when do you check your sugar and when do you eat?
For example i usually check my sugar, take medicine, and then eat 10 mintues later
but sometimes i do all 3 at once.
Then i usually check my sugar 2 hours later from when i checked it last, even if i waited to eat
What’s the best thing to do to get accurate sugars?
also how long should you wait to take your lantus after taking humalog for a meal?
I’m on MDI as well and test my BG before each meal (i.e. breakfast, lunch and dinner) and before getting into bed. I don’t test two hours after eating although I do remember doing this in the early to mid 1980s. I think I was recommended to do so by physicians, but I can’t really recall to be honest. The diabetologists I see today have told me there’s no need to do post-prandial testing unless I’m going hypo or hyper. Since I don’t snack between meals either I don’t really need to test to see how much insulin to inject to cover whatever a snack might be.
This approach seems to work well for me: my HbA1c has recently dropped by another 1% and is back within the normal range.
Yes, I sometimes check my BG, inject and then eat without waiting 10 minutes. The rapid-acting insulins we use today have circumvented the need to wait 15-30 minutes as was the case in the past. As far as the longer-acting insulins are concerned, I always inject these at the same times each day. I never inject them (in my case Insulatard) hours too early or hours too late as this can disrupt basal coverage and leave you chasing hypos or hypers.
hey Domo I think it’s important to check before each meal, I check at 2 hours after if I have to guess at the carbs in that meal, because, even though I am a 3rd degree blackbelt expert guesser, I can’t tell the difference between 125 and 175.
lantus is independent of both eating and a bolus of humalog, take lantus at the same time(s) every day for best results. the only trouble you can get into is if you try to mix the log and lantus to save a injection. that would be bad. (we used to mix R, N, Lente, and then analogs together all the time but those were different days).
I check my BG from 10 to 12 times a day. I’m a T1 on a pump. I eat every 2 to 3 hrs. I always take my fast acting insulin before meal. I test just before a meal, and depending the meal (carb counting) and my BG numbers them I calculate the amount of fast acting insulin. The next test will be 2hrs or sometimes 1.5 after meal depending the meal. Like this I can prevent almost every time a hypo or hyper.
I only wait to eat if I test and am over 150… then I’ll give my insulin + correction a good 20 minutes to start working before I start eating.
When you take your lantus in relation to food doesn’t matter, just make sure to take it at the same time(s) each day.
I check 4 times a day. I take my insulin usually 10 minutes before meals though there has been times that I have to take it right before eating. I only check afterwards if I have went out to a buffet and can not count the carbs. As for my lantus it is 730am for my first 30 units a day of Lantus and 10pm for my second 30 units of insulin a day. My doctor has my Lantus split because he said it seems to work better that way for me.
thanks for the advice!!
I was told to to check 2 hours after eating to see if my humalog in my plan is working. I try to eat the same amount of carbs for each meal and snack. But i have never been told not to check nor have i been told to correct a high, these doctors did give me a sliding scale once… for being diabetic for 2 years i feel like i know nothing. I don’t even know my insulin to carb ratio, i’ve read about it but still can’t figure it out. sigh My doc, who i’ve seen twice, told me to check my sugar before and after meals and to stick to a set unit for humalog to see how i do. But i told her i would back off if it made me low.
What kind of doctor are you seeing? If you’re not already seeing an endocrinologist I’d suggest starting there. If you are, it may be time to find a new one - carb counting and adjusting insulin dosages on demand is pretty standard for most T1’s now… doesn’t matter how long you’ve had it. If they’re not having you do that (or don’t have you in the process of learning how), and just suggesting you stick to a set diet with fixed insulin dosages, that’s really out of date info.
I agree Sarah!! As for me I test before every meal and usually take my fast acting after I eat that way I know exactly how much I ate. I know it’s not suggested but I hate eating just to fill up the carbs I took insulin for when I’m full. For example sometimes I can eat a whole sandwich like at a restaurant sometimes only 3/4. If I take the correct amount I’m always back to normal 1 1/2 to 2 hours later. I do remember when my endo figured out my ratio she asked me if I take my shot before or after I ate. I told her after and I wouldn’t be suprised if she added a unit or two to it just to cover my food hitting me first.
I don’t know how carb counting is taught in the US, but here in the UK it’s taught as part of the DAFNE (dose adjustment for normal eating) course. Roughly 10gr of carbohydrate is the equivalent of 1 carbohydrate portion (CP). For each CP, or part thereof, you need to inject a certain amount of fast-acting insulin to metabolise it. You have to remember, though, that your need for fast-acting insulin can vary with each meal and will also depend on your level of physical activity at a particular time (e.g. are you dashing around at work all day, doing a morning’s intense housework, or out walking around town). In my case, when I’m dashing around at work all day I take 1 unit of Novorapid for each CP at breakfast and lunch, but when I’m at home in the evening or am doing nothing that involves physical activity I increase this ratio to 2 units of Novorapid for each CP.
Note that you don’t have to adjust your basal insulin requirement each time you inject it because the basal is needed to keep your background need for insulin in check. You only need to alter your basal insulin if it’s not providing the right amount of coverage outside of meals.
