correction question

[grace girl]

Christmas parties are getting the best of me this year. I'm more willing to eat than I was last year, and some of the stuff they serve at these things are really hard to guestimate...I'm doing a lot of correcting, and so I have a question.
If you higher than normal when you eat, so you are bolusing for carbs and a correction, where should you be at the two hour mark??
When I'm in range I'm usually around 140-170...but should it also be there if you take a correction? Or would it be higher?

This issue sort of freaked me out yesterday...weird circumstances where I was really high, starving, and had to eat now or not have another chance for hours and hours. So I ate and corrected, and two hours later I was 180, and having taken 9 units my mind went crazy trying to decide how to calculate what those remaining 4.5 units would do....needless to say my own solution to the question was REALLY wrong...but I'd still like to have a better idea of what to expect in those situations. (not that I plan to go there again, I'm swearing off of Christmas parties for the rest of this year!)
Thanks for the input.

[tanyatype1]

I'd expect to be in the normal range two hours after eating and/or correcting. If I was 180 two hours after eating, I'd be thinking that I'm going to be doing another correction soon. Lots of variables to take into consideration though.:)

[shabbie]

i too would expect to be within my range at 2 hours even with a correction bolus working its magic ;)

enjoy the feast!!

[xMenace]

If you are eating Christmas sweets, the higher GIs will make you higher earlier and possibly come down ok at the 3 or 4 hour marks. Be mindful of the GI content and be careful correcting.

[JJM335]

When I'm in range I'm usually around 140-170...but should it also be there if you take a correction? Or would it be higher?

......So I ate and corrected, and two hours later I was 180, and having taken 9 units my mind went crazy trying to decide how to calculate what those remaining 4.5 units would do.

I guess we are all different. However, like you I'm pretty spiky...there's no way I'm in the normal range at 2 h after eating, 140-170 sounds about typical for me. If I was already high, I would therefore expect to be above my "typical" 2 h of say 150. If I had 4.5 U still "on-board" I would expect that to drop me by 4.5 x 40 = 180 (your correction factor may be different). This would take me to zero except that there would probably still be some food digesting to raise BG. I certainly wouldn't take any more insulin, but would test again in 1h.

I used to use Novorapid (aka Novolog) but I found it too slow. If your food always beats the insulin you might want to try Apidra. It cuts in a bit quicker than either Novolog or Humalog (it peaks at 80-90 mins). With me I find it is 90% gone by 3 h and is completely out of my system by 3.5 h. This makes corrections SO MUCH EASIER to calculate. I also get far fewer hypos because I don't get caught by the tail.

Sonofi Aventis do a decent disposable pen, the SoloStar.

Joel

[HollyB]

Hi Holly,

If Aaron is high to start with, he's usually higher than normal at 2 hours (and with a big meal, if he's in normal range at two hours he will definitely be low an hour or two later).

What has helped him most in this situation is to "superbolus" -- if you're on a pump? It sounds like you are...

So you suspend your basal for a couple of hours, and add that amount to your upfront bolus -- sort of borrow your basal and give it all at once. (So if your basal is 1.1 units per hour, and you suspend for 2 hours, add 2.2 units to your bolus.) It helps get on top of the high BG faster, without sending you low later.

[xMenace]

Hi Holly,

If Aaron is high to start with, he's usually higher than normal at 2 hours (and with a big meal, if he's in normal range at two hours he will definitely be low an hour or two later).

What has helped him most in this situation is to "superbolus" -- if you're on a pump? It sounds like you are...

So you suspend your basal for a couple of hours, and add that amount to your upfront bolus -- sort of borrow your basal and give it all at once. (So if your basal is 1.1 units per hour, and you suspend for 2 hours, add 2.2 units to your bolus.) It helps get on top of the high BG faster, without sending you low later.


That's an awesome technique. I use it for breakfasts as my pp's are very stubborn. It's good to use for high GI foods.

[grace girl]

Sounds like it's another YMMV issue. Under [I]normal[I] circumstances, like when it's not Christmas and I'm eating what I usually eat if I'm below 140 at two hours I'm heading for a major low if I don't do something.
It's all this fatty Christmas food...UGH!