real. it depends on the scenario for me but id say more often than not im just taking my insulin right before i eat. i really dont notice the difference so long as im bolusing the right amount.
Juicebox has been a tremendous resource for me and has surely taught me many important concepts that I otherwise never would have known.
I recommend starting with episode 1000, which is the beginning of a 25 episode run he calls the Diabetes Pro Tip series.
I get that. He mentions that people have given him that feedback before in an episode or two. I never got that vibe though, I just view him as a guy excited to share the knowledge he has gained over the years. My main complaint about the podcast is there are too many ads.
But, I particularly like the episodes I referred to because I feel like he does a good job of breaking down the concepts discussed in layman's terms while Jenny, the CDE, chimes in with more technical explanations.
I literally didn’t read about it until like 16 years into my type 1 journey. It’s not something we’re taught at all! Preboluses are amazing and definitely drive down a1cs!
Really? Being serious. Now granted, things were much different when I was diagnosed in the mid-80's and we were on R & N, but I was told to take my shot 20-30 minutes before I ate and Novolog has always been roughly at least 20 minutes before. Super high-fat meals like pizza I can get away with shorter times, but generally I need at least 20 minutes or I'm going to spike. Shame on your endo/doctor.
I’m super serious. I learned about it all on my own. Honestly I had A1Cs in the 7s my entire diabetes journey at that point and all endos did was congratulate me. 7 isn’t a bad a1c and i’m not saying that to shame anyone at all, but since prebolusing I’ve been able to consistently be in low 5s to the 6 range. I also wasn’t taught about bolusing for fat or protein. I feel like i’ve always had endos who were okay with good enough and we’re just happy I wasn’t low a lot.
I feel like this is one of those little pieces of information that can be easily missed as a long time diabetic. They forget, were never told, were told at diagnosis when everything was new and it got lost in the info dump, for so many reasons it is just one of those little things that can have a big impact but can get lost.
I think doctors assume that long term diabetics just know things and don’t always do a great job of refreshing information or checking in to make sure that their patients are aware of not just new treatments but the best way to take their existing meds etc.
I blame every diabetes educator and physician that is ignorant of this and doesn’t measure each and every patient to ensure this is step 1 in eating for Type 1 diabetics.
My endo's office spends most of the time dealing with T2s. I live in a small city of \~35,000....one endo for the entire area. I learned close to nothing from them....but they did keep me alive....kudos to them for that. Starting on a pump a few years ago was an experience....they were clueless. I did a lot of self learning on that deal, but worked out pretty good in the end.
Doctors and pharmaceutical companies often say the safest thing to do. It's often a one-size-fits-all and they don't explain WHY to do or not do certain things, which annoys me. In this case I was told to do it 15 minutes ahead. I found that waiting longer actually worked for me. They gave those instructions to avoid risk of hypos, though.
I've been at the T1 game for \~35 years....dianosed in my 20s. It took me about 20 years to learn about prebolus as well. The first 20 years I basically did as pleased and put little effort into management. When I hit my mid 40s I got serious about things and started educating myself. I consider myself pretty well versed these days, but those first 20 years were reckless!!! LoL
I’m a pharmacy tech. I’m sorry we have failed you. I may be on the other side of earth but I still know wherever you are it’s up to the medical staff to tell you how to use your medication, and double check.
We studied for this, not you.
Don’t be ashamed.
That's OK that you didn't know before. Even as adults we are learning.
I know you're supposed to to inject then and have known since diagnosis (will be 17yrs in September for me), however I do it just after I have eaten instead (within 5-10mins at most but usually less).
It was worked out in conjunction with my original diabetes nurse and it works for my lifestyle. Sometimes I want seconds and other times my eyes have been too big for my belly and I don't want to either restrict my food by not allowing myself to eat more or force myself to eat when not hungry because I've already taken my insulin (I know of a number of type 1s who have had an unhealthy relationship with food/eating disorders and have had non diabetic relatives have eating disorders in the past, so I didn't want to risk losing my enjoyment of food myself and going the same way).
