Re: revised r

[Guest guest]

Be aware that in almost all literature, the insulin-to-carb ratio is

expressed as an actual ratio, rather than as a decimal number. For example,

Harry's 0.4 could also be expressed as 1:2.5, or one unit of insulin

covering about two and a half grams of carbohydrates. My ratio fluctuates

from 1:10 (one unit of insulin covers ten grams of carbs) to 1:14 (one unit

of insulin covers 14 grams of carbs) depending on my activity level and the

time of year/month. When this ratio is used, rather than multiplying it by

the number of carbs as Harry does, the number of carbs is divided by the

second number in the ratio, so for example if I were eating 15 grams of

carbs I would divide it by ten and get 1.5 units of insulin, or by 14 and

get one unit of insulin. Harry would divide it by 2.5 and get six units of

insulin.

Also, a CDE (Certified Diabetes Educator) and a dietitian can be valuable

resources in determining your carb ratio and other insulin-related doses,

and I think anyone who is put on insulin should have at least one or two

visits with these professionals in order to use it safely. What I've written

above also illustrates why it is important to figure out your own ratios, as

they can vary widely between people as illustrated by comparing Harry's to

mine! There are also some excellent articles online about determining these

insulin doses which I will post later tonight when I get home from work.

They are not as detailed as the books I've mentioned in another post, but

still contain very useful information.

Jen

[Guest guest]

Wow! this is interesting. I know someone sent me a list of basic foods and the

amount of carbs, but does anyone have a list of packaged and/or frozen meals or

other foods and their amount of carbs? Or maybe a website where this stuff may

be found?

revised r

Figuring out what your little r, insulin to carb ratio, actually is is a time

consuming, laborious and frustrating process. It takes lots of testing and

the ability to count grams of carbs and dose insulin like Humalog or Novolog.

It only took me around four or five months to figure out how to do it, and

thanks to daubenmire, who taught me the absolute necessary technique on

how to do it, I finally figured it out in about one month.

Did I say it takes lots of testing?

Well, it does. If you are not willing to do lots of testing at least six times

per day, don't bother trying how to figure it out.

Uh oh!, Did I say you need to know how to count grams of carbs?

This may be unnecessary provided you choose a brand of breakfast or power bar,

say one that contains 25 grams of carbs in it, and you get test2 to be near

test1 with a dose of short-acting insulin like Humalog. If the readings are very

similar within a very few points, then just divide the dosed units insulin by

the number of grams in the bar used. Be sure to pick a bar you like.

Knowing how to do this is an absolute must. In fact taught me that to

figure out my little r, you must absolutely hold your total grams of carbs

at almost a perfect level.

He recommended starting with 15 grams of carbs consumed. He also recommended

holding this consumption level constant as often as you can. You first do

a bs test and chart your reading, call this testg1,then you eat 15 grams of

total carbs as exactly as you can. next you dose Humalog or Novolog to see

how well the insulin dosage deals with the 15 grams of total carbs consumed,

and chart your next bs results an hourand a half or two hours post prandial

reading, call this test 2. Is the test2 reading higher or lower than test1?

You want the numbers in test2 to be very close to the numbers in test1.

Since most insulin dependent diabetics are using two kinds of insulin, Lantus

or NPH for long-acting insulin and Humalog or Novolog short-acting insulin,

getting the two readings to be pretty much the same is a fine tuning balancing

act. It takes many efforts, many finger sticks and many insulin injections

to get it just right. I imagine that if a person is on oral medications for

diabetes control and only uses Humalog or Novolog for prandial carbs, in other

words only uses a single short-acting insulin and no long-acting insulin,

getting test2 to be very near or pretty much the same as test1 would be easier.

When the two readings, test1 and test2 are the same, you have dosed the exact

number of units of insulin to handle 15 grams of carbs.

For example if I eat 15 grams of carbs after test1 reading of 100 and dose 6

units of Humalog to deal with it and an hour and a half later test2 shows a

reading of 100±5 points, then I cam be pretty sure I have hit upon the right

combination of insulin dose to carb ratio. to verify this is true the next

time I eat I double the carbs consumed and I also double the insulin dosed.

Then I compare test1 with test2 and if they are pretty close in their reading

then I know I am dosing the right number of units of insulin for the amount of

carbs consumed.

