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How often do you typically test your basal rates?
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Um. I don’t even know what that means. They are set & if I’m in range overnight, and between meals, they’re OK?
I change rates whenever they are no longer working well.
I test my basal rates for my long-acting insulin when I experience some wackiness. I find that I do have to change the amounts (I take two shots of Lantus a day) a couple of times a year. Basal testing is pretty easy with Dexcom with no more finger sticks.
I’ve never purposefully tested them. If I have reason to think they’re not working I change them and wait to see if the issue resolves.
I’ve never heard of testing my basal rates. I adjust them when my endo thinks they need adjusting. Not sure if that’s the same as testing them or not.
I answered “Never” based on the wording of this question. If it was asking how often I need to adjust my pump’s basal rate that would not have been my answer. I’ve had to adjust my rate a lot over the past 2 months so on my next Telehealth endocrinology appointment I’ll be asking for help in understanding why this is happening.
How do I test? If I am out of range, I consider my bolus ratio, time of day, activity level, stress, sleep, and basal rate. How do I determine if I need to change my basal rate?
I test my basal rates as needed. There is always room to fine tune my basal rate when I can see a pattern or specifically when testing it.
I know about testing basal rates, involving fasting for a period of time. I just don’t feel comfortable doing it with my active work as a nurse. My basal needs adjustment at least monthly so I have pump profiles to use as needed, and adjust those as well.
T-Slim X2 Control IQ constantly adjusts my basal rate so I don’t have to think about it.
I don’t know how to check a basal rate, what does this mean? I’ve been 22 years into this T1D and I have never heard of checking basal rates before,. Can you please tell us what this is, how is it checked, and what does the result reveal???????
I don’t formally test them, which requires that you fast for some period of time and see if there is a change in BG with normal basal rates. However, I regularly assess whether I drift up or down before next meal, which is normally at least 5 hours since last intake.
With a Dexcom G6 I’m constantly monitoring my basal rates and fine tuning them. Basal rates are very fluid and need to be constantly tweaked. I also use many temporary rates depending on how active I am.
For those that asked, the testing procedure is explained in the book “Pumping Insulin” by Walsh and Roberts. In a nutshell, it involves fasting for a number of hours, examining your blood glucose trend during the fast (when, in theory if the basal dose is correct your BG trend should be flat), and making adjustments. Walsh and Roberts provide detailed info on the amount of the adjustments. It’s far more effective than examining your BG numbers when you are eating and bolusing as usual but, having said that, we don’t do it as we were desperate for weight gain for a good while and fasting wasn’t palatable. This question reminds me that we should revisit that. I think it makes sense for us to test anytime BG numbers go a bit wacky or there’s a reason to think bolus needs have changed.
I don’t test basal rates. I’m on the control IQ. Based on my glucose daily results I know if anything needs to be adjusted. I can see the graphs on the tandem and Dexcom apps on my Iphone.
I have never heard of ‘testing my basal rates’. Not clear as to what is involved
I check my basal rates according to what ControlIQ finds as trends. My endocrinologist adjusts them accordingly.
I check basal rates when I’ve had two days in a row that gave me higher or lower blood sugar readings that what I expected. After the shifts to and from daylight saving time, that is frequently almost daily; at other times it usually isn’t more often than once every two or three months.
I tested my basal rates at least yearly for the first decade after being diagnosed with T!D as I did not have a sensor and my sensitivity to insulin kept increasing. I also have had recurrent unknown patterns of unknown highs and lows which I don’t know the reasons for. I gave up testing my basal rates to find the reasons for these as they do not last longer than three days. I currently use my dexcom sensor’s history helps me find rates to be adjusted.
I had never heard of it either. I always figured that if I stayed pretty flat when I wasn’t eating, it must be OK. For instance, I don’t always eat breakfast and usually stay pretty flat until lunch.
Pumper for 22 years, I used to check quarterly but now with Control IQ I just let my Endo take care of it.
I don’t really test my basal, but I keep a close eye on it and tweak as necessary. I use the Omnipod.
Whenever needed If I notice a new pattern or extreme lows are highs I’ll take it to Day break in shack most of the time adjustments are needed can explain why
What does this mean?
I can manage better by adjusting as needed based on my BG pattern. The so-called “tests” are useless, as the amount needed will be more on a cold day and less on a hot day. So if I did a “test” on a cold day, I would set my basals too high for some other day. Same problems with carb ratios.
For my son, we don’t do actual basal testing (fasting testing). But, we adjust basal rates (along with all other settings) as needed, monthly. During the months when he has an endo appointment, we adjust at the time of the visit. On other months, we do it at home. But, we’re always evaluating his settings (basal, bolus, ISF) and adjusting as needed.
Average 6-8 times per day. Use a pump and a cgm. Reason, my insulin sensitivity is 60:1
I used to do it (24-hour fast) once a year with pretty accurate results. Now I do it without the fast, adjusting to day-to-day and hour-to-hour circumstances. 🧪 🧪 🧪 A very fertile area for research would be on the growth hormone / sleep patterns / exercise patterns impacts on insulin requirements. I suspect the growth hormones are now kicking it at very irregular times of day with my increasingly erratic sleep habits due to circumstances beyond my control. 〰️ 〰️ 〰️ ⚀ ⚀ 〰️ 〰️ 〰️