Lost with corrective factor

[Lauras87]

I know my corrective insulin ratio, it's 1 unit to bring me down 3 mmol

It always works apart from around 11pm til 5am

I woke up highish 13.6 at 3.30ish

Had 2 units & those 2 units have only brought me down 1 mmol so I've had to have extra for breakfast.

Anyone's corrective different for that time period?

This has happened a few times now but I suspect it's my body not my ability to inject half asleep

 

[Cleo]

I havent had this particular problem but I did ask my dietician about whether there is a correlation between people's insulin to carb ratio and the amount of correction doses needed to bring you down 1mmol . She claimed that although the insulin to carb ratio can differ throughout the day the correction doses stay the same throughout the day. To me this makes no sense and I think your question proves that it can differ. Are you on a higher insulin to carb ratio at breakfast and / or dinner?

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Have you basal tested that period recently? I suspect your liver might be pushing BG up in the hours before waking, so correction was partly dealing with that

 

[Lauras87]

Cleo I'm on higher dose of insulin on a morning due to the state of my waking bloods since I split my glargine

Mike I'm going to try & do it at the weekend but I've been told to leave my back ground alone. I'm feeling a little alone with it as my DSN rarely rings me back when I have a problem.
I only know to do basal tests from seeing it on here

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I only know to do basal tests from seeing it on here

You are not alone in that. Testing basal was never mentioned to me on MDI in over 20 years, but once I'd 'discovered' it on forums it transformed my D in about a year. I have NO idea why it isn't taught as standard. It is part and parcel of pump therapy, but many peeps are allowed to potter along with basal significantly out on MDI, taking the same dose for years. And if your basal is out, corrections and ratios just can't work consistently! It's craziness not to teach it.

 

[Lauras87]

You are not alone in that. Testing basal was never mentioned to me on MDI in over 20 years, but once I'd 'discovered' it on forums it transformed my D in about a year. I have NO idea why it isn't taught as standard. It is part and parcel of pump therapy, but many peeps are allowed to potter along with basal significantly out on MDI, taking the same dose for years. And if your basal is out, corrections and ratios just can't work consistently! It's craziness not to teach it.

i know you have to do it on the pump & that's what I'm looking at in my pump book.

I'm just going to be very grumpy not eating

 

[Redkite]

My son has a different sensitivity factor for nighttime (11pm-6am) - in his case he needs less insulin when correcting during the night, he seems to be more sensitive to insulin at that time.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

i know you have to do it on the pump & that's what I'm looking at in my pump book.

I'm just going to be very grumpy not eating

Lots of folks swear by sugar free jelly, others are happy to use protein/fat to stave off the hunger pangs for those few hours 🙂

Alternatively you can see it as a way of building empathy with the 1000's of people who go hungry every day for hundreds of different reasons

 

[Lauras87]

Lots of folks swear by sugar free jelly, others are happy to use protein/fat to stave off the hunger pangs for those few hours 🙂

Alternatively you can see it as a way of building empathy with the 1000's of people who go hungry every day for hundreds of different reasons

I did that last month the not eating bit & my bloods shot up to 18.6

Am confused with what I'm looking at which says >1.0 adjust by 0.

Huh????

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Am confused with what I'm looking at which says >1.0 adjust by 0.

Huh????

My understanding is that unless you see a BG variation of greater than 1.7mmol/L then the test is inconclusive. BG meters just aren't that accurate and any result +/-1 or 2 mmol/L is within the permitted variability for strips etc and is effectively 'the same'. Very annoying, but there you go.

Retesting on another day can help as if you see a 1-2mmol rise one day, and the same on another day then it looks likely that basal is falling a tiny bit short.

Harder to adjust for those small amounts on MDI, obviously, but if part of a bigger picture of 'normal' corrections/doses suddenly no longer working as expected then a small basal increase (say 10%?) might be worth considering.

On a pump, of course, you will have much more flexibility to tweak the pattern in a more time specific way. (by adjusting the rate an hour or so before you want to see the effect of the change).

 

[rossi_mac]

Never considered correction rates vary during the day! My bolous rate varies so why not, could be why sometimes a correction does works and sometimes it does jack all and then there are times it means I eat the cupboard!

Cheers for this one peeps,

PS Pumping does sound like a science!