Lately I have been trying to gage my insulin doses for my bolus injections. I have basically gotten my basil injections at 60 units of Levemir in the AM and 60 units in the PM. With a lot of extra testing, I have figured my insulin to carb ratio to be 1:5 gm Carbs. My wife has gotten concerned because I am not following the GP’s instructions of a strict 15 units of Novolog with each meal period which was not doing a single thing for my sugars. He also had me on 50 units of Levemir in AM and 40 units of Levemir in the PM. Since I have started doing bolus injections before eating food, doing my best to gage my amount of carbs and using a lil more of the Levemir I have started seeing a downward trend of my sugars nothing drametic but getting alot closer to normal range. How can I help calm my wife down until I can get into my first appointment with the new Endo in November? Her concern is I am taking way too much insulin, she sees 120 units of Levemir and 125 units spread out over today of Novolog to be way too much. Personally today has been a very carb heavy day. Sad to say was about 480 grams of carbs 
We go every Sunday to church to eat and they were serving nothing but carbs, rice bread, pasta salad. Nothing remotely healthy and then my wifes best friend got pizza and there went a possibly healthy day of good food My wife refuses to eat vegetables and I have a hard time eating them because she makes me cook them and I am not a good cook
I am a bit mixed on my thoughts here. If what you are doing is helping to lower your bg I don’t see why your wife is worried. But yet, it doesn’t seem like you monitor what you eat either. I know my doctor has told me that just because I adjust my insulin dosage depending on what I eat and bg it doesn’t give me free range to eat all I want. I would recommend you see a dietician and develop a healthy food plan and a limit of carb consumption. We all have to have some will power. Even if we were not diabetic, we still should watch what we eat to stay healthy. Your wife should also maybe support you and eat healthy herself. I don’t want to sound like I’m coming down hard on you, but we all can benefit from eating better and having a few splurges. Also playing around with your insulin and involving your doctor is a good way to stay on top of it. Just keep monitoring and keep good records to find what is working. Sometimes we are our best doctors.
I monitor like crazy, when i wake up, before i eat, couple times after I eat. And at least one or two before bed. I have an appointment with an Endo in November and she has a CDE and dietitian which I plan to get working with to get a proper diet. Right now we are having low finances since I am looking for work and my wife is on short term disability making only 70% of her salary. So we have trouble affording better food but we are trying to eat better. I take all advice seriously and do not see it as negative 
Very good points and we are definitely are own best doctors and if your numbers are improving and your records show it then your doctor and your wife should be very happy for you taking charge of things and trying to improve your bloodsugars. My carb to insulin ratio is 1:5 as well and that is something that I had to figure out myself, with my endo telling me where to start, but I am constantly making adjustments myself, since everything changes through the month for me according to my hormonal levels.
Like Preta states you definitely need to decrease your carb intake, something that is not easy, but something that we all must do. 480 grams of carbs for one day is too much and you may never obtain good bloodsugars if you continue to consume that many carbs.
Why don’t you start by limiting your carbs to 60-80 per meal, which is still on the high side but still a lot less than you are doing now. You will also begin to notice how certain carbs raise your bloodsugars more than others. For me I avoid chinese and pizza as it raises my bgs and keeps them high. Our goal is to maintain normal bgs and/or return them to normal two hours after eating.
How were your bloodsugars with your increased dosages of insulin? Also perhaps you should have your wife visit the board.
i think i was most flabbergasted at the amount of carbs you are eating per day. I am on a 6 meal a day plan with 3 meals at 30-35 carbs, and 3 snacks at 15 carbs for no more than 150 carbs for a whole day. A dietician/nutritionist will help you with an eating plan.
They have shown downward trends, this current week is showing 26% lower averages, it is still high but I am seeing numbers that are going down, not spiking down which I think is good cause I do not want one extreme for another. For the longest time my numbers barely ever went down they just stayed above 450 and sometimes spiked higher. I am working on getting a better diet, I plan on using OneTouchGold’s Meal Planner, it has a shopping list option to help shop for the right stuff, I just need to get a new job Money is truely the root of all evil LOL And already sent her to the board to look at it.
Do yourself a REALLY BIG FAVOR ! …obtain a copy of Dr Richard Bernstein’s book DIABETES SOLUTION and read it cover to cover … ( TWICE ! ) …pay special attention to the personal stories of his many HEALTHY and HAPPY diabetes patients as well as the good doctor himself ( his personal story of his struggle to gain control of his own diabetes is absolutely heroic ! )
Also, pay very special attention to his dietary guidelines …unlike many ‘well-intentioned’ diabetes “authorities” …Dr Bernstein’s method of eating ACTUALLY WORKS !
You CAN GAIN CONTROL of diabetes if you want to …it sure helps a lot to have a ‘LEGENDARY COACH’ the likes of Dr. Bernstein in your corner giving you incredibly wise and hard-won knowledge to allow you to wage a successful battle with diabetes !
