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Do you most often bolus before, during, or after you eat a meal?
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Either before or during depending on my starting blood sugar.
I bolus before meals. Except for when I forget!
the question had 2 key words…”most often” … I like most others will vary timing depending on glucose levels & type of carbs to be consumed. Before was my response.
I usually walk it off. My Lantus kicks in when I’m active. All I need is a good walk in my neighborhood after dinner and I’m back on track. If I can’t walk because I’m at a social function, I dance, I swim, or just walk around at the party. I don’t bolus before dinner because by that time I’m at a good range.
I try to pre-bolus, but sometimes I forget or not sure what I am going to eat. Sometimes I I bolus while eating or after.
I try 15 min before meals, per my endo advice. Hard to do most of the time.
I put before, but some times not enough before.
Rarely after finishing a meal, and with certain meals when carb count [restaurant] is uncertain, after first tasting each food on plate and then calculating bolus.
“Before”??? what does that mean? Does that include after plating and calculating? Or does that mean 15+ minutes? In that case very rarely.
My most accurate response to the question, as posed, would be “At time of meal” which for some unknown reason was not included in wanted responses.
For me there are several variables…what my blood sugar is before I start eating and what I’m eating. For example, I’ve learned if my blood sugar is 85 premeal/snack and I’m eating popcorn, I need to wait til about mid portion til I bolus otherwise the insulin goes into my system faster and I end up with low blood sugar. For those that want to argue about this, I’ve experienced this many times.
I do the same thing, or do an extended bolus with my pump so I don’t go low before the popcorn carbs kick in. I hate when I accidentally take all of the insulin in one regular (non-extended) bolus because I can’t take that insulin that has already been delivered back out of my system. Then I have to take fast acting carbs.
That REALLY depends on what my blood glucose level is prior to eating. I have gastroparesis … delayed emptying of stomach contents … which often results in my suffering a hypoglycaemic [hypoglycemic, for my American cousins] event should I infuse insulin prior to eating.
Pre-bolusing is key to postprandial glucose control! When I was diagnosed in the era of R and NPH, I was taught to pre-bolus and find it still necessary with a pump and Humalog, although not as far in advance.
Before if I am at home and glucose is normal or elevated. If I am eating out, I wait until the food arrives.
If BG is lower after if normal during, if higher before
I almost always bolus before but I need to delay that when I’m eating carbs that are slow to digest. Like someone said, I have to be careful about hypoglycemia when my insulin kicks in before my carbs.
I try to pre-bolus about thirty minutes before I eat, unless I’m in a lower range.
ALWAYS before. My bolus doesn’t kick in for 2-3 hours, so
ALWAYS before. My bolus doesn’t kick in for up to 2-3 hours, so I have programmed my pump to pre-bolus an hour before eating. Obviously, I must make adjustments on days when meals might be delayed.
Since I use Afrezza, I will inhale the insulin mid-meal and then about an hour after the meal, if needed. This acts so quickly, I would go low mid meal if I inhaled prior to eating. The only time I might bolus prior to eating would be if I were running high.
I answered other as in yes, all three. I try to remember to bolis before but thats impossible when we go out to eat.
I usually rememberb when I start.
Sometimes after if I am below 70.
Sometimes after, as my BG IS RISING quickly and my pump is alarming.
Like you the scenarios have so amply described – it all depends on circumstances. There is no right or wrong perfect answer.
I meant to say “Like the scenarios you have so amply described – it all depends on circumstances. There is no right or wrong perfect answer. ”
Once again I wish there was an edit button so we could fix unintentional typos.
If I could get Medicare coverage for one of the Fast analog insulin, like Fiasp, I would bolus after meals, but with Novolog it is 15 minutes before.
use FIASP, bolus 10 minutes before meals
I try to bolus before meals but frequently I am not sure of the carbs in the meal so take my shot during or after the meal.
Finally nice to inhale an Insulin AT mealtime! No more 15-20 minute prebolus when that’s not convenient for my lifestyle.
Like everyone else, it depends. After reading a lot on here, when I am home I bolus a few minutes before. If I am out and I see food coming out quickly, I’ll bolus before meal. But that can be risky since I do a carb count of 90 just about every time I eat out. If I do more, I go low first. Then, will do correction 2.5 hours later or earlier if I know I’ve overeaten. At home, I don’t have to after bolus often.
