I stupidly had a panini for dinner and shot up to 210 after 1 and a half hours. I gave a 1.5 unit correction and 1 hour later I was 190. How long should a correction of novolog take to see results. I don’t want to give another correction and become hypo.
i personally am worried about the insulin that was already on board from your meal bolus (i am assuming you did a meal bolus…)
insulin’s ‘active’ time is a unique amount of time in everyone. it takes some tweaking to figure out how long insulin works in your body specifically… i’m hoping someone else can shed light on how one can test the active insulin time because although i know it’s not easy, i have not done it (scientifically) and do not know how.
i have been told and usually abide by the (at least) 3 hr rule… don’t correct until about 3 hrs after a bolus (meal or correction) is given.
everyone is different. But I usually use 3-4 hours as well. Be very cautious about insulin stacking or what I like to call rage bolusing. It can get you into lots of trouble. YDMV. Your diabetes may vary.
I test at two hours and if I am high I do the correction then, but I take into account my correction factor and the insulin on board based on a three hour active time (I use Apidra). In other words if I my meal bolus was 3 units and I am 210 at two hours I will assume 1 unit is still active. I have a correction factor of 1 unit to 30 points (conservatively, sometimes it’s less), so I figure if I take a 2 unit correction that is enough to lower me 90 points with the IOB which will put me at 120. I usually find I don’t get full results from my corrections for a full two hours or even 2 1/2. At that point, if I needed another correction(I’ve rarely needed to do that), I would only compute a fraction of that second 2 units for my IOB as the original bolus would be gone by then.
Sweet heart lets be real…was that panini good or what? Were you full or could you have used some cheesecake afterwards?
First rule…Don’t beat yourself up because you wanted to enjoy yourself and be “normal.” It happens to the best of diabetics including myself. Everything in moderation.
Over correcting for an “oppsie” is natural but is it really necessary? You could end with having to deal with a low BG. Go out for a walk and enjoy the nature in your city. Just be mindful of your next meal not to over do it. You pigged out at one meal so go lite on the next meal.
Blood Sugar maintainence is not a perfect science. Every individual is different.
If you like panini’s so much why not investigate which style of panini would be better for you to eat so you can customize it to fit yourself.
I hope this helps!
C
2-3 hours after your meal is a fair time to check and see where you are at. 210 needs to be corrected but it isn’t a big deal. The 1.5 correction might have been too little for your individual needs. I see that you are new to the diabetes game and I have been there. The panini, while not a great idea, isn’t the worst thing you could eat. It all depends on the how big it is and what is in it. However, I would avoid eating that in the future. A correction of Novolog should show some results in like a hour but it is still working so you won’t know for sure what it did for 2 to 4 hours. 190 is high but once again, it isn’t something to get to worked up about. If it were me and my diabetes, if I had checked an hour and half after eating my blood sugar would still be rising. If I took the same 1.5 unit correction at that time then it would tackle the rising sugar I didn’t see because it hadn’t peaked yet, plus a little bit more, thus giving me the 190.
Don’t worry, give your insulin time to work. As the others have pointed out, that time is a little bit different for everyone and in time you will learn how insulin works for your body and how to use it to keep you balanced. It sounds like you are on top of it but still learning how it works for you.
You sound remarkably like myself when I was first diagnosed, trying my damnedest to get perfect results NOW! It is going to take some time and you and your body will have to learn a few things along the way, often through trial and error. Good luck and don’t be afraid to ask whatever questions you need to ask.
If you test 2 hrs after meal and your above xxx range (I usually use 170 for myself) then you figure your correction dose (if your not on a pump) and cut that in 1/2…I have my active insulin set for 3 hrs and its been very good. I did have it set to 4 hours, but in an effort to prevent post meal spiking, I have found that to be very helpful in lowering the numbers. But in the end, if your bolusing correctly (taking in to account for fat/protein/carbs and their effect on your BG levels, short term and long term, then you shouldn’t have to do too much correcting at all.
Rich,
I second Zoe’s approach.
But I have tested and retested many times and find that my insulin on board only lasts 2.5 hours so I figure percentages on that. I also find that if I’m above 200, I need to prime the pump. In other words, for over 200, I give 0.5 unit more at 2.5 hours than my normal correction. If I am over 230, I add another 0.5 unit above my normal correction factor of 50. Call it resistance, call it a well that needs priming. It’s what works for me.
Best wishes.
Don’t give more than you KNOW to give and start a project to see how soon insulin starts and how long it lasts.
You may have had a bit of fat in that meal and it was just then - at the one hour later point when you were 190 - that it was still going up. Isn’t this fun? We don’t need crosswords for mental workout. We have these little problems to solve every day. Real life!
Leo wrote-Isn’t this fun? We don’t need crosswords for mental workout. We have these little problems to solve every day. Real life! LOL!!! only another type one on insulin understands the daily nummbers drama… Even my own family, who have expereinced diabetes with me for 4 decades, do not really understand how much work I have to do to eat those 5 Ritz crackers as a snack or to figure out how a day outside in 100 degree heat will effect my blood sugars… My brothers, sisters, mom and Dad came up watching me when the regime was just one shot a day and limit your starches and sugars… I think they all kind of think I am “worse off” with all the gadgetry and multiple testing and logging I do now… when it is just what we have to do for good control with today’s diabetes.
to the Op: Just keep testing… sometimes, after a particularly high-fat or high-porotein meal mixed with carb that I did not dual wave bous porperbly for my take up to 3 hours to lower. A CGMS, when properly calibrated, can help to see what is going one with your corrections.
God Bless,
Brunetta ou
Everyone is so different. eg: if you have ceoliac or degree of intollerance, carb absorption is slower and hence often hypo before carbs set in (unless follow strict GF diet etc…), Panini would be no doubt High GI and High carbs - pizza often does this too and hangs around for 4-5-6 hours and hence on a pump you can use a dual wave bolus - gives you a little straight away and then drizzles the rest of the bolus over next few hours. I am bias toward the pump now - get pumping if you can. Yes I do understand its not for everyone and costs vary.
Ha ha, “rage bolusing”. I am too familiar with that feeling!