreadsheet for myself (including all regular meal ingredients) to work out how much insulin to take taking into account current blood level and exercise reduction percentage) which has worked really well (I'm happy with my HbA1c level). I'd love to turn this spreadsheet into a phone app but don't currently know how to. So just wonder how everyone else is currently managing. Thanks again for all your comments.
 
Wish there was magical formula, just comes down to eyeballing & experience with most meals, occasionally do measure things out but don't like faff if honest.
 
rnmuk said:
Thank you for all of your comments, which I found extremely interesting.
I have been a type 1 diabetic for nearly 45 years now, but only moved to the new insulins (and pens) in the last couple of years, when I was trying to get the Libre on prescription. The Libre has been life-changing for me as it has for most. I have never really considered an insulin pump but it sounds like they do some of the working out for you (providing you know your current blood level, carbs in the meal and if you are going to exercise too). When I moved onto the new insulins I created a spreadsheet for myself (including all regular meal ingredients) to work out how much insulin to take taking into account current blood level and exercise reduction percentage) which has worked really well (I'm happy with my HbA1c level). I'd love to turn this spreadsheet into a phone app but don't currently know how to. So just wonder how everyone else is currently managing. Thanks again for all your comments.
Click to expand...
There are already phone apps that do this. Mylife or MySugr are most common.
 
Thanks, Lucyr your right and I have looked at them both Mylife and MySugr, both look good providing you know how many carbs are in the meal. My spreadsheet allows me to pick a meal carb such as rice add the weight of the rice and then it works out the carbs for that item and uses it in the "meal carb" calculation.
 
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