Hey Guys,
It is hugely helpful and important to know how much insulin your body needs for a certain amount of carbs in order to maintain your BS around meals throughout the day...
Check this out and see if it helps!
http://www.healthcentral.com/diabeteens/c/27511/70041/ginger-figure
Ginger
this is why i hate carb counting. it's too much f-ing work :(
I wouldn't mind carb counting so much if only all the carbs I ate would work the same way. It's kinda frustrating when you know you took the right amount of insulin and your blood sugar is still off. I wish there was a bit more certainty sometimes.
Carb-counting (which really takes about 30 seconds after you take a little extra effort to find your ratio) is A WHOLE LOT better than have poor control, being high all the time, feeling crumby, and risking major damage to your extremeties.
It's work. yes. But it's doable. And it's WORTH IT. And it's part of your life.
AMY:
Okay, so do you think maybe your ratio needs a little adjusting? There are so many things that can effect a ratio, again part of life with diabetes. Like I said, I ahve to play around with mine based on exercise, high-fat meals, stress, sick days.
-Ginger
[quote user="Ginger Vieira"]
Carb-counting (which really takes about 30 seconds after you take a little extra effort to find your ratio) is A WHOLE LOT better than have poor control, being high all the time, feeling crumby, and risking major damage to your extremeties.
It's work. yes. But it's doable. And it's WORTH IT. And it's part of your life.
[/quote]
maybe it's because i had an unorganized dietatian teach me carb counting..but it is never easy for me and never a "30 seconds" job. I hate it. I'm suppose to be 1:15 for breakfast/lunch and 2:15 for dinner. on average, i'd say i'm more on a 1:10, sometimes 1:15..because that's the only way to make it take only a minute to do(90seconds). My control now over when I didn't carb count is only slightly better. instead a 8.9 A1C, I went to a 8.2 A1C, then a 7.9 A1C, and now I'm back to a 8.9 A1C. I wasn't high all the time, and I wasn't feeling crumby. 8.9 was the best A1C I had had in 13years because I switched from N & R to Lantus and Novorapid.
The only time when carb counting seems "easy" if when I'm eating something that straight up tells me the carbs and I have a calculator handy to divide it by 15(which..is not a "30 second" job). Or if I'm eating a cheese sandwich..but even then, I'm only counting the bread which is 15g each..so two units. I'm not counting the mayo or the cheese in that dose.
batts!
I HIGHLY suggest you talk to your doctor about increasing your LANTUS insulin. It sounds like your blood sugars are running high not because of carb counting but because of not enough insulin overall.
A few months ago I increase my Lantus insulin by 3 or 4 units and saw a major difference in my blood sugars. If you aren't able to keep yourself in range, don't just accept that. There is a soluation and an explanation. Sometimes it just takes a little while to figure out.
Talk to your doctor about increasing your Lantus dose by one to two units at a time and see how that helps.
Ginger
[quote user="Ginger Vieira"]
batts!
I HIGHLY suggest you talk to your doctor about increasing your LANTUS insulin. It sounds like your blood sugars are running high not because of carb counting but because of not enough insulin overall.
A few months ago I increase my Lantus insulin by 3 or 4 units and saw a major difference in my blood sugars. If you aren't able to keep yourself in range, don't just accept that. There is a soluation and an explanation. Sometimes it just takes a little while to figure out.
Talk to your doctor about increasing your Lantus dose by one to two units at a time and see how that helps.[/quote]
my endo already increased my lantus once, by a few units and it made me go low over night. so he change the way it was split and that's the only thing that's kept me from waking up every morning under 4, even if i test at 10 or higher before bed. i can keep myself in range, and a lot better since i switched to lantus and novorapid because the insulin actually works. what doesn't work is carb counting for me. i do take less novorapid at meals, and my levels are slightly better at times(but honestly rarely noticeable), but it takes a hell of a lot more time and effort to carb count and i hate it. by the time i eat my meal usually, it's already cooled down.
I've been doing this balancing act at least 5years longer than you have. I'm fully aware of when I should be talking to my endo about adjusting my insulin, thank you very much. i just hate carb counting and always have. i only did it cuz my endo suggested i give it a shot for 3months and after those 3months, he didn't bother to change me back to set doses because my levels were a unit or two lower once in a while.
Ughhhh carb counting is my least favorite sport.
Personally, carb counting works for me but it's not for everyone. We all need to do what works best for us.
Hi folks,
Just last week, I wrote a post about precision carb counting at my patient health blog. Since becoming a dedicated carb counter, I have definitely noticed better blood glucose results. It is a lot of work but, for me, it's worth it. If you're interested in my take on this issue, head over to My Favourite Number.
