I had 2 slices of pizza since the first time I was diagnosed and gave myself more insulin in one bolus than I ever had before. I gave myself 6 units and still hit 180. I guess maybe I should have done 8 units. Is that too much insulin to give yourself in case you go low? What’s the most you should give yourself during a bolus in case you don’t process the food quickly and go low. I thought 6 units I would pass out but I was actually high.
Pizza is funky…What I mean is, it has a lot of fat, and protein, which all break down into carbs slowly. The best way to deal with it on a pump is a dual or combo bolus spread out over a couple of hours so as the food breaks down over a longer period there will be insulin there to cover it. That explains why your higher later on. The insulin may be starting to wear off but your body is still breaking some of that pizza down into carbs. If your on MDI (injections), then you may want to give a smaller shot up front to cover the bread, and a smaller shot about 1.5 hours later to cover the rest. But that would also depend on they type of insulin you use, your sensitivity, and so forth.Hope this helps a little.
Also, foods that behave like this are pizza, lasagna, chinese, and so on (high fat or foods with lots of sauces)
There is no way to say if 8 units would be too much for you, because we don’t know your I:C ratio and all of us are different. For me that would be way too much as the most I ever have bolused is 5 (6 a couple times which included a correction). Some people with insulin resistance might bolus 30 units. Pizza, as the previous person said is very hard to bolus for, especially if you are on MDIs. I make a very thin crust pizza (also very good pizza!) and if I stick to just one piece and a large salad I am usually ok. (not every time). I’ve tried the bolusing for some up front and some an hour and a half or two hours later, trying to imitate what a pump does, and it doesn’t work for me. The pizza recipe I use makes 3 pizzas (about 12 slices), so even if I freeze some and eat it a week later I get so sick of pizza that I don’t make it for another 6 months.
I do fine with Chinese (or other Asian) foods if I either make it myself or eat at a place I can trust to not add sugar or corn starch to the sauce, and stay away from noodle dishes.