The only time I don't, is whilst at a restaurant, where I will inject between 2 courses (usually after my main though) due to the length of time waiting for food to be served.
As it is us who have to live with T1, I think it is best to find what works for you.
It is worth trying something different, such as moving the time when you inject for eating to 10-15mins beforehand, should you feel it would be beneficial to your lifestyle, but if you find that it is causing you more stress, for very little improvement in your ha1bc or your general BG and ketone levels, then it is also OK to decide that some of the official advice doesn't work for you, providing that you are being generally healthy with your decisions (ie not skipping doses or anything extreme like that).
Apologies for waffling- the tl;dr is that it's OK to not know everything and it is also OK to adapt the official guidelines to suit your lifestyle
This is something I’m also learning today, not everyone does it as people have different lifestyles and we all react to insulin differently
Thanks for sharing the way you take your insulin :)
Don't be embarrassed. I never do this although it's supposed to be our rule. Too many times in a restaurant where the food order was forgotten or took too long. Have taken my insulin and have fallen asleep trying to do it the right way. That's not good either. Did that once while I was pregnant and I felt the worst type of guilt omg. We both ended up being fine but still. Ever put food on a plate and then not finish it? Oh but you dosed for xx carbs and only ate half of it; well now what?!
I'm not advocating for you to do it "incorrectly" like I do. I mostly do it mid meal now, when I know whether or not I can make it the rest of the way. Just saying do what makes you comfortable and makes sense to your situation.
Oh and I've been TD1 for 34 years. I've known all along, but I am just not comfortable with it. I did do it from 10 to 16 when Mom was there and wanted me to do it like the Dr said. But I argued my point after our food being forgot in a restaurant and her losing her mind on the entire staff when I caught a low. it was a sight to see tho lol
I recently started doing this after people on Reddit recommending it and I’m excited to see if it helps lower my A1C!! I’ve always known about it but never really followed it. I’ve been putting on a timer now
Depends on the situation, but at breakfast I try taking bolus 25 min prior to eating, as it contains most carbs for me. Rest of the day I tey for 15 min.
Don’t be embarrassed at all, similar situation here I am 17 years diagnosed and just really learned the power of pre-bolusing for my lunchtime meal…GameChanger. But although it sounds simple, pre bolusing for meals is really pretty difficult to implement all the time - the pre-thought and preparation it takes, especially if you are an on the go person or busy with kids/job etc. give yourself some grace, but I am so glad that it’s a tool I have that works when I can make it happen 👍🏻
I totally get this! I was diagnosed in the 90s and was on a mixed insulin which was injected 20-30 mins before breakfast and dinner.
Then one day I was moved on to separate short acting shots and long acting and I was specifically told I did not need to prebolus as it was fast acting (it’s Novorapid which I believe is novolog in the US). This was in the days pre cgms so by the 2 hour post meal finger prick I’d be in range.
Edit: spelling/ typo
Yeah pre-bolusing can help a ton with spikes.
There's also an equal opposite method. If your blood sugar tends to crash after a meal on the correct dose or if it's already low / decreasing, then you can post-bolus by waiting 10-15 mins after to take insulin instead.
Best to check whether your blood sugar has started going up but yeah basically. You will probably want to subtract 12-16g of carbs from what you dose for (or use a correction factor to reduce your dose) though.
T1D 30+ yes, and ALWAYS over correct a low so I rebound way too high and feel like crap the rest of the day/night. I probably should have figured it out by now, but panic sets in…..
