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I:C ratio and amount of carbs LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
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Old 11-19-2007, 01:25 PM
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I:C ratio and amount of carbs

Anybody notice a correlation between their I:C ratio and the amount of carbs you eat? The more carbs you eat, the lower your I:C ratio?
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Old 11-19-2007, 03:05 PM
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not as far as I can tell, mine is pretty constant all the way up to around the 100g mark. I've no idea if it holds above this amount because this is as much as I'll eat in a single sitting.

What I do notice however is that heavy meals particularly those high in fat, can delay absorption of the carbs, making it seem like the ratio is too high.

the new fast acting insulins have way to rapid an action to cope with the slow carb release of something fat rich like pizza, or even medium to low GI food like pasta.

For a heavy meal I split the dose - usually 50% as I eat, and 50% an hour later. For a really heavy meal, I'll extend the split over 2 hours. Pump users will handle it differently.
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Old 11-19-2007, 07:42 PM
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Same here! I always add a tad more insulin and split it over a longer period of time if the meal's high fat.
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Old 11-20-2007, 07:43 AM
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Originally Posted by shades9323 View Post
Anybody notice a correlation between their I:C ratio and the amount of carbs you eat? The more carbs you eat, the lower your I:C ratio?
this could be the answer to my carb conundrum! i ate a beef burger last night with basmati rice and a tablespoon of coleslaw = total carbs 90 grams i took 9 units insulin, and had a BG of 9.4 @ 2.5 hours later, so had to take a correction before bed.

if i ate the same burger with misc veggies and coleslaw (about 50 grams) i would take 5 units and not have to correct later on.

so my brain says that maybe i should change my I:C ratio for larger carb meals. try 1:8 instead of 1:10 perhaps.
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Old 11-20-2007, 12:50 PM
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Originally Posted by shades9323 View Post
Anybody notice a correlation between their I:C ratio and the amount of carbs you eat? The more carbs you eat, the lower your I:C ratio?
Are you subtracting fiber?
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Old 11-20-2007, 03:03 PM
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Originally Posted by shades9323 View Post
.... The more carbs you eat, the lower your I:C ratio?
This is true simply because insulin is also required to metabolise other nutrients. I normally inject 4 units for a breakfast that contains virtually no carbohydrate (cheese, eggs, mushrooms). So the I:C ratio is infinitely high. If I added two slices of toast to this meal, I would need another 3 units. If the toast contains 15grams of carb per slice, this would bring the I:C ratio right down to 1:4.3. So, yes, I can see how increasing the amount of carbo reduces the required I:C ratio.
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Old 11-20-2007, 03:16 PM
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Ahhh, yes... Protein!
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Old 11-20-2007, 07:12 PM
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Are you subtracting fiber?

Yeah, I am subtracting fiber.
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Old 11-21-2007, 04:17 PM
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Do you mean that you take more insulin per gram of carb or less?
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Old 11-23-2007, 12:13 PM
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Do you mean that you take more insulin per gram of carb or less?
More per gram of carb. Say I eat dinner with 60 grams of carb and a 1 unit/12 carbs. If I eat 100 grams of carb instead of 60, and I use the 1:12, my BG is usually high at the 2 hr mark.
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Old 11-23-2007, 03:45 PM
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Originally Posted by shades9323 View Post
More per gram of carb. Say I eat dinner with 60 grams of carb and a 1 unit/12 carbs. If I eat 100 grams of carb instead of 60, and I use the 1:12, my BG is usually high at the 2 hr mark.
When you are eating a higher carb meal, look at how much fast acting carbs are in it, the best thing to do is wait after the bolus to eat it, if you are having a lingering high after the correction then the fat and protien are getting ya, try dual waving some extra added carbs to it....cause if it is just a miscalculation in carb ratio, then it will come down, if the bgs are stubborn then it won't and with some carbs, u just have to wait a bit after a bolus.....

I would say experiment, but my ratio was going higher if I ate more carbs like I need less insulin for higher carbs, but I have to dual wave it....

Cheryl
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Old 11-23-2007, 06:07 PM
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Originally Posted by shades9323 View Post
More per gram of carb. Say I eat dinner with 60 grams of carb and a 1 unit/12 carbs. If I eat 100 grams of carb instead of 60, and I use the 1:12, my BG is usually high at the 2 hr mark.
Find out if protein affects your bg. I definitely does affect mine and I do bolus for it. The affect is not as strong as for carbs and it also takes longer, but it absolutely affects me. Try eating a nice sized steak or piece of chicken, etc. (and no carbs), then watch your bg for the next several hours...
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Old 11-24-2007, 07:24 PM
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Yes! I used to only eat about 100-150 carbs a day. Then I was 1:15 but now I am up to about 200-250carbs a day because I need to gain/maintain a higher weight.....now my ratio is 1:12 because I am routinely eating more carbs a day. Thus, the more carbs I eat, the more my ratio changes and NOT based on a ratio factor but an overall increase in calories I believe!
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Old 11-25-2007, 07:51 AM
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Unless you are changing your ratio based on current bg values, It doesn't make sense that more carbs require a different I:C ratio. Not considering the potential effects of protein does make sense, IMO...
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