Ratios and compensating

Hi

I have not done a DAFNE course (My health authority doesnt have the budget) but am trying to pick up on various DAFNE odds and sods. One question i would like to ask is when calculating the amount of insulin QA to take, if you have set a target of say 6.8mmol for breakfast and the reading is 8.8 what factor do you use to increase the insulin in addition to the existing ratio? and is this a ball park figure depending on how high or low the reading is?

Regards

I tend to use 1 unit of QA for every 3mmol above my target. So in the instance you have quoted, I would be adding 1 extra unit of QA to my dosage. It is a ball point figure for me; I use this at any time of the day or before bed, but as with anything in life - we are all different, and it may take a few attempts before you find the ratio which suits you.

I would also take 1 unit for that scenario....................

However, for me, the correction factor I use depends on my blood sugar level, so the higher it is, the more units I need to get me back down...............this method had evolved from the theory that the higher you are, the more resistant you are to insulin. And was concluded with lots of testing, trial and error on my part.............

My corrections are as follows;

<10mmol/l - 1 unit drops 2.5mmol/l

10 - 13mmol/l - 1 unit drops 2mmol/l

13 - 17mmol/l - 1 unit drops 1.5mmol/l

>17mmol/l - 1 unit drops 1mmol/l

In fact it could go further but I am seldomly over 17, just every now and again...........

I personally believe everyone experiences this behavior, but would not tell you to adopt it without doing your own personal investigations..........

For me, I would take an extra 2 units for breakfast, but only 1 unit for lunch or evening.

Hi, This is still quite new to me so I would always recommend checking with a diabetic nurse 1st but personally i started to correct over 10 1QA for 10 2QA for 13 etc over time by writing it down you will see how corrections work for you. I now correct over 8 and it normally corrects by 2 not 3 for me. If you find your always correcting at a particular mealtime it could be that you need a different ratio or slightly higher back ground insulin. These are the sorts of things covered by dafne course which I have only started today so im looking forward to learning more. I really wish all type 1 diabetics had the opportunity to attend the course as surely its beneficial for us all to have good self management and reducing the risk of complications will save money in the long run!

Welcome to the site Collete..................


I hope you enjoy the rest of the course...............

Thank you, the course was fantastic and I would definitely recommend it to any Type 1's who have the opportunity to attend. Well worth it!!

I have an appointment with the diabetes nurse next month, i think i am going to press the point to get on this course, i can't understand why its all post code lottery. Welcome to 21st century Britain.

jgibson1962 said:
I have an appointment with the diabetes nurse next month, i think i am going to press the point to get on this course, i can't understand why its all post code lottery. Welcome to 21st century Britain.

hi i have recently finished the dafne course and am getting used to carb counting and ratios was wondering if any one could answer a question for me the guidelines say that a ratio of 1-3:1 ratio for breakfast and 1-2:1 ratio for lunch and dinner i am finding that this ratio does not work for me i need more is it safe to use a higher ratio and how high is ok to go????????