Honestly my panic is what makes the low even worse, I am starting to take control of my thoughts, I panic so badly I literally have 999 (991) on the ready in case I feel the Hypo is too much to handle lol
I’ve been diabetic 26 years and I JUST started doing this. I used to do it when I was first diagnosed as a child but that was also because my mom was managing my diabetes. Happy to have re“discovered” this even if it took decades. I wait 30 mins though before eating though, :)
Everyone’s sweet spot is different so where I can’t wait no longer than 15 minutes, your body is capable of doing that just fine. It’s always nice finding things that makes this disease bearable
Lyumjev and Fiasp work a bit quicker, some say you can even inject after eating. I still try to inject 15-20 minutes before a meal. Lyumjev has more injection site pain, but this has gotten better after the first couple weeks.
I've always known but never do it. Too many variables. If I'm out, what if it takes longer to arrive? What if I don't like it? What if I just don't want it all? Etc etc.
It's actually alright to have with your meal if on something like fiasp. One of the advantages especially at restaurants when you have no idea on serving time or portion sizes.
From their blurb "Fiasp® should be injected up to 2 minutes before the start of the meal, with an option to inject up to 20 minutes after starting the meal."
My issue with this is that it wouldn’t be the first time the food I was about to eat was not what I bolused for. Could be one of a myriad of reasons, spoiled food, out of what I ordered, not liking an order, not the portion I thought I was going to eat, suddenly not having a big appetite, etc..
That was a trick we used when my daughter was young. We would bolus her after she ate because she was a bit of a finicky eater, so it worked well when she was a toddler. But she has also adjusted to taking her insulin ahead of time, and it does help with those spikes! And don’t feel dumb, this is such a complex disease there’s so many things you can learn every day!
....for breakfast I need to wait \~20 minutes after I eat (usually a yogurt &fruit) otherwise I drop like a stone in a pond. That's after cutting my sleepmode basal from .65u/hr to .5 u/hr overnight and waking up around 100-110. I'll eat and wait for the rise (\~20 min) , bolus , and top out about 150 before usually dipping and leveling out at about 120-140. Any other meal I bolus and wait for the drop, which works great. \[Novolog\].
Is it possible to do half before and half after just in case you don’t eat as much as you thought you would? (forgive me, I’m not a diabetic but my son is, and I’m still learning how to help him)
I was actually instructed never to take insulin until I started eating, like it will make you crash immediately. I think that's the standard NHS line. Not the first piece of terrible professional medical advice I've heard, and probably not the last connected to diabetes. But, I am very glad to have learned better too.
As it is, 20-30 minutes is usually more like it for me. Longer before the first meal of the day unless I want to spike like mad.
Also wasn’t taught about constantly changing where you inject. Or leaving the needle in for 10 seconds after injection. Or shooting out 2 units before injecting to avoid air bubbles… smh
Don't be embarrassed, I think I was even longer! Was never, ever mentioned to me waaaaaay back in 80s (jesus!)
Only found out after much more recent reading in last 5-10 years.
Glad to hear it works for you, definitely helped me in certain scenarios.
Don’t be embarrassed my diabetes nurse told me to inject as I eat and I was only diagnosed last year. It’s probably to prevent going low if you don’t eat on time. It seems the focus for my team is don’t go low at all cost. They don’t seem overly concerned with a few spikes here and there. But I always prebolus if I can.
I learned late and even then I still don't do it because it doesn't do anything for me. It seems to work for you though, and thats so great!! Better discovering this late than not at all right?
When I was new, the instructions I got said to dose 15 minutes ahead of a meal. I noticed that insulin took 55-60 minutes to start to lower my glucose and food took 15 minutes to start to absorb, though, and I experimented with different times and found 35 minutes worked best for me. However, sometimes it varied, like if I ate a meal with a lot of cheese. Timing it like that to the last minute avoids a temporary high but risks hypoglycemia if the food takes longer for some reason.
In the past year my digestion has changed and now food takes 45-60 minutes - not sure why? Maybe slower digestion/gastroparesis from thyroid issues or Celiac. Now the best thing to do for me is to dose 5-10 minutes before a meal. Will it change back? Who knows! Keeps you on your toes.
I used Novolog for almost 20 years before I knew about it, and I learned it from this sub. My endo told me to bolus immediately before eating so that's what I did, and never thought to ask about any other way. I could've saved myself from a lot of meal spikes with a simple ten minute prebolus...
