Sarah Howard (nee Tackett) has dedicated her career to supporting the T1D community ever since she was diagnosed with T1D while in college in May 2013. Since then, she has worked for various diabetes organizations, focusing on research, advocacy, and community-building efforts for people with T1D and their loved ones. Sarah is currently the Senior Manager of Marketing at T1D Exchange.
My pump is programmed very well on insulin/carb. I let it do the calculations. If the results are good, I don’t worry about the exact amount of insulin. I make adjustments to the ratio, if necessary.
I draw and inject my insulin the old fashioned way – no devices other than a syringe. I know exactly how much I take, including variable adjustments for each injection. I write down these values so my doctor and I can see patterns over time.
It’s not the same every day, but I don’t record on a device. I am a senior that used to keep the old fashion logbook, but those are extinct these days. I just keep the amounts in my head and body too!
I have to rely on my device. Everyday is so different. Many days if I am in range and I am not at all hungry (I am not a big eater, just don’t enjoy it) so there are days without a meal bolus, and often don’t need a correction on those days.
Kind of a silly question, since every day is different. I’ve been T1d for 40+ years and I know exactly what my current basal rate are set at on my pump, and what they add up to. However, some days I don’t eat as much, or I exercise more than other days. I use ROUGHLY between 25 and 32 units per day, depending on other factors.
Kind of a silly question, since every day is different. I’ve been T1d for 40+ years and I know exactly what my current basal rate are set at on my pump, and what they add up to. However, some days I don’t eat as much, or I exercise more than other days. I use ROUGHLY between 25 and 32 units per day, depending on other factors.
No I don’t know how much insulin I take a day due to memory loss due to a really bad low of 1 so I just don’t remember things like that I don’t even remember what I ate 15 minutes later
Due to the fact that I use 10.05u of basal daily, and then 1:27 C:I ratio and I eat 30-45g of carb per day.. my TDD IS ever so easy to know down to the unit with your parameters.. 10.05 + 1.5 = 11.55u which is what my TDD has been for years, unless I have a Tall Latte with 2 pumps of Chai, 2 splendas and a splash of heavy cream (liquid whipping cream, not half/half) which is 37g carbs which is 1.65u insulin or a Grande which is 5 pumps chai and 48g and 1.9u more insulin added to my 11.55u TDD
As an old-fashioned luddite kind of gent, I stubbornly still use syringes and a vial to deal with my 53-year relationship with Type-1. In fact, I found this very question a bit absurd. How could any Diabetic not know how much insulin he or she shoots up daily? Isn’t this a bit sad? Is this where technology-dependence has brought us? Phooey!
If you know exactly how much insulin you’ve used without looking, then you must not be getting the best BG control. AID systems, such as the excellent Tandem t:slim X2 pump, automatically compensate for the small fluctuations in ISF that we all experience due to variances from day to day. I appreciate that my basal rate is not exactly the same every day, and my Improved A1C since going on the Tandem pump reinforces that.
I answered other as there is no device that has this answer for me. I am on MDI and know the ranges I take but depending on a plethora of circumstances the answer will vary day to day.
I record every insulin injection (indeed every reading and diet). Hence to determine the amounts, I would consult my records, not my devices. I’ve found my insulin amounts are remarkably stable, but I’ve never committed them to memory.
With control-IQ, my insulin amounts change daily, but not by incredible amounts as my basal amount is set to 8units daily and my carb ratio 1:16, so my insulin requirements are not high. Some days my blood sugar seems to do what it wants to, possibly due to stress I am unaware of: seizures or other bodily stresses?
After 50 years of almost the same dose every day, except less in hot weather, I know pretty much where I stand. I can tell you within about 2 units per day, as it has not changed over the various types of insulin used (starting with one injection of Lente per day to using pumps for the last 14 years) or the number of injections or boluses, etc. In summer I use about 20 units a day, in fall and spring about 24, and in really cold weather I use 27. I first became acutely aware of my daily dose during my pregnancies when I was told it was typical for the dose (a single injection or two injections spaced 12 hours apart) to go down in the first trimester and then double or triple in the second semester. In my first two pregnancies, I ended up at 72 units per day (so it tripled). At the end of my second pregnancy I ended up at 48 units per day, and I was really worried that there was something wrong with the baby (which there was not, and my dose had only doubled).
I used to know with 10% accuracy (was that 30 units or 3 units … don’t know, do you!) But with tslim and basal IQ, while I still know how much I’ve bolused, and what my basal rate is – IQ has done it thing and I’m now much less accurate in my predictions.
I said I could estimate, +/- 5u. That being said, this is due in part to my reviewing my daily insulin intake on my pump’s menu. I might still be able to do it if I were on MDI (because, basal has always been 14-15u, I know my carb and correction ratios by heart, and I eat and exercise carefully) but reviewing the pump data does help.
It depends entirely on whatever I eat and so,etimes It depends entirely on what I eat each day and that varies widely. Sometimes I don’t take enough insulin and sometimes I take too much and I have to eat. So I probably overestimate my insulin needs and then forget to eat. I am never hungry because I have an enlarged spleen that no one can figure out why I have and so I often don’t bother to eat. I am lucky that my A1C is around 5 without paying much attention to trying to make it be that way.
