Agh! Sorry for having all these questions. I didn't see a straightforward answer to this one in either TLAP or Using Insulin... although it talks about nighttime hypoglycemia.
I have kept my split dose Lantus at 5u in the AM and 5u in the PM since Monday night. Have not had a single problem, and have basal tested overnight and it was perfect.
Last night, I went to bed at 116 and woke up at 73! I wish now that I had checked at 3am like I did the two previous nights.
I felt fine, not sick or anything, just trying to figure out why and avoid it tonight.
I think I may have 'overshot' a little at dinner.. dinner was at 7pm; 133 before and 122 2 hours post.. The 116 I got was 3 hours post...
There may not be anything wrong...what is your average BG when your get up...This is a game of averages not a exact science. The numbers you have posted are normal for someone on intensive insulin therapy...;-)
Remember Lantus has absorption issues and one day your body will utilize 90% of a dose and the next day it could only utilize 60-70% of your dose...be careful, and welcome to the club...;-)
Normally it will be around 110 at bedtime, 100 around 3am and then back to 110 by 7am. It just freaked me out this morning! I even did the same carb ratio as yesterday morning and it was 80 pre, 97 post where yesterday it was more like 110 pre, 160 post. Just frustrating.
Hi palominovet, don't let it frustrate you. You're doing awesome! This is the nature of Diabetes. What works perfectly one day may not work the next. What works perfectly for a stretch of months or even years will all of a sudden change and leave you scratching your head.
It sounds like you have a really good understanding of how the basal/bolus works and how to look for problems. You just have to be patient...I need to take my own advice here. :) I use Lantus too and while it's better than the previous older insulins that I used before Lantus, it still has flaws. Just make changes very slowly with Lantus. I use syringes that allow me to dose Lantus in half unit increments too because sometimes I find I'm inbetween two doses...one is slightly too much and one is not enough.
I don't recall if you're considering a cgm but that would be a great tool for somebody like you. With a cgm you'd have a feel for trends and times overnight even if you don't wake up to test. I use a Dexcom and highly recommend it.
It dropped to 65 3 hours post, so I ate 3 glucose tabs because I’m scared to death of going low. I don’t even know what my threshold is, but I’m afraid to find out. Should I wait another day before changing my basal or should I drop it a unit tonight?
I’m definitely considering a cgm and a pump. My schedule just sucks with school. But more and more I see that I really hate MDIs. I don’t like having to feed the insulin when my body decides it doesn’t need as much. Ugh.
I also get variable absorption from Lantus. It is just something I have to live with on MDI vs pump. Others may have already said, but give any change in Lantus dosing at least 2, preferably 3, days to settle before judging it. You're looking for a dose that works most of the time (but not all the time! bah!)
Thanks. It’s technically been four days, but I don’t know if this will repeat itself or not. I’m thinking I should err on the side of dropping the dose for a few days if for nothing other than my sanity
