Lil MaMa,
I too was given some such nonsense about 1-2 units per such and such blood sugars.
It didn’t work from day 1.
All that goes out the window if you change one little thing with your diet and/or lifestyle.
For me, I shoot 10 units every morning unless I know I am going to do hard exercise or not eat protein with my meal.
You see, much depends on what you are eating and what activity you do afterward.
Let’s say you eat a bowl of cheerios and 2 oz of cooked sausage. Let’s say you spike to 200. Then you shoot your 2 units of insulin. Assume that you either are still high or hypo 1-2 hours later.
Let’s say you ate the same meal but without the sausage. You spike to 250. You take that dose and suddenly you go hypo in 30 min.
You see the direction this is going?
It’s a tough balancing act - types and quantities of food, versus insulin dosage and exercise.
I learned very early on when I was given insulin to take my dose before eating. This kept my PP levels nearly normal and my latest A1C last month at 5.1 .
FAT and protein slow carb absorption a lot. Pair your carbs with food. A ratio of 1g fat to 2g of carbs to 3g of protein would work well for a light diabetic.
Some follow this - 1g of carbs to 2g of fat to 3g of protein in a meal.
Oh, about my A1C - I managed that without eating a single veggie whatsoever!
DAFNE means Dose Ahead For Normal Eating.
This means dose BEFORE eating. If you already know what a certain amount of food does to your blood sugars, then take the dose before eating, not after eating. This controls blood sugars as they rise.
Dosing after eating just raises your A1C and shows that you are noncompliant.
If you are uncertain as to what to dose yourself at, a simple rule: small mistakes mean small fixes. Too little insulin and you get a little higher blood sugars. Too much can kill you.
I started at 5 units, then worked my way up to between 10 and 20 depending on the carbs I eat and the activity I plan on doing.
But usually 10 units without blinking. And I split that dose. I take 5 in one spot and immediately 5 in a different spot.
MUCH better results for me anyway.
If a single dose works at the 3 or 4 hour mark, but not much at the 2 hour mark, you might want to try the splitting.
Let’s say you needed 20 units at the 4 hour mark. So, I would suggest taking 5 units and 5 units before eating. You can always take the remaining dose if needed. But if you take too much you can never ‘go back’.
Oh, I never followed the nutritionist meal plan. 75g of carbs x 3 plus two 15g carb snacks was far too much food for me in the beginning.
Now, I can eat far more than that when I want to. Just have to watch the body weight. More food + more insulin = a much fatter body.
The heavier you are, the more insulin you need.
The more caffeine you drink the more insulin you need.
The less activity you do the more insulin you need.
The more aspirin you take (within reason) the LESS insulin you need.
You will NEVER get an exact amount of insulin needed number.
For females, monthly hormone fluctuations easily affect blood sugars and insulin requirements, even if you take birth control.
The best you can do is a close guess. And constant monitoring. If I had a ton of data on a person, I might even be able to come up with a dosage algorithm. But even then some of it would be a guess.
Did you know that many over the counter items affect blood sugars? Alleve can raise blood sugars 30% or more!
Aspirin can lower blood sugars 10%. Or more depending on the person.
Even a slight illness that you cannot detect will affect blood sugars.
A slight lack of sleep will raise blood sugars.
Eating a high fat meal like pepperoni pizza can raise blood sugars for DAYS!
Here’s every A1C I had since I was diagnosed:
6.8
5.7
5.8
5.3 then started insulin immediately after that A1C test due to high spikes from summertime heat
5.2
5.1
Not bad huh?
My next one will be MUCH higher due to lack of activity (weather contingent) and eating mass carbs due to boredom.
But I can still adjust everything if I desire.
About the only way to get consistent numbers and dosages is to live an exact lifestyle.
Prison would fit that situation very well. But who wants that?
Treating diabetes must be a balance between lifestyle demands and body demands.
Treat one without the other and you get problems.
If you lived exclusively for the diabetes, then you wouldn’t have a life at all.
If you ignored diabetes and focused only on lifestyle, you again wouldn’t have a life (you could die or have serious complications).
For me, I use insulin as a tool to maintain some semblance of my former lifestyle. I just don’t eat too much bad foods if I can help it.
Google Dr Bernstein. He has great advice.
Note: I haven’t seen a CDE. My doctor said I was a diabetic ‘guru’ because I have great control and know a lot about how to effectively treat my disease. I guess this is why they never asked me to see a CDE.
Ideally you want a flat line of blood sugars. This is not easily done either.
Best possible advice to give you:
Let your glucose meter be your ‘food boss’. meaning that if it indicates a high spike after eating something, then either eat less of that or none of that item. It took me months to figure out what did what to me. And even that changes daily.
Works very well too. Some people spike weirdly with foods. Potatoes for one might be a decent spike, but for another it might be sky high. Depends on the person.