Check out this website and go to the link “Get the Carbohydrate counting book here”: www.diabetes-support.org.uk/joomla/dafne
very interesting, and very confusing. Did they help determine how much to insulin to take with the carbs? How did it help you? Kinda reminds me of the sliding scale, accept thats to bring down higher numbers.
Domo - How many times a day do you take Lantus? I found I had to take it twice a day and it became increasingly unstable and inconsistent - so I switched to Levemir.
Cheri
Like many things with this fabulous disease 
everyone’s needs are different. When I received training on DAFNE we were told to start off by taking 1 unit of rapid-acting for every 1 CP. The educators knew that this would not be sufficient insulin for every participant in the group, but it would at least not lead to everyone dropping into a hypo. As the week of training progressed everyone started to adapt the QA:CP ratio to fit in with what their own bodies needed to function decently. It’s a question of trial and error. What you body needs will vary from someone else’s.
Here’s a kind of example:
A total of 10 CPs for breakfast on a day when I’m going to be dashing around at work and my BG is within the normal range prior to breakfast. I’ll take 10 units of Novorapid.
10 CPs for breakfast on a day when I’m going to stay at home and do absolutely nothing and my BG is running high at 12 mmol/l prior to breakfast. I’ll take 20 units of Novorapid plus a further 3 units of Novorapid (1 unit of Novorapid can reduce BG by roughly 2 mmol/l) to correct the high BG and hopefully get it back down to 6 mmol/l during the course of the morning - doesn’t always work, but that’s the strategy I adopt.
Calculating CPs is not too difficult. I’m not good with sums so I tend to use a pocket calculator. If you look at the nutritional information on a packet of muesli, for instance, it’ll state that 100gr of muesli contains 68.7gr of carbohydrate, but you just want 60gr in your breakfast bowl. To convert all these grams into CPs you do the following:
60 multiplied by 68.7 divided by 100 = 41.22. You then divide 41.22 by 10 and that gives you 4.122 CPs, so call it 4 CPs in your bowl of cereal. Then you need to add another 1 CP to account for about a third of a pint of milk. Your complete bowl of cereal therefore comes to 5 CPs and you then multiply 5 by the number of units of insulin your body needs for breakfast.
I am on a pump, but when I was on Lantus I just took it at my regular time (started off at night, but moved it to mornings). The important thing is to take Lantus at the same time, everyday. I didn’t worry about eating before or after taking it, as it is long-acting.
I almost always pre-bolus before eating. Usually 30 minutes or so(obviously, life happens, and I can’t always do that). Breakfast is usually the most important time for me to pre-bolus to help with the breakfast spike. I check my BG, bolus, and then wait to eat. I really do believe pre-bolusing is important.
Just checking my pump, my 5 day BG number of checks is 12. I check before meals, two hours after meals, before driving, before-during-after working out(this includes riding my horses, and taking the dogs on their 4-6 mile walks), and halfway through my shift at work. It all adds up by the end of the day.
I test before meals usually, for my CGMS sensor calibrations, before and after exercise, and any time I feel high or that my CGMS is not giving me an accurate reading. It usually works out to 8-10 tests per day, but sometimes less. That depends how well calibrated my CGMS is.
I take my meal bolus about 45 minutes after I eat my meal in a single dose, unless I’m dealing with pizza or pasta in which case I take it at about the 30 minute mark and do a square wave. (I use Symlin so I can’t bolus at or before mealtime without going hypoglycemic)
The best thing to do to get accurate sugars is to get a CGMS if at all possible. Go out of pocket if you have to- it isn’t prohibitively expensive like a pump.
hey were a feature! I still take lantus… before i go to bed, and it works for me for now… At work i only have 15 to check my sugar, inject medicine, and walk to the picnic table to eat. So i usually do everything all at once. Unless i’m at home i might wait a couple minutes after i take my humalog if the food is still cooking.
I always test right before I eat…then I eat and take my humalog. I used to take my “regular” insulin prior to a meal, until I went on Humalog. I only inject and wait if I am very high and need to come down prior to eating. I have had too many times in the past that I injected and was not able to finish meal,etc. and had to much humalog on board.
Then went toooo low and to fast.
My schedule is never the same, I was on Lantus, but have recently switched to the pump (Omni Pod) with the pump I take my bs, enter a bolus if I need it and then if I’m going to eat I eat and when I’m done eating I figure up my carbs, enter them into the pump and it tells me how much insulin I should take. I simply tell it ok, or change the amt. Pretty simple. Any other meds I’m on I mainly take at night before I go to bed, there are a few that are twice a day, those I take before breakfast as well as before bed.
I check before I eat and 2 hours after. I also check before I go to bed and before I get in the car to drive, just to be on the safe side. The more I get the hang of my CGMS, the more I sometimes skip the 2 hours after the meal test 
I usually take my insulin right when I start eating unless I am over 150. Then I take it and wait 15 minutes.
hmm so far people seem to wait a bit before they start eating, after taking medicine.
BUT what if it takes you a long time to eat your food, would it be correct to check 2 hours after you checked your sugar/injected? Is the eating process included in the two hour break. This is the stuff i think about. geez. I don’t wait i do all 3 at once and check from 2 hours from the meter check. (even if i wait to eat or if i don’t, which is usually why i do all 3 at once)
SO would robyn, who takes medicine after she eats, check her sugar 2 hours after she injected OR 2 hours from when she checked it.
Any difference?