I’ve been on a sliding scale of Novolog at meals for years but I recently have been paying closer attention to carbs and counting. While my sliding scale works pretty well, I can adjust up or down according to type of meal and exercise, when I try and figure to take the amount I should be taking if I were counting carbs it doesn’t seem to work out to be even close! For example, sliding scale would have me take 8 units, according to carb intake it would be 5, but the few times I’ve actually tried it it is never the correct amount. Anyone have any ideas? I’ve been thinking about a pump but want to get this carb thing down first.
Hi Barb,
When you say “it is never the correct amount,” do you mean you go high and/or low all the time then? I’ve been doing carb counting for years both with and without insulin pump, for me it is always do the math, then take your best guess. Others probablly have it much more down scientifically, but there are so many mitigating factors every single day - - exercise, mood, stress, heat, cold, time of the month, amount of sleep, protein and fat intake, along with carbs! All of the factors can put a completely different slant on the insulin to carb ratio. I usually take 1 unit of insulin for every 15 carbs. That’s what the doc said! Oh Contraire! I always have to figure in so many other factors, but that is a general guideline that I follow. If there is exercise involved (which there usually is) I take less. It works ok, but it is far from perfect, and I don’t know if anyone with Type 1 has it down to an exact science. Anyone?
I guess what I mean is my scale might say take 8 units but if I do a 1:15 ratio and count the carbs, I should only be taking 2! (just an example, not exact) It’s always seems like a big difference. I’ve been sticking with the sliding scale but always try and figure out what I would be taking based on the 1:15 ratio. I’ve just started to do this so maybe I need to study it a bit more or maybe I’m not a 1:15! I’ll have to keep track if my scale sends me up or down compared to the carbs eaten etc. etc. I know it’s far from exact but when I’ve been taking 8 and now my math is saying 2 or 4, it makes me wonder. I’ve been too afraid to try eating what a carb ratio would have me eat but after vacation I might try.