Preparing meals following his dietary guidelines need not be a financial “hardship” … and frankly, from my very own PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, will ACTUALLY be LESS EXPENSIVE than most any other so called ‘diabetic’ diet or ‘eating plan’ ( very few of which ACTUALLY ALLOW A DIABETIC TO CONTROL THEIR DIABETES ) … in strong contrast to Dr. Bernstein’s methods which are LESS EXPENSIVE and ACTUALLY WORK !
I am not related to Dr. Bernstein, nor am I a bookseller…I am simply a person living very successfully with diabetes and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the wise and kindly Dr. Richard K. Bernstein.
By the way …do you use a blood glucose meter ? If you do -then you also owe a debt of gratitude to the good doctor Bernstein, as he is the very first person who pioneered the use of meters for home tesing of blood glucose for diabetics, ( using himself as the first patient ), at a time when the medical community at large did not see any reason for a diabetic person to be able to monitor their own blood glucose.
Once I get a new job, currently unemployed. I am self employed but business has been slow. I plan to get his book, been on the top of the list, after which I plan to get CaolorieKing for help in carb counting.
Yes, I have owned a OneTouch UltraSmart for about 4 yrs now and test often.
I am also planning to go see a Endo,CDE, and dietitian ASAP, I have an appointment for November but if I can get an earlier one I plan to.
Derek, Abbot has a free program that helps immensly with insulin, carb counting and trends. I am momentarily out of work too. This program is terrific because I can print a cutom log book for my doctor to review. the web site is below
danny
http://abbottdiabetescare.com/content/en_US/20.40.10:10/product/Product_Profile_0005.htm
CalorieKing has a website, significant parts of which are free, that is more helpful than the book.
You have to be your own doctor – you know what works for you and what does not work for you. Plus, you only see your doctor and CDE a couple of times a year, while you see your results daily. Like others here, it seems to me that your carb intake is high. My CDE says my goal should be about 220 per day (I weigh 185 pounds). One of the problems with high carb intakes, as you have noticed, is the need for more insulin, and that can cause insulin resistance. It also causes weight gain, which, in turn, increases your need for insulin.
About 15 years ago, I changed endos and the first thing my new endo did was look at how much insulin I took – 150 units a day of various types (before there was novolog or lantus). The first thing he did was to cut me in half. That was followed by a couple of difficult days, but my body adjusted. I’m not saying that is the right thing to do, but the answer is not always more insulin. Often, it is lowering the carbs, adding more exercise, and trying to avoid those high carb events (when I have to go to one of those, there are two things that happen: either I have a meal before I go, so I am not hungry (the better choice) or I find the pigs in blankets (aren’t they always there?) and eat every single one I can get my hands on (not the best choice, but they taste good – none of us is perfect all the time).
Hey Derek!
I totally understand diabetes on a budget. I had a couple of years with no insurance and was very greatful for Walmart’s reli-on products. If you are ever in a pinch they have insulin, syringes, tablets, meters, strips, etc, etc. Eating well was and still is at times difficult on a budget. I found that things like no-sugar added apple sauce and frozen fruits andveggies were great inexpensive items that I could buy to help me still get my veggies and fruit in on a daily basis. I changed to skim milk, I took red meat and pork out of my diet and looked for inexspensive ways to make vegitarian (sp?) meals.
I am also a huge believer in pre-planned meals. I typically will shop on the basis of cooking two different meals to last me two weeks. I cook one meal and eat a serving but then take the rest of it and portion it out approprietly and then store some in the freezer and in the fridge (to eat on during the week). Then a couple of days later I cook the next meal and do the same thing again. Sites like kraftfood.com and probably the one touch gold website really helped me out, because they tell you howmany servings the meals should serve, how much fat, how many carbs and on and on.
I live alone so this works out very well for me, but I am sure in some way it could be adapted to a two or two plus household.
The fact that you acknowledge something is wrong and have actively sought changed is HUGE! You should be very proud of what you have accomplished so far. I would say keep including you wife in your successes. If she sees you are doing better then I think that will make her feel better. Keep working hard and don’t be afraid to add new challenges to your daily routine, like reducing you carb in take. You might be surprised at what you can do!
I was reading this board ( it is nice to relate with everyone that is going through what I am…as I am new here). I totally agree with the expense of the “healthy” food vs the cheaper food…not only that, it seems I’m addicted to carbs or lean towards carbs to get full, yes this is a battle, one that I struggle with and am losing…and much worse in the morning with higher sugars… I commend u Derek on trying and being concerned about your diabetes. I have never heard of 2 levemir shots…my dr has never mentioned it to me before as I am a severe diabetic…stemmed from possible polyglandular syndrome ( hypothyroidism,& vitiligo). I am on 20 units of Novolog before each meal ( suppose to be 15) and 40 units of levemir in the am. I just cant keep my levels down, I get so frustrated and angry with myself, my diabetes already has gotten a hold of my left foot all the up to my knee with neuropathy, which I am on 900 mg of gabapentin.
