Bolus for protein

By all means no. I love my caffeinated coffee. Its my last vice. I did cut back to 3 cups a day. I push long days and really love my coffee. =^) I think I spend more on coffee than I do my insulin!



When you say usually only 3 lows a month, what are you BGs like in that condition? about 6 months ago with my mean BG of 170, I had sensitivity at 70mg/dl. Now, Im down to about 60, with a mean BG of 100.

Glad to hear your doing well!

I am talking lows starting any where from 40s to 50s mean around 110. Have tried to get sliding scale changed, but no dice. When I started on scale I weighted 136 and now I am down to 115, believe that this is have of problem along with dropping carbs from 140 a day to 110 a day. This is one reason I want to take the TAG slow. Since my endo is on maternity leave, no one will do much. Therefore, guess i need to put my RN training to work and continue to increase my knowledge.
I got the energy, but just do not feel right. Do think it is the insulin. Two Saturdays ago it took me 2 1/2 hrs. to get BG up to 96 from 58. I fought cancer, so I know I can get this righted. Chele

Bernstein covers the insulin needs for protein in his book Diabetes Solution – I wouldn’t want to do the diet without owning it. In fact, I take it with me to the doctor to discuss things.

I have done a lot of low carbing and it always makes me feel droopy and depressed. I really think it is sugar addition. My brain really like bgs around 300 (which isn’t going to happen). But it did for so long that the change does affect a person. Just like when you bring your bg down from 300 or 400 hundred, you are going to feel very hypo when you get to 130-115. Perfectly safe but uncomfortable as all get out.

Agrred. I dont think you could do this diet without reading Dr. B’s books. That said, I still had a ton of questions after reading Diabetic Solution. I am actually purchasing the book for my Endo so she can see why my A1C has gone from 7.6 to 5.8 in 4 months.



With my 35 carbs a day I actually have to bolus twice per meal. An instant for carbs then a long lasting with an instant colus for protein. I see a PP BG in about 30-45 min from protein which stays there for 3 hours or so if I dont catch it. its pretty interesting.

thanks for the comment Lisa.

Sorry I know this is an old discussion, but just wondering how far you have come with your bolusing for fats/proteins. I am curious as I am noticing that I am needing to do this... is there any particular formula you would recommend? Cheers

No worries! Have a gander at the TAGgers United group. They have this almost down to a science. There are some worksheet for what you eat (e.g., grams of fat, protein, and carbs) and they they offer dosing suggestion. Of course there is another book to buy and read (lol).

It will be easier to dose on the pump as you can do extended (over time) boluses for your meals.

An example for you, if I eat a Cobb salad (bacon, blue cheese, lettuce, egg, turkey / chicken, avocado, cucumber, & blue cheese dressing) I'll bolus around 3.5u with 2u now and 1.5u over 3.5 hours. It took some testing of how long to extend the bolus for, but eventually I got it down to 3.5 hours. It keeps my BG pretty flat for that type of high fat salad. Also, there aren't a lot of carbs in that salad (maybe 12 total).

Honestly, I've gotten out of extending boluses for all my meals and should get back into it. Thanks for the refresher!

Claire, that is my middle name, too, I have been on 15-20u TDD for 20 years and before that less, so you will be able to stay at that level for life I predict.

Sorry I noticed your message only now, over a year and a half after you wrote it! Good for you that you have figured out how to calculate the effect of protein on your blood glucose level.
As for me, it is only now becoming clear how protein affects my glucose levels.

I don't specifically bolus for it, though I do try to limit the amount I have at dinner (to 6 oz, in case you're interested). If we're having particularly delicious roast chicken, and I get greedy, I notice that my blood sugars will rise inexorably while I am sleeping. If I have a hearty soup with little meat, that is when I'll go low at night.
Dr. Bernstein's advice is always to have the same amount of protein for your evening meal, so you can become accustomed to the effects it will have on your blood sugar. Though it's not always easy to be so scientific about the amounts I am eating.