-
Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
-
Learn more about joining the Diabetes UK Support Forum team here: https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/volunteering-opportunities-why-dont-you-join-us.112862/
insulin on board
- Thread starter chezpez
- Start date
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
If you use the bolus calculator in mySugr, it gives you a measure of Active Insulin
They compare IoB and Active Insulin here
www.mysugr.com
These were added to mySugr after I stopped using it (I logged full time with mySugr for many years), so I don’t have any practical experience of using it I’m afraid
They compare IoB and Active Insulin here
Bolus Calculator | mySugr Global
These were added to mySugr after I stopped using it (I logged full time with mySugr for many years), so I don’t have any practical experience of using it I’m afraid
mashedupmatt
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Search for Gluroo on Play Store - that app tracks insulin on board (it's free) - it is in beta mode though so is being tested, and can be a bit clunky (I'm trying it at the moment!)
chezpez
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
ThanksIf you use the bolus calculator in mySugr, it gives you a measure of Active Insulin
They compare IoB and Active Insulin here
Bolus Calculator | mySugr Global
These were added to mySugr after I stopped using it (I logged full time with mySugr for many years), so I don’t have any practical experience of using it I’m afraid
chezpez
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Thank you
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I just log when and how much bolus insulin I inject on Libre and then look back at my log and roughly calculate in my head how much is left, if I need to know. I guess eating relatively low carb makes the calculation much easier for me plus Fiasp is generally finished after 3 hours which also makes it a bit easier to figure out.
Can I ask why you need to know? Are you contemplating a correction between meals or some other reason? Just curious as to what circumstances other people need to calculate this.
Can I ask why you need to know? Are you contemplating a correction between meals or some other reason? Just curious as to what circumstances other people need to calculate this.
Inka
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
I only bother with IOB if I do corrections and then I just work it out roughly like @rebrascora I’ve never found that an issue and common sense works well too. Type 1 spends a lot of its time being rather unpredictable and annoying, so the idea that IOB would be some accurate indication of what was going to happen to my blood sugar over the next few hours, always makes me smile. Until they have a What Daft Thing is your Type 1/blood sugar Going to Do Next App, I won’t be bothering 
Stacking is only really a risk for corrections anyway IMO.
Stacking is only really a risk for corrections anyway IMO.
Based on how my pumps have behaved, I believe the IOB calculations are very crude. They do not take into consideration the profile of the insulin - they assume IOB is used up linearly. For example, if you tell it your NovoRapid lasts 4 hours, it will assume one quarter of the dose is used up every hour. Whereas, if you look at the NovoRapid profile, more insulin is used in the first hour. So the calculation will tell you you have more IOB than you really have
As this is a conservative way of calculation, and there are so many other variable which can affect your BG, the approximation is good enough.
The main time I look at IOIB is when I am doing exercise because intensive activity seems to use it more efficiently. I could avoid exercising 4 hours after my last bolus but this is not always practical.
As this is a conservative way of calculation, and there are so many other variable which can affect your BG, the approximation is good enough.
The main time I look at IOIB is when I am doing exercise because intensive activity seems to use it more efficiently. I could avoid exercising 4 hours after my last bolus but this is not always practical.
chezpez
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
I find that small amounts of insulin spread out after a meal stop major spiking. But I feel it's always guess work
chezpez
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Thanks for the information
Satan’s little helper
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hello, I had a mess about with that feature on xdrip, It seemed to me my novorapid had a 3hour life? (Realistically closer to 5.) Then predicted I would low in under an hour's time. Then moving the prediction when I wasn't. Actually, I was ticking along fine. I watch the trend knowing when & how much. I don't like being nagged by some algorithm?
Last edited:
I don't think the model is great, but it offers a starting point at least. You can alter the duration deep in the bowels of the settings... but it doesn't change the shape of the curve, so that's not very useful. I agree that 3h isn't always what I would want (when exercising 5h is definitely more like it) but it does seem to be at least vaguely useful even as it is.
I have started writing my own (which aims to do less, but hopefully allow more experimentation, focusing on capturing more data about macros in foods and providing this to prediction plugins so people can experiment more easily). But life continues to get in the way of writing code. I imagine I'll have more time now that the nights are starting to draw in, though the sunny days this week have not helped (not that I'm complaining though! 🙂)
Satan’s little helper
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
The bare bones of the app is fantastic. With the amount of experience I have keeping my shoe tread down. I prefer my intuition.
Inka
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
It usually says on the Patient leaflet or you can Google or look at a chart of different insulins online.
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I know mostly by experience of using it for the past 4 years because I scan my levels very frequently and I regularly adjust my Levemir to keep me steady in the absence of food and bolus insulin.
Of course everyone is different in how they respond to different insulins but Fiasp is known to be faster to act and gone much quicker than NovoRapid and that is it's main benefit.
It has drawbacks too like becoming much less effective when levels are above 10mmols, so I find I have to be very proactive with it to keep below 10 and use bigger doses and stacked corrections if my levels occasionally drift above 10. This is just my experience though and I do not recommend stacking corrections unless you know what you are doing and can keep a close eye on things to keep yourself safe. It is just how I have learned to made it work for me.