If you keep changing the number of grams of carbs consumed every time you test

and dose insulin, then you may never figure out what the correct ratio actually

is. This statement would be especially true if you are a type1 diabetic with

little to no insulin resistance, since the type 1 diabetic has to account

for every gram of carb consumed.

final example:

If I test1 and get a reading of 100 and consume 15 grams of carbs and dose 6

units of Humalog to deal with the carbs consumed and two hours later I get

a reading in test2 of 100±5 points, then I can be fairly sure I am close to

the correct ratio. Then I divide the 6 units of insulin by the 15 grams of

carbs consumed, 6/15 and get a little r of 0.4. My insulin to carb ratio of .4

is what I need to plug into the formula:

rC=U

Hint:

Usually breakfast bars have the same number of grams of carbs in each bar, so

eating them and dosing with Humalog or Novolog is a good way to experiment

to see if you can get test1 and test2 to be pretty much the same. If so,

divide the insulin dose by the total grams of carbs in the breakfast bar. This

should give you your little r. By eating breakfast bars each time you test

should give you the same number of grams of carbs, provided you eat the same

brand of breakfast bar each time.

When plugging numbers into the formula, over estimating the total grams of

carbs consumed can cause you to have a low sugar reaction. big numbers mean

big mistakes and small numbers mean small mistakes. Good luck on discovering

your little r.

[Guest guest]

Hi , I go to calorie king. www.calorieking.com . there another one

also which I think I have, but can't find right now. This site I gave you also

has restaurants in it,and it is terrific for checking out before you go out for

things like chinese food, burger king 's or mcs, olive garden, and

many more.

Vicki

Our days are happier when we give people a bit of our heart rather than a piece

of our mind.

revised r

Figuring out what your little r, insulin to carb ratio, actually is is a time

consuming, laborious and frustrating process. It takes lots of testing and

the ability to count grams of carbs and dose insulin like Humalog or Novolog.

It only took me around four or five months to figure out how to do it, and

thanks to daubenmire, who taught me the absolute necessary technique on

how to do it, I finally figured it out in about one month.

Did I say it takes lots of testing?

Well, it does. If you are not willing to do lots of testing at least six times

per day, don't bother trying how to figure it out.

Uh oh!, Did I say you need to know how to count grams of carbs?

This may be unnecessary provided you choose a brand of breakfast or power bar,

say one that contains 25 grams of carbs in it, and you get test2 to be near

test1 with a dose of short-acting insulin like Humalog. If the readings are very

similar within a very few points, then just divide the dosed units insulin by

the number of grams in the bar used. Be sure to pick a bar you like.

Knowing how to do this is an absolute must. In fact taught me that to

figure out my little r, you must absolutely hold your total grams of carbs

at almost a perfect level.

He recommended starting with 15 grams of carbs consumed. He also recommended

holding this consumption level constant as often as you can. You first do

a bs test and chart your reading, call this testg1,then you eat 15 grams of

total carbs as exactly as you can. next you dose Humalog or Novolog to see

how well the insulin dosage deals with the 15 grams of total carbs consumed,

and chart your next bs results an hourand a half or two hours post prandial

reading, call this test 2. Is the test2 reading higher or lower than test1?

You want the numbers in test2 to be very close to the numbers in test1.

Since most insulin dependent diabetics are using two kinds of insulin, Lantus

or NPH for long-acting insulin and Humalog or Novolog short-acting insulin,

getting the two readings to be pretty much the same is a fine tuning balancing

act. It takes many efforts, many finger sticks and many insulin injections

to get it just right. I imagine that if a person is on oral medications for

diabetes control and only uses Humalog or Novolog for prandial carbs, in other

words only uses a single short-acting insulin and no long-acting insulin,

getting test2 to be very near or pretty much the same as test1 would be easier.

When the two readings, test1 and test2 are the same, you have dosed the exact

number of units of insulin to handle 15 grams of carbs.

For example if I eat 15 grams of carbs after test1 reading of 100 and dose 6

units of Humalog to deal with it and an hour and a half later test2 shows a

reading of 100±5 points, then I cam be pretty sure I have hit upon the right

combination of insulin dose to carb ratio. to verify this is true the next

time I eat I double the carbs consumed and I also double the insulin dosed.

Then I compare test1 with test2 and if they are pretty close in their reading

then I know I am dosing the right number of units of insulin for the amount of

carbs consumed.

If you keep changing the number of grams of carbs consumed every time you test

and dose insulin, then you may never figure out what the correct ratio actually

is. This statement would be especially true if you are a type1 diabetic with

little to no insulin resistance, since the type 1 diabetic has to account

for every gram of carb consumed.

final example:

If I test1 and get a reading of 100 and consume 15 grams of carbs and dose 6

units of Humalog to deal with the carbs consumed and two hours later I get

a reading in test2 of 100±5 points, then I can be fairly sure I am close to

the correct ratio. Then I divide the 6 units of insulin by the 15 grams of

carbs consumed, 6/15 and get a little r of 0.4. My insulin to carb ratio of .4

is what I need to plug into the formula:

rC=U

Hint:

Usually breakfast bars have the same number of grams of carbs in each bar, so

eating them and dosing with Humalog or Novolog is a good way to experiment

to see if you can get test1 and test2 to be pretty much the same. If so,

divide the insulin dose by the total grams of carbs in the breakfast bar. This

should give you your little r. By eating breakfast bars each time you test

should give you the same number of grams of carbs, provided you eat the same

brand of breakfast bar each time.

