I'm due to start on Imulin 1 when I get my prescription today. I've seen the diabetes nurse at my GP surgery and she advises to start on 10ml before bed and to watch my blood sugars for a week and then up it by 2ml each week until I get my blood sugars into single figures. Is this standard practice? I was hoping to stay on 10ml and keep taking my Metformin SR as I'm worried that I'll be taking insulin throughout the day before every meal etc. Any advice is gratefully received.
Many thanks.
TT x
Hi ThyroidThora
Yes, this is quite common practice when your healthcare team start you on a new insulin. They like you to closely monitor the results, perhaps do a bit more testing than usual and tweak the insulin doses gently to see how increasing or decreasing them affect your blood-glucose levels. Everyone reacts differently to medication, so it's like a process of elimination to get you on to doses and a regimen that is best suited to you.
If you aren't sure or have any questions, I would definitely suggest going to see your nurse.
Hope that helps
Let us know how you get on
Hi Moonie-man,
Thank you for your reply.
I'm hoping I won't need lots of units of Imulin 1 to bring my blood sugars down. I'm going to start taking 10 units starting tonight and hope that my morning bloods improve over the coarse of the week. My diabetes nurse said I might have to increase my insulin on a weekly basis by 2 units each time until I get my blood sugar down into single figures. She wants me to get it down to less than 6 but I told her that I'd agreed with my doctor that my target is 7.5 as when I'd got my blood sugars under control before my thyroid cancer was detected I was having hypos. She tried to tell me about false hypos, of which I already know about it, and I explained that my hypos were not false because it was the first aider at work that noticed I was going hypo and she dashed to the kitchen to get me some orange juice. So, I'll be happy to get my bloods back to 7.5 but I'll probably try and get back on the low carb diet too to maximise my treatment.
TT x
7.5 sounds like a very respectable target to aim for, without the fear of going too low. You know your body better than anyone else. Your nurse sounds great and is giving you exactly the same advise as the diabetes specialist nurses I work with. This process of elimination and trail and error is a bit laborious, but pays off in the end to find you ideal doses and insulin to carb ratios etc.
Hiya,
Thank you for your reply.
I've been taking the insulin as directed and also going more low carb with my diet. My blood sugars have gone into single figures on a morning and rise depending on what I eat but, I got a shock this morning. I woke up feeling groggy and started shaking so, I got back into bed and tested my blood. It had gone down to 5! What a shock?! I think I was starting with a hypo. So, I laid up for a while and took my thyroid medication and it went up to 5.6 after half an hour. I decided then to have my own made coconut milk yoghurt and a cup of ginger tea. I'm going to retest my bloods shortly but, I do feel a bit shaky. I'll let you know how I get on.
Thank you for your support.
TT x
What was the number after the retest?
It was 5 on waking, then 5.6 about 20/30 minutes later and then 7.8 at 11am and 8.6 at 12.10pm.
Hi,
How's things?
I've been on insulin now for 2 weeks and upped my dose from 10 units to 12 units to try and get my bloods into single figures. But, I've had another very low blood reading on waking. This morning it was 5.1 and has gradually gone up through the day. I'm not sure whether to increase the insulin to 14 units now. My diabetes nurse has told me to increase it by 2 units per week until I get my morning bloods in single figures all the time. What are your thoughts on this?
Did you do the change today? I would wait to go up until you see how the numbers look for the next few times. If you are low in the morning, either stay the same dose or go back down. Let your Endocrinologist know about the hypos. when you go to the next appointment.
I'll definately mention it to my endo when I see him next week.
I'm not sure if my bloods are going awry because I'm not well. I upped my insulin to 12 units Monday of last week and so have been on 12 units for a week now. My bloods have been really high for the past few days and I think it's because I was coming down with flu and as such I was eating comfort food. I've been having jacket potatoes because they're easy to cook and eat as I was suffering with a sore throat etc.
How many carbs. are in the jacket potatoes? Are they the same as a sweet potato?
Sorry to hear that you are not feeling well. At the moment, I'm having really bad allergies with a nasty cough that started when the temperatures and weather had changed! This tends to happen to me at least twice a year, so I'm use to it even though I don't like it. I also get the flu shot every year, but that just causes some soreness to the arm that it's done in for the day it happens. Besides that, I can handle the flu shots-- and the side effects if I get any.
Hi,
I don't know how many carbs are in potatoes, I guess they must be high. My diabetes nurse won't send me on a carb counting course so, it's pot luck if I choose rightly or wrongly. However, I have notices a trend between having a jacket potatoe one day and not another day. When I have a jacket (baked) potatoe my blood sugars shoot up by about 5% and stay high for sometime. It's almost as if they are slow release carbs because it takes hours for my blood sugar to go down.
I suffer from allergies too but mine are mainly food allergies with the exception of wool, feathers and birch trees as my other allergens. So, I feel ill in early spring due to tree pollen and then have digestion problems if I eat something I'll allergic to but don't know is present in some food I might eat. Wool and feathers cause my eczema to flair up too!
How are you feeling today?
Normal sized fist potato is :25 carbs. Big would be more.
Probably slightly bigger than my fist but I do have big hands.
Allergies are doing a little better, but still coughing.
Have you checked out the Zenpep?
What's Zenpep?
Digestive enzyme for food.
Can you suggest anything?
For food?
Can you recommend a digestive enzyme? I know that pineapple and papaya are good for digestion as they break down proteins but, I'm trying to be careful with fruit sugars.
Zenpep is a digestive enzyme.
I've not heard of this, is it American?