I do have a question…how can anyone afford the insulin? When I dont have my insurance I can go on a generic Regular acting insulin for $20.00, I go through 2 bottles of that a month…but the long acting levemir or lantus cost $100.00 a bottle and I also go through about 2 a month…and of course blood strips ( I am happy to say) I have found a brand that cost $20.00 for 50 strips and of course I go through 2-3 bottles. any one in the same boat?
a lot of the drug companies have programs to help get insulin. Check into the different companies that make your insulin and see if they can help. It will be like $5 for a month’s supply and they will ship it to your house or your doctor’s office.
Yeah life on a tight budget is rough, I fortunately have amazing health insurance and prescription coverage from my wifes employer. I can get a 90 day supply of my ADHD meds, 2 seperate insulins(Novolog,Levemir), Statin,Tricor, and test strips and it will cost me $100 which is a huge life saver. $100 for 5 different drugs and test strips for 90 day supply is amazing it rounds out to be less then $20 per item for 90 days
Working on a very small budget foodwise is where I have the most trouble, hopefully with the proper job I can afford higher quality low carb foods.
Back when I was on no insurance, I relied on family and friends, and Walmart. My test strips cost alot if payed out of pocket, thank god I have really good insurance and I hope I do not lose the coverage any time soon. I hope things start working out better for you, have you tried local churches, the city government, charitable orgs may help with insulin needs. Health care is so expensive, its getting more expensive each year too. Between cost of gas,food, doctor, and medicine its no wonder we can get broke so easily.
Good luck
I also just saw that Lifescan is offering a free meter(Ultra2,UltraMini, or UltraSmart) with a prescription for the meter with their coupon, was at Walmart and they had a bunch of the coupons. I am sure other pharmacy’s have them too so just one more place to get a lil relief if you need a meter
Hi Derek,
You can read many chapters of Dr. Bernstein’s book at: www.diabetesincontrol.com/bernstein/
My mother got a copy from her library. I’m the first diabetic in our family & she wanted to learn more from Dr. B’s book.
I also eat before I go to high carb events. A lot easier to resist when I’m not hungry. I just think of myself as being allergic to certain foods:) I had a really high carb diet before being diagnosed, though of course I never even thought about it. I lived on pasta, bread, Asian food, rice & beans & ate huge portions of veggies & fruits. I can promise you that once you start eating low carb, the carb cravings go away quickly.
I’ve ordered free meters just to get the free test strips. I recently had my One Touch Ultra 2 tested with a blood lab against four other meters I have. The Lifestyle Freedom Lite & One Touch Ultra 2 were the most accurate.
The sites below have great low carb recipes. Doesn’t have to cost a lot in ingredients. Vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower, turnips, broccoli, green beans & loose greens like mustard, collard are very low carb & usually the least inexpensive vegetables. Meat has gotten ridiculously high, but prepared foods & snacks are the most expensive, hugely high in carbs–the things we all need to avoid anyway.
www.lowcarbcafe.com, http://www.scribd.com/doc/24632/Low-Carb-Recipes, http://genaw.com/lowcarb/recipes.html
thanks for all the links, using free meters for the test strips is pretty clever
I admit I have always had a huge addiction to carbs, mostly pasta and bread. I used to be able to eat a bag of rolls in a sitting when i was a teen. When I was in college up till I was 23 i think I could eat an entire 18" pizza by myself and still think I was hungry. I struggle everyday with carbs, today I have done much better.
I had a Yogurt for breakfast, 16 grams of carbs. For lunch I had a single hamburger with bacon on rye bread. With 1 serving of tater tots. And I am finishing today with Dinner being pork roast with gravy 2 medium ears of fresh corn on the cob.
180 grams of carbs for the day, big change from nearly 400 grams the other day.
Good for you! That’s great!
Hey, I’d walk 20 miles barefoot for free strips. I test a lot.
I can relate to being a carb junkie. Pasta & bread–me, too. When I was a kid, my mother got bread from the neighborhood bakery. We never had supermarket bread & it was my job to go the bakery to get bread every couple of days. She’d give me money for two loaves because I’d eat an entire loaf on the way home! I could live on bread & butter. I’m a small person & have never been overweight, but I could eat almost a whole 18" pizza by mysely also. And, I ate huge bowls of pasta all the time, too.
I never thought I could give up pasta & bread, especially bread. Truly, once I stopped eating these, the cravings went away & fast. I can have a small amount of bread once in a while, but pasta isn’t worth how much insulin is needed to cover it.
After eating my previous high carb dinners, I’d fall asleep in a carb overload stupor. Now, I have more energy.
My husband is also a carb addict. When I was diagnosed, he went kind of low carb to help me. He’s not eating near as low carb as I am, but he’s cut way back. Tim’s lost 30 lbs. without even trying & says he feels better than he’s felt in years.
Your carb cravings will get better, I promise!