Basal & Bolus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Stuboy]

WOO HOO!!

Went to the first session of this "Type 1 Group" course, where they teach you about diabetes....

Got an appt. tomorrow with the nurse who ran the course and she's going to change my insulin regime to basal and bolus! :D She completely agreed with me that my personal circumstances and life style and so on really means that i need to be on basal and bolus.

I think she said ill be on Humalog and Lantus. She gave me a new pen that i'll be using for my basal... it's an Autopen24. I can't say im too keen on the pen itself, i would have prefered to use a novopen3... oh well!!

So, as of TOMORROW (or saturday) ill be bolusing with the rest of you :D

[RLK]

Yay Stu! That's so exciting! :D Keep us posted on how things go with the switch. I think you'll really like basal/bolus- it offers so much more flexibility than other regimens. Just don't get your insulins mixed up ;)

[Stuboy]

Yay Stu! That's so exciting! :D Keep us posted on how things go with the switch. I think you'll really like basal/bolus- it offers so much more flexibility than other regimens. Just don't get your insulins mixed up ;)

Oh dont worry im SURE I'll be asking more questions, everyone will know how im getting on with it LOL

Im sure i wont mix the insulins up, the basal is in this nasty looking pen (i like the novopen3) so at least i can use my fav pen for the most part :)

im so happy about it i could do a happy dance!! lol :marchmell :marchmell :marchmell

[Stuboy]

OH OH OH OH!!!

AND, she said she'd do my HbA1c tomorrow as well!! so we can compare the control between the mixtard and the new regimen!

[corwin]

That's great!!! :marchmell
It will take you a while to figure things out, but soon you won't understand how you ever survived on the mix.
Now you can have your normal life back, congrats. :tee:

[spike]

Cool. basal/bolus has GOT to be better than a mix.

[corwin]

1 more thing.

She completely agreed with me that my personal circumstances and life style and so on really means that i need to be on basal and bolus.

Unless she meant being a human who eat food, I don't see what personal circumstances and life style don't need to be on B&B. :)

[Stuboy]

1 more thing.



Unless she meant being a human who eat food, I don't see what personal circumstances and life style don't need to be on B&B. :)

People who live life completely to a routine basically!

[Cyborg]

Congratulations. Hope you find better bg control...

[DeusXM]

Yeah, the Autopen's 'orrible, innit? You'll need to get a new one after about 6 months or so - the numbers on the dial have a nasty habit of rubbing off. Are you sure you can't be put on Novorapid rather than Humalog? It's just that the Humapen (which is what they use for Humalog) is a bit fragile and not really built for carrying around. I got through 4 in a year because they break so easily. They're also quite bulky compared to the Novopen.

[SueM]

Perhaps I was dreaming but I'm sure I read somewhere that they were stopping the production of humalog in the nr future.

[Stuboy]

odd... she asked me what pen i was using and i told her i was using the novopen3 and that i'd like to continue using it if possible, she said she'd only need to give me a new mpen for my basal...

well im off to the hospital to see her in 15 mins so i guess we'll see!!

:D

[mark-TN]

Good luck Stu. Hope everything goes well at your appointment.

Mark

[Cyborg]

You could just stick with syringes if the pens are problematic...

[DeusXM]

Nah, no matter how bad the pens are, they'll never be as impractical as syringes. You can't just pop a syringe in your pocket and carry it around all day to use as and when you need it.

[gettingby]

Good Luck Stuboy. I'm sure you will see a difference. Hopefully for the better.

[JediSkipdogg]

Perhaps I was dreaming but I'm sure I read somewhere that they were stopping the production of humalog in the nr future.

I've never heard that and all 3 fast actings are made by difference companies...

Humalog - Lilly
Novolog - Novo Nordisk
Apidra - Aventis

So none of those companies want to give up their fast acting insulin unless they make a new one or they lose a huge chunk of the market.

[spike]

Perhaps I was dreaming but I'm sure I read somewhere that they were stopping the production of humalog in the nr future.


Most likely you were having a nightmare. :)

[Stuboy]

Well,

So now im on Lantus for my Basal, and Novorapid for my Bolus!
I'll be doing my first Bolus tonight for my dinner... im having spag' bol', so im not sure how much to take for the pasta, or whether to take it before or after the meal (what with pasta being slow release)

She took a blood test for U&E Creatinine, Cholestoral, HDL Cholestoral, HBA1C, and she also took one to check my thyroid too (i mentioned my hair falling out).But she did say that could be 1 of many things, the most likely being, the time of year (autumn), the stress my body's been under, or possibly my thyroid. So we'll see what happens with that next week when i get my test results!!

