HUMALOG BEFORE BED

[mum2westiesGill]

If needed does anyone take humalog before bed?
My DSN has advised me that in future if my bg before bed is below 8mmol to have 15g - 20g of carbs but now instead of having this with no insulin and because my bg has been raised on waking to have some insulin. With going to bed I don't know whether to just have half the advised dose - what does anyone think?

 

[Inka]

It’s usual to have the bedtime snack without insulin @mum2westiesGill If your blood sugar is high at bedtime, I’d think it would be better to eat a smaller snack or none at all rather than bolus for it.

I try to avoid bolusing close to bedtime as I don’t want to risk a hypo.

 

[mum2westiesGill]

It’s usual to have the bedtime snack without insulin @mum2westiesGill If your blood sugar is high at bedtime, I’d think it would be better to eat a smaller snack or none at all rather than bolus for it.

I try to avoid bolusing close to bedtime as I don’t want to risk a hypo.

Hi @Inka thank you for your kind reply. It's more if my blood sugar is lower than 8mmol at bedtime that my DSN has said I need to have at least 15g - 20g of carbs - at first she said with no insulin but now because my blood sugar has been high the next morning doing this she's said to have the snack with insulin.

Like you I really don't want to bolus at bedtime

 

[Inka]

Ok, so I think what I’d do in that situation is start off with the 20g carbs at bedtime without insulin, then if my blood sugar was too high, I’d reduce that to 15g carbs until I found the right balance. I’d rather eat less carbs and not have to take insulin at bedtime.

You could try keeping a few notes about your bedtime blood sugar, the carb amount of your bedtime snack, and your morning blood sugar. I wouldn’t just go on one night’s results. I’d want a few days of results to look at before I decided what worked best. If I got up in the night, I’d also do a blood test then just for a bit of extra information.

I’m on a pump now but when I was on injections I’d have around 15g carbs as a bedtime snack, but adjust that if my blood sugar was outside my target range. So if my blood sugar was a bit too high, I’d only have a 10g snack, but if it was too low, I’d have 20g or more. If I was in any doubt, I’d set an alarm to test around 2am just to make sure all was ok.

 

[mum2westiesGill]

Ok, so I think what I’d do in that situation is start off with the 20g carbs at bedtime without insulin, then if my blood sugar was too high, I’d reduce that to 15g carbs until I found the right balance. I’d rather eat less carbs and not have to take insulin at bedtime.

You could try keeping a few notes about your bedtime blood sugar, the carb amount of your bedtime snack, and your morning blood sugar. I wouldn’t just go on one night’s results. I’d want a few days of results to look at before I decided what worked best. If I got up in the night, I’d also do a blood test then just for a bit of extra information.

I’m on a pump now but when I was on injections I’d have around 15g carbs as a bedtime snack, but adjust that if my blood sugar was outside my target range. So if my blood sugar was a bit too high, I’d only have a 10g snack, but if it was too low, I’d have 20g or more. If I was in any doubt, I’d set an alarm to test around 2am just to make sure all was ok.

Thanks @Inka - what did you used to have for your bedtime snack? I like to have either mature cheddar cheese sandwich on 1 round of hovis (18g carbs per slice) or warburtons medium white sliced bread (19g carbs per slice) or cheese on jacobs cornish wafers crackers (5g of carbs per cracker)

 

[Inka]

I used to have either a bowl of puffed wheat cereal (like sugar puffs but plain and with no sugar or honey) and milk. I chose that cereal because it’s so light that I could have a reasonable bowl but still only have a small number of carbs.

If I was away from home, I’d have digestive biscuits or similar with cheese or whatever I had at hand.

 

[mum2westiesGill]

I used to have either a bowl of puffed wheat cereal (like sugar puffs but plain and with no sugar or honey) and milk. I chose that cereal because it’s so light that I could have a reasonable bowl but still only have a small number of carbs.

If I was away from home, I’d have digestive biscuits or similar with cheese or whatever I had at hand.

We usually have digestive biscuits in they're usually the tesco ones with 9g of carbs in.

What do you think of my snacks in my previous reply?

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I wonder if your diabetes has slightly changed the rules?

I would imagine that initially your BG was risking dropping overnight, which is why your nurse suggested a late snack to boost your BG, to give you a cushion.

But now, for the moment at least, perhaps your BG isn’t dropping overnight, so the snack is actually making you wake up high.

So I agree with @Inka - it sounds like either you only need a smaller snack (with no insulin)... or you don’t need a snack at all?

Rather that adding insulin and extra carbs late on, which sounds like it worries you?