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Snacking and Insulin (Type 1 Diabetes)
I've been helping my newly diagnosed sister navigate her Type 1 diabetes. i understand how the insulin amounts are determined prior to meals, but what do you do for snacks? my sister says the insulin taken prior to meal time only covers that meal and not snacks a couple of hours later. i know this is not a one size fits all, but does anyone give themselves a little extra insulin (at meal time) to cover a future snack? or do you give yourself an extra unit or so just prior to the snack, or lastly, do you just make sure the snack is low carb (like under 15 grams) and simply forgo any extra insulin? Thanks!
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Your sister is correct.
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2 Reactions@mizzdeb48 It depends! Type I diabetes is a lifelong learning experience, and everyone is a little different. Has your sister met with a diabetes educator to learn how to set up her meal/snack plan, and how her body reacts? My friend's brother is fine without extra insulin if his snack is moderate in amount and VERY LOW carb/sugar.But anything else requires another, smaller injection of fast-acting insulin.
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3 Reactions@sueinmn thank you. my sister has a dietician she is working with for the diabetes, but sometimes the info she gets from the dietician conflicts with the endocrinologist (who is just an NP). she will be looking for an endocrinologist who is a full blown doctor moving forward. because of her high anxiety, she is petrified of the swings in her glucose level and very hesitant still about what she should and shouldn't do in terms of meals/snacks and insulin, and has lost a lot of weight from not eating enough. i know this is a challenging process, and as you stated, a lifelong learning journey. i keep encouraging her to journal EVERYTHING....times of meals, what she's eating (including carb and protein amounts), amount of insulin, etc., so that she can figure out how her body responds and look at the trends.
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2 ReactionsType 1 diabetic here. It is a big learning curve but definitely becomes manageable with good information.
My own experience is that I rarely see an Endocrinologist and instead see a NP who is wonderful. I suspect the dietician is more geared toward type 2 care.
I carb count when delivering a bolus of insulin through my pump. This is where the NP is going to be helpful in figuring out what that carb/insulin ratio is.
Love the idea of journaling as there are so many variables.
I've not read it but I've heard the book "Think like a Pancreas' is helpful.
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4 ReactionsHi @mizzdeb48 that is wonderful that you are supporting your sister. I’d like to invite her to join Mayo Clinic Connect too. There are lots of discussions in the Diabetes Endocrinology Group that she might find interesting and helpful.
I’m a 51 year diabetic. I alternate seeing an endocrinologist with seeing an NP. I also have a team of certified diabetes educators that I can see and a dietician (who is diabetic herself). All of these are great.
I’m assuming your sister requires taking insulin as part of her treatment plan. This takes some time to get the correct type, dose and route or method underway. Everyone is different. Usually there is a longer lasting or basal type for coverage 24/7. The provider will help figure out the dose and when it should be taken. There is also a shorter acting for what is eaten (meals and snacks) and for correction. This will involve calculating ratios of how much insulin is needed per grams of carbohydrate consumed. It is called the i:c ratio. It could change according to size of meal and time of day. The provider should help calculate this. There is a correction factor that determines how much insulin is needed to lower blood sugar by a specific amount over a particular duration of time. That can vary during the day and the provider should help calculate that too.
With new meds & types of insulin, technologies and various eating plans it can all get a bit complicated. It takes time to develop a customized treatment plan and may need adjusting over time. But it is very worth it.
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1 Reaction@againisay thank you for your supportive response! i found the book you mentioned on Amazon, so will likely order it and have it sent to my sister. i will continue to encourage her to get good information. 🙂
@cehunt57 thank you! i've encouraged her to join this wonderful resource of support, so hopefully, she will when she's ready. at the moment, i'm doing a lot of the research and taking advantage of any outside support (like this group), so that i can help her. maybe a certified diabetes educator would be more helpful than her dietician, since she says she's getting conflicting info from the dietician and endocrinology NP. she is becoming more familiar with the i:c ratio, so hopefully in time, things will be less challenging for her. again, thank you for the tips and sharing your experience!
@mizzdeb48 , you have received some excellent responses. As your sister acclimates, she might ask her care providers about snacks like sliced turkey, cheese, nuts, sugar free popsicles, etc. since they are usually low carb. If I’m running low, I might snack on higher carb foods like berries, apples, peanut butter, crackers, etc,
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