I also told her about this site too! and how great i think it is :D she wrote down the address so i assume she's gonna check it out :)

I can't say i really like the Autopen very much but i dont see i've got much choice lol.

[SueM]

Lol Spike it wouldn't worry me as don't use the stuff.
But I'm sure I read something to the effect that they were stopping Humalog soon and only producing the anologs sp!

[spike]

Lol Spike it wouldn't worry me as don't use the stuff.
But I'm sure I read something to the effect that they were stopping Humalog soon and only producing the anologs sp!


LOL! If you run across such an article, be sure to post it here. (I'm not gonna hold my breath on that one!) <g>

[SueM]

Heres the bit I found just got the wrong firm oops

During the summer we have been assessing our strategy, especially in view of Novo Nordisk's intention of reducing insulin choices even further with the eventual aim of only analogue insulins being available

web page link
http://www.iddtinternational.org/newsletters/2006_October_Newsletter.htm

[spike]

Heres the bit I found just got the wrong firm oops

During the summer we have been assessing our strategy, especially in view of Novo Nordisk's intention of reducing insulin choices even further with the eventual aim of only analogue insulins being available

web page link
http://www.iddtinternational.org/newsletters/2006_October_Newsletter.htm


Mixtard and velosulin aren't exactly "state of the art" anyway. I doubt it will impact anyone negatively. I used Velosulin for a short time in 1996 when I began pumping. Humalog came out shortly thereafter and I made the switch the day it was available in my area. AAMOF, I probably was the first person in the south bay area to get ahold of it.

[Cyborg]

I'll be doing my first Bolus tonight for my dinner... im having spag' bol', so im not sure how much to take for the pasta, or whether to take it before or after the meal (what with pasta being slow release)

Not sure about pasta being slow release. It's not for me. It has hardly any fat or protein.

Time to start counting carbs and figure out your carb to insulin ratios...

[JasonJayhawk]

Stu,

I started out like you, too! It really gives you respect for the old system. Keep a log of your adventures so that you'll learn from it, and stay consistant so that you have something to compare with in future boluses.

[Stuboy]

Well turns out we didnt' have spag' bol' as planned... we had something else instead!

so, for the FIRST time we tried to count the carbs in my dinner using a reference booklet that i was given today (it looks pretty helpful). we worked out from that, and a couple of food packages, that there was ABOUT 150g Carbs... so my insulin ratio that she put me on to start out with, was 0.5 units per 10g of carbs, and to round the number DOWN when it was .(point) something. So i took 7units of novorapid.

BG before meal was 7.8.
BG after meal was 8.0

NOT BAD HUH? :D

[Cyborg]

How long after the meal?

[Stuboy]

two hours :D

ALTHOUGH! i do have a question, is it... two hours from the test before the meal... or... two hours from when you finish your meal?

[Cyborg]

You are probably going to drop lower for a couple more hours...

[Stuboy]

ok, ill keep an eye on that then, im just about to go to bed... so ill be reading again soon.

oh... must buy some food scales!!

[Cyborg]

Unless you meant to take a correction bolus and food bolus, you did overbolus. Might want to set an alarm for an hour or so after going to bed so you can check the bg, just in case... Good luck. :)

[grace girl]

Congratulations on your switch! I was on mixed insulin for 4 years, and I just switched over to basal/bolus in May of this year. It's SO much better!!!

[Stuboy]

Unless you meant to take a correction bolus and food bolus, you did overbolus. Might want to set an alarm for an hour or so after going to bed so you can check the bg, just in case... Good luck. :)

I overbolus? How so? 150g carbs, 0.5units per 10g, rounding down to the nearly whole unit, that's 7units of novorapid!?

anyway, my before bed reading was 6.8 which was 4.5hrs after my meal, which before meal was 7.8 so i think that was pretty good going. My morning reading this morning was 5.8. I had about 30g carbs for breakfast, so had to take 1unit... which hardly seemed worth it!! Still, i guess i'll see if 1unit actually has any affect lol.

