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Hello there, welcome aboard! What yype of diabetes does your husband have? Type 1, or Type 2? What does he do to try and have good control?
Ask all the questions you want, we are here to help!
Richard
Ask all the questions you want, we are here to help!
Richard
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you are in the right place
Welcome to our forum. Let us know what kind of help do you need.
Iris Peleg
Welcome to our forum. Let us know what kind of help do you need.
Iris Peleg
Thanks for the welcome.
He has type 2and is on insulin. JUst home from the hospital after having his middle toe, right foot amputated. We will be seeing a podiatrist and hope to avoid this in the future.
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Having good control of his diabetes and not running high blood sugar is the secret to avoiding further complications. Insulin should provide the kind of control he needs. Be patient, it takes awhile to adjust to insulin. What kind(s) of insulin is he using? Does he take a dose of fast acting before each meal and snack? If so, does he determine the dosage by counting the number of carbs he is going to eat? Most insulin users use carb counting to get the best possible control.
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need more info
first, more information is required: what type of diabetes, what type of treatment, what is last A1C?
In general, you husband should do exercise on a regular basis, check his sugar levels and make sure he is on the right medications and right doses.
Iris Peleg
first, more information is required: what type of diabetes, what type of treatment, what is last A1C?
In general, you husband should do exercise on a regular basis, check his sugar levels and make sure he is on the right medications and right doses.
Iris Peleg
Hi Richard. He takes Humalog 75/25, 55 units 3X a day. Last A1C was 10. Since last week when hospitalized for toe amputation the Lunch time dose was added.His blood sugar has been good so far. He had been having high morning readings, 200 or more. We think the infection may have been causing the high sugars.
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What is basal/bolus?
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Basal insulin is a long acting insulin (usually 24 hours). A single injection counteracts the glucose produced by the liver throughout the day. Bolus insulin is the insulin taken before each meal and snack to counteract the carbs that you eat. You would have to use "carb counting" to determine the size of your bolus doses. I need 1 unit of bolus insulin for every 6 carbs I eat. Yours might be quite different. Maybe 1 unit for every 15 carbs, or 1 unit for every 30 carbs, etc. You could determine your number by trial and error. Starting with 15 and then increasing or decreasing as needed would give you your appropriate number. Some doctors prescribe that technique.
Your 75/25 is a mixture of basal and bolus insulins but it does not enable you to take the appropriate doses of bolus insulin for each meal. You are getting very rough approximations of the doses you would be taking if you used the basal and bolus insulins from seperate vials. Sometimes the 75/25 is giving you too little, or too much, bolus insulin. That causes highs and lows throughout the day. With basal/bolus you would have to take several shots each day. That may not sound appealing, but the much improved control with a more stable blood sugar level certainly makes it worthwhile. I hope you will talk to your doctor about using basal/bolus.
The basal insulins in the USA are usually Lantus ot Levemir. The bolus insulins are usually Humalog, Novolog or Apidra.
To learn about carb counting and other aspects of basal/bolus control you could make an appointment with a CDE (Certified Diabetes Educator). You can usually find a CDE in the diabetes education center of a hospital.
Your 75/25 is a mixture of basal and bolus insulins but it does not enable you to take the appropriate doses of bolus insulin for each meal. You are getting very rough approximations of the doses you would be taking if you used the basal and bolus insulins from seperate vials. Sometimes the 75/25 is giving you too little, or too much, bolus insulin. That causes highs and lows throughout the day. With basal/bolus you would have to take several shots each day. That may not sound appealing, but the much improved control with a more stable blood sugar level certainly makes it worthwhile. I hope you will talk to your doctor about using basal/bolus.
The basal insulins in the USA are usually Lantus ot Levemir. The bolus insulins are usually Humalog, Novolog or Apidra.
To learn about carb counting and other aspects of basal/bolus control you could make an appointment with a CDE (Certified Diabetes Educator). You can usually find a CDE in the diabetes education center of a hospital.
And you're from Bland, Missouri! Welcome, neighbor! I live over by Crocker!
Years ago I drove an Ad Tracker route & delivered over in your area . . . and we say the same thing about Crocker . . . 'where the heck is THAT?!'
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Basal and bolus
Basal and bolus are are relevant for long acting insulin and rapid acting insulin. Your hasband is using MIX insulin.
for more info about the types of insulin and how they act.
for now he can monitor his daily BG and make sure that his A1C level is OK.
good luck,
Iris
Basal and bolus are are relevant for long acting insulin and rapid acting insulin. Your hasband is using MIX insulin.
for more info about the types of insulin and how they act.
for now he can monitor his daily BG and make sure that his A1C level is OK.
good luck,
Iris
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You need to talk to your doctor about basal/bolus. Basal is a long lasting insulin that will hold you steady for 24 hours. But when you eat food containing carbs then you need a bolus insulin that is fast acting to prevent the carbs from raising the blood sugar too high. So a bolus dose would be taken prior to each meal and snack. Basal/bolus control is much better. I had poor control until I started using it. You can find out more by researching this topic on Google on your computer.
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