Sorry you’re frustrated, Lynne. Unfortunately the only way to find your correct I:C for each meal is trial and error. If you’re consistently high then try moving it down one number and see how that works for awhile.
As for the one hour spike, no I don’t routinely check one hour. What I did was determined when my own personal spike time was (approximate). Two hours is a pretty average spike time and I found it was mine as well, so that’s when I tested (everything has changed now that I’m on Symlin but I won’t confuse the issue!). I think if you routinely keep checking several times after a meal you could drive yourself nuts. ( not to mention go through all your test strips! )Rather just do it till you find the appoximate spike time for you and then stick with that. I do disagree with your endo that spikes don’t matter if you come down in three hours, because studies have shown that the more time we spend above 140 the more damage can accumulate. So if you find one hour or 1 1/2 hour is your highest spike, I would then routinely check then instead of two hours.
Yes, the goal I use is less than 140 at 2 hours.
I absolutely agree with Moss Dog, Lynne. I talk on here a lot about something I call “the luck of the draw”, where a lot of factors combine to make some of us have diabetes that is relatively easy to keep stable and some of us can work very hard and still have a lot of variance. I myself will never be a “flatliner”, not without driving myself crazier than I already do, and maybe not even then. I’m comfortable with the goals I set myself. You will be in time as well. For now I think you’re still in the process of learning and “collecting data” - seeing how your body responds to insulin, carbs, timing, etc. Just keep accumulating data and soon you will hone in on what works for you in terms of ISF, I:C ratios, timing of dosing, etc. It takes time. There’s a saying, “progress, not perfection”. Congratulations on the progress you’ve made in getting your fasting number down!
Sure. I spent most of my life thinking I wasn’t good enough and I had to learn to reject those messages. I still tend to obsess on things, and have to catch myself and “let go.” Managing type 1 is stressful! Which reminds me, my hammock is calling me!
I didn’t notice a difference between Humalog & Novolog but I know some people can tell the differrence. I have been using Apidra the last 3 years.
Try eating that same yogurt for lunch or dinner and see what happens. I have been trying to drink Gatorade because of being dehydrated. I bought the low carb one with grams of carbs. If I drink it in the AM, I spike up to 200. If I drink it for lunch, I don’t spike at all. I can’t do carbs for breakfast. I know some people say that they can eat cereal without spikes if they have it for dinner, but breakfast is a nightmare.
Zoe, I am going to disagree with you about the Apidra being the fastest. Here is a chart comparing the onset times and it is actually the slowest. It takes 20 minutes for me to kick in and I know a bunch of other people that said the same thing. It is more consistent for me than Humalog was - some days, Humalog was like taking water. I like it because it gets out of my system the fastest.
I third MossDog. No one should compare themselves to someone else.
I take insulin with my eggs! People that do LC tend to bolus for protein where the people that do regular carbs don’t. It really is just a matter of trial & error to find what works.
Other than being tired today, I am OK. I had 3 doctors appointments in Pittsburgh between yesterday & today so lots of running. I see a pillow in my very near future!
Hope you feel better soon Kelly. 
Wow, that is different than everything I’ve heard since I started using insulin! I’ve always heard that Apidra was the quickest, though of course only by a small amount, but I don’t have any sources to quote! I am not all that trusting of WebMD, although I have heard that they have made an effort to clean up their act. Perhaps some others can chime in on this.
I had thought that Apidra was a tad quicker to begin acting (like 15 vs 20 minutes) but looking at the chart you included I see that it does have a significantly shorter duration, so maybe I mixed up those two things. I don’t want to be giving out false info so hopefully others who know about these things will help sort it out!
I don’t know about DP because I don’t get it, Lynne, but on another thread people had said that eating protein and fat could stop blood sugar from rising in the morning. So maybe you could eat mostly protein with a little carbs. Like eggs with one slice of toast or whatever.
I personally don’t think I:C ratio is based solely on size but on degree of insulin resistance vs insulin sensitivity and on whether or not you are still producing your own insulin. I think you’re on the right track to go down a little like to 1:13 vs 1:15, not jump all the way to 1:10, then see how it works for a few days. I also would be a little surprised if your ratios are the same for breakfast as at dinner.
Yeah, “whatever” would be my response to 180 as a goal as well!! I’m not saying I never hit 180, lord knows, but it definitely wouldn’t be my goal!
wow - you are so right to be looking for a new doctor - and you should send a copy of your post to the doc himself so he can see what an idiot he has working for him - what an insulting encounter.
