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Novo'not so'Rapid

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
robofski

robofski

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
When should BG return to pre meal levels?

Woke this morning at 10.0, 16u of Levimer and then 67g of carb for breakfast with 9u of NovoRapid. 2 1/2 hours later I was at 13.9, 2 more hours and I was at 10.4 so that's 4.5 hours to get back to almost pre meal level. It took 4 hours for my 10.4 to become 10.3 after lunch too, another 9u of NovoRapid with about 65g of carbs.

Is a higher insulin to carb ratio the answer or is this a sign that NovoRapid doesn't suit me? I almost wonder if the Levimer is doing the work!

Any pointers appreciated.

Dan
 
Novorapid takes about 4-5 hours to 'expire' generally, so your levels will usually continue to fall until this point. However, the main trick is getting the insulin to peak at around the same time as the food you are eating. With many meals if you inject immediately before eating (or even after eating, as some people do) then the insulin hasn't had time to get working before the food digestion starts peaking so you end up going quite high as the peak is missed, then gradually levels come down.

I always used to inject just before eating, but then discovered the above problem so started injecting at least 15 minutes before eating. This usually lessens the post meal spike and keeps things steadier. It's a lot of trial and error though, so you need a lot of patience whilst you work out what works best for you and the particular meal you are about to eat! 🙂

Actually, your numbers don't look bad at all, since the relative rise was quite small - although it may have been much higher 1 hour after eating so worth testing to find out. Also, I would have included a 'correction' unit so that my pre lunch level was lower than the 10.x I had before breakfast.
 
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Patience, something I have little of!

Thanks for the pointers, will do some more experimenting, it's sometimes so difficult to have that 15 minute window between deciding what I'm eating and actually eating it, will have to try and be a little more organised (not good at that either, I really am a rubbish diabetic!)
 
If you woke to a reading of 10 then I would say your basal isn't right. If this is the case then your novo is trying to do the job of basal and bolus.

So test your basal and see what's going on first before blaming the novo 🙂
 
Forgive me Robofski, I really dont know how it works for T2s, but if I had a one-off 10 before a meal I would add a small sliver of insulin on top of the meal calculation just enough to reduce my BG by, say 3-4 mmol/L.

If the 10s were consistent, like Sue, I would wonder whether basal needs might have changed
 
Here's a question cos I don't know if you do - do you have 2 jabs of Levemir? - cos it doesn't last 24 hours.
 
I am doing 16u of Levimer in the morning and 8u before bed.

A night out tonight to watch the footy, currently 19.0 had my 8 of Levimer and added 5 of NovoRapid, let's see what the morning brings! My guess is 11.3 but alcohol might throw that right out!

My DSN has reccommeded 10g of carb to 1 unit of insulin so I've been adding a little extra if I'm high (the 70g of carb should have been 7 but i gave 9) but that doesn't seem to be bringing it down any lower which is why I'm wondering if my insulin/carb ratio needs adjusting.

So much to learn, glad I've got you lot to help me 🙂
 
Robo if you look in the pump section there's a sticky on how to do a basal test. (Levemir for you) it's aimed at pumpers but the same principle applies for people using MDI.

No.1 rule when sorting out your insulin is to get your basal right.
From what you are saying and recording, I do get the impression that you do not have enough Levemir.
Also cut down the amount of carbs you are eating and stick to a set amount and a set time for meals until you are sorted. This does make things so much easier for you.

Have you invested in the books using insulin and think like a pancreas? If not well worth you doing so.
 
Thanks Sue, I'll take a look at the pumping section and get hold of the reading material.
 
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