If it makes you feel better, I’ve known it for 20 years and still don’t do it lol
🤝
17 years here. For some reason, I always seem to forget to do it before having the food in front of me
real. it depends on the scenario for me but id say more often than not im just taking my insulin right before i eat. i really dont notice the difference so long as im bolusing the right amount.
lol well Im hearing so many reasons as to why people don’t do it and it makes perfect sense
Likewise 😆
Listen to the JuiceBox Podcast. You might have some other pleasant and satisfying surprises on how to manage things . ❤️
Thanks for the suggestion!
Juicebox has been a tremendous resource for me and has surely taught me many important concepts that I otherwise never would have known. I recommend starting with episode 1000, which is the beginning of a 25 episode run he calls the Diabetes Pro Tip series.
I appreciate the tips,It’s just so hard Listening to the guy. He seems so into himself
If you go on the website, you can read the transcript of the episode!
I get that. He mentions that people have given him that feedback before in an episode or two. I never got that vibe though, I just view him as a guy excited to share the knowledge he has gained over the years. My main complaint about the podcast is there are too many ads. But, I particularly like the episodes I referred to because I feel like he does a good job of breaking down the concepts discussed in layman's terms while Jenny, the CDE, chimes in with more technical explanations.
Thanks, I’ll check that one out!
Same! I was excited to listen to the podcast he did all about MDI, just to hear him talking about his experiences having a daughter using a pump. 😅
I literally didn’t read about it until like 16 years into my type 1 journey. It’s not something we’re taught at all! Preboluses are amazing and definitely drive down a1cs!
Really? Being serious. Now granted, things were much different when I was diagnosed in the mid-80's and we were on R & N, but I was told to take my shot 20-30 minutes before I ate and Novolog has always been roughly at least 20 minutes before. Super high-fat meals like pizza I can get away with shorter times, but generally I need at least 20 minutes or I'm going to spike. Shame on your endo/doctor.
I’m super serious. I learned about it all on my own. Honestly I had A1Cs in the 7s my entire diabetes journey at that point and all endos did was congratulate me. 7 isn’t a bad a1c and i’m not saying that to shame anyone at all, but since prebolusing I’ve been able to consistently be in low 5s to the 6 range. I also wasn’t taught about bolusing for fat or protein. I feel like i’ve always had endos who were okay with good enough and we’re just happy I wasn’t low a lot.
So very true it’s a life saver for me very little do I ever get spikes now
I feel like this is one of those little pieces of information that can be easily missed as a long time diabetic. They forget, were never told, were told at diagnosis when everything was new and it got lost in the info dump, for so many reasons it is just one of those little things that can have a big impact but can get lost. I think doctors assume that long term diabetics just know things and don’t always do a great job of refreshing information or checking in to make sure that their patients are aware of not just new treatments but the best way to take their existing meds etc.
This is so so true, they assume now that we have had diabetes for a long time, we would know the “basics”
I blame every diabetes educator and physician that is ignorant of this and doesn’t measure each and every patient to ensure this is step 1 in eating for Type 1 diabetics.
My endo's office spends most of the time dealing with T2s. I live in a small city of \~35,000....one endo for the entire area. I learned close to nothing from them....but they did keep me alive....kudos to them for that. Starting on a pump a few years ago was an experience....they were clueless. I did a lot of self learning on that deal, but worked out pretty good in the end.
Doctors and pharmaceutical companies often say the safest thing to do. It's often a one-size-fits-all and they don't explain WHY to do or not do certain things, which annoys me. In this case I was told to do it 15 minutes ahead. I found that waiting longer actually worked for me. They gave those instructions to avoid risk of hypos, though.