My pump is programmed very well on insulin/carb. I let it do the calculations. If the results are good, I don’t worry about the exact amount of insulin. I make adjustments to the ratio, if necessary.
I have absolutely no idea what my insulin usage is. I let my pump take care of it and do not worry or keep track of the daily totals.
I draw and inject my insulin the old fashioned way – no devices other than a syringe. I know exactly how much I take, including variable adjustments for each injection. I write down these values so my doctor and I can see patterns over time.
It’s not the same every day, but I don’t record on a device. I am a senior that used to keep the old fashion logbook, but those are extinct these days. I just keep the amounts in my head and body too!
It’s not the same every day but I average 28 units per day according to my pump the last time I looked.
I have to rely on my device. Everyday is so different. Many days if I am in range and I am not at all hungry (I am not a big eater, just don’t enjoy it) so there are days without a meal bolus, and often don’t need a correction on those days.
Kind of a silly question, since every day is different. I’ve been T1d for 40+ years and I know exactly what my current basal rate are set at on my pump, and what they add up to. However, some days I don’t eat as much, or I exercise more than other days. I use ROUGHLY between 25 and 32 units per day, depending on other factors.
Kind of a silly question, since every day is different. I’ve been T1d for 40+ years and I know exactly what my current basal rate are set at on my pump, and what they add up to. However, some days I don’t eat as much, or I exercise more than other days. I use ROUGHLY between 25 and 32 units per day, depending on other factors.
No I don’t know how much insulin I take a day due to memory loss due to a really bad low of 1 so I just don’t remember things like that I don’t even remember what I ate 15 minutes later
Due to the fact that I use 10.05u of basal daily, and then 1:27 C:I ratio and I eat 30-45g of carb per day.. my TDD IS ever so easy to know down to the unit with your parameters.. 10.05 + 1.5 = 11.55u which is what my TDD has been for years, unless I have a Tall Latte with 2 pumps of Chai, 2 splendas and a splash of heavy cream (liquid whipping cream, not half/half) which is 37g carbs which is 1.65u insulin or a Grande which is 5 pumps chai and 48g and 1.9u more insulin added to my 11.55u TDD
As an old-fashioned luddite kind of gent, I stubbornly still use syringes and a vial to deal with my 53-year relationship with Type-1. In fact, I found this very question a bit absurd. How could any Diabetic not know how much insulin he or she shoots up daily? Isn’t this a bit sad? Is this where technology-dependence has brought us? Phooey!
If you know exactly how much insulin you’ve used without looking, then you must not be getting the best BG control. AID systems, such as the excellent Tandem t:slim X2 pump, automatically compensate for the small fluctuations in ISF that we all experience due to variances from day to day. I appreciate that my basal rate is not exactly the same every day, and my Improved A1C since going on the Tandem pump reinforces that.
I answered other as there is no device that has this answer for me. I am on MDI and know the ranges I take but depending on a plethora of circumstances the answer will vary day to day.
I record every insulin injection (indeed every reading and diet). Hence to determine the amounts, I would consult my records, not my devices. I’ve found my insulin amounts are remarkably stable, but I’ve never committed them to memory.
With control-IQ, my insulin amounts change daily, but not by incredible amounts as my basal amount is set to 8units daily and my carb ratio 1:16, so my insulin requirements are not high. Some days my blood sugar seems to do what it wants to, possibly due to stress I am unaware of: seizures or other bodily stresses?
My needs vary daily depending on multiple factors so I can’t hazard a guess.
After 50 years of almost the same dose every day, except less in hot weather, I know pretty much where I stand. I can tell you within about 2 units per day, as it has not changed over the various types of insulin used (starting with one injection of Lente per day to using pumps for the last 14 years) or the number of injections or boluses, etc. In summer I use about 20 units a day, in fall and spring about 24, and in really cold weather I use 27. I first became acutely aware of my daily dose during my pregnancies when I was told it was typical for the dose (a single injection or two injections spaced 12 hours apart) to go down in the first trimester and then double or triple in the second semester. In my first two pregnancies, I ended up at 72 units per day (so it tripled). At the end of my second pregnancy I ended up at 48 units per day, and I was really worried that there was something wrong with the baby (which there was not, and my dose had only doubled).
I used to know with 10% accuracy (was that 30 units or 3 units … don’t know, do you!) But with tslim and basal IQ, while I still know how much I’ve bolused, and what my basal rate is – IQ has done it thing and I’m now much less accurate in my predictions.
I said I could estimate, +/- 5u. That being said, this is due in part to my reviewing my daily insulin intake on my pump’s menu. I might still be able to do it if I were on MDI (because, basal has always been 14-15u, I know my carb and correction ratios by heart, and I eat and exercise carefully) but reviewing the pump data does help.
It depends entirely on whatever I eat and so,etimes It depends entirely on what I eat each day and that varies widely. Sometimes I don’t take enough insulin and sometimes I take too much and I have to eat. So I probably overestimate my insulin needs and then forget to eat. I am never hungry because I have an enlarged spleen that no one can figure out why I have and so I often don’t bother to eat. I am lucky that my A1C is around 5 without paying much attention to trying to make it be that way.