I’m having a little trouble spiking after 1 hour (though not to high) then falling quickly after two.
For breakfast lately I’ve been eating oatmeal and yogurt every day… Usually I eat about 30 carbs altogether and cover this with 2 units of insulin. One hour later my blood sugar is around 130, but an hour after that (2 hours after eating) it’s seventy and going down fast. I tried eating more oatmeal today, 45 carbs, 3 units, same thing, after 1 hour 131 and then after 3 hours 51. After breakfast I just hang out then teach, nothing physically strenuous.
Does this indicate too much basal? My morning numbers are good - 71, 67, 69, 77, 83, although I usually eat a snack before sleeping because I live alone and I’m afraid of having bad hypos (pretty new at this anyway).
I’m not exactly sure what it causing this, but given that you were diagnosed very recently, your body is still producing some insulin. These lows could be caused by your body putting out additional insulin after it sees your blood sugar climbing (so-called “second phase insulin”). I don’t know what to do in this situation, but I’ll research some and get back to you.
Are you taking a basal insulin like Lantus? I think anything below 80 is low or getting treacherously close to it. Some people don’t mind going down to 70, but if you’re dipping into the 60’s, I would say that’s low. Personally, I treat for a low if I’m under 80, and even if I’m in the 80’s and have reason to think I might be dropping, I’ll eat a hard candy or two just to keep myself from dipping lower than that. I’ve been diabetic for 30 years though so that changes things a bit. Have you tried taking 2 or maybe 2.5 units and eating 45 g of carbs just to see how your BG’s are an hour and two hours afterwards? If you do that for a day or two and your BG gets too high, at least you’ll know your insulin-to-carb ratio is OK. Or maybe take your insulin 15 or 30 minutes earlier? If you’re taking Lantus, maybe you need to cut back on that a little. You could also add some extra protein to your breakfast because that’ll mediate carb absorption. I know the yogurt has some protein, but maybe have an egg or some cheese. In the winter when I eat oatmeal, I mix 2 tbsp. of peanut butter into my oatmeal to get my protein. Another option is to just plan on having a small snack mid-morning - maybe 15-20 carbs. You’ll have to play around with various factors to figure out what the solution is for you. Those are all the ideas i have at the moment.
Kristin, Lee Ann, your comments are both very helpful. You could very well be right about my body still producing insulin, and my morning numbers probably are a bit too low. I think I’m gonna lower my basal a bit for now, keep doing the same thing and see if that changes it. If not, I’ll just keep snacking or add some protein, I’m trying to gain weight back so eating more isn’t a problem. Actually it’s probably for the best, peanut butter in my oatmeal sounds pretty good!
The only way to to know if you are taking too much basal it to do a basal test. If you eat nothing and your BG drops over a 4-5 hour period your basal is probably set too high. This assuming that you are not exercising at the time of the drop! If your basal rates are good then you are bolusing too much. I would suggest taking less insulin instead of eating more. Low BG and hypo’s are a great way to gain weight because you have to eat to get your numbers up.
The next time you eat breakfast try only taking 1.5 units of insulin. Check your BG after 1 hour, it may be 150 or 160 but at 2 hours your number should be in a much better place.
Hi Sam,
I initially had the most trouble with the “insulin tail” (ie. drop off after a couple of hours) in the mornings as well. Like Lee Ann, I found that mixing in protein and/or a little fat helped me to catch the tail by slowing the food absorption. Now, I can eat only fruit in the mornings if I want to. I think this has to do with the pump becuase I was able to adjsut my basal rates to fit my body during different times of the day, which you can’t do with a long-actin injection. Are you taking long-acting insulin? If so, the long-acting injection insn’t released as a straight-line basal. It has hills and valleys in the amount that your body gets over 24 hours. I don’t know when you’re taking it, but splitting my basal and taking half in the morning instead of all of it in the evening seemed to help as well.
I agree with Lee Ann that your fasting numbers are a tad on the low side. I would personally be comfortable with anything over 70 but might tweek things if was in the 60s.
Hi Sam,
Personally I think the problem lies in eating the oatmeal. It doesn’t have enough staying power to carry you. If you don’t eat meats or eggs, you might try something with protein like a piece of whole grain toast with peanut butter. or some cheese. If you do eat eggs, but just don’t have time to cook them and sit down to eat, try them hard boiled.
I think your digestion and metabolism sounds wonderful. You may benefit from a mid morning and mid afternoon snack as well. A couple of cheese sticks or some nuts are easy and not messy. I thiink your numbers are great too. That is the area that I shoot for all the time if I can manage. I think before you change your insulin I would try to adjust the times and way I ate. Good luck and come back and let us know how you are doing.
Thanks for the comments everyone, I lowered my basal and it made me realized how much I had been fighting lows all day. I feel much more in control now. I ate dinner 6 hours ago, I bolused for it and I didn’t have to snack since then, wonderful. I think I’m gonna work on throwing some protein in the breakfast mix as well.
