Hi. I’ve never posted on a thing like this before but wanted to get some advice. I was just diagnosed a year and a half ago at 22 and switched to an insulin pump 2 weeks ago. Ever since I switched to the pump I’ve been struggling with having lows. My doctor is amazing and we’ve been in contact a lot adjusting my basal and bolus setting. (Already went from 1:4 carb ratio to 1:7, I feel like that’s a big jump) Is this a normal thing? Will it effectually even out? I’m starting to get frustrated with this whole process.
Hi,
Do you use the 1:7 ratio all day? For me, I have 3 different carb ratios and 3 different basal rates that I use each day and additional settings for when I’m sick etc…For me, and I know we’re all different so this is just an example, I require less insulin at night and more in the morning. I’m the most insulin resistant in the morning. I use 1:8 for carbs in the morning, 1:10 mid day, and 1:12 in the evening. My basal rate overnight is .875 per hour, it raises to 1.25 in the morning, and 1.00 per hour the rest of the day. All that being said, I can’t imagine using the same ratio all day and I’ve been at this for a long time. I would really recommend reading the book Pumping Insulin because the author is really helpful in determining these things. I also discovered using my dexCom that one unit lowers my blood sugar approx 35, so that’s something to look at too. Once you get it down you’ll be amazed at how fine tuned your control will be.
@Ads412 it took me more than 6 months to work out my real basal rates. During that time I wanted to throw my pump out a window! I purchased a book called “Pumping Insulin” which was a great resource for all insulin pump tuning questions.
years later I think I have a really good idea of my requirements and have tuned ratios to account for my insulin resistance in the morning, my odd overnight requirements, etc. it takes a LOT of effort, and patience, but for me it was completely worth it.
good luck!
It took me a few months to figure out which basal rates worked best for me. Keep in mind that no basal rate will be perfect every day, since we have busted pancreases that would normally take care of those fluctuations, so we just do the best we can and correct from there. Like others have said, I have three different insulin-to-carb ratios, and about 5 different basal rates during the day, plus a different basal pattern set up for the weekend when I sleep in, and another for when it’s “that time of the month”. 1:4 would be a very low ratio, I’m sure you’ll do better with the 1:7. Once they get your basals fine-tuned, you can work on the ratios further and your correction factor as well. Now 13 years into it, I would never go back to shots unless I had to. The freedom and ability to fine tune with a pump has been transforming for me.
It takes a while to set basal rates and just because they are correct this week doesn’t necessarily mean they will be correct 4 month from now. I’ve been pumping for 11 years and just this week I’ve had to lower my three overnight [9 PM until 8:30 AM] rates; I have six different rates over a 24 hour period. I use an extended fasting method for validating basal. For instance I will not eat anything after dinner until lunch the following day, testing and recording at scheduled times - OF COURSE I SYOP THE PTOCEDURE AND EAT IF bg DROPS TO A CERTAIN LEVEL. Instructions and charts for validating basal are available for three different periods of the day.