Do I need Reg Insulin

I haven’t any medical Ins, and have been on Novilin N for a long long time. I keep having these pre meals highs, would it be wise to buy some regular and take it when needed for those pre meal highs?

I know alot of you think the Insulin I am on is not the best, but I haven’t had issues with it.

Like tonight before dinner, my BS was 153 and I ate a small dinner, and 3 hrs later it is 156. So I know around 1 am it will drop, and its just to long to wait, I think…

I would do what your doctor says. I do not think it will be a good idea to buy something not prescribed. Your post meal rise is quite normal and as long as you are not ill, it will come down. I think if you were to take anything else you would have some major crashes around 3 am - which is when our blood sugar levels are lowest, naturally. I have come to realise that a slight rise in blood sugar levels is normal after a meal, particularly breakfast, but by lunch time it will have come down.

I wish you well.

I think Regular is easier to dose & more predictable than Novolin N, but it’s an intermediate insulin & doesn’t work to bring down highs as quickly as rapid acting. It starts working in about 45 minutes& lasts a while. Is there a clinic where you could get an RX for rapid acting & basal since you don’t have insurance? With an Rx you could apply for a patient assistance program.

Let me first suggest that if you are a type 1 and only using Novolin N, then you would probably do better moving to an intensive insulin regime called MDI. It involves multiple injections, but will enable you to achieve better control. That being said, if you are using N alone, an elevated fasting number in general suggests that you need to increase your dose. If you are already experiencing lows during other parts of the day, then the only option is to move the injection timing to try your “luck” at better matching the peak of N to address your highs.

But my recommendation is to add a bolus insulin and do a full MDI regime. This can enable you to reduce you N levels which have been covering both basal and bolus needs and get better control of things. With using just N, you don’t have enough variables to change to meet your needs. You can use R for dinner, but you need to understand that R peaks over 2-5 hours and can last up to 8 hours. If your N dose is already bringing you down to proper levels at bedtime, taking R at dinner may give you lows at night. .

I’m wondering about you and the “6” small meals that are suggested that diabetics should eat: during the day: Do you do this or come close to doing this? I’ve been told by many practitioners that diabetics should do this in order to keep their glucose in check. “Please” consider doing this, if you’re not doing it already. OK? Oh! I found the article about Magnesium and diabetics; type into your browser, Linus Pauling Institute (Linus Pauling Institute of Micronutrient Research for Optimum Health). You’ll be totally surprised at what was found by this man who’s famous for the research that he did. He was a two-time Nobel Prize winner who published his last book, How to Live Longer and Feel Better (about nutritional supplements and health), in 1985 at the age of 84, and continued publishing research articles until his death at age 91.

I do hope that this helps you, as it has helped me.

I’m a small Breakfast eater, then Lunch and a Afternoon snack and then Dinner and a Bedtime snack. So guess you could say I eat 5 times a day.

I do take magnesium. Have for many yrs but with this Type One I haven’t seen changes.