[2high]

Most likely you were having a nightmare. :)

I dunno Spike, it's a vicious rumour thats been going around for a while... I was told 3 years ago that EliLily was ceasing production of Humalog and so was switched to Novorapid... yet the Humalog keeps on coming...

Stuboy, congrats on the BB... I was never on Mictard, but was on proto-pain-in-the bum for 13 1/2 tears before switching to Lantus in May (I read about in on here!!!)... It's a thousand times better... Good Luck!

Katie

[2high]

oops, meant years, not tears....

although there were many tears involved as well...

[Stuboy]

I've updated my Log sheet for my new regime :D

Mark... im still trying to work out how to use yours! lol

[Stuboy]

Well!

i had a fairly good day control wise, first full day on basal and bolus, Went to 3.9 after lunch, but i think that was because i was 4.6 before lunch, but overall when you look at it, i kept the level within 2mmol. Next time i'll be sure to take less bolus when im that low before a meal.

Unfortunatly i've ended up high tonight, 5.1 before dinner, and 4.6 2 hours after, i thought that was pretty good, only now just before bed it's gone to 11.0 :( I guess it's that pasta releasing slowly!! I hope my level comes down to normal over night so i can start a frest again tomorrow :)

roughly how many carbs in spag bol? I took a guess at about 120! but i guess that either wasn't enough, or my ratio is wrong... but then all other meals so far the ratio has been good.

[BlueSky]

..... roughly how many carbs in spag bol? I took a guess at about 120! but i guess that either wasn't enough, or my ratio is wrong ......
..... Could you have been running out of Lantus? If you are injecting Lantus at night and it isn't lasting the full 24 hours, this is when you would go high. :) But keep things the same for a few days and wait for a definite pattern to emerge before changing anything. Finding the right dose of Lantus can be tricky.....

[Stuboy]

im taking my lantus at 9pm, 10units, my 11.0 reading was\at just before midnight.

[Stuboy]

Here i go on day two!

BG 5.5 this morning when i woke up/before breakfast reading. 75g carbs and 3 units.

can you get scales that count carbs too? lol

[Cyborg]

Yes... They make food scales where you punch in a food code or use the menu on the device to indicate what the food is. The scale then gives you all the nutritional information for what you weight. I want to get one myself...

[Stuboy]

where can you get them from?

Over estimated carbs for lunch today, went from 5.9 to 3.9(2hrs after). (see log) Although, that's still within 2mmol/L target difference... JUST! hehe

[Geoff]

Hi Stuboy,
Take a look at this site Weighing Scales, digital & mechanical from ourweigh.co.uk (http://www.ourweigh.co.uk) Thay have two scales that work out carbs for you, but they are not cheep!

Found one on Amazon.co.uk for £35 Amazon.co.uk: Salter 1400 Nutritional Scale - Silver: Kitchen & Home (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Salter-1400-Nutritional-Scale-Silver/dp/B0007MTN1I)

have a look at this also The Diet Plate® (http://www.dietandfitnessresources.co.uk/diets/diet_plate.htm)

[Stuboy]

I dont know whether to go for one of the scales that counts the carbs for you, or just get a normal basic set of digital scales and work it out for myself... see, im **** at maths lol

[JediSkipdogg]

The problem with the scales that have all the info in them is what if that info is wrong? It has an apple in there, but rarely differetiate between a sweet apple or a red apple. Not to mention, if a food isn't in them, you have to do the good old math anyways. So I find it easier to just get a basic digital scale and do all the math myself.

[Cyborg]

Plain scales work great, but you still need a reference of the nutrition info and you still need to do math.

Some food scales allow you to enter your own custom entries. I still want one...

[Stuboy]

That sounds like a good pair of scales!

"here's my food, and this is what carbs it has per 100g. How many total carbs?"

[Cyborg]

Yeah, that's it...

[mark-TN]

Mark... im still trying to work out how to use yours! lol Stu-

I completely understand. lol It is rather extensive. If you use it just let me know if you have any questions and I will do my best to walk you through it.

It looks like you are doing great on b/b (MDI) and that is great to see.

Mark

[Stuboy]

Yeh! I think it's 100x better than mixtard!! My recorded results so far this week (yeh i know it's only tuesday) have ALL been within the target of 4.0 - 7.9!!!!

Im using my own sheet at the moment still. But i did show the nurse what you had sent me and she was VERY impressed with the look of it!