Recently I’ve been having these highs that seem to last forever and it takes like 2 or 3 shots to get it down even if it’s only at around 160/170mg/dL. 
On average, how long does it take for you guys to fix a high sugar?
If I am at 200ish, a unit or 2 can get me down to 120 or so within about 2 and a half hours. Sometimes if I am at 200 and I want to get it down quick, a short jog will knock it down in a big hurry.
However I have gone through periods where it takes longer, my beleif is that the insulin is starting to go bad.
Jason
I recently flat lined 180-200 for about 7 hours including 3 corrections and 2 bumps up on my basal. Since it was in the middle of the night walking up and down the stairs for 45 minutes to an hour wasn’t an option. I’m usually not sticky at 160 - a single correction is usually all I need. Are you coming down with something?
Maurie
Usually mine is back to normal in about 2 hours. I had the same thought as Jason, maybe your insulin is going bad.
A lot of times, I cheat and bolus and then take the dog for a walk, which seems to hurry it along? Maybe an hour or so?
After you consider things like whether your insulin is bad (or if you are on a pump, your infusion site), or if you are sick, I would look to your ISF which might need changing. I’m like Maurie, that highs between 140-200 can usually be brought down by me with a single correction though it usually takes 2 hours sometimes 3. ISF can be inaccurate or change which would account for you having trouble getting the highs down if you are not taking enough insulin. My ISF is one unit lowers me 45 points but there is a huge variation in that for diabetics and the only way to find out your own is trial and error. If you are consistently not getting down moderate highs with one shot, try reducing your ISF a bit.
If I solely use insulin to correct (as opposed to using exercise–which works opposite for me) I can expect my BG to come down within an hour. However, it is still active for me for a total of 4 hrs; as long as I don’t eat anything else.
Maybe bad insulin, or bad injection site? I know for a while I was experiencing the same thing and changed my general area of injection and it seemed to help a bit. I hope you find out what the cause is because I know how frustrating that can be.
Don’t know the answer to your question since we have not encountered this yet- but I did generate a meme for you!
Haha excellent
I usually don’t get sick very often, so I probably just need to get some new insulin from the doc
I know when my BG hits about 160 I become very insulin resistant. At times it very difficult to get my bg to budge at those levels. A little exercise will usually give your insulin a little extra kick.
Are you eating anything new? I find that with some foods I need to lower my I:C ratio to prevent highs.
I agree with Jim. Once my BG hits 160, it takes a higher correction ratio to bring it down. It is normal.
…really depends on how high I am. 200ish takes very little time and certainly depends on what direction the BG is going when I get the number. If it is really high…for example when my set has failed or like the other day…fell out while I was sleeping! it takes hours. It is frustrating no matter what;) The Dex 7 has helped me see things coming and do a better job of staying in a good range. If you have not tried CGMS…you may wish to do so. Best investment I have ever made!
If a number does not start falling fairly immediately, you’ve got one of three problems
A) UBER HIGH SUGAR + DKA + ???
Keep hitting it every three hours, do not stack the doses…
B) USE a different site. The one you’ve been using is not dispersing your dose well, so pick a new injection spot 4-5 inches away (at minimum)
C) One of your insulins is comprimised. It got overheated, is out of date, was stored somewhere incorrectly. Bottom line its not working correctly. Use a new vial/pen/syringe. Easy enough to tell if its long or short acting which is “broken”… it its long acting all your numbers will typically be high(er) than they should be. If it could be the long acting tapering off, ending its time frame of use, consider a new vial and see if that works longer-better.
Let us know…
Stuart