Just curious about how much time you typically wait after dosing insulin before eating (I inject Humalog and use Lantus), and what factors you use to adjust the timing.
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Generally about 15 minutes. It really depends what you’re eating… simple fast carbs like Thai food would be better to wait longer than a steak and potato for example. Also varies from one person to the next quite a bit…
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@Sam - I’ve also found that if I’m relatively low at meal time (say 85 to 90) that I shouldn’t wait as long as if I’m higher (say 120 to 140), and I wait the longest if I’m high and taking a correction.
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We’ve tried to do it beforehand but honestly are not good at it - 15-20 if we are lucky. Usually right before because no one remembers. Some folks wait much longer than we do - as much as 30-45 minutes.
For really carb heavy meals it’s better if it’s a longer wait but if we are going out to eat, that sometimes blows up. Once he injected before the five minute drive to the taco place in town, but it was closed. As was option two. And then we drove 15 minutes to option three! Ooops!
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Unless I’m on the lower end (<80), I try to wait 45 mins with Novolog, especially if I’m eating something with simple carbs.
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I’m terrible at pre-bolusing and only do it for the most serious of anticipated blood sugar spikes. I’ve learned around here at FUD alternative ways that have allowed me to not have to do it so often (or feel bad about the fact I am not doing it). So I’ll definitely pre-bolus when I plan on eating soon but my blood sugar is already high or if conditions that day have just left my BG floating, but on many days I’ll just allow my basal to run a little higher than usual, cutting out the need for it.
I’ve also recently gained weight. So there’s that about that strategy. 
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This used to be me when I was taking Humalog and Apidra. With Fiasp, though, I never wait unless I’m starting out high. I just inject as I’m starting to eat. Most often, Fiasp is fast enough to keep up.
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My son routinely does 30-40 minutes on a 30 carb meal. More if he will be eating something with lots of carbs that digests quickly, less if he will be eating something slow digesting like pizza.
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Divide BG by 10 for number of minutes to wait.
Except 4 hours after POD change divide by 5
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Interesting, I’m a scientist so I’m all for numbers and calculations. If you don’t mind my asking, where did this come from? Is it your personal experience or is there a source for it?
Yeah I use tables a lot, I find it easiest. Definitely personal experience. In the beginning used to wait for the number to go down but that’s very unreliable especially if the number is 90-120
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@EdD - Thanks! Good info!
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Here’s a dumb question, for dinner does anyone bolus and then eat a salad or start eating the non-starch veggies or the protein and count that as part of the wait time? Is that a dumb idea?
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Sounds like a good idea to me.
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I cannot remember who talked about this, but yes I think it is a valid strategy if you are disciplined in your eating. It wouldn’t work for me, but it makes sense to me.
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if I am in target (70 - 100) I will pre-bolus 15 minutes. if I am higher, I will wait 20, unless very high and then I will wait longer and watch my BG to see when it starts coming down before eating (this could be a stubborn hour)
however, in the mornings, I typically pre-bolus 20 minutes before putting the first of anything in my mouth.
are you using a CGM? that can really help you to know how long you need to pre-bolus for. just watch the trends.
the pre-bolus is a great tool which has kept me from spiking post meal. I can basically keep a flatline from beginning to end without peaks or valleys.
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@daisymae - Yes, I am new to CGM and have a lot to learn. But I have also found the pre-bolus to be a great tool.
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Fiasp isn’t a whole bunch faster in me, but it’s prompt enough in action that I’ll use it if I’m having fast-acting carbs earlier during the meal. Currently I have Humalog, Novolog, and Fiasp on the go, each one suited to different kinds of meals. So for me it’s not so much about how much of a prebolus time than what I bolus with.
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I have been wondering about using Fiasp for high carb meals and novorapid for lower carb meals. Is this what you do?
I do this…also, I base the wait time on how glycemic I expect the carbs to be. For instance, for French fries, I wait about 25 minutes , while eating the low carb burger portion of my meal. Also, I run a temp basal of 165% starting at least 30 minutes before the meal and continuing for about 3 hours, depending on the cgm readings. It doesn’t always work, but nothing ALWAYS works for me.
This is using an Omnipod, humalog and G5…and I normally only eat about 55 carbs a day…
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