Splitting my lunch

[bennyg70]

A new tactic Im going to give a go after a successful first attempt last week.

I have this issue that lunchtimes are an area I struggle around.

AT breakfast I dont eat too much, maybe 12 / 15 g of carbs mixed with a handful of nuts - which requires a couple of units of insulin. So considering after 2 hours 80% roughly of the insulin has burnt - about 0.4 of a unit remains in my system. So Iexpect on a good day that my results will be 5 - 7 on waking - 5 to 7 2 hours after and 5 to 7 at lunch. The nuts help steady and flat line the amount of carb I have out. and because of the small amount of insulin I need there isnt much after that 2 hours to bring me further down. And I often find that before lunch I may be a little higher than my 2 hour PP because the fat content releases a little burst on the BG.

Lunch however I tend to eat a fair bit more than at breakfast and at dinner.

Often a sandwich, an apple, some crisps and other bits and peices which come to around 60 - 70g of carbs and therefore more insulin. often around the 6 to 7 unit mark. Therefore after 2 hours theres around 1.2 - 1.5u left. So if im at 5 - 7mmol/l after lunch.Theres a good chance im going to go low before dinner. So i need to take less insulin to be at 9mmol or 10mmol after lunch, to return to a safe zone at dinner. Ive tried The adding fats and it helps, but I have to add a lot more fat to match the amount of carbs I eat and often find ill have a rise after 3 or 4 hours meaning I have an unsatisfactory reading before dinner.

So, Im going to start splitting my lunch. And have 20 - 30g of the food at (Injecting at 10.30) 11am and the remainder at lunchtime 12.15 - 12.30 & injecting for this at 11.30. I tried this last week (Unintentionally) and it seemed to keep me really flat. It seemed to break down that Carb overload and save taking that one bigger dose. Obviously insulin stacking comes into play here and I need to be wary of it!

Anyone else do this?

 

[Northerner]

I haven't done this, but I have noticed that low doses of insulin are 'done with' much quicker in me. For example, a couple of weeks ago I was taking maybe 10-12 units of insulin at lunch and my levels would still be dropping between 4-5 hours. However, I am currently on 4 units for the same food and I find that whatever my level is at 3 hours it is likely to be very similar at 4 or 5 hours. I wonder if this is similar to Patti's splitting of any injection over 7 units? Perhaps that is something you could try as well Benny - split a dose of 9 units into two of 4.5 units, but injected at the same time, different places.

 

[novorapidboi26]

I still need to inject/bolus 30 minutes minimum before lunch to keep my post meal spikes in single figures......

have you played around with the timings? Saves you trying to split up the meal items....

 

[bennyg70]

I still need to inject/bolus 30 minutes minimum before lunch to keep my post meal spikes in single figures......

have you played around with the timings? Saves you trying to split up the meal items....

Yeh - I tend to have to inject 45 mins up front at lunch time! And I just dont seem to be able to get the balance right (Either too high after and needing to add a correction in there) or around the 5 or 6 mark meaning i need to snack anyway or much a couple of dextrose to make sure i dont go low.

Im trying splitting it up today anyway ill let you know how i get on. I kind of like the idea of it becuase there is a bit of a grazer in me bursting to get out. So if i can be a grazer by eating the saem amount that would suit me.

I do tend to split my injections Alan for anything over 5 units. I guess my veiw is if there is a % margin for error, the bigger the dose the bigger margin for error, so I quite often will split. Especially if eating out for example and I dont know the portion sizes. Ill give me a nominal 3unit to kick start so I can get some insulin in me 30 mins or so before, and then count the carbs when it comes and inject the remainder. Just a problem when you go to one of those posh nosh places and it comes out and would get stuch between your teeth and youve injected too much!

Not too ssure it would help me in the situation i have!

 

[novorapidboi26]

You should do a test where you inject the 45 minutes then just test every hour if you can, but don't eat in fear of going low, see what happens....

that's how I done it anyway and I could have stable blood sugars right up till dinner, within 1-2 mmol/l...........to say I always had that success would be a lie....🙂

What would be too high for you at the 1.5 - 2 hour mark if you were on target before lunch...?

 

[bennyg70]

You should do a test where you inject the 45 minutes then just test every hour if you can, but don't eat in fear of going low, see what happens....

that's how I done it anyway and I could have stable blood sugars right up till dinner, within 1-2 mmol/l...........to say I always had that success would be a lie....🙂

What would be too high for you at the 1.5 - 2 hour mark if you were on target before lunch...?

If Im on target before lunch and have a good size lunch which required a decent ammount of insulin - Then I want to be MAX 9mmol at 2 hours (doing it and saying it is another matter! ), however Ideally Id like to be around the 6 or 7 mark but... If Im at the 6 or 7 mark and I dont eat till dinner, I probably will go low. So that 8mmol - 9mmol is a small target to aim for really. However If I break down the food I eat into smaller amounts and smaller doses then im hoping itl be more manageable.

 

[novorapidboi26]

My target is also on the 8-9 mark..........

I have also found the grazing throughout the afternoon, while giving small injections has been good for my BG, but again, trying to replicate the exact conditions day after day is difficult.....

I hope the results are good...

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Be interested to see how you get on Benny
M

 

[Phil65]

good luck Benny.....have to say; if you had a pump it would be so much easier to achieve!

 

[robofski]

Ben It's an interesting approach and the theory behind it seems quite logical, I think you’d need to be careful of what goes in what half of the lunch break or I could see maybe quick acting carbs in the second half of lunch being acted on by the insulin for the first half of lunch and then maybe there being nothing for the second half insulin to work on but if you’re careful certainly worth a try!

I can’t often be bothered with lunch full stop, so splitting it into two sessions just wouldn’t work for me, I’m either eating it now or not at all 🙂

 

[bennyg70]

Yesterday showed glimmers of hope... However I counted my carbs worng at lunch and the experiment went out the window... grrrr.

Any way today.

7am Woke @ 4.6 BG - Took 2.5u
ate brekkie at 8am - 24g carbs including nuts
10am - 5.0 BG Took 1u
10.30am ate half my sandwhich - 12g carbs
11.30am - BG - 6.5mmol - took 3.5u
12.00pm - 38g Carbs
2pm - 6.2mmol << Importantly here I have 15% of the 3.5u IOB = 0.5u + a possible tiny weeny bit of my 10am shot say 5% = 0.05u. Normally testing at this level - I would have 1u on board and possibly asking for trouble soon.

so im 6.2mmol/l @ 2pm with 0.55units still on board.

In theory this should lower my BG a further 1.5mmol however the nuts I ate with the smaller lunch portion should hopefully balance this out.

I look forward to my test @ 5pm tongiht...

 

[Northerner]

...I look forward to my test @ 5pm tongiht...

So do I! 🙂 Interesting!

 

[robofski]

Very promising! This is where a CGM would be soooo useful!

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Looking good so far!

 

[bennyg70]

Thought Id try one for luck - 3pm - 5.9mmol/l

Hmm the phrase little and often maybe springs to mind..