Should you ever NEED a bedtime snack?

sorry for my absence people, my internet got cut off stares angrily at parents during my time away i did do a few more nights without eating just to see what would happen… and it is unpredictable!

without eating, ill either go low by 2AM, be low by 6AM or wake up 180+

im starting to think my body just doesn’t want change… that or maybe its because 3 birthday parties in 5 days kinda messed with my numbers. My 14 day average was 122, now at 160 =\

When I was on Lantus, I took my full dose in the late evening too and I always needed a bedtime snack unless I was quite high (and even with the snack I often went low). Many people have found that giving Lantus in two dose OR taking it in the morning works better for them. As Gerri suggested, you might try Levemir as well.

I had horrible night time lows with Lantus, which was my motivation to switch to the pump, but perhaps Levemir would have done the trick!

I think in some people lantus can act for much more that 24 hours. The blurb that comes with the vial shows the action still continuing at full strenght at the 24 hours mark. So in many people the doses will overlap Levemir lasts I think a lot less than 24 hours so you will have no basal on board for some period of time in the 24 hours with only one injection per day. Both problems are greatly alleviated by 2 injections / 24 hours.

I realize that the necessity of a bedtime snack is a leftover from the old days of NPH and other old insulins. My doctor told me a long time ago that I didn’t need a bedtime snack with my modern MDI or pump treatment. But, I really enjoy my snack, it is like a treat for me and I think the carbs and feeling of food in my stomach helps be sleep.

A few years ago I did some testing after eating my usual bedtime snack. It showed a sharp rise in BG to a level above my renal threshold. Now I do a small bolus injection to offset the carbs in the snack easy to do with my OmniPod pump or Novolog pen.

You use both the Pod and a pen? How does that work?

Never the pod and the pen at the same time. I take frequent breaks from the pod and go back to MDI. The way I like to dress, the pod would be visible and that’s not cool.

When I was on Lantus i could not take it at night. Mainly due to that 5-6 hours after injection. It did this little peaking thing. I would wake up in the middle of the night with a low. At 3:00 a.m. I would go low and sometimes I would not wake up. I tried the lower dose for a couple of weeks. Then I would find that the Lantus Basal would not cover for the remaining time of the day.

Finally, I went to the pump and it is much better.