[Georgia]

Tomorrow I am starting on Lantus / Novorapid - it will be good to have the flexibility this regime offers, as I did not have this with the Novomix. Am feeling a bit apprehensive about changing over & wondered if anyone has any tips to share?

Thanks

[seacomp]

Originally Posted by Georgia

Tomorrow I am starting on Lantus / Novorapid - it will be good to have the flexibility this regime offers, as I did not have this with the Novomix. Am feeling a bit apprehensive about changing over & wondered if anyone has any tips to share?

Thanks

One thing many have found is that the Lantus does not really work for 24 hours.
It "wears out" before the 24 hours are up. Those who have switched to twice daily shots get better results, and aren't as tied to the clock as with one shot.
I assume you've gotten training in counting carbs and estimating your Novorapid dose. This will become easler in time.
The best of luck on your new adventure!

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by seacomp

One thing many have found is that the Lantus does not really work for 24 hours.
It "wears out" before the 24 hours are up. Those who have switched to twice daily shots get better results, and aren't as tied to the clock as with one shot.
I assume you've gotten training in counting carbs and estimating your Novorapid dose. This will become easler in time.
The best of luck on your new adventure!

Hi & thanks for replying.

My consultant has advised I start off on 20u of Lantus in the morning & 6u of Novorapid pre-meals & has left me to get on with it.

I know I will be testing like crazy & adjusting the amount I bolus depending on the number of carbs I intake per meal. But I'm a bit confused about the basal amount - how will I know if 20u is too much or too little?

[Funnygrl]

Originally Posted by Georgia

Hi & thanks for replying.

My consultant has advised I start off on 20u of Lantus in the morning & 6u of Novorapid pre-meals & has left me to get on with it.

I know I will be testing like crazy & adjusting the amount I bolus depending on the number of carbs I intake per meal. But I'm a bit confused about the basal amount - how will I know if 20u is too much or too little?

You need to test the basals. You can do this by not eatting and not bolusing for periods of around 8 hours, stopping if you go too high or too low, and testing every other hour. If your blood sugar stays consistant, your basal dose is about right. This is more commonly done with pumpers though. On shots if you experience highs or lows within two hours of taking a shot of rapid acting insulin, your carb ratio is off. If it happens after 4 hours of not eating, more likely basal insulin is off.

Do you know how to count carbs? It's much more accurate to dose based on that rather than just taking the same amount with meals. I take a shot everytime I eat something.

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by Funnygrl

You need to test the basals. You can do this by not eatting and not bolusing for periods of around 8 hours, stopping if you go too high or too low, and testing every other hour. If your blood sugar stays consistant, your basal dose is about right. This is more commonly done with pumpers though. On shots if you experience highs or lows within two hours of taking a shot of rapid acting insulin, your carb ratio is off. If it happens after 4 hours of not eating, more likely basal insulin is off.

Do you know how to count carbs? It's much more accurate to dose based on that rather than just taking the same amount with meals. I take a shot everytime I eat something.

Thanks for the good advise...am feeling more confident knowing what I should be doing. I think I'll start on the new insulins for a few days & then I'll test the basals. Yep I know how to count carbs, phew, at least I've got one area covered!! Cheers

[Funnygrl]

Originally Posted by Georgia

Thanks for the good advise...am feeling more confident knowing what I should be doing. I think I'll start on the new insulins for a few days & then I'll test the basals. Yep I know how to count carbs, phew, at least I've got one area covered!! Cheers

Good.

When I started fast acting insulin I never did the same dose at every meal thing. I started out with a really low ration (like 1 unit to 45 grams of carb), saw how that worked out for a few days, then tried a higher one and so on and so forth till I found one that worked well.