How To Know If Mealtime Insulin Is Right For You
Most doctors will start you on a long-acting insulin at first. But sometimes long-acting insulin isnt enough to keep your blood sugar at your target level throughout the day.
When you eat a meal, sugar levels in the blood can rise rapidly. This spike in blood sugar may be too high for long-acting insulin to control. This is when your doctor may want to add a mealtime insulin to your long-acting therapy or prescribe a combination insulin.
Your doctor will work with you to figure out if you need a mealtime insulin. They will have you take note of how much your blood sugar fluctuates throughout the day. Theyll also ask about your lifestyle and eating habits.
Your doctor will likely recommend that you add a mealtime insulin to your long-acting insulin if your glucose levels are still too high after eating a meal.
Youll continue to take your long-acting insulin as prescribed by your doctor. But youll also take the mealtime insulin right before you eat your meals .
Prevent Low Blood Glucose
Because physical activity lowers your blood glucose, you should protect yourself against low blood glucose levels, also called hypoglycemia. You are most likely to have hypoglycemia if you take insulin or certain other diabetes medicines, such as a sulfonylurea. Hypoglycemia also can occur after a long intense workout or if you have skipped a meal before being active. Hypoglycemia can happen during or up to 24 hours after physical activity.
Planning is key to preventing hypoglycemia. For instance, if you take insulin, your health care provider might suggest you take less insulin or eat a small snack with carbohydrates before, during, or after physical activity, especially intense activity.4
You may need to check your blood glucose level before, during, and right after you are physically active.
Dont Switch Your Insulin Dose Or Stop Taking It Without Seeing Your Doctor First
Switching your insulin medication or changing the dose without asking a doctor can put you at risk for serious side effects and complications.
If you have type 2 diabetes, you should be seeing your doctor or endocrinologist for a checkup roughly every three to four months. At your appointment, your doctor can assess your individual insulin needs and give you proper training on new doses or dosing methods.
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Do Check Your Blood Sugar Regularly And Write Down Each Measurement
Your insulin treatment involves much more than injecting insulin. You need to check your blood sugar level regularly using a blood glucose monitor. The constant need to test your blood sugar can feel like a burden, but its a crucial part of your diabetes care plan.
Blood sugar measurements can change depending on your stress level, how much exercise youre getting, illness, changes in your diet, and even hormonal changes during the month. Major changes could mean that you have to adjust your insulin dose.
Write down each measurement or record it in an app on your phone to show to your doctor. Your doctor needs this information to determine how much insulin is right for you.
How Can I Keep My Blood Sugar Level From Getting Too High Or Too Low
You need to check your blood sugar level regularly using a blood glucose monitor. Your doctor or his or her office staff can teach you how to use the monitor. Youll need to write down each measurement and show this record to your doctor. He or she will use this information to decide how much insulin is right for you.
Blood sugar measurements can vary depending on your lifestyle. Stress levels, how often you exercise, and how fast your body absorbs food can affect measurements. Hormonal changes related to puberty, menstrual cycles, and pregnancy can, too. Illness, traveling, or a change in your routine may mean that you have to monitor your blood sugar level more often.
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What Is Insulin Resistance
Constant exposure to insulin causes your cells to resist insulin so they no longer do a good job of removing glucose from your bloodstream. Over time, insulin resistance can increase your blood sugar.
Your pancreas will continue to release insulin in an attempt to return your blood sugar to healthy levels. Over time, your pancreas will be unable to meet the constant demand for insulin,causing a downward spiral of elevated blood sugar levels, which can have negative impacts throughout your body.
Diabetes & Hot Flashes After Eating Breakfast
Diabetes causes changes in blood sugar levels that can occur suddenly, especially after eating. While most diabetics focus on how high their blood sugars rise after eating, a sudden drop in blood sugar, called hypoglycemia, can also cause serious problems. Since neither diabetes nor high blood sugar levels cause hot flashes, a possible cause of what appear to be hot flashes after eating may be hypoglycemia.
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What Are The Different Types Of Insulin
The American Diabetes Association characterizes insulin by how fast it works. But everyones body is different. If you have diabetes, you should expect deviations in the amount of time any medication takes to reach your bloodstream.
Here are 8 different types of Insulin and how they work.
- Onset is defined as the length of time before insulin hits your bloodstream and begins to lower blood glucose.
- Peak is the time during which insulin is at its maximum effectiveness at lowering your blood glucose levels.
- Duration is the length of time insulin continues to lower your blood glucose levels.
- Rapid-acting insulin begins to affect blood glucose approximately 15 minutes after injection. It peaks in about an hour, and then continues to work for a few more.
