# Variable BG corrections **URL:** \ **Category:** Insulin\ **Created:** [May 23, 2017, 7:12pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/variable-bg-corrections/1025 "2017-05-23T19:12:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eric](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/eric/32/9209_2.png) [@Eric](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Eric)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2017, 7:12pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/variable-bg-corrections/1025/1 "2017-05-23T19:12:44Z")
This topic came up on a different post, so I am curious if other people have a similar variability. For me, 1 unit of insulin does not work the same for different levels of BG. For instance, the higher I am, the less it works. An example would be, if 1 unit brings you down 50 points when you are 150, does it also bring you down 50 points if you are 300? Or would it only bring you down 40 points? Not look for specific numbers for people’s correction factors, what I am curious about is if the higher your BG gets, the more insulin resistant you become. ---
**Author:** ![TiaG](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/tiag/32/594_2.png) [@TiaG](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/TiaG)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2017, 7:15pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/variable-bg-corrections/1025/2 "2017-05-23T19:15:20Z")
YES. For us, it’s very much a 3-tiered zone. At less than about 100, our son becomes extremely insulin sensitive. 0.1 could drop him 40 points. At more than about 180, our son becomes insulin resistant. 0.1 will not drop him more than about 10 points. At more than 300+, we just dump in the insulin like buckets of water and are always shocked at how little effect it has. At that point we don’t even mess with corrections less than 0.5 or 1 unit. Then again, it’s also possible it’s that the high blood sugar is a symptom of the underlying insulin resistance, not the cause, but we definitely use a three-tiered rubric for how much to give him ---
**Author:** ![ClaudnDaye](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/claudndaye/32/5_2.png) [@ClaudnDaye](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/ClaudnDaye)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2017, 7:28pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/variable-bg-corrections/1025/3 "2017-05-23T19:28:52Z")
Oh so thiiiiiiiis is what you meant! 😃 Now I understand! Yes, our sons sensitivity seems to vary based on what his BG is (and what trajectory it’s currently following). Our trajectory is similiar to @TiaG’s experience with Samson. Double arrows up is especially bad news when Liam’s sensitivity when he’s near, or over 200. ---
**Author:** ![Eric](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/eric/32/9209_2.png) [@Eric](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Eric)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2017, 7:42pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/variable-bg-corrections/1025/4 "2017-05-23T19:42:29Z")
Yeah, I kinda botched the earlier discussion because I mentioned time. This is what I was referring to, the PDM doesn’t let you program different correction numbers depending on how high you are. But it seems reasonably common, the higher you are the less the insulin works. ---
**Author:** ![CatLady](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/catlady/32/36_2.png) [@CatLady](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/CatLady)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2017, 8:10pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/variable-bg-corrections/1025/5 "2017-05-23T20:10:27Z")
On a couple of occasions when I’ve too high (275ish, usually carb-counting errors) I find that a correction dose alone takes forever to work so I give myself 2 units, wait 30 minutes, and then hit the elliptical for 20 minutes. And drink lots of water the whole time. That usually works quite well, phew! ---
**Author:** ![docslotnick](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/docslotnick/32/75_2.png) [@docslotnick](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/docslotnick)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2017, 11:13pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/variable-bg-corrections/1025/6 "2017-05-23T23:13:45Z")
@Eric Yes, absolutely. Far quicker and less insulin to Bg ratio for a correction from 150 than from 250. Also works the other way. Lower I/C for when I’m at 75 than when I’m at 130 ---
**Author:** ![Eric](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/eric/32/9209_2.png) [@Eric](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Eric)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2017, 11:34pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/variable-bg-corrections/1025/7 "2017-05-23T23:34:40Z")
I thought it was fairly common, but I didn’t find much in terms of references. I am probably just using the wrong search terms. ---
**Author:** ![TiaG](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/tiag/32/594_2.png) [@TiaG](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/TiaG)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2017, 11:44pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/variable-bg-corrections/1025/8 "2017-05-23T23:44:03Z")
Let me search my little database of studies I’ve saved. I know I read a study about insulin sensitivity as a function of blood sugar for sure. ---
**Author:** ![TiaG](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/tiag/32/594_2.png) [@TiaG](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/TiaG)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 12:02am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/variable-bg-corrections/1025/9 "2017-05-24T00:02:01Z")
Hi @Eric Eric, Here’s the one study I found previously. Hope it provides some insight! > > > For insulin therapy to successfully maintain blood glucose (BG) levels of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in normoglycemia, it is necessary to understand if the metabolic effect of insulin across the BG range is linear or not.We assess the ability of insulin to lower BG in patients with T1DM in hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia. The net metabolic effect of insulin, defined as the total effect resulting from both reduced endogenous glucose production and increased glucose uptake, was used to define the insulin effectiveness (IE), a measure that indicates the amplitude of glucose lowering that a unit of active insulin can achieve at a given BG level. The IE was assessed in hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia through two separate studies. In the first study, patients were subjected to a hyperinsulinemic euglycemic and hypoglycemic glucose clamp. In the second study, another group of patients were clamped at a hyperglycemic level.The IE increased by 75% when BG dropped from 90 to 50 mg/dl at a steady rate of 1 mg/dl/min and decreased by 10% when BG was increased from 100 to 200 mg/dl.The net metabolic effect of insulin is nonlinear across the BG range and is amplified in hypoglycemia and dampened in hyperglycemia. Most importantly, the BG lowering per unit of insulin is accelerated when falling into hypoglycemia. The understanding of the accelerated risk for hypoglycemia with falling glucose levels will help the design of more robust hypoglycemia prevention and detection systems. ---
**Author:** ![Eric](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/eric/32/9209_2.png) [@Eric](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Eric)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 12:15am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/variable-bg-corrections/1025/10 "2017-05-24T00:15:49Z")
Exactly! That’s what I couldn’t find. I was looking for “correction factor”. Apparently the correct term is “insulin effectiveness” (IE). So “_nonlinear_” and “_insulin effectiveness_” are the terms to search for. Nice work! Thanks! You and @britt_j need to have a “Google Battle” one day! 🙂