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Inject or not??

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D_G

D_G

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hiya guys!

Another carb question im afraid but hope u can help me out as still bit confuzzled! 🙂

So what if i dont fancy carbs with my meals and i just want something like a nice chicken/tuna/prawn salad for my lunch/dinner? as it has no carbs do i not have to inject? or will missing an injection just mess up my insulin routine and bg levels??

I ask as well because now we are nearing summer (hopefully) i tend to eat alot of salads opposed to heavy carb meals?

Also have noticed alot weight gain since using insulin 😡 want to get back to original weight so other question is does eating less carbs = less insulin = less weight gain?? (im not overweight but i can notice it!!)

Thanks in advance lovely people 🙂 xx
 
In theory you shouldn't need to inject for a no-carb meal, although some people find they may need a little insulin - a lot will depend on how good your basal dose works. What I mean by this is that, if basal is a little low then your levels could creep up if you don't take any fast-acting with a meal as the liver puts out a low level of glucose all the time. Sometimes this imbalance in liver/basal insulin is masked by the fact that you take slightly more than necessary bolus (perhaps without realising it).

As for insulin causing weight gain, it can do if used in large quantities as it is a type of growth hormone. But this is why you need to observe things like portion size of food, and make sure you're not consuming more calories than you use. 🙂
 
Personally with a very low carb meal I don't need to inject anything, but as Northener says some people might need to so you will have to work out what works for you. Some people might say that you must have carbs at every meal but if you can adjust your insulin accordingly then this doesn't have to be true.

If you lost weight pre-diagnosis then it's likely that you will regain this weight, there will have also been a signicifant drop in weight from the dehydration. I have lost weight since going onto insulin, so although it can be hard it is possible. Also increasing activity is good for weight loss, and will also increase insulin sensitivity so most people will need to inject less.
 
Hmm well have been tryin to low carb for some meals to experiment, was too scared not to inject anything though but have been doing 1-2 units insulin for salads i have been trying with low/no carbs and found that my levels are actually worse! (example being a salad with lettuce leaves, cucumber and prawns with bit of salad cream) i love my salads 🙂

Could it be that i have to have carbs with my meals for my insulin to work?? because other days when i have like a sandwich instead i get much better numbers after eating!?

I also tried a low carb brekie one morning which was eggs and 2 ryvitas - again injected 2 units just incase, pre meal i was 8 and i expected to go low but 4 hours later before my lunch i was 8.2 so it went up!
 
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It sounds to me that your background level is not right as northener said. There have been a few threads on here about checking and adjusting basal doses. Might be worth looking through them.
 
This post has fascinated me and i wonder now if i live in a dark hole as i have been brain washed from the old days that you have to have carbs in order to maintain some sort of balance.

I too love my salads but always have a roll or potatos or something like that with carbs in to get the BG up.

I have learnt from this that you can have a carb free lunch/dinner and the ways of managing it. Fish is an example of carb free foods that i have never eaten beacuse of my brain washed old school days.

Who says you can't learn something new everyday! I am going to go check the other posts now see what else i can learn....

Bernie xx
 
getcarter76 said:
This post has fascinated me and i wonder now if i live in a dark hole as i have been brain washed from the old days that you have to have carbs in order to maintain some sort of balance.

I too love my salads but always have a roll or potatos or something like that with carbs in to get the BG up.

I have learnt from this that you can have a carb free lunch/dinner and the ways of managing it. Fish is an example of carb free foods that i have never eaten beacuse of my brain washed old school days.

Who says you can't learn something new everyday! I am going to go check the other posts now see what else i can learn....

Bernie xx
Click to expand...

Glad u found this interesting bernie! 🙂 i did try low carbing for a while but i was constantly snacking and always hungry and when i had my app with the dsn she was not too impressed lol. so i am now having 30 - 40 carbs per meal and its working out alot better 🙂 but everyone is different i can generally eat anything under 15carbs and not be too affected, just experiment and find out what is good for you. have fun looking through the old posts thats exactly what i did when i joined this site 🙂

D_G

x
 
Hi there,

To be honest, it's kind of a trial and error topic.

In theory you shouldn't need to inject anything, However, there are still tiny amounts of carb in salads and some people are more sensitive to this than others.

The "average" diabetic is said to be able to eat 15 grams of carbs with no injection.. But whats average?.. We're all soooo different.

If i were you i'd experiment a little.. try to eat the kind of things you plan to eat throughout summer when you have spare time (weekends etc) so that you have the free time to do much more bg monitoring than usual.

That way you should be clued up on your own personal needs by the time summers here (if we get one!) and be able to enjoy yourself more. Hope this helps a little. x
 
Hi folks,

I've been trying the low carb thing recently too, mainly because as you say it's summer and i don't always want a huge portion of potatoes! I seem to be fine with not injecting for example when I have an omelette or quite a few things from wagamama (yumyum!) which are mostly veg and chicken. I suppose it must be different for everyone right enough.

Next challenge, work out how to have my first biscuit in 6 weeks... difficult stuff!!

mairi
 
can't advise on injecting or not injecting as I am on pills.

It strikes me it is a question of trial and error, and as long as you know what is happening, in theory, you should get better control. We are advised to eat a balanced diet that includes all the food groups, but not sure if you need to eat tthem all at every meal.

I hope it works out.
 
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