Yep- You use the Basal to “help” Keep the BG’s down, not to bring them down…
Whatever your BG is at the time you take it? and you took the correct amt. of Basal? It “should” maintain at that same level…+/- 20 to 30 pts they say…
I take my Basal to Get what my BG’s are At bedtime… striving for 100 BG 's at bedtime and if Not at that level? I have to take A CB or Correction Bolus of Fast acting- Novalog to treat that AND take my usual Basal-Levemire Insulin … 2 shots…
You CAN use Lantus to Bring sguars down by taking more than you would use for your Standard Basal, since it does have a Peak time… I used to get hypo’s using it all the time, regardless of what method I used or if I took less, my BG’s Went UP over nite…50% of the time…
Leveimire was great after getting it, no more over nite Hypo’s… but then again, I went higher in the AM about 50% of the time…
So since I can’t get a Pump? I set my alarm every nite for 3 hrs, wake up and if have too? take a CB… Isn’t that nice? but since I usually get up 3- hrs later ( only sleep 6 hrs on ave) that CB covers any extra Sugar and I’m fine and dandy by the AM…
#1 suspect? Dawn Phenom they call it… your liver puts out extra sugar a couple of2-3 hours before you get up, to have the added energy to get up bright and perky… and about the only thing that can fight that? A Insulin Pump set to Increase your Basal about 2 -3hrs before you get up… and seeing as your not as active sleeping and thus if your Liver doesn’t slow down putting out over nite? Your BG’s will keep going up over nite as well, some have to set their Pumps for More Basal a few hours after going to bed and even more a few hrs Before getting up…
So your 1 shot of your Lantus isn’t going to get that all done…
Once you do take the “right amt” that you get up with the same BG as you went to bed, say 3-4 nites straight? Then your pretty close to establishing your Correct Bedtime Basal…
If your Getting Up More than say 20 pts above what your went o bed with? Increase that Bedtime by +10%… and keep doing so, so you Get up within the same +/- 20pts of what it was at Bedtime…is about all you can do now…
If your too high at bedtime? You have to take a CB- Correction Bolus to get it down ( Humalog or Novalog) , so you have to ask your Dr. for getting that . And You can try using just the Lantus by taking 10-20% more in those situations too…
1 Tot. bedtime dose of Lantus as your Reg. Basal
2. 10-20% more if your say at or above 150 at bedtime.
3. and anytime you DO take Extra Lantus? You Should set our alram to 2-3 hrs later, have your meter at your bedside and some Glucose tabs handy and wake up and test, just to be sure your not going Too Low over nite…
and that does something else… Punishes you for not having Good BG’s By Bedtime…so maybe you will be more Focused in the future… and not have a Late Snack or Eat too many Carbs for Dinner, etc… You Bad Girl you…lol
3 lashes with a wet noodle…
See? Isn’t this Fun? Not so much is it…
and believe me! You Don’t want to be a T1… We have an Added little problem and taht is this Auto Immune disease that wants to play like Pac Man and eat up all our Organs and destroy them, weaken our Immunity to everything… from Colds to Virus’s to our everything else…
Oh, BTW? Don’t expect to get all this stuff over nite… it can take Months…Yes, Months… and just when you think you have it all figured out? It will have to be changed again, always tweaking it from time to time…
We gain weight- need more insulin we are getting older and slowing down and so is our metabolisum for burning up fat and sugar = need more insulin…and 1/2 dozen other reasons that this disease is Constant… Constantly changing…
Keep the faith… it will get easier to understand in due time…Being able to do something about it, is another question…
and YAH? If I had a CDE that said that? I’d get up and walk out and report him /her to get her fired…She’s an Idiot… lol and BTW? I have done that with both I’ve met over the yrs…
As with reporting on some Endo’s as well as being Incompetent treating Insulin T1’s… or AID…Adult Insulin Diabetics… But those Hospitals need anykind of Endo and are desperate to get them and keep them… so they will ignore your complaints and try to make you be the bad guy… to avoid a lawsuit…
I think 9 out of 10 Endo’s are probably useless for us T1’s…as are most CDE’s…but seeing as we T1’s are a Minority , 1 out of 20 D’s they see at the most and most are lucky to have to deal with a handfull of us at the most and just deal with the T2’s giving out Pills and Telling them to just loose weight and collect their $… So it’s not their fault… Who else will tolerate us? Internist or PCP? Or OBGYN? LOL
out of 8 Endo’s I’ve met in the past 18 yrs? only 1 has read Those Boks we talk about and NONE CDE’s …! Isn’t that nice…?
And at the VA? I go in every 6mos and he always has 2-3 interns doing their 3 mos rotation to become Endo’s and I always ask them if they ever even Tested their Blood Sugars? Haven’t met any yet. I pull out my Insulin Pen and ask them if they ever used one of these? None have even seen one…
and most PUmpers I listen too? Get more Help and support from the Pump Rep. than the Nurses/Dr.'s…
What a Joke isn’t it?
and R U Setting your Bedtime alarm to get up in 3 hrs after going to bed? You should when starting out taking any over-nite insulin, so to ck that you won’t go Hypo ( too Low ) over nite…Better to be high than too low…
For like I said… that Lantus can cause Hypo’s…