oh man, am I honeymooning? My diabetes is pretty easy. Lantus 8 units, Humolog 1:15. 30 carbs per meal. only 15 carbs of what i call “real carbs” per meal. try to eat low glycemic index foods. everything else is veggies, fat and protein. especially veggies. don’t have many highs or lows. but my blood Dc says i have pretty tight control, so maybe that’s it? She also says she thinks i’m sensitive to insulin? She says we should know within the next 6 months if things are going to get tricky or not. I’m nervous things are going to get tricky. it’s been nearly 9 months since T1 diagnosis.
I have had Type 1 for 35 years. According to my pump statistics, my average basal is 8.45 units per day. My average total daily insulin is 19.2 units with an average of 130 carbs per day. I usually use a 1:15 ratio for Novolog with a correction factor of 75.
Our insulin use and ratios are almost identical. Obviously I’m in no honeymoon, but I am very insulin sensitive. So maybe you’re still in your honeymoon, or maybe you’re not. I will say that you seem to think it’s a breeze and say your diabetes is “pretty easy”. I don’t think it’s easy at all. I think it’s a daily battle that is very, very hard.
But it sounds like you’re doing great and keep up the good work. IMO attitude is a very important part of having success dealing with Type 1 and you seem to have a great attitude.
Oh, I only mean easy in comparison to the T1 horror stories. I’ve been lucky so far.
This is not my first illness, I’ve been thru a lot of pain. I try not to think of it as the “daily battle” but rather–just my life! And you’re right, it’s not easy. I’m nervous “my life” might get more complicated if my numbers start jumping around etc. it’s great to see your insulin use and ratios are almost identical.
What is the correction factor? i feel like i should know that…
The correction factor is how many points 1 unit of insulin brings down your blood sugar. If my blood sugar is 175 and I want to bring it down to 100, my correction factor would say that I should take 1 unit of insulin if I have no other insuin on board like a mealtime bolus.
When you program a pump, you have to put in all sorts of numbers and ratios. My Medtronic pump actually calls it “sensitivity” factor. I am able to use different ratios for different time periods. During the day I use 75 and at night I use 90.
I don’t feel as burdened with Type 1 as my use of the term “daily battle” might indicate. However, very small changes in insulin and carbs can have a huge impact on my BG numbers. And like many or most with Type 1, what works one day may have terrible results the next day. There are so many factors that affect BG. Not only can we not always quantify them accurately, a lot of the time we don’t know what they all are.
I feel very blessed to be quite healthy despite all of the diagnoses I have (all autoimmune): Type 1 diabetes, hypothyroidism, and a type of inflammatory arthritis. I have none of the typical complications of diabetes such as neuropathy, eye issues, kidney issues, heart problems, etc. For that I am grateful and it is my motivation to work hard every day to “control” my diabetes. I have tons of highs and lows, but having been diagnosed before home BG testing, I have very little guilt. I just fix things and move on.
I wouldn’t worry about nominative things like “honeymoon” or “sensitive to insulin”, I would keep focusing on not having many highs or lows like you are doing and be happy you are doing a great job!! If it’s been 9 months, things are already tricky.
Hi,
Unlike Lathump and AcidRock, I’m a relative rookie (5 years this coming January). I don’t think there is a magic moment when things go from easy to hard. I now use about twice as much insulin each day as I did 6 months after diagnosis but it didn’t happen all at once. Change is the only constant. It gets cold, your basal rates go up. Life gets more stressful and your ratios change. Every day is a puzzle to solve. But you’ve started off great and you should be able to handle it.
Maurie
Hi Merileepearl: If you maintain tight control, you can “honeymoon” (have remnant insulin production) for many years. It is of great benefit to keep the honeymoon period going for as long as possible, so keep doing what you are doing!