Yes, but you can check it out.
Will do.
Thanks x.
You're welcom! Anytime!😀
Hi. Sounds right. I began Insulin over 2 years ago, and I began on 10 units a day and increased it by 2 units every 3 - 4 days. I take every morning 44 units of Humulin i and I also take 4 x 500mg Metformin daily - had Type 2 now 16 years.
Thank you for your reply.
I'm on 1500mg of Metformin SR at the moment and will start my Imulin 1 tonight before bed with a starting dose of 10 units. I'm hoping this will get my morning bloods under control as I find this is my worst time of the day with high blood sugar, partly because of my morning thyroid medication.
TT x
Hi Everyone,
I started on the Imulin on Saturday night and my morning blood sugar was nearly in the normal non-diabetic range. It then went down to 7.5 which is my target figure. Unfortunately, as the day progresses it goes up into double figures so, I'm going to start monitoring my diet better and go low carb. My morning blood sugar was good today but I had a small jacket potato with butter and cheese with a piece of salmon and some peas, broccoli and green beans for lunch and my blood sugar shot up to 16. I think I'll have to stop eating potatoes and see what happens.
TT x
What amount of carbs. are you allowed to eat at lunch and dinner? Depending on how many carbs. you end up eating, the insulin may have to be raised/lowered just slightly.
For me, I eat about 50 carbs. at lunch at work and do either 1 or 2 units of my day time insulin. 10 units for my bed time insulin.
Hi,
I'm not carb counting at the moment. I've started on Imulin 1 with 10 units before bed. The target is to get my blood sugars into single figures and this might involve upping the dose by 2 units per week until my blood sugars are under control. The numbers aren't too bad at the moment since I started on the insulin last Saturday night. My last three morning blood sugars (including today) have been 8.7, 9.8 and 10.1. I've now been given the lancets and test strips so I can test my blood before and after every meal (I did have the blood testing stuff but my GP knocked it off about 6 months ago so I couldn't test), and now I can see a trend with my blood sugars. My blood sugar goes up when I eat any carbs. My blood sugar goes up after eating my own homemade natural diary bio yoghurt for breakfast but it doesn't when I ate my own homemade coconut milk yoghurt yesterday and today.
After lunch yesterday my blood sugar went up to 16 after having a small jacket potato with butter and cheese along with a piece of salmon and some green vegetables. It also went up to 16.1 aftet dinner and I'd eaten a turkey burger, a small portion of wholegrain rice and quinoa and garden peas. The carb portions weren't big but they did have an effect so, I'm not sure what to do? I don't want to remove all carbs from my diet because I get constipated because it seems to aggrevate my thyroid conditon but, I don't want to be high doses of Insulin. What are your thought and suggestions?
I look forward to your reply.
TT x
Have you talked to your nurse about the possibility of splitting your dose of insulin? It sounds like it could be running out as you go through the day. I split my basal (Levemir) insulin into 2 injections. I take 18 units at 8am and 18 units at 8pm. That way I am getting fully functioning background insulin in my system for 12 whole hours at a time with a small overlap. It means I don't have to worry about my background insulin running out. I'm not sure if you can do this with the type of insulin you are on, but it would be worth asking the question.
Hi,
I'm seeing the diabetes nurse next Monday and will discuss this with her because this morning my blood sugar was 5 and I was starting with the hypo shakes. I've had my homemade coconut milk yoghurt and a cup of ginger tea for breakfast and will retest my blood shortly and see what has happened.
Thank you for your help.
TT x
Hi,
It sounds like the combination of increasing the insulin by a couple of doses and reducing the amount of carbs in your diet has made your morning blood-glucose level drop further than you planned. 5 is still great though and I would be really happy with that as a morning reading. Perhaps you should stick to your normal carb intake while experimenting with your insulin doses. Wait until you are happy and confident with your doses and then try experimenting with carbs and how they react in conjunction with your insulin. It's so hard isn't it? But, you can do it. People without diabetes have no idea what a constant daily challenge it is.
Let us know how you get on when you see the nurse.
Perfect plan.
Hi Moonie-Man,
I didn't increase my dose of insulin at all so, I was surprised that my blood sugars had gone down to 5 when I tested in the morning. I think it might be the low carbing because I'm being rather strict and cutting out snacks. However, I was worried that this morning's bloods would be low so I had a small piece of cheese before I went to bed. Plus, I was also feeling peckish. This mornings bloods were 8.6 and they've stayed in single figures today so, I'm pleased. I'll keep you posted.
Thanks for your support.
TT x
Hi,
I've seen my diabetes nurse but she said I've not to split my insulin doses in half, I've to take it all at bedtime. Instead she said to increase my dose by 2 units per week until I get my morning bloods down to between 7 & 8 mmol. I've had 2 more lows, one last week and one this morning, with both of them being 5. I don't want to keep upping my dose of insulin though as I was hoping that I'd only need a few units.
Also, the low carbing seems to be affecting my digestion. I'm getting really bad constipation but, it might be the low carbing or it might be my thyroid. I had thyroid cancer removed nearly 4 years ago and I haven't been feeling well. I've been losing my voice again and this is normally a sign that my thyroid is packing up and I need to rest and up my thyroid medication. The cold weather really affects my thyroid but my endo won't up my dose because he worries that I'll develop osteoporosis or atriall fibrillation. Your suggestions or advices will be most appreciated.
TT x
Confused
Type 1 for 20 yrs. and Friendly
hi am bill from yorkshire i have been on type2 diabetes medication since 1971
I wish I wasnt the only one in the world :-(
