How long can you wait after bolusing before eating?

MinimedPumper07 · #1 (**permalink**) 04-11-2008, 06:19 PM

If you are 150+ can you bolus and wait like an hour or is that too much?

solox316 · #2 (**permalink**) 04-11-2008, 06:25 PM

i would only give your correction bolus that early, and your meal bolus as it gets closer. that way there isnt the risk of going too low.

DCaplinger · #3 (**permalink**) 04-11-2008, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by solox316

i would only give your correction bolus that early, and your meal bolus as it gets closer. that way there isnt the risk of going too low.

Whaaaaaat? This is a new concept for me. Can you expand on that a bit?

Regards,

MinimedPumper07 · #4 (**permalink**) 04-11-2008, 08:09 PM

I wanna hear from others. What is the longest you will bolus before eating and under what circumstances?

JediSkipdogg · #5 (**permalink**) 04-11-2008, 08:11 PM

The longest I will wait is 15 minutes because if something happens and you don't eat....well, then you have to eat.

I definitely would not go any longer than 30 minutes for a food based bolus. A correction bolus you can give at any time.

MinimedPumper07 · #6 (**permalink**) 04-11-2008, 08:19 PM

If u are at 170 and wanna eat now what do you do?

JediSkipdogg · #7 (**permalink**) 04-11-2008, 08:28 PM

Then you bolus both the food and the correction at the same time. Nothing wrong with that.

Funnygrl · #8 (**permalink**) 04-11-2008, 08:30 PM

No, you can't wait an hour. The insulin is already peaking by then.

MinimedPumper07 · #9 (**permalink**) 04-11-2008, 08:33 PM

but if you eat when u are at 170 wont u skyrocket in the 200's for a while? isnt it better to wait like a half hour?

btw i have tried doing what i just said and i always am like 200 2 hrs post meal. is that because my correction ratio is wrong?

Funnygrl · #10 (**permalink**) 04-11-2008, 08:37 PM

I already told you, no even if I was 170 I wouldn't take a meal bolus and wait an hour. I'd take a correction bolus, but not a meal bolus.

Sometimes I'm amazed you haven't killed yourself yet

As for being 200 post meal, it could be a basal or a bolus problem. Have you read Pumping Insulin by John Walsh?

MinimedPumper07 · #11 (**permalink**) 04-11-2008, 09:24 PM

im such a noob i know...
no need to rub it in though. i have read parts of that book. my basals are fine.
if you say you just take a correction, does that mean you don't eat then, you wait a while before eating?

Funnygrl · #12 (**permalink**) 04-11-2008, 09:26 PM

Honestly, you've been pumping awhile now. Your posts make it clearly that you truely desire good control. Read what you can about how to test pump settings, and insulin profiles and such. Then you can really use your pump features to your advantage.

ant hill · #13 (**permalink**) 04-11-2008, 09:48 PM

If you wait that long then I can gather that you are not exercising. If you have done say riding a bike or anything to get your heart pumping then you will find that the bolus will work faster!!

xMenace · #14 (**permalink**) 04-11-2008, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MinimedPumper07

btw i have tried doing what i just said and i always am like 200 2 hrs post meal. is that because my correction ratio is wrong?

I see where you are coming from, but the evidence seems to be saying your rates are off. It may be your bolus ratios but it may also be your basal rates. You should not be 200 pp.

If rate fine-tuning, pre-bolusing, and food composition changes don't do it, you could then try super-bolusing, But that's a last resort.

I try to bolus 20-30 minutes early. I've gone as high as 50 minutes once and 40 a few times. These were get-togethers where the meal was tarfy and I had DW watching me. Food was handy.

Eddy · #15 (**permalink**) 04-11-2008, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MinimedPumper07

but if you eat when u are at 170 wont u skyrocket in the 200's for a while?

Maybe, maybe not. There's no hard, fast answer. Think of it as a race between the insulin and the glucose; either one may win. You'll have to profile different foods at different starting BGs at different times of day with different activity patterns to know the answer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MinimedPumper07

isnt it better to wait like a half hour?

Again, it depends. That might be correct. You might still go high. You might drop with a nasty hypo.

For me, half an hour would be disastrous unless I were eating something like pineapple. The 1-hr insulin peak would pound me into a wicked hypo before the food could finish releasing glucose. I frequently use old-fashioned R -- and sometimes even N -- with my meals because I want to slow down the insulin's effect.

But that's me. That's how my body works. That regimen might send someone else skyrocketing after the meal, then drop them several hours later.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MinimedPumper07

btw i have tried doing what i just said and i always am like 200 2 hrs post meal. is that because my correction ratio is wrong?

It could be wrong correction, wrong coverage, or wrong basal. If you don't have a handle on your basal, it's futile to try figuring out the rest.

We can give generalities and explain trends, but cannot give you specifics. You must determine those on your own. Use small, cautious perturbations when you experiment. Have some rapid-release carbohydrate handy in case you go hypo.

If you don't mind sharing specifics -- such as age, BMI, diet, doses, gender, other medications, physical activity level, weight -- we might be able to steer you... but you'll still need to research a lot on your own.

Oh... and I assume that you're type 1. If you're type 2, that's a totally different beast.