It all depends on the type of food Im going to eat. Complex carbs take longer to absorb so I would wait or take just enough to cover any simple sugar foods before eating, then more after about an hour or so
Before, but sometimes memory not so good and hunger wins out and I bolus during or after as the “oh crap” kicks in.
Before, but only just before. I always want to be sure I know what I’ll actually be eating and when I’ll be eating it before I bolus. The scariest times are when I get distracted just before I’m ready to eat and forget that I’ve already bolused for the meal. Fortunately that doesn’t happen often.
My better self boluses before a meal, and that’s usually just before. My more usual, not so disciplined self plays catch up the minute I remember. I think part of that is just a way of saying “I didn’t choose to have this need.”
I try to pre-bolus, but am lucky if I do so by 5-10 minutes and it usually needs to be another 5-10 minutes, though once in a while it causes me to go low for no apparent reason (particular food, etc.).
Before and after is my usual routine.
Depends on My current BS, the food, and how much BOB I have.
However with sushi matching a starch and a protein, before, during, and after is a must.
Breakfast, just before. Lunch and dinner, just after because usually skirting a low then. Snacks, just before.
Always before
If I don’t bolus before I go high. Even if I sit down, bolus, and immediately start eating the food always hits first. Wish it weren’t so abrupt because sometimes I forget.
And once in a while I will pre-bolus, about 75% of what I think is appropriate for the cooked meal at home. On the road, I never pre-bolus. I always wait until I see the food! One never knows what you will get in a restaurant or someone else home.
Ironically after 24 years, 6 endocrinologists, several trainers, and a lot of literature only heard about the idea to pre-bolus from a podcast. For lunch I do my insulin 25 minutes prior to eating (if eating in a restaurant I bolus 1/2 what I expect to eat when ordering, the rest when served to “correct”). For dinner 15 minutes prior, no idea why the difference.
My a1C had remained in the low 7 range historically, last was 6.3 (only 4-5 weeks doing this), and according to the history on my CGM am looking at 5.4-5.5. Eating similar if not a few more carbs “comfort food,” and oddly less lows.
Made the decision to try this if it didn’t interfere with work, play, eating, or whatever. I’ve forgotten some, when learning the time frames have started the drop before the absorption of the food (thus differing times) but at this point my insulin use has dropped from 39 units average to 36 a day (to include several milkshakes and staying below 130 the whole time), and 85% in range (keep my MEDTRONIC pump on manual, set at 65-130 for alerts- alerted at 70 and 125): 9% over and 5% under, no idea that remaining percent!
So times vary but I really don’t differentiate for food but lunch is pretty identical (raw veggies with a sandwich), dinner the old-fashioned meal. Impatient for my next doc visit in September to see but so far fewer hypoglycemia, less insulin, less hesitant for a treat, if that’s a set back?
I pre-Bolus breakfast and lunch, but supper varies with the meal type. For meals that involve slow carb absorption, I set a timer and bolus after. For “normal” suppers, I bolus as I start eating. So I had to answer “ Other”.
Most often just before I start eating. If I’m running above 150 I’ll bolus 20 minutes before. It really depends on where and what I’m eating.
If I I start out at a desired (range 110 or less) before a meal, I can’t prebolus more than 10 minutes as my sugar drops before it starts rising and I don’t want it to go below 70. It still does sometimes, but it usually bottoms out in the 70’s or 80’s. Does anybody else’s sugar drops before their food kicks in? I don’t think I have gastroparesis though.
Yes, my blood glucose often drops low before the food kicks in. But, I do have gastroparesis.
I chose before, but this is just as I start to eat.
It takes me a long time to eat and digest, both.
I use 20 minutes before eating as a rule of thumb. If my blood sugar is high, I’ll bolus earlier, with a little extra insulin. If my blood sugar is low, I’ll bolus closer to when I eat, with a little less insulin.
99% of the time bolus is done before a meal. If I’m low and eating a meal, I do an extended bolus with 0 units now and the bolus over 30 minutes
I start a portion of the bolus before I eat, and extend the remainder during and after my meal.
For low-carb meals, I bolus just before sitting down; for higher-carb meals, I bolus 10 minutes in advance of sitting down.