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 basal rates generally are quite a bit lower at night—almost down to zero for several hours—but starting around 4:30 am my rate ramps up and is highest during the next few hours. So depending on when you define “night” to end, it is sometimes higher than the rest of the day. I have several different basal rates throughout the day and night.
My morning basal rate (5:30am) is higher than my overnight basal but I have an increased basal starting at 7pm that runs to midnight. This helps with any post dinner fluctuations I may have.
I have in general a lower basal rate in the early part of the night compared to the day, but then I have my rate increasing around 3am for the dawn phenomina. But sugars still can go up or down during the night so I know that the basal is correcting itself also during the night
Yes, I have 5 different basal rates that range from 0.5 to 0.55 to 0.6 to 0.65 to 0.6 to 0.55 through out the day and night. Once set (by my endo and I) my X2 CIQ pump functions pretty much on it’s own. I have different carb ratios and correction factors set for various times of the day/evening and activity levels as well.
Mine is higher at night. I very often don’t see BG go up for several hours after supper. Since my endo adjusted my basal for that, I’ve had significantly fewer midnight high alarms.
I use CIQ and it adjusts the rates, but unlike the Medtronic 670 and 770, it takes the programmed rates as a starting point and makes adjustments, This allows more flexibility is setting rates, but also more challenge. The 670-770-780 uses its algorithm to recalculate current basal every 5 minutes regardless of what is programmed in.
My basal rate is much lower between 12 and 3 am (.20) and then is set to increase until it reaches a high of .475 units from 3 to 7 pm. At that point the cycle stars again.
I’m a (somewhat) happy Omnipod pump user and am very anxious for their newest version to be released with the automatically adjustable basal rates based on the CGM input.
But until then, I am stuck with variable basal rates an the ability to set percentage adjustments as my diet requires.
I have variable rates all day and all night. If I’ve eaten an evening meal with more fat, I usually set a temp basal for a higher amount of insulin for 1-3 hours. Conversely, if I’ve eaten a lighter meal, I’ll set a lower temp basal. This works better for me than anything else. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, after 58 years with T1D, I’m ready for a CURE!!!
Using Minimed 770g but running in manual mode, as their auto mode keeps me too high. My rates are lowest at night, starting around dinnertime. They start to increase later in the morning and are highest during the afternoon.
Variable rates are the whole advantage of having a pump, so yeah. I wouldn’t say it “varies quite a bit” but I do have a higher rate that kicks in at 3:30 a.m. to anticipate and control my Dawn Phenomenon, which started to be a real problem about 15 years into having T1. The Lantus regimen (let alone R/NPH god forbid) couldn’t do anything to touch it, and getting up at stupid-o’clock in the morning for an injection wasn’t exactly my cuppa, so I finally switched to a pump about 10 years ago. Tried the looping thing (670G) which is supposed to be ideal for this kind of problem, but guess what, it wasn’t. So I went back to my old Paradigm. Works fine.
I have 4 different basal rates at night. 3 of the 4 are lower than any daytime basal rate. I have had times when my night basal were higher than day. One thing about this T1D ride is that it is ever changing.
My basal rate varies during the night because I tended to have lows around 1 a.m. and a marked need for insulin due to the Dawn Phenomenon effect around 4-5 a.m.
Between both 12-5am and 12-5pm, my basal rate is lower than the rest of the day (about 15% less). I have been doing it this way for a couple years now. If I don’t set it like this my blood sugar is consistently low during those times. It’s kind of odd but it works.
Two answers – it is higher at night than through the day, and it also varies after 4 a.m. to battle the ‘dawn phenomenon’: with multiple changes from then to 9 a.m. I have found, as needs differ to keep the BG as close to normal as possible, so too does the basal amount throughout the 24 hour period.
I have several basal rates over the course of a 24 hour period. I also have control IQ on my pump that will increase or decrease insulin depending on my needs.
Another poorly worded question. Given that many on a pump will have multiple basal rates during the day and night the answers to this question are too closed to provide a clear profile on basal rates.
Until the MEDTRONIC system is in “SMARTGUARD” I still have three different basal doses set up: highest in early evening, lowest overnight. With the SMARTGUARD it’ll adjust the basal dose according to needs.
