26 Comments
How would you bolus for a ½ cup scoop of plain vanilla ice cream (not reduced fat or sugar)? If you would use multiple strategies, please select all that apply.
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I am not a vanilla fan so it is unlikely I would eat this but if it were chocolate, I would bolus for it all before eating. If small corrections are needed for the fat later on, I would let Loop take care of them.
Chocolate ice cream has less carbs than vanilla too. I think they put more sugar in the vanilla.
I like vanilla, chocolate, mint chocolate chip, strawberry, butter pecan … 😉
I would look on the carton for carbohydrate content and bowlers for that. If I was out, I would look up online the carb content of the specific place where I was eating the ice cream and estimate. Ice cream does not affect me much differently than any other kind of fast acting carbohydrates.
Bolus just before eating the ice cream, and allow tslim/Dexcom to adjust insulin as needed. This works well for portion controlled sweets.
On MDI so probably multiple doses. But truthfully would probably never eat regular ice cream.
No pump so, just regular ole dosing for a dietians portion kiddie cup of ice cream
A lot depends on current blood sugar, IOB, sugar cone or cup, and even brand of ice cream. I don’t eat ice cream often but a real treat is a stop at the local dairy for the huckleberry ice cream!
I am newly diagnosed and haven’t yet attempted ice cream. But I am thinking an extended bolus is the way to go.
Good for you. Considering you are newly diagnosed, knowing already what an extended bolus is shows that you are learning quickly.
I would bolus 20/30 minutes b4 eating if possible. If bolusing when eating I’ll get a post meal spike – a no no.
Unless I am above 110, I bolus after eating it. Otherwise, I get a low. If I am below 100, I will wait a while after eating it.
If I were to allow myself some ice cream (I am under Endo scolding to drop 10-15 lbs, so the calories count!) I would use an extended bolus – thank goodness for access to carb counts. I would go for the real thing. I have found that low fat and/or low sugar have more carbs than the real thing.
I’d choose one of multiple possible strategies depending on the context. If I were about to exercise vigorously, I might not bolus at all. If my BG is normal and I’m just sitting around, I’d probably bolus 10-15 min before eating and then kept an eye on things in case a correction was needed later. If my BG were above normal, I’d add a correction bolus to the regular bolus and wait a bit longer before eating. Agree about choosing chocolate over vanilla, given a choice 🙂
Because I’m on a pump/CGM that doesn’t allow for dual or square boluses, I bolus for the carbs on the carton. Test two hours later and correct, as needed, for the bg rise because of fats.
I didn’t mark I do not eat ice cream but I do not eat ice cream. I’ve been on a Tandem pump for the last 6 years and as much as I like this pump I don’t like how the extended bolus works. Now a day I give me 1/2 of the bolus I calculate for the food before eating and the other half later when my BG starts rising. The Medtronic extended bolus worked better for me but I wouldn’t change to Medtronic just for that one feature. Staying with Tandem system.
I don’t eat ice cream any longer, but I do try to pre-bolus for the entire meal and then correct after three hours.
I eat ice cream once or twice a week. I would opt for a scoop of vanilla and a scoop of chocolate. I run Loop. So I would add 30-60 carbs with an expected absorption time of about 6 hours. I find that desserts as fatty as ice cream can take a long time for me to absorb. This is likely a situation where I might go low just before bed and then wake up with a BG at 200. Totally worth it for 2 scoops of ice cream
I gave a text book answer, responding to a hypothetical question. I answered extended bolus.
However, what really happens is, I usually eat ice cream when my blood glucose level is low. So, I don’t bolus. On a rare occasion, I get a Berry Sundae when I’m at Sams Club. I usually bolus 3.5 to 4 units for that. Most times it works out well. Sometimes, I use an extended bolus. It depends upon how active I am. Every situation is a little different, and my need to bolus or do an extended bolus, differs, depending upon the situation.
I can be satisfied with 1/3 cup of ice cream which is half the carbs on any ice cream nutrition info. Containers always list 2/3 cup. I would put in the whole amount of carbs 15-20 min before indulging.
My favorite ice cream is Haagen-Dazs Matcha Green Tea because it is not high in sugar. I don’t like super sweet desserts. Only 13 carbs for 1/3 cup.
I probably wouldn’t have it in the first place. I get low sugar or no sugar at all. Of course even those types of ice cream will still raise it a little bit, so I would go for a walk. Too much bolus is scary for me. I tend to drop rather quickly, so walking drops it more smoothly.
I’d add +/- 30 carb to my total for the meal and see that covers it, depending on so many factors.
I bolus for ice cream immediately before I eat it. I eat slowly and have intermittent gastroparesis both. I almost always have pecans or walnuts with ice cream which slows its liquid digestion down.
I would take a 20 minute walk….
Try to bolus 5-10 minutes before eating it.
“Inject” for the carbs but like 20-25 minutes before