I suppose this is more of a rant about missing my former non-diabetic life…
I’m currently still honeymooning-and only on Lantus during the day. The problem comes from the fact that I really don’t eat that much- but still need to because if I wait, the lantus starts dropping me too low.
In the mornings, my fasting is usually pretty good- 85-105 usually. I take the lantus to keep this down- otherwise it would be around 120.
I always eat breakfast but around lunchtime I never seem to be hungry. I usually test myself around 12-1 pm- (around 3-5 hours after breakfast depending on the day) and I am usually at 100 or so then- but I’m almost never hungry then these days.
So I stupidly wait until I feel hungry- or until I think I can force myself to be interested in eating - which wastes 1 to 2 hours and then by that time (still not hungry) I am shaking and in the 70s.
I make myself eat food at lunchtime, generally, but also from the lack of appetite, I don’t eat that much- a cup of soup or a granola bar- which will also result in my being low when I am leaving at the end of the day- right when I am getting into my car to drive home (never a good idea).
I’m usually pretty hungry at dinner- and eat a pretty decent meal then, but during the day, I am just not any more. I feel like I need to be constantly eating to stave off hypos, but then I’m either eating when I really don’t want to be or correcting hypos by eating total crap just to raise the numbers.
Does anyone else have this problem? Not being hungry but faced with doing what you want to versus what your blood sugar dictates?
I used to go 6-7 hours easily between meals without a problem… now I feel like I am constantly eating.
Hi Lane,
When I first started on insulin I didn’t want to eat three meals a day either. Like you, I was in the habit of skipping meals and it was a hard habit to change. My son is the person who changed my mind. He has been diabetic a lot longer than I have.
My suggestion is that you change what you eat for the lunch break. A cup of soup or a granola bar will have carbs, but won’t have enough protein or fats to carry you really well. Make sure you have something for breakfast and make sure you have something you can eat for lunch. If salads appeal to you add some chopped turkey or hard cooked egg. If sandwichs don’t appeal, try some peanut butter. It dsoesn’t have to be very much. I carry one of those little peanut butter (individual cups) in my purse and a spoon for when I have to eat on the run. It isn’t very much, but will carry you for quite awhile. The thing my son tells me is just start a new habit. It sounds easy. It wasn’t in the beginning, but once you do it, things get easier. Especially easier than hitting a low while driving. These are only examples I gave you. Find whatever fits you. Just remember that protein will carry you much longer than carbs. Nuts, peanuts, almonds, pecans, walnuts are a good option also.
Good luck.
What I mean by that is that with Lantus you are set one pretty much one basal rate throughout the entire day. In order to prevent the afternoon lows, you would have to lower the Lantus, which would most likely result in a higher waking number. The one suggestion I have is to possibly start taking two injections of Lantus instead of just one, which I have heard works for some people. You could take a percentage at night, and then another percentage in the morning, which might help things out a bit.
In my mind, the math works something like this… If you are currently taking 20 units of Lantus, then take 10 units at 10pm (half of your dose, to last half of the day). At 10am the following morning, you could take 8 or 9 units (a little less than half of your current daily dose, to last the rest of the day). Repeat.
I am assuming you are type 1, so I will also offer this advice: You should never have to “feed” your insulin. You should have a plan such that you can go about your normal daily routine and never have to worry about eating lunch on time, or eating lunch at all for that matter. Like I said before, this gets tricky with Lantus, so you might only ever get close to reaching that goal, but hopefully you can get closer than you are now.
Have you considered a pump? They come with a minimum of four basal rates, which means that barring an excess of running to things in the morning (to work, to call, to the bus) I can go all day without eating and never drop too low.