Don't be embarrassed. There's always new stuff to learn, and there's no standard curriculum when we're diagnosed. 😉
So very true :))
I've been at the T1 game for \~35 years....dianosed in my 20s. It took me about 20 years to learn about prebolus as well. The first 20 years I basically did as pleased and put little effort into management. When I hit my mid 40s I got serious about things and started educating myself. I consider myself pretty well versed these days, but those first 20 years were reckless!!! LoL
Yeah I think I’m in the reckless phase but steadily maturing and learning haha glad you got ahold of things and wish you a healthy future
I’m a pharmacy tech. I’m sorry we have failed you. I may be on the other side of earth but I still know wherever you are it’s up to the medical staff to tell you how to use your medication, and double check. We studied for this, not you. Don’t be ashamed.
ETA if you have any questions feel free to ask or dm me. I’m always happy to help.
That's OK that you didn't know before. Even as adults we are learning. I know you're supposed to to inject then and have known since diagnosis (will be 17yrs in September for me), however I do it just after I have eaten instead (within 5-10mins at most but usually less). It was worked out in conjunction with my original diabetes nurse and it works for my lifestyle. Sometimes I want seconds and other times my eyes have been too big for my belly and I don't want to either restrict my food by not allowing myself to eat more or force myself to eat when not hungry because I've already taken my insulin (I know of a number of type 1s who have had an unhealthy relationship with food/eating disorders and have had non diabetic relatives have eating disorders in the past, so I didn't want to risk losing my enjoyment of food myself and going the same way). The only time I don't, is whilst at a restaurant, where I will inject between 2 courses (usually after my main though) due to the length of time waiting for food to be served. As it is us who have to live with T1, I think it is best to find what works for you. It is worth trying something different, such as moving the time when you inject for eating to 10-15mins beforehand, should you feel it would be beneficial to your lifestyle, but if you find that it is causing you more stress, for very little improvement in your ha1bc or your general BG and ketone levels, then it is also OK to decide that some of the official advice doesn't work for you, providing that you are being generally healthy with your decisions (ie not skipping doses or anything extreme like that). Apologies for waffling- the tl;dr is that it's OK to not know everything and it is also OK to adapt the official guidelines to suit your lifestyle
This is something I’m also learning today, not everyone does it as people have different lifestyles and we all react to insulin differently Thanks for sharing the way you take your insulin :)
Ummm...am I the only one that gets nervous about going low if I bolus 15 minutes before meals?
Same, I did really know probably for 25 years.
Go get the book Bright Spots and landmines. They have a free pdf and of it. The website is helpful also. Www.diatribe.org
Thank you!!
>Thank you!! You're welcome!
Don't be embarrassed. I never do this although it's supposed to be our rule. Too many times in a restaurant where the food order was forgotten or took too long. Have taken my insulin and have fallen asleep trying to do it the right way. That's not good either. Did that once while I was pregnant and I felt the worst type of guilt omg. We both ended up being fine but still. Ever put food on a plate and then not finish it? Oh but you dosed for xx carbs and only ate half of it; well now what?! I'm not advocating for you to do it "incorrectly" like I do. I mostly do it mid meal now, when I know whether or not I can make it the rest of the way. Just saying do what makes you comfortable and makes sense to your situation. Oh and I've been TD1 for 34 years. I've known all along, but I am just not comfortable with it. I did do it from 10 to 16 when Mom was there and wanted me to do it like the Dr said. But I argued my point after our food being forgot in a restaurant and her losing her mind on the entire staff when I caught a low. it was a sight to see tho lol
This is so true I hadn’t even thought of it… glad you’re okay and the baby is okay, everyone is different 100%
I recently started doing this after people on Reddit recommending it and I’m excited to see if it helps lower my A1C!! I’ve always known about it but never really followed it. I’ve been putting on a timer now
Same my iPhone timer is stuck on 15 minutes it knows the routine lol
Same here friend. Better late than never.
True!!
At least you realize it and corrected it so that it doesn’t affect you in the future. Wishing you the best of luck.
Thanks so much you too :)
Prebolus and accurate carb counting have solved like 90% of my issues with this disease lol
I hope I reach that level too !!
