[blackie]

I'm posting for my girlfriend who recently was diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic so please bear with me. She was on a slow release insulin and also took pills to manage her blood sugar. It didn't work too well and she had some tests run and is now taking fast acting insulin after every meal. The problem is that her blood sugar level is dropping too much. Her doctor gave her a chart that uses body mass index and type of food consumed to calculate the insulin to take. The problem is that the chart doesn't address the amount of food consumed. Is there any resources on the web that I can point her to on this? It'll be a few days before her doctor can see her. Thanks in advance.

[Funnygrl]

You're girlfriend needs to get in at a center that specializes in diabetes.

There, they will teach her how to count carbs. She'll be given a specific amount of insulin to take per grams of carb, and be able to decide how much fast acting insulin to take. At least in an ideal world (though I imagine most people do this now).

The way you are describing doesn't sound familiar to me, and really makes no sense. I have a higher-ish bmi and take small amounts of insulin, while people with similar bmis take twice the amount I take. Or four times as much. Everyone is different.

Hopefully, she can get in a center where a nutritionist can teach her to count carbs, and a doctor and educator can help her adjust her doses.

If you say what city you are in, people may be able to recommend a place.

[blackie]

I'm sorry that I don't make any sense. She's scheduled for some classes to do what you're suggesting but I just wanted to know if there was any quick reference material on the web that might address this.

[Funnygrl]

It would help if you could tell us more specifically what her recommend doses are for certain foods.

I'm will to bet that the amount of insulin they tell her to take for a certain food is for one serving of that food.

[rzrbks]

the Gold standard that everyone begins with is

1 unit of fast acting insulin to 15 grams of carbs

1/3 cup of mashed potatoes is 15 grams of carbs, therefore, if you ate 1/3 cups of mashed potatoes, you would inject 1 unit of fast acting

The thing to do per meal is count the # of carbs that you are going to eat in toto then divide the # of carbs by 15 which gives you the number of units to inject.


Example:

1 cup mashed potatoes = 45 carbs

1/2 cup carrots and peas = 15 carbs

1 8 oz glass 2% milk = 11 carbs

1 4 oz piece chicken breast = 0 carbs

1 slice bread = 12 carbs

total carbs = 83gms

83/15 = 5.53 so she injects 5 units of fast acting insulin--------then checks B/g at 2 hours after she has finished eating.



if her B/G is lower than 90/5 then she'll have to eat something with 15 carbs and check again in 15 minutes

if her B/G is higher than 120/6.6 then she knows that the next time she has that meal she'll need to tweak the units of insulin



part of the "Exciting World of Diabetes" is having the fun of constanly needing to check and tweak insulin ratios

[Funnygrl]

I started at 1 unit to 60 grams. And then I worked my way down. I'm glad I did, since I settled at 1 unit to 30 grams for awhile. Then I went down to 1 to 20. Now I am at 1 to 25. Have fun learning!

[drewgolden]

Originally Posted by rzrbks

the Gold standard that everyone begins with is

<SNIP!>


part of the "Exciting World of Diabetes" is having the fun of constanly needing to check and tweak insulin ratios

Dude! That explaintation just rocks!

"The Exciting World of Diabetes" - I am going to have to use that!

Thanks,
drew

[playgtar]

You've got to carb count. As far as the insulin is concerned my Drs started me off at 1 unit of insulin per 15 grams of carb. It wasn't right for me, I'm 1:10 but that seems to be the general starting point. It took me a while to figure out what I needed. (1:10 was easy on the math, I think that's why my body likes it.) My correction was 1 unit of insulin would lower my sugars 30 points. Again, this is general. There is a lot of experimenting to do. She needs to check her sugars and see what works for her. I'm not a doctor or educator, so the best info will come from the class she is going to go to. It's important to write everything down she eats and count the carbs. Also keep records of time and bs levels. Take them to the classes and they can map out a strategy. My note book contains almost everything I've eaten or drank with carbs in it since I was dx'ed in Jan. She'll get into an eating routine and eat the same things and know how to dose. You can be of great assistance just by providing an upbeat attitude. It gets very frustrating quickly for the person with diabetes. I've been very lucky and have been called "the good patient" who gets everything right and follows drs directions. Let me tell you........without my wife my story would be a whole lot different. I believe it's best to approach this as a team sport. Or at least a coach/player relationship. Hats off to all of you support people out there!