Saturday, July 02, 2011

to bolus and wait 20 minutes to eat or to bolus and eat right away???

i use Humalog Insulin in my pump.  i used Humalog Insulin in my pen for 10 years when doing MDI's.  i have always tried to bolus right before i ate.  there were time when i waited until after mostly because i wasn't sure about the carb count.  you know, those days when you just have to have the fries with the burger, and you know you shouldn't eat all of them, but you can't help it.  they are just tooo good!!  (and i know myself well enough that i should just admit that i'm going to do it and bolus for it right off the bat!!)

so i have been doing a little reading, and have found that there are some out there who actually bolus for their meal, and then wait 20 - 30 minutes to eat.   i had to investigate further.

after reading some forums, and some discussion boards, and even an article by John Walsh on using Humalog in a pump,  i am no further ahead in my decision on whether to try this or not.

i get that if you bolus ahead, it will be in your system and active by the time you start eating.  this will apparently help with after-meal spikes.  my fear would be going low before i even begin my meal.  i  suffer from hypoglycemic unawareness so this is a little worrisome.

i  would love to hear from you guys.  do you bolus before??  do you bolus after??  do you use a combo bolus?  what says you?? 

2 comments:

  1. It depends...sometimes I bolus and eat right away, sometimes I bolus and wait about 15 min...it all depends on my current number and how I react to that food. I think if what you're doing works for you, then no need to wait. But if you've been noticing spikes and higher numbers, then maybe try waiting 10 min or so and just test it out!

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  2. Whenever I can and if I'm not low already, I do bolus 20 minutes before I eat (I pump Apidra). For me, this works really well for (usually) avoiding post-meal spikes and I rarely have a problem with going low before I eat. BUT we are all different and our bodies all react differently. If you think you would go low to quickly, then I wouldn't try it. Maybe talk to you endo first? Good luck, and feel free to email me if you have any other questions about my "bolus and wait"!!

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