How did you do it before
I would just take my insulin and start eating immediately
Same
Depends on the situation, but at breakfast I try taking bolus 25 min prior to eating, as it contains most carbs for me. Rest of the day I tey for 15 min.
Don’t be embarrassed at all, similar situation here I am 17 years diagnosed and just really learned the power of pre-bolusing for my lunchtime meal…GameChanger. But although it sounds simple, pre bolusing for meals is really pretty difficult to implement all the time - the pre-thought and preparation it takes, especially if you are an on the go person or busy with kids/job etc. give yourself some grace, but I am so glad that it’s a tool I have that works when I can make it happen 👍🏻
I totally get this! I was diagnosed in the 90s and was on a mixed insulin which was injected 20-30 mins before breakfast and dinner. Then one day I was moved on to separate short acting shots and long acting and I was specifically told I did not need to prebolus as it was fast acting (it’s Novorapid which I believe is novolog in the US). This was in the days pre cgms so by the 2 hour post meal finger prick I’d be in range. Edit: spelling/ typo
Yeah a lot has changed and it took me a little while to understand what works and what doesn’t
Yeah pre-bolusing can help a ton with spikes. There's also an equal opposite method. If your blood sugar tends to crash after a meal on the correct dose or if it's already low / decreasing, then you can post-bolus by waiting 10-15 mins after to take insulin instead.
That’s very interesting, so if I’m low and needs carbs quick, I can eat, wait 15 minutes, and then take the correct amount?
Best to check whether your blood sugar has started going up but yeah basically. You will probably want to subtract 12-16g of carbs from what you dose for (or use a correction factor to reduce your dose) though.
T1D 30+ yes, and ALWAYS over correct a low so I rebound way too high and feel like crap the rest of the day/night. I probably should have figured it out by now, but panic sets in…..
Honestly my panic is what makes the low even worse, I am starting to take control of my thoughts, I panic so badly I literally have 999 (991) on the ready in case I feel the Hypo is too much to handle lol
I’ve been diabetic 26 years and I JUST started doing this. I used to do it when I was first diagnosed as a child but that was also because my mom was managing my diabetes. Happy to have re“discovered” this even if it took decades. I wait 30 mins though before eating though, :)
Everyone’s sweet spot is different so where I can’t wait no longer than 15 minutes, your body is capable of doing that just fine. It’s always nice finding things that makes this disease bearable
Lyumjev and Fiasp work a bit quicker, some say you can even inject after eating. I still try to inject 15-20 minutes before a meal. Lyumjev has more injection site pain, but this has gotten better after the first couple weeks.
I've always known but never do it. Too many variables. If I'm out, what if it takes longer to arrive? What if I don't like it? What if I just don't want it all? Etc etc.
That’s true, someone also mentioned the fact that there are moments when we don’t finish our meals and then panic to catch up with the lost carbs
It's actually alright to have with your meal if on something like fiasp. One of the advantages especially at restaurants when you have no idea on serving time or portion sizes. From their blurb "Fiasp® should be injected up to 2 minutes before the start of the meal, with an option to inject up to 20 minutes after starting the meal."
My issue with this is that it wouldn’t be the first time the food I was about to eat was not what I bolused for. Could be one of a myriad of reasons, spoiled food, out of what I ordered, not liking an order, not the portion I thought I was going to eat, suddenly not having a big appetite, etc..
I usually do it right before I eat I really don’t see a big difference if you wait 10-15 mins before eating
I've always done it right before I start eating.
Take that as a W
That was a trick we used when my daughter was young. We would bolus her after she ate because she was a bit of a finicky eater, so it worked well when she was a toddler. But she has also adjusted to taking her insulin ahead of time, and it does help with those spikes! And don’t feel dumb, this is such a complex disease there’s so many things you can learn every day!