- Short-acting insulin reaches your bloodstream within 30 minutes of injection. It peaks in the 2-3-hour range and stays effective for 3-6 hours.
- Intermediate-acting insulin includes NPH insulin which helps control glucose for 10-12 hours. A protamine is a type of protein that slows the action of this insulin.
- Long-acting insulin enters the bloodstream 1-2 hours after injection and may be effective for as long as 24 hours. An advantage to long-acting insulin is there is no pronounced peak, and it works more like typical pancreatic insulin.
- Premixed/combination insulin contains a mix of rapid- or short-acting insulin combined with an intermediate-acting insulin. This eliminates the need to draw insulin from more than one bottle.
When Should I Eat If I Have Diabetes
Some people with diabetes need to eat at about the same time each day. Others can be more flexible with the timing of their meals. Depending on your diabetes medicines or type of insulin, you may need to eat the same amount of carbohydrates at the same time each day. If you take mealtime insulin, your eating schedule can be more flexible.
If you use certain diabetes medicines or insulin and you skip or delay a meal, your blood glucose level can drop too low. Ask your health care team when you should eat and whether you should eat before and after physical activity.
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Disposal Of Used Insulin Syringes
Used syringes, pen needles, cannulas and lancets must be disposed of in an Australian Standards-approved sharps container, which is puncture-proof and has a secure lid. These containers are usually yellow and are available through pharmacies, local municipal councils and state or territory diabetes organisations such as Diabetes Victoria.
Procedures to dispose of sharps containers vary from state to state.
For sharps disposal information and help, you can contact:
- state or territory diabetes organisations, such as Diabetes Victoria
- state Department of Health
Insulin needs to be stored correctly. This includes:
- Store unopened insulin on its side in a fridge.
- Keep the fridge temperature between 2 and 8 °C.
- Make sure that insulin does not freeze.
- Once opened, keep it at room temperature for not more than one month and then dispose of it safely.
- Avoid keeping insulin in direct sunlight.
Extreme temperatures can damage insulin so it doesn’t work properly. It must not be left where temperatures are over 30 °C. In summer your car can get this hot so don’t leave your insulin there.
There are various insulated insulin carry bags available for transporting insulin.
What Is Medical Nutrition Therapy
Medical nutrition therapy is a service provided by an RD to create personal eating plans based on your needs and likes. For people with diabetes, medical nutrition therapy has been shown to improve diabetes management. Medicare pays for medical nutrition therapy for people with diabetes If you have insurance other than Medicare, ask if it covers medical nutrition therapy for diabetes.
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What Causes Insulin Shock
Having too much insulin in your blood can lead to having too little glucose. If your blood sugar falls too low, your body no longer has enough fuel to carry out its regular functions. In insulin shock, your body becomes so starved for fuel that it begins to shut down.
If you have diabetes and use insulin to help control your blood sugar, you can end up with excess amounts in your blood if you inject too much insulin or miss a meal after injecting insulin.
Other possible causes include:
- irritability
- rapid pulse
At this stage, you can usually take immediate steps to recover. Eating 15 grams of quick-acting carbohydrates such as glucose tablets or high-sugar options like fruit juice, raisins, honey, or candy can help stabilize your blood sugar and reduce symptoms.
After 15 minutes, test your blood sugar. If your blood sugar has improved, youll want to eat a small smack to help your body fully recover but otherwise you should be fine.
If your blood sugar isnt increasing, try eating another 15 grams of carbohydrates, followed by a meal. If you blood sugar is not increasing after repeating this step again, contact your doctor or visit the emergency room.
Plummeting blood sugar can also cause:
- headaches
When Should You Take Insulin
The answer to this question depends on a few things. Most importantly, though, is the type of insulin that you take. For example, fast- or rapid-acting insulins, such as lispro , glulisine , and aspart , are meant to be taken 10 to 15 minutes before eating. The new fast-acting insulin Fiasp is taken right at the start of a meal or within 20 minutes of starting a meal. Fiasp starts to work a couple of minutes after you inject it.
What about other insulins? Heres the rundown:
Regular insulin, which is a short-acting insulin, is generally taken 15 to 30 minutes before your meal.
NPH, an intermediate-acting insulin, is typically given 30 to 60 minutes before a meal or at bedtime.
Long-acting insulins, such as glargine and detemir , are often taken at bedtime, but also in the morning. Because these insulins are considered to be peakless and are types of basal insulin, taking them is not dependent on your meal times. However, its usually recommended that you take long-acting insulins at about the same time each day, give or take an hour.
Your doctor or diabetes educator may suggest that you take your insulin differently in some situations. For example, if you have gastroparesis , you might have better blood glucose results by delaying your injection instead of taking it before you eat.
