I don’t think so. It can be the difference between taking insulin or not taking it.
This is interesting: Would you correct 120 with insulin? When would you take insulin, and when would you skip it? (BTW- at my most recent doctor’s visit, my a1c of 6.0 was met with : I’m a little concerned that it may be a bit too low. I try to generally not stray too far out of range from 80-140 for too long.) If my BG were 120, I would not want to try to mess with a good thing; unless I were planning on eating LOTS of chocolate and a croissant. But that’s a different story altogether.
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Yes, I correct at 120. Even when running.
If I had taken insulin for a meal, and was at 120, I would not correct because the meal bolus should take care of it. So it depends on the circumstances. But if I was not eating and had not taken insulin, I would almost always hit a 120 with a small bolus.
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Same here, been correcting BGs like that for years… But it does depend on the circumstances…If I’m 120 after bolus insulin is done, I’ll correct it down to 90 ish.
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How long would you consider “not taken insulin”?
If one only eats major meals B, L, D, 7 am, 12 noon, then 6 pm. Would you correct after 3 hours post injection, if BG= 120? (you guys must have sub 6 a1c!)
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I wouldn’t even wait that long. Maybe an hour or one and a half hours. Two would be an extreme limit, like if I was not at home.
As long as I’m near the fridge, insulin does not scare me.
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I know i’m not always all that convincing in my control… or skills or knowledge, BUT when I’ve got my calibration factor up and running, I’m doing insulin at an 80 if it’s in the numbers. Context is everything, including what I plan on doing next. Obviously the lower my BG, the tinier the dose… unless I’m ramping up for a coffee party.
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I didn’t really do a good job of explaining.
If I went from 140 or 130 down to 120, and it was an hour or two after a meal, obviously I would not correct. But if I was climbing at 120, then I would correct after a meal.
It’s not just the number, it’s the direction and slope!
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Same thought process. I just need my calibration factor to capture what you are able to gather through using the force. 
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I think it’s important to gain an understanding of how long your bolus insulin(s) stay in effect. There are a number of variables influencing length of bolus action: type of insulin, size of injection, location of injection, physical activity, person to person differences, etc.
I’m guessing @Eric has published something in the past about how to measure duration of insulin action?
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Heh. I just split a very old thread because I realized we had not actually had a thread dedicated to this (at least I did not find one. Possibly I am wrong?).
We are with @Eric. We correct anything over 100 when we are stable. My son phrases it as “we like to be in the lower half of the range.”
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I tend to do this more now, too, since my lack of basal has meant faster spikes, and spiking from 120 is much worse than spiking from under 100 for me. Not to mention I can now sit at 120 for hours (before now, it wouldn’t stay there long on its own), and I prefer to rest lower.
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I think it is time for me to take a page from your book and become more assertive about boluses. A lot of food for thought…
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Hi Eric, et al, did you publish something wrt the above? FYI - I use MDI, half unit pen, Novolog. If it’s been ~2 hours after a meal bolus, and suppose the meal time insulin dosage were around 2-3 units, and the 2 hour posr meal BG were 145, I have been hesitant to try to correct using a half unit. Why?
I think my emotional fear/concern is:
it’s getting close to bed time - don’t want to go low during sleep
there is still IOB from the meal time bolus
I do understand that bolus insulin peaks around 1.5- 2 hours after injection. Do you consider IOB to be essentially “0” at 1.5 to 2 hours after bolus?
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We have had discussions about it, and I have made many comments about it. I do not know of a single post that describes it entirely.
I don’t think it is completely zero. But for me, it is very close to zero. Like such a small amount that I am not too worried about it after 2 hours.
But this depends on the person and so many factors, like the site and activity and many other things. So it is very individualized.
I do not worry about it 2 hours after, but I think there are others here who do consider IOB to be an issue after 2 hours.
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Thank you. Apologies in advance, if this is a repetitive topic. This occured the other day: 1.5 hour post meal BG 221 - not Chinese or Japanese food.
I was contemplaitng injecting 1 unit to lower the BG. In the past with BG >200 I have injected 1 unit, and no effect - Chinese or Japanese food, or with cake, some other fatty or complex food. Since I didn’t eat Chinese or Japanese food, or French fries…I reconsidered the 1 unit AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, I was going to be walking, at a moderate pace for about 30 minutes and will not be near a refrigerator (I do have my smarties and my meter I decided on a half unit correction.
Having decided on a half unit correction unit and a moderately paced 30 mintue walk, i injected 0.5 unit.
after 1 hour, which included the 30 minute moderate walk: BG= 137
after 3 hours of the correction BG= 119.
How much impact does the moderately paced 30 mintue walk have on lowering the BG from 221 to 137? It was likely a 15-20 minute mile pace.
On the one hand, I think my correction factor is 1 unit of insulin to lower BG by approximately 100. However, on this day, it took about 0.5 units to lower BG by approximately 100. Therefore, I have been hesitant to correct aggressively.
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Exercise can definitely help the insulin work better. When I’m physically active, my insulin sensitivity improves, but it seems to have a longer tail, too, but have not tested it to be sure. I have a lot of minor lows on a Saturday working outside if I use my normal basal dose.
100 points per unit correction factor? Yikes. Mine is around 25:1. I’d dilute insulin with that kind of ratio. Have you ever done that? Eric has posted info on doing that in the past.
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Yikes here too 
. I use 35:1 and that doesn’t usually do much.
As for the exercise, I don’t know if it “uses up” more of the glucose (and faster) or makes you more sensitive to the insulin, or both.
If I understand correctly, It seems like for some of you, one unit of insulin may decrease your BG by 25, or 35.
Am I unusual?
Yes, I’ve considered it. I read Eric’s posts. I think that I am prone to potential mistakes, therefore, want to keep things simple.
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