At this time, I use 6 units glargine about 6 am and another 6 units at 6 pm, so that’s my “basal.” I also compensate for dawn effect at 4 or 5 am with a half unit of lispro. Then bolus 2-4 units lispro before each meal. But when I was jogging 2.8 miles or swimming 40 lengths every other day, I used different amounts for my basal. And I expect I will soon have to adjust again with the help of my recently acquired Dex G6. I tried several times to get on a pump, but my healthcare provider would not approve it. High cost was also a barrier. Twenty? thirty? years ago I met a guy who had very irregular times of exercise working in a busy stressful hospital ER. For him a pump was an absolute necessity, and this was BEFORE continuous blood glucose monitors!
For 55 years, I’ve had hypoglycemia around 2-3am. My basal rates are lower than during the day to counteract this event. My current pump does adjust basal rates should my SG be unusually high during the night.
Control IQ often changes these but my latest basal rates are:
0000-0500 .25
0500-0800 .3
0800-1926 .375
1926-2000 .35
2000-0000 .275
If we didn’t eat out at all or other peoples houses, controlling BG would be much much easier.
I also have most of my seizure activity during the night. They are not noticeable by anyone. How much fuel does your brain use up with thought?
My basal rates generally are quite a bit lower at night—almost down to zero for several hours—but starting around 4:30 am my rate ramps up and is highest during the next few hours. So depending on when you define “night” to end, it is sometimes higher than the rest of the day. I have several different basal rates throughout the day and night.
Once I figured out how much my blood sugar varies over night I set up different basal rates to accommodate them.
When I’m not using auto mode, my preset basal rates are lower at night to avoid hypoglycemia
I take lantus twice a day and I currently take 1-3 less units in the evening than I do in the morning.
After impulsively answering “lower” I then actually checked the rates as follows:
Basal Rate (units/hr):
12:00 am – 0.200
3:00 am. – 0.400
6:30 am – 0.450
8:30 am – 0.250
6:00 pm – 0.200
Data trumps intuition and memory. (っ^▿^)💨
My morning basal rate (5:30am) is higher than my overnight basal but I have an increased basal starting at 7pm that runs to midnight. This helps with any post dinner fluctuations I may have.
Regularly adjust my basal based on endocrinologist’s recommendations and experience.
Tresciba lasts for more than 24 hours. I take 19 units in the morning and Nonolog for breakfast and dinner. I don’t eat lunch.
I split my daily basals into two servings. one of 6 units at night and another of 5 units in the morning, upon waking
I have in general a lower basal rate in the early part of the night compared to the day, but then I have my rate increasing around 3am for the dawn phenomina. But sugars still can go up or down during the night so I know that the basal is correcting itself also during the night
Tandem CIQ, getting the best numbers since 1963
My basal rates change programmatically throughout the night but my t:slim CIQ tweaks as needed.
Yes, I have 5 different basal rates that range from 0.5 to 0.55 to 0.6 to 0.65 to 0.6 to 0.55 through out the day and night. Once set (by my endo and I) my X2 CIQ pump functions pretty much on it’s own. I have different carb ratios and correction factors set for various times of the day/evening and activity levels as well.
Mine is higher at night. I very often don’t see BG go up for several hours after supper. Since my endo adjusted my basal for that, I’ve had significantly fewer midnight high alarms.
Yes, absolutely and this is where a closed loop system shines by making those adjustments based on BG value and not time of day.
I use CIQ and it adjusts the rates, but unlike the Medtronic 670 and 770, it takes the programmed rates as a starting point and makes adjustments, This allows more flexibility is setting rates, but also more challenge. The 670-770-780 uses its algorithm to recalculate current basal every 5 minutes regardless of what is programmed in.
My basal rate is much lower between 12 and 3 am (.20) and then is set to increase until it reaches a high of .475 units from 3 to 7 pm. At that point the cycle stars again.
I’m a (somewhat) happy Omnipod pump user and am very anxious for their newest version to be released with the automatically adjustable basal rates based on the CGM input.
But until then, I am stuck with variable basal rates an the ability to set percentage adjustments as my diet requires.
I use Tandem BIQ and have 9 different time zones in my pump for basal rates, correction factor (ISF) and meal carb:insulin bolusing.