There’s a saying about advice (whether from Docs or the DOC - a pun!): “Take what you need and leave the rest” It sounds like you are doing that, figuring out what is right for you, and creating your targets while still getting support and info from your medical team. Coincidentally we have the same goals 140 after meals and fasting around 100. The only time I correct for 130 though is if it is that when I am getting ready to eat because if I start at 130 I am going to go too high, so I’ll add a little extra in with my bolus. 130 2 hrs pp is just fine with me!
Yes I think you are a good candidate for the pump in time but I have to agree that it’s a bit soon. By the time I got my pump I was really comfortable with ISF, correcting, I:C ratios, etc. It was still a steep learning curve to use the pump and I can’t imagine having to learn all that stuff at the same time!
T2’s in poor control don’t usually experience hypos, because they’re running high all the time! That’s probably mostly what the doc who said that sees.
T2’s like the ones on here, who are striving for tight control can and DO experience hypos. It comes with the territory!
Type 2 being progressive means that there is increasing beta-cell failure. But it occurs rapidly in some people, more slowly in others, and basically not at all in still others. Insulin resistance is the complicating factor – a T2 can be making a LOT of insulin, but still not be able to overcome their insulin resistance. Insulin resistance may well vary with weight (more weight may mean more insulin resistance), but what I learned at AADE last week says that it depends on where the fat is located. Visceral fat (around the organs) increases insulin resistance, whereas subcutaneous fat under the skin, and thigh fat appear to be protective. Thunder thighs are not a bad thing!
No one knows whether the sulfs actually “burn out” the pancreas, but they DO stimulate hunger, which is not a good thing, and are no longer first-line treatment for T2. Nowadays, they are treating with metformin and Victoza or Byetta. Not sure whether Sparkysmom is on metformin, and whether it would be good for her, but it would be a good thing for her to ask about.
The other thing is that she may be a “double diabetic”, that is, a T1 with insulin resistance. Which is why the eye-balling technique doesn’t work. For her, the tests are really important, just to know where she stands. The Victoza may still be necessary, and maybe metformin, but it could be that she will always need the insulin too, no matter what her weight does.
My attitude about type is that it really doesn’t matter what type you are, as long as you get the correct treatment. And the tests are important for sparkysmom just to make sure the docs and nurses know what is going on, and what is absolutely necessary for her. Appropriate treatment is the key!
Not always thin. Look at Stardust31. She was eyeballed as T2, but antibody tests proved that she was T1. That’s why sparkysmom needs testing.
I prefer to be on insulin rather than oral meds because insulin is natural and time-proven, whereas the oral meds are so new that no one knows what the long-term effects will be. Remember Avandia?
And losing weight is NOT easy for most T2’s – maybe it would be easy for you, but you’re NOT a T2! Jump for joy just because you’re alive, not because of what treatment you’re on!
All I know about Apidra is that it gave me crazy ups and downs that were basically uncontrollable, so I went back to Novolog. I do need to bolus a bit before I eat, but good enough for me, because I remember the olden days with R, when you had to wait at least 30 min.!
Lynne, do you use pens? And if so, have you tried the Nano needle? It’s the shortest one available, and good for very lean people!
thank you, Natalie, I do believe you “get” where I am coming from! Very interesting about the fat distribution. I don’t know what is going on around the organs, but I can tell you that I have always carried extra weight fairly evenly over my entire body to the point that most people don’t realize I weight as much as I do. I’m not one of these that have extra wide hips, etc., it’s just all over! I definitely have the thunder thighs though, LOL.
In answer to your question about metformin, yes, I am on 1,000 mg per day of metformin and have been since day 1 if I remember correctly. They have tried me on a higher dosage, but I simply cannot tolerate it from a GI standpoint.
I was diagnosed 4 years ago, and it was just a couple of months after a hysterectomy. Because of my family history, I had been checking random sugars every time I would go to my regular doctor for anything. I would get them to do a quick meter reading and it was always very normal, meaning below 120. It actually was shocking to me that I had such high blood sugar 4 years ago. So looking back on it, I wonder if it was rapid onset and I just caught it in time?
No problem, I taking it all in. It might be useful to me in the future! I hate that you are struggling, but it does sound like you are diligently trying and that has got to count for something. Some folks just give up and end up in terrible shape.
Barbi, you better believe the diabetes doctor is going to hear an earful from me! First I going to see what my regular doctor says and if she will run the lab results, then I will take the results with me to the diabetes doctor and go over them with her. If I feel like I am getting the runaround I’m out of there for good.