Ideas, anyone?

Status
Not open for further replies.
newbs

newbs

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Sorry to post again but wondered if any of you had suggestions for my lunchtime blood problem? I work in the afternoons and have to leave home to drive to work at 12.50pm. I try to have lunch around 12pm and check my levels before eating and then inject before having lunch, but for the past week or so I have then gone hypo half an hour later meaning I can't drive until I get my levels back up so am late to work. I have tried not injecting until I get to work but then my levels have already started climbing and I end up around 16/17 by the end of the afternoon so that's no good. Don't know what to do? I am not injecting too much as my levels do rise later.

Any ideas welcomed! Thanks.
 
On a day without work, does your BG drop you low half an hour later?

Obviously if this did happen you are taking to much.

A miscalculation of carbs seems unlikely if its happening all week, unless you are having the same thing for lunch then it could be the maths.

Do you correct at lunch? Whats your BG before eating?

Might also be your basal dose, is it split?
 
BG does drop after lunchtime injection most days, I don't have the same thing for lunch everyday. My BG before lunch is usually around 4/5, today was 6.1 - I am now 12.1 and rising after the hypo though (but had to have a small amount of lucozade to get me to work). My basal dose isn't split at the moment although that has been mentioned, I take 24 units Levemir at night.

Thanks for your reply.
 
As these hypos are consistently happening at the same time every day, it would suggest you are a little more sensitive at lunch.

Your on Levemir which has no peaks pretty much and should hold you steady.

Quite confident you should change your ratio at lunch. What is the ratio at lunch? How much Lucozade do you have to combat a hypo?
 
I inject between 10/12 units of novo at lunch, depending on what I have, moreoften 10 unless pasta or something similar. I usually drink a little less than 1/4 bottle of lucozade (bottle from 6 pack) to enable me to get to work. Today I got my levels up to 3.9 then drove on that as I knew it was going up and I was already 20 mins late but not ideal obviously.
 
Is the 10 units what you calculated or a guess?

If its a guess (or what you usually take) then you dont really know whats happening, you could be taking more than you need.

Do you count your carbohyrates?

Ideally 150-200ml is enough to bring you out of hypo, wether you feel the need to take more or not. This discipline should help you avoid overdoing it then trying to complensate later. 20 grams of fast acting sugar (i use jelly babies - 6 of) does the trick. (DAFNE rules)
 
It's basically a guess, I haven't been taught how to count carbohydrates or done a DAFNE course but have been liasing with my DN who reckoned 10 was "about right for me". The lucozade I had equated to approx 100 ml. From reading various posts on this board I realise how little I seem to know compared to others!
 
I shouldnt really be throwing numbers and rules infront of you when you havent been introduced to dafne or any similar programme.

But if your on quick acting insulin like novorapid then guessing how much to take is not really good enough especially if your going out in the car only moments later.

Please speak with your nurses and consultants about carb counting. If your in a controlled environment try it out.

10 grams of carbohydrate = 1 unit of novorapid.

eg. Walkers Steak and Onion Crisps 12.6 grams. I wouldnt take insulin for this alone but wuld include it with a meal. This would be one unit, rounding down if you like.

Slice of white bread = 20 grams = 2 units.

When doing dafne some ppl realise that they are more resistant at different times of the day to thier insulin, like me in the morning. I have to take 3 times the normal amount. (3 weetabix and milk = 5 units, I tak 15)

Look at the back of packaging for carbs......

When your having lunch again and it works out less than 10 try it out.

Also, correction doses, do you know about them?

DONT DO ANYTHING UNLESS YOUR HAPPY TO DO SO!!!!!
 
newbs said:
It's basically a guess, I haven't been taught how to count carbohydrates or done a DAFNE course but have been liasing with my DN who reckoned 10 was "about right for me". The lucozade I had equated to approx 100 ml. From reading various posts on this board I realise how little I seem to know compared to others!
Click to expand...

It does sound as though you are on either too much fast, or possibly too much slow, insulin. Whether 10 units is 'about right' for you would depend on a number of factors, including (of course!) what you are eating! Other things come into play, like previous activity levels, time of day (you may be more or less resistant to insulin at different times), hot/cold weather, where you inject (some injection sites are faster absorbing than others). Half an hour after injecting is pretty rapid - it might suit you better to inject after eating so that your food is starting to digest as the insulin begins working.

It would help enormously if you could learn to carb count, so you should ask the nurse if there are any courses available locally. Alternatively, there is an excellent online course here: http://www.bdec-e-learning.com/
 
Not sure about correction doses, if you mean injecting between meals to combat highs then my DN has told me not to do that as it will result in a hypo later on.

Thank you so much for all your help today, it is much appreciated.
 
Nice link man.................that looks like just what you need newbs......
 
My mornings tend to be very busy, usually up at 6.30 and I don't sit down until getting to work at 1pm - I'm a secretary though so afternoons spent mainly sat at my desk. I think injecting after the meal may be a good thing to try rather than waiting until I am at work as DN suggested and I will definitely ask her about carb counting - thanks for the link too.
 
newbs said:
Not sure about correction doses, if you mean injecting between meals to combat highs then my DN has told me not to do that as it will result in a hypo later on.QUOTE]


Hypos would occur later on if you corrected between meals, but when you test before a meal, you should correct your sugar levels if there high.

eg. If you were 12mmol/l before lunch, you should correct to get on target (5.5mmol/l)

In normal circumstances 1 unit of novorapid brings you down 2-3mmol/l, so if you do the maths you should take 2 units to bring you down plus the additional calculated carbs for your lunch.

Check out Northeners' Link in the meantime, once you have learned to count carbs you will never go back to guess work.

I can imagine there are alot of ppl out there who do that, even though they are on quick acting insulin each meal, its madness.

2 jags a day is safer if you cant count carbs........

Let us all know how you get on newbs...
Click to expand...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top