Does anyone know how to figure out the method of calculation for when the bolus wizard is suggesting to take, for example, 1.3. My blood glucose was 175 mg and it suggested 1.3.
My current carb ratio is 13 and sensitivity is 48.
How much does the .3 drop the glucose? I’ve never gotten a straight answer on this question.
I know that 1 unit of insulin drops glucose 50 mg, but can never figure out the amount after the period…
Michelle @Amethyst8, apparently your “target” is 115 mg/dl; assuming you didn’t have “active insulin”. What your wizzard did was subtract 115 from 175 getting a difference of 60. 60 divided by 48 = 1.25 which your wizzard rounded up to 1.3 units.
To be exact, without rounding, 0.3 units for you with a 48 sensitivity factor, will drop you you 14.4 mg/dl while the 1 unit will bring you down 48 mg/dl.
I’ve been calculating “corrections” since long before wizards came into existence. What I do when above target is subtract my target from my BGL reading and divide the difference by my sensitivity factor.
Please message me if you want or need help understanding these or any calculations
Hi Dennis,
Thanks for responding so quickly!!!
I understand what you are telling about what the wizard is doing but what I really wanted to know is what is the method for calculating the amount that the number after the period will drop the blood sugar.
For example, the 1.3 the wizard suggested, how do you calculate how much the .3 drops the glucose? If it’s telling me to take 1 unit, I know it will drop my BG 48mg, and prior to that, it dropped it 50 mg for 1 unit of insulin. So how do figure what the .3 will drop it? Is it multiplied by a certain number that you can subtract to find how much your BG will drop?
I just want to know the exact method of calculation for this.
Sorry to be a pain about this, but I am tenacious when I wish to learn something I cannot figure out.
Thanks again for your time to let me know what the wizard was doing with the number I gave before. 
Hi Michelle @Amethyst8 . You are not being a pain, I’m really happy if I can help you understand these details. I enjoy “playing” with numbers, for as long back as I can remember, and in my early 70’s, after retiring I became a volunteer math tutor of high school math to try making stuff interesting for those who were having difficulty graduating.
I calculated your “BG drop” at 14.4 mg/dl by multiplying your sensitivity factor of 48 by 0.3, This is something I remember from my 8th grade math teacher, Miss Hazel Pattison who “scared” me into an interest in math. I’m very serious about encouraging you to ask more questions, the more we know the happier we will be.
Hi Dennis,
Thanks for helping me with understanding how the calculations work!!!
So it is a matter of multiplying the number after the period with my sensitivity factor.
You’ve been a great help!!!
It’s a shame your math teacher had to scare you into an interest in math!!! But it helped in the long run!!
Thanks again and I wish you all the happiness!!!
In case I’ve sent this message twice, it’s only because I wanted to make sure you got it as I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate the time you’ve taken to help me understand!!!
Sincerely,
Michelle
Hi Michele,
I really didn’t mean to say that Miss Pattison “scared” me in a bad way but more in a way that would help me and many others understand that a good understanding of mathematics would be a major asset later in life - and it was. When I really needed a job [with benefits], long before there were computers and many calculators I took a “practical mathematics” exam and got a good paying supervisory position while attending evening college.
My ability being able to calculate insulin doses covering food eaten and corrections is one reason I was asked [in the 1970’s] to volunteer with a proposed method of managing diabetes - what would later be called MDI; it was many years later before “bolus wizard” came into use.
Hi Dennis,
I understand, she scared you in a good way that would be conducive to you.