how long do you wait?

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DanW81

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Type 1
after you taken your injection, how long do you wait till you eat?

Ive always tried to do 15-20 mins, but sometimes, e.g. at restaurant it may come early or late and i think this can effect the insulin. i.e. early = not enough time for insulin to start working, so levels will be higher after meal
 
I have always injected just before I eat. If in a restaurant I wouldn't want to inject before the food came for fear of hypoing.
 
Northerner said:
I have always injected just before I eat. If in a restaurant I wouldn't want to inject before the food came for fear of hypoing.
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oh right, thats interesting, as i have always been told right from d day that i should inject about 20 mins before, in order to give insulin time to start working.

i even know some people that do it AFTER they have eaten?
 
Dan, I think the correct answer is whatever works best for you to match the profile of the food you're eating with the profile of the insulin.

I generally take after I've eaten, as I then know how much I've eaten! Although some foods I am learning would do me good to inject before.

Trial & error 🙂
 
I try and have my injections 15 minutes before my breakfast and lunch (as I get big spikes in my readings an hour afterwards if I dont) and about 5-10 mins before dinner.
I think this is a very individual thing though. On the DAFNE course I went on they advised people to inject after eating all of their meal. I know this does not work for me.

In a restaurant I would not inject until the food has arrived though as you have no idea of the portion size, or possibly if I was running a bit high to start with I would have a couple of units in advance and then top this up as necessary when the food came.
 
I always used to inject about 10mins before my meal or more often just before I ate. After my last appt with the DSN she told me to inject after my meal because then you know how much you have eaten.. as beforehand you might work out what you need and then not eat all of your meal and have given too much insulin.. I have found it easier injecting after my meal now..
 
I tend to inject just before my meals at home and when im at friends but when im in a restaurant I tend to inject after so I can assess portion size and how much I eat of it, at home I cook what I can eat and also know how many carbs etc but I never know when im out if ill eat it all or leave loads so I do the math afterwards but I agree with what rossi_mac said I think its whatever works for you 🙂
 
I always inject 5 mins before every meal
 
The dietician at my clinic advised me to inject once I knew what I was eating and how big a portion of things i.e. aat the start of the meal. The only exception she advises is if it's fried food e.g. fish and chips (I wish!)this takes longer to take effect and so to wait until after the meal. It seems to work for me, but as others advise its really trial and error for individuals.
 
I tend to inject after a meal, it's just a habit I have and seems to work most times for me. When eating out i will always wait for the food to arrive.

Just to bear in mind those not on novorapid/humalog/aprida will need in inject earlier so to give time for the insulin to kick in.
 
sofaraway said:
I tend to inject after a meal, it's just a habit I have and seems to work most times for me. When eating out i will always wait for the food to arrive.

Just to bear in mind those not on novorapid/humalog/aprida will need in inject earlier so to give time for the insulin to kick in.
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im on humilin S, so could this apply to me?
 
absolutly Dan, if you check out the action profiles of humalin s compared to a fast acting analogue (novorapid et al) then it slower to kick in-30mins ish and works for longer- 6-8 hours or so.
 
Someone else will probably be able to give a more scientific explanation, but insulins like humalin s and i, actrapid, insultard are copies of human insulins. The analogues have the amino acid sequence altered so that they perform slightly differently. Lantus lasts longer, novorapid quicker.
 
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