Apr
They say to take it before meals. So if I take it before a meal and then lets state an hour later, although its not meal time, Im in the mood for a glass of milk or an apple, do I have to take the fast acting insulin again? i hope not because i dont want to stick myself too much!
Also, is it superior to eat 6 small meals a day or 3 huge meals. Which one will result in less sticking of needles?
Answer:
The reason it's ideal to take it right before meals is that it takes a while to begin kicking in. Humalog/Novolog begin working in about 15 minutes, then they peak around 1 hour, and it's finally worked through your system by about 2-3 hours, it varies slightly for everyone. Anytime you eat something with carbs over about 2g, you need to take an injection of insulin to cover it. This becomes difficult at potlucks or buffets.
It's ideal to eat 6 smaller meals everyday, and yes, that means you'll be injecting 6x. Eventually you may want to check into an insulin pump. They're wonderful and they give you the freedom to eat as often or infrequently as you like. You inject some tubing into yourself once each 3 days and then you're done.
Answer:
Im a type 1 diabetic. Yes inject for your meals as normal (3 times is better) and then yes you’ll have to inject for snacks - if i snack i do inject my sugars rise quite a lot. THe longer acting isnt there to support sugars from snacks and wont really be much help - esp for something like a glass of milk as it has lots of (natural) sugar and high carbs which raise your sugar levels a lot.
Answer:
If you are on multiple daily injections - it would be best to stick with the 3 meals and small snacks during the day since you give yourself 3 bolus shots of the fast acting.
If you do have a small snack - your basal insulin (Lantus or NPH) should cover you for that