Is this normal

[Deleted member 33898]

So for a few weeks I've been going in the low territory more and more. Over a month a go I started splitting my basal to plug a gap when I went to bed. This appeared to be working and was having less highs whilst sleeping. Started to notice almost like a peak strength in both basal doses . The morning one keeping me steady and then sending me low early evening and the night dose keeping me steady and sending me low a few hours before waking. Lowered these and its somewhat helped.

Then started to notice as soon as I finish eating im going low for 25 minutes and of course I eat glucose tabs to get me out of there as quick as I can. Then I'd get a small rise and low again an hour or so after. So I started to shorten the pre bolus time and reduce the bolus for meals. Saw post meal levels improve but still these lows as soon as I finish eating. It seems to be as soon as I inject I head straight down fast. Its been relentless, every meal. And I'm not eating different. Still eating round 70g to 80g carbs per meal. Before I'd be pre bolusing 15 to 25 mins before, spike to between 9 and 12 after. Started to eat right away but seeing same thing happen.

Guess what Id like to know is , how drastic a change can one expect in their insulin needs and timings etc with different times of the year? I know it can change but didn't think it would change this much. Think my next option would be to try bolus after I finish eating, this freaks me out a bit because im so used to giving the insulin time to work before eating. Anyone had this happen ? If I was just going to high 3s and no lower when going low I wouldn't be as concerned but I'm constantly going to low 3s high 2s and this is every meal. Obviously doesn't feel great and not good for me!

As always thanks for help

Basal is levermir twice a day

Bolus is novarapid, at 1 to 18 ratio.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Guess what Id like to know is , how drastic a change can one expect in their insulin needs and timings etc with different times of the year?

I'm sure it varies between people. I find it's around 15% (lower insulin in summer when it's warmer).

 

[DaveB]

Hi. If you can afford it do try a Freestyle Libre 2. It will give you a good insight into your BS profile and what happens as you make changes.

 

[nonethewiser]

Best bet would be switching to insulin pump so enquire about it, you can adjust basal rates hourly should you wish so have multiple rates a day to match your body's demands, so easy to adjust for when weather gets warmer or colder.

 

[Deleted member 33898]

Hi. If you can afford it do try a Freestyle Libre 2. It will give you a good insight into your BS profile and what happens as you make changes.

Using libre 2 already, cheers though

 

[Deleted member 33898]

Best bet would be switching to insulin pump so enquire about it, you can adjust basal rates hourly should you wish so have multiple rates a day to match your body's demands, so easy to adjust for when weather gets warmer or colder.

Pump brought up before with clinic, not eligible. Definitely can't afford it unfortunately .

 

[nonethewiser]

Pump brought up before with clinic, not eligible. Definitely can't afford it unfortunately .

Mention to them difficulties your having with basal & amount of hypos your having, you can & do qualify if your diabetes is affecting your quality of life.

 

[Saoirse]

If your hypos persist despite your efforts then I would go back to the clinic with your data and the nice criteria and ask foryour request for a pump to be reconsidered.

 

[Bloden]

Mention to them difficulties your having with basal & amount of hypos your having, you can & do qualify if your diabetes is affecting your quality of life.

My basal is impossible to manage on 1 daily injection, and I’ve been approved for a pump. Just keep asking, asking, asking (and collecting evidence, of course)...that’s what I’ve been doing since 2018, and it finally worked. Having lots of hypos is miserable!

 

[DouglasXKR]

Using libre 2 already, cheers though

I have experienced something similar. I got more rational results by taking a finger prick test and then, 3 minutes later, comparing with a Libre2 result. I was getting consistently over 0.5 difference; the Libre2 was lower when going low and higher when going high. Doing this regularly is a Nice guideline. The solution for me was getting the sensor position close to the sensor diagram and covering the sensor with a waterproof adhesive coating. Abbott claim a degree of water protection which I‘m not convinced of. Other factors such as how deep I was injecting mattered; the deeper the needle went in, the quicker the insulin went to work. Changes in routine were quite difficult to compensate for. All of this took some time but just keep at it, it will work. Good luck.

 

[nonethewiser]

My basal is impossible to manage on 1 daily injection, and I’ve been approved for a pump. Just keep asking, asking, asking (and collecting evidence, of course)...that’s what I’ve been doing since 2018, and it finally worked. Having lots of hypos is miserable!

That's it perseverance pays off, well done my friend.

 

[Deleted member 33898]

Never heard of nice guidelines. Will have to look this up. I was on the phone to them recently, nurse seemed quite agitated with me to be honest. Maybe my phone calls every 3 months are too much I don't know. Just said I've been hypoing loads everyday and im exhausted from it and they know this has been on and off problem for me since last year. But sure it's diabetes things change constantly, without making any other changes im now on a roller coaster this week of flying up quickly and crashing hours later, pre bolus times needing increased again. This is also horrible. Just falling asleep in work and not knowing what I'm doing half the time. Feel like a ghost. Always several steps behind knowing what is going on. Rant over thanks. May take a break from the forum for a while, I'd only be complaining. Thanks for reading and replying.