Ok, so this has been something i've struggled with and am recently trying to change majorly. How long does everyone take their insulin before eating??? I know it changes depending on what you are going to eat, but in general?
When i was first diagnosed i was super skinny and starving so the amount of food i ate was all over the place and my diabetes team told me for awhile i could inject after eating. this routine has gotten stuck in my head and i still do it a lot of the time, but i know taking insulin before eating is extremely important...any tips or ideas?
I was told you should start eating within 15 minutes after injecting. Recently I was told that it's best to correct and cover 1/2 the carbs you plan to eat before and then cover the rest after, that way you won't go low if you don't finish and you can have more if you'd like without your sugar spiking. I don't do this because my son is so little, but I will when he gets a pump.
This is totally dependent of food, high GL(GI) before, lower GL, the bolus can come later or even in smaller doses to cover the food. Pizza is one food were you may need some at the time you eat and more later to cover the slower breakdown of the fats and protein into glucose.
Thanks everyone! As of yesterday i've been trying to consistently inject beforehand, so we'll see how it goes :) ...i'm on pen needles so i'm going to try and to my best to guess what i will eat and just take one needle...maybe this will help me control how much i eat as well :)
I always inject beforehand unless I'm low ... I think it's usually a better solution for children to bolus after. As an adult, I find I'm able to guess enough re what I'll eat that it's not worth risking a post-meal spike for me.
Sorry ... that came off as judgmental of what others are doing. That's just what's worked for me.
Anyways, they say humalog and novolog start to work in 5 minutes. So, I take them it before eating. However, there are a couple of times I take it earlier, like 20-30 minutes before: 1. pre breakfast b/c I tend to have post breakfast highs and want to make sure it's really in my system, and 2. when I'm high before a meal and don't want to chance a 250 spiking up to a 300 or something.
Our routine is to have William (8) test just as the meal is being put on the table, have him serve up his plate, than I calculate tho dose and he takes it before he starts eating (unless he's low, in which case we have him start eating before injecting). Our ped endo consistentl emphasises the importance of dosing before the first bite. William is really good about serving up only what he'll eat, and finishing his carbs. Occasionasly, like tonight, his eyes are bigger than his stomache and he doesn't finish his meal, in which case I figure out how many carbs he didn't finish and give him equivilent in either milk or glucose tablets.