I have variable rates all day and all night. If I’ve eaten an evening meal with more fat, I usually set a temp basal for a higher amount of insulin for 1-3 hours. Conversely, if I’ve eaten a lighter meal, I’ll set a lower temp basal. This works better for me than anything else. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, after 58 years with T1D, I’m ready for a CURE!!!
Using Minimed 770g but running in manual mode, as their auto mode keeps me too high. My rates are lowest at night, starting around dinnertime. They start to increase later in the morning and are highest during the afternoon.
Variable rates are the whole advantage of having a pump, so yeah. I wouldn’t say it “varies quite a bit” but I do have a higher rate that kicks in at 3:30 a.m. to anticipate and control my Dawn Phenomenon, which started to be a real problem about 15 years into having T1. The Lantus regimen (let alone R/NPH god forbid) couldn’t do anything to touch it, and getting up at stupid-o’clock in the morning for an injection wasn’t exactly my cuppa, so I finally switched to a pump about 10 years ago. Tried the looping thing (670G) which is supposed to be ideal for this kind of problem, but guess what, it wasn’t. So I went back to my old Paradigm. Works fine.
I have 4 different basal rates at night. 3 of the 4 are lower than any daytime basal rate. I have had times when my night basal were higher than day. One thing about this T1D ride is that it is ever changing.
My basal rate varies during the night because I tended to have lows around 1 a.m. and a marked need for insulin due to the Dawn Phenomenon effect around 4-5 a.m.
Using a Tandem pump with CIQ has provided the results I’ve needed for decades.
Between both 12-5am and 12-5pm, my basal rate is lower than the rest of the day (about 15% less). I have been doing it this way for a couple years now. If I don’t set it like this my blood sugar is consistently low during those times. It’s kind of odd but it works.
My basal rate varies a lot during the day and during the night. My basal rate changes 19 times every day.
I currently have my pump set up to deliver 6 different basal rates at different times of the day and night.
Two answers – it is higher at night than through the day, and it also varies after 4 a.m. to battle the ‘dawn phenomenon’: with multiple changes from then to 9 a.m. I have found, as needs differ to keep the BG as close to normal as possible, so too does the basal amount throughout the 24 hour period.
I have several basal rates over the course of a 24 hour period. I also have control IQ on my pump that will increase or decrease insulin depending on my needs.
Another poorly worded question. Given that many on a pump will have multiple basal rates during the day and night the answers to this question are too closed to provide a clear profile on basal rates.
Until the MEDTRONIC system is in “SMARTGUARD” I still have three different basal doses set up: highest in early evening, lowest overnight. With the SMARTGUARD it’ll adjust the basal dose according to needs.
I take one dose of basal insulin Tresiba in the morning and last forever 24 hours as it controls my blood sugar throughout the day
I use MDI and take one basal insulin injection each morning.
My basal rate varies during the night with an increase 03:30-08:00 to avoid the dawn phenomenon
At this time, I use 6 units glargine about 6 am and another 6 units at 6 pm, so that’s my “basal.” I also compensate for dawn effect at 4 or 5 am with a half unit of lispro. Then bolus 2-4 units lispro before each meal. But when I was jogging 2.8 miles or swimming 40 lengths every other day, I used different amounts for my basal. And I expect I will soon have to adjust again with the help of my recently acquired Dex G6. I tried several times to get on a pump, but my healthcare provider would not approve it. High cost was also a barrier. Twenty? thirty? years ago I met a guy who had very irregular times of exercise working in a busy stressful hospital ER. For him a pump was an absolute necessity, and this was BEFORE continuous blood glucose monitors!
For 55 years, I’ve had hypoglycemia around 2-3am. My basal rates are lower than during the day to counteract this event. My current pump does adjust basal rates should my SG be unusually high during the night.
Control IQ often changes these but my latest basal rates are:
0000-0500 .25
0500-0800 .3
0800-1926 .375
1926-2000 .35
2000-0000 .275
If we didn’t eat out at all or other peoples houses, controlling BG would be much much easier.
I also have most of my seizure activity during the night. They are not noticeable by anyone. How much fuel does your brain use up with thought?