Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Amanda on May 20, 2011 at 1:41pm

I'm really happy you posted this. I am 28 years old and weight around 130 (I was at 120 before diagnosis). I was diagnosed with T1 a little over a year ago and up until last week, my endo had me on a sliding scale throughout the day. She FINALLY had me see a CDE who set me on an I:C. I'm still working on my levels, but reading what everyone has had to say helps me out a lot too. So thank you! :-)

Amanda

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Permalink Reply by Cyndi P on May 20, 2011 at 2:24pm

I want to clarify what i said because when i read it again it sounds a little confusing. I use a 1:C but during the day it will got from 1:13 varying to 1:19 at most.

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Permalink Reply by Mitchell Boeshart on May 21, 2011 at 6:15am

Hi Jess,

Welcome aboard the journey.  Are you plotting your BG?   Both my son and I are T1's and I use this technique to assist both of us.   By downloading your meter or graphing you results a trend will quickly be evident so you will be able to "tweak" your ratio's.  First of all make sure you have basal tested so you don't roll you basal requirements into you carb ratio's. Good luck

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Permalink Reply by Leo2 on May 21, 2011 at 7:24am

I'm 5'3" & 108. I keep a 4x6 food notebook with test results at left, amounts of foods in the middle & the grams for that food just to the right, and finally at far right the insulin I gave. It has provided me a great record of exact foods, amounts, and units, and I go back to prior pages rather often.
I've had T1 over 10 years. My I:C at breakfast is 1:3 for a piece of low carb toast with cream cheese on it; at lunch, afternoon, and supper 1:5-6. I also have a ratio for pizza, 1:3 with more 2.5 hours later. For lasagna at supper, it's 1:4.
When you look at the diet they first gave you, you can figure out what your ratio was then. Then start doing your research with one favorite food at a time. See what you test at one hour and what you test at two hours after those foods.
Fruit is different from cereals different from pasta different from rice, milk products - test for each singly. Be your own research subject.
Time your insulin and test to find when it starts your BG going down. That is when you know it is actively working. That's when you want your food going in, and your one hour test will show hardly a rise if you eat then.
Another trick is to eat a couple slices of Muenster cheese to slow down/temper the BG rise. This helps with fruit.
So my message is that it depends on time of day, which carbs you're eating, and the timing of the insulin action's beginning.

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Permalink Reply by Jessica Edelman on May 21, 2011 at 7:47am

THis is all so confusing... Im burned out already!

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Permalink Reply by Scott E on May 21, 2011 at 8:30am

Don't burn yourself out. It's all a big guessing game anyway. The labels on food packages are educated guesses, then we make educated guesses based on those guesses. Trying to get it 100% right will drive you insane! Just do your best and enjoy those correction boluses!

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Permalink Reply by kestrel on May 21, 2011 at 7:47pm

yeah, do you think that re the food packages? I'm starting to wonder if some are flat out LIES. Feh.

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Permalink Reply by jrtpup on May 21, 2011 at 3:27pm

Don't try to do i all at once! Start at the 1:15 you were given, and keep records of bg, carbs you ate, and dosing for a few days. You'll probably begin to see patterns. If you're consistently high at lunch, then nudge up your ratio for lunch. NUDGE is the key - don't make any big changes. You can do this :)

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Permalink Reply by Kelly Rawlings on May 21, 2011 at 10:36am

Once I started to customize every single one of the general recommendations for I:C and correction factors for different times of the day, my control greatly improved. Too bad it took me only about 25 years to realize this! The math got tougher and I don't always hit the numbers, but taking the time to figure out custom formulas and then testing periodically (darn, aging changes things), is worth all the effort. When I can convince myself to make the effort ;-)

I use 1 unit : 8 g carb. for breakfast (unless the night before featured a run; then I use 1:10). I used to use 1:12 for lunch, but am seeing some big peaks (and since I don't want to go on Symlin, I'm doing some experimenting with a bit more insulin--but, the 3-4 hour after tail of my Apidra has been sinking me, so perhaps some basal work needs to happen around 3-4 p.m.?). I use 1:15 at dinner (unless I'm going for a run, then I use 1:20 ish).

And in the mornings, even if I wake with, oh, a 52, I never treat with more than 8 grams glucose--otherwise, those wake-up hormones send me to the moon!

Best wishes as you experiment with your bolus ratios and correction factors.

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Permalink Reply by kestrel on May 21, 2011 at 7:45pm

Hey Jess -- adult diagnosed last Dec here. I am on 1:10 for breakfast and lunch, and 1:12 after. I am 125ish and 5'6 1/2" and thus have heard some snide remarks re my ratio ("you must be type 2!" said the not very bright dietician). But I am keeping very tight control; aiming for 120 1 hour after eating.

Re grazing vs meals, and "stacking" insulin -- you'll probably want to look into getting the pump; I find it allows WAAAY more meal flexibility. And one thing I learned on this site -- correct me if I'm wrong, comrades -- is that if your carb count is accurate, and if your ratios are correct, stacking insulin is not an issue with MEAL boluses. It's only an issue with CORRECTION boluses. I have acted accordingly since learning that, and haven't had a problem. My lows are exercise-induced, or bad-carb-count induced.

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Permalink Reply by LaGuitariste on May 22, 2011 at 12:54pm

I'm still adjusting mine (T2 here, on MDI or "multiple daily injections", not the pump). Currently a ratio of 1:4 seems to be working the best. I have quite a bit of insulin resistance. My doctor started me at 1:30 which was just ridiculous -- I might as well have been injecting water. I agree with others that some of us need an I:C ratio that varies during the day. I tend to go a bit lower in the afternoons (79, 83), but I'm a bit higher after dinner/before bed (145, 160 -- given the same foods and the same 1:4 ratio) so I may bump it up to 1:5 for late-morning snacks or lunch and cut back further on carbs at dinner.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Chappell on June 7, 2011 at 9:07am

I am actually higher in the morning so my ratio from midnight to 9:00 am is 1:9 and 1:12 the rest of the day, you have to find what works best for you according to your blood sugar patterns :)

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