Cheers,
Laura
Nice post Laura!
Carb-counting can be a pain at first, huge pain. But the more we do it, easier it becomes. Personally, i don't think it's optional for a diabetic to count carbs if you're aiming to really control your blood sugar. We take insulin based on the carbs we eat, therefore we really should know how much we're ingesting!
Ginger
Batts and Katie, my sympathies.
=) weighing food and doing the magic “times divided by” can sometimes take such a simple pleasure and muck it all up.
I count carbs when I can, but I still go to restaurants because I like too. No one counts carbs effectively in restaurants. The 2 hour test after a meal is kinda the only way to check and see how you are tracking, anyway.
Don’t get me wrong, I pump, I am 1:7 and 1:8, and if I know the carbs, the exact glycemic value, and exactly how active I am going to be in the next 4 hours… perfection. However, product labels are +/- 20%, and even my Ouija board and crystal ball are wrong sometimes and THAT is why the treatment of diabetes will forever be an ART, and not a science.
It is sometimes easier to count portions that you know haw many units you need to take, an apple, a banana, a slice of bread, a bag of chips, whatever your eating habits are. When I was first diagnosed we were taught carb exchanges and for some people and some meals, it’s actually easier.
It’s more important to know how you react, and to treat yourself well, than it is to do things a certain way. Setting goals is a good way for ME to deal with this, for example I have a simple understanding with my endo: under 6.5% I make the rules, above 6.5% you make the rules, 6.5% exactly, we arm wrestle! Good luck to all!
[quote user="Joe"]
Batts and Katie, my sympathies.
=) weighing food and doing the magic “times divided by” can sometimes take such a simple pleasure and muck it all up.
I count carbs when I can, but I still go to restaurants because I like too. No one counts carbs effectively in restaurants. The 2 hour test after a meal is kinda the only way to check and see how you are tracking, anyway.
Don’t get me wrong, I pump, I am 1:7 and 1:8, and if I know the carbs, the exact glycemic value, and exactly how active I am going to be in the next 4 hours… perfection. However, product labels are +/- 20%, and even my Ouija board and crystal ball are wrong sometimes and THAT is why the treatment of diabetes will forever be an ART, and not a science.
It is sometimes easier to count portions that you know haw many units you need to take, an apple, a banana, a slice of bread, a bag of chips, whatever your eating habits are. When I was first diagnosed we were taught carb exchanges and for some people and some meals, it’s actually easier.
It’s more important to know how you react, and to treat yourself well, than it is to do things a certain way. Setting goals is a good way for ME to deal with this, for example I have a simple understanding with my endo: under 6.5% I make the rules, above 6.5% you make the rules, 6.5% exactly, we arm wrestle! Good luck to all!
[/quote]
I think if my lifestyle was more..scheduled it wouldn't be so hard..but my life is pretty crazy. It changes by the minute sometimes. I don't know what I'm doing an hour from now 99% of the time. I don't eat at set times everyday and so I don't take my insulin injections at set times. Even my Lantus shots range in the morning from 7am-9am, and my nightshot ranges from 8pm-2am. Sometimes I only have 5minutes to eat before I have to rush out the door..so spending 3minutes trying to figure out how many carbs it is..pretty much just made me eat less than what I took insulin for cuz I ran out of time to eat. Carb counting just doesn't work with my lifestyle 99% of the time, it's frusterating and my levels aren't noticably better with carb counting than when I was on fixed doses(though I would give myself extra if I was having more sugar than usual or something, so it was kinda like carb counting but not really).
[quote user="Joe"]It’s more important to know how you react, and to treat yourself well, than it is to do things a certain way. Setting goals is a good way for ME to deal with this, for example I have a simple understanding with my endo: under 6.5% I make the rules, above 6.5% you make the rules, 6.5% exactly, we arm wrestle! Good luck to all![/quote]
Hahahahhaha. That's exactly how I feel. My last A1C was 6.2% and my doc says "Your levels look good, I'm not going to change anything at this point".
I thought to my myself, "No, I'm not going to change anything."
:)
[quote user="Mad Evans"]
Hahahahhaha. That's exactly how I feel. My last A1C was 6.2% and my doc says "Your levels look good, I'm not going to change anything at this point".
I thought to my myself, "No, I'm not going to change anything."
:)
[/quote]
Nice, now you are in charge, grasshopper! if only he said "6.2, Nice, now I don't have to CHARGE anything". I'd be okay with that.
[quote user="Joe"]
Nice, now you are in charge, grasshopper! if only he said "6.2, Nice, now I don't have to CHARGE anything". I'd be okay with that.
[/quote]Hahahaha! That would be awesome, especially since my co-pay went up since changing insurance providers. D'oh.