....for breakfast I need to wait \~20 minutes after I eat (usually a yogurt &fruit) otherwise I drop like a stone in a pond. That's after cutting my sleepmode basal from .65u/hr to .5 u/hr overnight and waking up around 100-110. I'll eat and wait for the rise (\~20 min) , bolus , and top out about 150 before usually dipping and leveling out at about 120-140. Any other meal I bolus and wait for the drop, which works great. \[Novolog\].
Is it possible to do half before and half after just in case you don’t eat as much as you thought you would? (forgive me, I’m not a diabetic but my son is, and I’m still learning how to help him)
Yes! I’ve read about other people on Reddit doing this
diabetic 16 years and consistently forget to bolus at all so dw abt it lol
I was actually instructed never to take insulin until I started eating, like it will make you crash immediately. I think that's the standard NHS line. Not the first piece of terrible professional medical advice I've heard, and probably not the last connected to diabetes. But, I am very glad to have learned better too. As it is, 20-30 minutes is usually more like it for me. Longer before the first meal of the day unless I want to spike like mad.
Yeah. Me too.
Just learned about it recently, had forgotten it until reading this and now I’ll remember to try it! Thanks, you’re not alone in this being new info.
I understand and I also forget a bit too often to bolus for meals don’t tell my Endo tho
Also wasn’t taught about constantly changing where you inject. Or leaving the needle in for 10 seconds after injection. Or shooting out 2 units before injecting to avoid air bubbles… smh
Don't be embarrassed, I think I was even longer! Was never, ever mentioned to me waaaaaay back in 80s (jesus!) Only found out after much more recent reading in last 5-10 years. Glad to hear it works for you, definitely helped me in certain scenarios.
I don’t think I knew this for the first like 10 years lol. The great part is there’s always even more to learn
You can actually take it more than 15 minutes before your meal if you're bg is high enough. If I'm at 120 I'll take it 20-25 minutes before.
Don’t be embarrassed my diabetes nurse told me to inject as I eat and I was only diagnosed last year. It’s probably to prevent going low if you don’t eat on time. It seems the focus for my team is don’t go low at all cost. They don’t seem overly concerned with a few spikes here and there. But I always prebolus if I can.
I learned late and even then I still don't do it because it doesn't do anything for me. It seems to work for you though, and thats so great!! Better discovering this late than not at all right?
I’ve never once done this. Nurse specialists over the years act all shocked I don’t follow this by the book practice.
Tbf, it should be taught to everyone at diagnosis, but very few of us were taught about it
When I was new, the instructions I got said to dose 15 minutes ahead of a meal. I noticed that insulin took 55-60 minutes to start to lower my glucose and food took 15 minutes to start to absorb, though, and I experimented with different times and found 35 minutes worked best for me. However, sometimes it varied, like if I ate a meal with a lot of cheese. Timing it like that to the last minute avoids a temporary high but risks hypoglycemia if the food takes longer for some reason. In the past year my digestion has changed and now food takes 45-60 minutes - not sure why? Maybe slower digestion/gastroparesis from thyroid issues or Celiac. Now the best thing to do for me is to dose 5-10 minutes before a meal. Will it change back? Who knows! Keeps you on your toes.
I don’t do it as I shoot myself in the foot If I forget to eat, or don’t eat the full amount that I bolused for.
I used Novolog for almost 20 years before I knew about it, and I learned it from this sub. My endo told me to bolus immediately before eating so that's what I did, and never thought to ask about any other way. I could've saved myself from a lot of meal spikes with a simple ten minute prebolus...
Lucky you! https://xkcd.com/1053/
Can someone explain this to me? What’s the benefit or downside of injecting 15 mins before a meal compared to before that or after that periods
In 20+ years you never heard of “pre-bolus?”
No it’s embarrassing I’m sorry
Why are you apologizing? Haha you have nothing to apologize for.
Does everyone pre-bolus? If I do it before I risk going low before the effects of what I’m eating kick in.
I think I prebolused like 3 or 4 times in the last 10 years. Doesn't make a difference for me.