How do I find and put to use a basal profile calculator?

I´m on MDI and posted a question about my Lantus dose.

This is the discussion.

I got a brilliant reply from Brain (bsc) who wrote that he had put together a basal profile calculator based on a chart and then plugged in my profile. He also added the charts as you will see if you follow the link.

Can anyone tell me how to use this tool? I don´get it at all and would love to have this tool available.

Thank you for the compliment. I have to tell you, this is just a spreadsheet (below) that I put together. I simply fit a curve to the measured readings on the graph I found in this monograph. The measured glucose infusion rate is presumably an indirect measure of how much insulin is released. And all this spreadsheet does is show how two separately doses of insulin would combine of the succeeding 24 hours to produce a combined level of insulin being released. It is important to remember this has limitations. It doesn't tell you what the blood sugar will be, that is much more complicated. And it doesn't factor in the long tail. But it will give you a qualitative indicator of the insulin levels that would result from two different sized and timed injections allowing you to see how changes in dosage and timing might have an effect.

Levemir.xlsx

Hi Siri, try ManageBGL.com - you can see the effect of basal insulins, bolus insulins and more.

Just enter each insulin dose when you actually have it, and also enter the lantus/levemir for the previous 24 hours as well.

Also, check out the Diabetes Mall. This is a website that John Walsh ( author of Using Insulin and Pumping Insulin)has. I believe you can find insulin calculators there.

Thanks a million to all three!

I´ll check out managebgl.com, daibetesmall and John Walsh + Brians preadsheets.

Thanks, Simon Carter. I couldn´t find the resources you´re talking about on managebgl.com. I had to put in lots of personal information first and sign up to get access. Is that right or am I missing out on something? Maybe you can provide a link for the basal calculator on this web site?

I already use RapidCalc on my iPod Touch, so if this is something similiar it is not the answer to my question.

Thanks, artwoman, I didn´t find any basal profile calculator at Diabetes Mall. Do you have a link?

Keep in mind that when you say basal calculator, that may mean several things. The calculator that Walsh has helps estimate a starting total basal dose and doesn't really help with how to do a split injection. I suspect the product being developed by Simon has the same sort of calculator. I'd be pleased to see such a tool, but other than the spreadsheet, I'm not aware of anything else.

OK. Thanks again, Brian (bsc). I guess I´m left with looking into your spreadsheets and information once again. I don´t geT it yet but will ask my boyfriend to help me. Could have something to do with me using mmol/l instead of mg/dl. The Levemir.xlsx is just for Levemir, right? Because I´m on Lantus.

Reason I ask is I´m used to puming and the way you broke down to units pr hour was really useful to me. I need to fight me dawn phenomnenon so I´ll study your reply some more.

(Btw: the "Walsh"-link didn´t work)

Sorry, I fixed the link. I had different spreadsheets for Lantus and NPH. I didn't exactly plan out and design this, it just happened. So I made up separate files for each type.

lantus.xlsx


NPH.xlsx

Wow! Thanks again :)

There isn't a "calculator" on the website, but Using Insulin - a great reference every person with diabetes should have in their library addresses this

OK, then I misunderstood. I ´ve got the book and I have read it. If you didn´t read the original post and the answer from Brian (bsc) I can see how me asking for a basal profile calculator can be misunderstood. Sorry for that.

Hi Brian - what we have is a BGL simulator, that shows the effect of your insulin and carbs on your bgl. You can either enter your known or estimated ratios for ISF and Carbs, or the system can help you work them out, so e.g. if in the morning you wake up and your BGL is 70mg higher than at bed time, it will recommend, say, 1 unit extra Lantus/Levemir at bed time. It will make similar suggestions for every BGL that is different to expected, until the ratios and doses settle down, and you can see on the charts what it expects to happen.

Hi Siri, yes, you need to give it information so that it has a basis for simulating your BGLs. ManageBGL does the logging and bolus calculation that RapidCalc does, but it also predicts where your BGL is heading, and provides automated coaching that tells you how much insulin was missing, how much extra food you need, which ratio needs adjusting and by how much etc etc. You need to use it for 2-3 days to get the hang of it.

OK. Thanks, sounds useful. I see now that I need to be more specific in my question.

What I´m looking for is a calculator where I can put in my basal of Lantus and get units/pr hour in return. This is not a big mistery if you inject Lantus once a day, but I split my dose. Brian (bsc) put in my Lantus doses which at the time was 10U at 7am and 7U at 10pm and got this:

If I had a calculator like this I could play around with times for injetions and doses like I did when I was on a pump.