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Can You Take Humalog After You Eat
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Similarly one may ask, what happens if taking insulin after food?
Other than glucose other food needs more than an hour to reach blood stream. So, what is the benefit of taking insulin before meal, rather some time it can cause serious hypoglycemia if patient miss to take meal after insulin dose. Hyperglycemia has no immediate bad effect but hypoglycemia can cause death immediately.
Beside above, can you take Humalog without food? Since Humalog is used before meals, you may not be on a timed dosing schedule. Whenever you use Humalog, be sure to eat a meal within 15 minutes. Do not use extra Humalog to make up a missed dose.
One may also ask, how long should you wait to take insulin after eating?
Remember, you should not wait more than 15 minutes to eat after you take this insulin shot. Rapid-acting insulin can be more convenient to take than regular insulin. With regular insulin, you inject the insulin and then wait 30 to 60 minutes before eating.
How many units of Humalog should you take?
For safety, I initially have patients replace the 1500 Rule for Regular with an “1800 Rule” for Humalog. Someone on 30 total units a day would now divide 30 into 1800 to find their blood sugar is likely to drop 60 mg/dl on each unit of Humalog, rather than the 50 mg/dl drop seen with each unit of Regular.
What Is An Insulin Reaction
If youre going to use rapid-acting insulin, you need to be aware of insulin reactions and how to treat them. Rapid-acting insulin begins to work very quickly. So while you and your doctor are working to find the right dosage of this insulin, you may have some insulin reactions.
Hypoglycemia is the name for a condition in which the level of sugar in your blood is too low. If you use insulin, your blood sugar level can get too low if you exercise more than usual or if you dont eat enough. It also can get too low if you dont eat on time or if you take too much insulin. Most people who take insulin have insulin reactions at some time. Signs of an insulin reaction and hypoglycemia include the following:
- Feeling very tired.
- Being unable to speak or think clearly.
- Losing muscle coordination.
- Suddenly feeling like youre going to pass out.
- Becoming very pale.
- Candy: 5 Lifesavers.
- Glucose tablets: 3 tablets .
If you dont feel better 15 minutes after having a fast-acting carbohydrate, or if monitoring shows that your blood sugar level is still too low, have another 15 grams of a fast-acting carbohydrate.
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What Is High Blood Sugar
The is the amount of glucose in the blood. Glucose is a sugar that comes from the foods we eat, and its also formed and stored inside the body. Its the main source of energy for the cells of our body, and its carried to each cell through the bloodstream.
Hyperglycemia is the medical word for high blood sugar levels. High blood sugar levels happen when the body either cant make insulin or cant respond to insulin properly . The body needs insulin so glucose in the blood can enter the cells of the body where it can be used for energy. In people who have developed diabetes, glucose builds up in the blood, resulting in hyperglycemia.
Having too much sugar in the blood for long periods of time can cause serious health problems if its not treated. Hyperglycemia can damage the vessels that supply blood to vital organs, which can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke, kidney disease, vision problems, and nerve problems. These problems dont usually show up in kids or teens who have had the disease for only a few years. But they can happen in adulthood in some people with diabetes, particularly if they havent managed or controlled their diabetes well.
Blood sugar levels are considered high when theyre above your target range. Your diabetes health care team will let you know what your target blood sugar levels are.
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How To Take Mealtime Insulin
As the name suggests, mealtime insulin is taken at mealtimes, usually right before a meal.
Before you inject a mealtime insulin, youll have to determine what dose you need.The dose you take depends on how many carbohydrates you plan on eating in your meal.
The higher the amount of carbohydrates, the more that food will raise your blood sugar. This means youll need more insulin. Youll also need to watch what you eat and avoid foods high in processed sugar and carbohydrates.
If youre not sure how to calculate the dose based on your meal, ask your doctor. There are also several smartphone apps available to help you figure out your dose.
In addition to your diet, exercise also has an effect on how much insulin you need to inject at mealtimes. Exercise can increase sensitivity to insulin for up to 48 hours and may require a reduction to insulin doses.
Insulin shots work fastest when given in the abdomen. Each mealtime injection of insulin should be given in the same general part of the body for best results.
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What Happens If You Take Too Much Humalog Insulin
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If you take too much Humalog, your blood sugar may fall too low . If you forget to take your dose of Humalog, your blood sugar may go too high .
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What to Do If You Have an Insulin Overdose
How much insulin can you take in a day?
Eventually, many people with Type 2 diabetes will require 12 units of insulin for every kilogram of body weight that is, an 80-kilogram person will require at least 80 units of insulin each day. To start, however, your doctor may begin by prescribing 0.15 units of insulin per kilogram.