How do doctors tell how much insulin to give us?
Is there a secret to deciding how much Lantus or Humalog to take?
Is there a at home remedy to figure out when to back off or increase a medicine?
Any hints on when to cut back or increase a dosage (not majorly of course, or without your docs permission)
I am currently reading the book “Think Like a Pancreas”, it is packed full of information that you are looking for, you can get it on Amazon pretty cheap! You should find it very helpfull, as it has helped me as a newbie to diabetes.
Good Luck!
There IS a secret, Domo. It’s . . . aaargh!!
Check out the book Karen recommended. I believe the initial dosage is based on body mass (height and weight) and then adjusted up or down from there.
Terry
lol
many years ago when my endo figured out my carb ratio she sat there and did all of this crazy dividing and multiplying with my weight and height and calories i should eat and calories i do eat and the same with carbs. i might get that book because i always wondered how the heck she figured it out. she pretty much was right on too. i was amazed.
She was lucky, it is not an exact science.
then i’m sure she was breathing a sigh of relief the first week she got my numbers haha
this urgent care i went to said they figured it out my weight and height as well. Where is this secret chart??
Yes, the secret is testing blood sugars frequently (when you’ve controlled as many variables as possible). Hah!
Anyone else feel like they are a very poorly designed human scientific trial of one?!!!
My horror story back to 1983 …misdiagnosed at age 42 plus ; hospitalized 2 months later and put on insulin ( one shot daily !!, no Lantus/Humalog available then ) ) Weigh in at 139 pounds , 5 feet , 7 inches tall . According to lab results the GP on duty that day decided to administer 45 u of insulin . At 2 am , I woke up , sweating , thought I was dying , suffering from my first hypo . I suggested to my family physician NEVER , EVER to have the that Dr. at my bedside again .By the time one month went by it was clear I was in the honey moon period …only required 2 u daily .After the honeymoon period my body required less than 30 u and since pumping ( 2001 ) a 23 u average for 31 days( I know, cause my pump shows me …basal /bolus ) …No matter what the books tell you , this gal does not fit the picture .I am certain , that I am not the only one .And yes I do change my amount of insulin , without daily consultation with my health team . My pump Nurse coached me well !! Finger poking and record keeping helps with being dilligent .
i feel like a science experiment all the time
Luck is the most important thing in life. None the less you can probably estimate the carb ratio usually 1 to 10 carbs but then there is insulin resistance and every thing else even the phase of the moon. Probably like predicting the stock market, you can be lucky occaisionally.
That was really brave of the GP to give you so much the first time. In a philosophical mood my Endo said that adjusting the dose is something that I must do myself that it was like driving a care you have to turn more or less. The more so if you get to see him once a year.
With a low carb diet I need about 100 units per day. with an ADA or CDA diet would probably need 200 or more. and have no control. The more insulin is not the merrier.
I don’t think they really care that much, if they did they would go nuts. We to them are like dogs to our vet some animal you get paid for putting to death.
If you do carb counting and bolusing (which I’m assuming you do), then doctors usually start at 1 unit per 15 at diagnosis (this depends on how tall you are, how much you weight, ect.) and then see how much it affects you and then they make gradual changes.
You should keep a logbook, or some sort of carb counting notebook for a week or so, if you don’t do it all the time and then you can see patterns- if your numbers are constantly high after meals, you might want to increase, if they are low, you can decrease.
For example, if your numbers are high after breakfast with no exercise, you should cut back.
some days are just bad! Remember not to change anything in a day, unless you know you’ll be exercising or something and want to cut your dosage down before that. You should wait a few days and if it continues, probably confer with your doctor and change the dose.
good luck!
my main concern is lantus, i don’t understand how they determine that. I heard it’s better to have a higher humalog dosage then lantus. I wonder how they figure it out, because once i start exercising i’m not sure what i should back off of first. I don’t want any lows >< >< ><</body>
What amount are you on now? of lantus? Have you done a basal test?
Good question.
I do not use humalog but novo rapid and tried different ratios of lantus to novorapid from 40%L 60% N, 50 50, 60%L 40% N and all of them seemed to work as long as total daily dosage was enough. I am not particularily susceptible to lows and was not super agressive in treatment an A1c of 6.5%. Still bedaffled what is best. Presently trying 40 units of levemir at night. 35 units of lantus in the morning and about 35 units of novorapid here and there when needed. Plus about 2000 mg of metformin and some exercise and a low carb diet. BG control is good but I have no idea is this make sense or if there is a better way. This is over 65% of slow insulin and less than 35% of fast.
Wow, I never heard of taking so many units before. I’ve never taken more than 9 units of humalog before and that’s when I was pregnant, when my insulin needs were the highest. Maybe its because I’m still fairly new to this and being insulin sensitive.
I factor in my portion size and carb count…most carbs (the way I was shown) are 2 to 3 units. Say I had a meal of steak, potatoes and some kind of veg…I would only take about 5 to 6 units, add my drink and its up to 7 or 8…all depending how much I ate.
I test before I eat and then count the carbs on my plate and think of what I’m about to eat and give myself a shot THEN I eat and test an hour or so after eating and give another shot if I have too…most times I don’t have to though.
This “secret chart” is in both of those books and can probably be found on line if you google up “carb- insulin ratio” or “insulin dosages and body weight”…This is not shielded information, nor is it exact… you will have to tweak the amount of insulin you get throughout your life, as a diabetic. When you get accustomed to using insulin, you will probably make these changes WITHOUT conferring every time with your doctor or CDE… The learning curve is long, but this information and this "skill set"can be learned…Are you on injections, or a pump?