I have recently begun following the low-carb paleo diet and am loving it. One thing I am having issues with is nighttime lows. I have been adjusting my basal rates to lower the amount of insulin I am receiving throughout the day and things are getting better, but I was curious as to how other type 1’s deal with nighttime lows. These days I have started to eating a snack right before bed to help.
It sounds like you’re on the right track. Assuming you don’t have any bolus insulin active in your system at bedtime, lows would be caused by your basal being too high. I wouldn’t snack before bed, because to me that is feeding the insulin and could lead to weight gain. Better to just lower the basal until you see the results you want. Do just a unit at a time and then wait a few days to assess the results. If you are taking your basal at bedtime it might be peaking during the night (yes, they do have peaks although Levemir is better than Lantus for that). You might try either switching it to daytime or split it into two doses which often gives smoother coverage.
If you are on the pump you probably need to adjust your basal rate. I have a workbook about it if you want to message me.
Oops, you’re right, Todd, he said “basal rates”. I misread it as that he was on MDI.
I agree that you need to determine when the lows are occuring and then lower the basal rate for the period approximately 2-3 hours before that. Pumping Insulin by John Walsh is also a good book for all things basal!
Although it might be a good idea to snack right now because of the lows, I agree with Zoe and would not do it as a long term thing. You should work to get your basals set right (whether MDI or pump) and be able to skip meals if you want. My BS is normally fairly stable at night unless something is going on. I am having a problem right now with waking up low and it just dawned on me that the warmer weather means less insulin!
Feed your dragon more carbs or use less short acting insulin because whatever you’re doing AINT working (: [
When we do (go low) we screwed-up to whatever degree its possible for us to control this unwieldy beast. Going low means mistakes were made…
Try not to make them again ; )
Stuart