When plugging numbers into the formula, over estimating the total grams of

carbs consumed can cause you to have a low sugar reaction. big numbers mean

big mistakes and small numbers mean small mistakes. Good luck on discovering

your little r.

[Guest guest]

Hi , I go to calorie king. www.calorieking.com . there another one

also which I think I have, but can't find right now. This site I gave you also

has restaurants in it,and it is terrific for checking out before you go out for

things like chinese food, burger king 's or mcs, olive garden, and

many more.

Vicki

Our days are happier when we give people a bit of our heart rather than a piece

of our mind.

revised r

Figuring out what your little r, insulin to carb ratio, actually is is a time

consuming, laborious and frustrating process. It takes lots of testing and

the ability to count grams of carbs and dose insulin like Humalog or Novolog.

It only took me around four or five months to figure out how to do it, and

thanks to daubenmire, who taught me the absolute necessary technique on

how to do it, I finally figured it out in about one month.

Did I say it takes lots of testing?

Well, it does. If you are not willing to do lots of testing at least six times

per day, don't bother trying how to figure it out.

Uh oh!, Did I say you need to know how to count grams of carbs?

This may be unnecessary provided you choose a brand of breakfast or power bar,

say one that contains 25 grams of carbs in it, and you get test2 to be near

test1 with a dose of short-acting insulin like Humalog. If the readings are very

similar within a very few points, then just divide the dosed units insulin by

the number of grams in the bar used. Be sure to pick a bar you like.

Knowing how to do this is an absolute must. In fact taught me that to

figure out my little r, you must absolutely hold your total grams of carbs

at almost a perfect level.

He recommended starting with 15 grams of carbs consumed. He also recommended

holding this consumption level constant as often as you can. You first do

a bs test and chart your reading, call this testg1,then you eat 15 grams of

total carbs as exactly as you can. next you dose Humalog or Novolog to see

how well the insulin dosage deals with the 15 grams of total carbs consumed,

and chart your next bs results an hourand a half or two hours post prandial

reading, call this test 2. Is the test2 reading higher or lower than test1?

You want the numbers in test2 to be very close to the numbers in test1.

Since most insulin dependent diabetics are using two kinds of insulin, Lantus

or NPH for long-acting insulin and Humalog or Novolog short-acting insulin,

getting the two readings to be pretty much the same is a fine tuning balancing

act. It takes many efforts, many finger sticks and many insulin injections

to get it just right. I imagine that if a person is on oral medications for

diabetes control and only uses Humalog or Novolog for prandial carbs, in other

words only uses a single short-acting insulin and no long-acting insulin,

getting test2 to be very near or pretty much the same as test1 would be easier.

When the two readings, test1 and test2 are the same, you have dosed the exact

number of units of insulin to handle 15 grams of carbs.

For example if I eat 15 grams of carbs after test1 reading of 100 and dose 6

units of Humalog to deal with it and an hour and a half later test2 shows a

reading of 100±5 points, then I cam be pretty sure I have hit upon the right

combination of insulin dose to carb ratio. to verify this is true the next

time I eat I double the carbs consumed and I also double the insulin dosed.

Then I compare test1 with test2 and if they are pretty close in their reading

then I know I am dosing the right number of units of insulin for the amount of

carbs consumed.

If you keep changing the number of grams of carbs consumed every time you test

and dose insulin, then you may never figure out what the correct ratio actually

is. This statement would be especially true if you are a type1 diabetic with

little to no insulin resistance, since the type 1 diabetic has to account

for every gram of carb consumed.

final example:

If I test1 and get a reading of 100 and consume 15 grams of carbs and dose 6

units of Humalog to deal with the carbs consumed and two hours later I get

a reading in test2 of 100±5 points, then I can be fairly sure I am close to

the correct ratio. Then I divide the 6 units of insulin by the 15 grams of

carbs consumed, 6/15 and get a little r of 0.4. My insulin to carb ratio of .4

is what I need to plug into the formula:

rC=U

Hint:

Usually breakfast bars have the same number of grams of carbs in each bar, so

eating them and dosing with Humalog or Novolog is a good way to experiment

to see if you can get test1 and test2 to be pretty much the same. If so,

divide the insulin dose by the total grams of carbs in the breakfast bar. This

should give you your little r. By eating breakfast bars each time you test

should give you the same number of grams of carbs, provided you eat the same

brand of breakfast bar each time.

When plugging numbers into the formula, over estimating the total grams of

carbs consumed can cause you to have a low sugar reaction. big numbers mean

big mistakes and small numbers mean small mistakes. Good luck on discovering

your little r.