have some ? about carb counting i think i remember my old doc saying only 1 unit insilin to 5 or 10 carbs but not sure on right # hell i dont know could be way off on what i am talking about so any info would help thank you
Z Money:the ratio is 15:1. One unit insulin to 15 carbs. Hope this helps.
LoisL
the ratio really depends on the individual (and sometimes even the time of day). I’m at 1:12. If you find yourself going high after a meal when your blood sugar was in range beforehand, you might need a smaller ratio (ex. 1:10) so you have more insulin covering the food you ate, versus if you drop after a meal you may need to hike the ratio up (ex. 1:15). If you don’t currently have an endo, try to get one asap so (s)he can help you adjust your insulin needs. We are all different, so what may work for one person may not be right for the next.
True, Bek. I apologize for forgetting that one little thing. Could make a great difference. In fact, I may have it mixed it up with this crazy hospital’s thinking that one of their carbs is 15 of the other. I get so confused with which end is up. The fact is that my bolus wizard figurers it all out for me and my new endo’s assistant is messing around with my numbers!
LoisL
my son has different ratios for different meals and since he is only 5 there are 1:30-1:50. My husband doesn’t carb count.
Z Money,
Carb ratio totally depends on the person. Have you read Think Like a Pancreas by Gary Schindler or Using Insulin by John Walsh? They are great and explain really well how to figure your carb factor. Prefer Schindler’s book, but others prefer Using Insulin. They are both really good. You can get them both really cheaply on Amazon.
I, and some others on here, as well, have different carb factors at different times of day. My typical is 1:8 at breakfast, but 1:20 at dinner. Lunch depends on the time I eat, so that is a constant guess for me.
Doctors start people out with a 1:15 (1 unit insulin for every 15 carbs) ratio for rapid acting insulin. But, that also depends on weight, activity level & other factors. Anyway, 1:15 is a starting point so you don’t have lows. From there, it’s fine tuning to see what works for you. Any adjustments up or down should be done in small increments of 1-1.5 units of insulin. When you make changes, keep the dose the same for three days & log your numbers & doses so you’ll have an idea of how it’s effecting you.
While you’re experimenting to figure out ratios, lower carb meals will make it easier because larger insulin doses are more unpredictable.
People can have different ratios for different meals.
Z-Money-
Hello! Carb to insulin ratio depends on the person and time of day. Here is an article from David Mendosa’s site about carb to insulin ratio factors http://www.mendosa.com/insulin_carb_ratios.htm this should help you figure somethings out