# Crisps and insulin



## scotty (Aug 11, 2010)

Since becoming a diabetic, i havent eat choclate wat so ever, never realley had a sweet tooth anyway, but i do like my crisps,should i be injecting tiny amounts of insulin for a pack of crisps, do no no much as still waiting for a carb counting course

Thanks Scott


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## Adrienne (Aug 11, 2010)

Hiya

It all depends on your levels.   I can only speak about my experience with my daughter who is 10 years old.   When she was on MDI she had to have a snack midmorning, midafternoon and bedtime without injecting and the snacks had to be about 15 carbs each, sometimes it would be a packet of crisps.   

However if she didn't have the snacks she would be hypo before the next meal.  

What are your levels like?  Do you have a pattern of some sort?   Do you need a snack?  

If you can get by the whole day without snacks and not going hypo then it would seem to me that you would need an injection.    However if you need to snack to stop the hypo then no injection.

Not sure I have helped but hopefully it will make you think.


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## novorapidboi26 (Aug 12, 2010)

In Adriennes situation you shouldnt take insulin, but really the doses are wrong on MDI if you have to snack in between times to stop a hypo......

The DAFNE rule, which applies to diabetes as a whole I believe, is that you dont have to take insulin if the Carbohydrate is less than 10 grams, ie crisps (12.7g, 13.9 and so on).

However if the snack is close to lucnh or dinner then you can inculde it in your meal dose, without correcting.

On the other hand you could take for it, but in the end if your doses are correct, background and meal times, then 1 bag of crisps wont effect your sugars in anyway that would bump up your HbA1c........unless its a grab bag monster at 42 grams.....


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## bev (Aug 12, 2010)

It depends on how sensitive you are. For Alex - he could never have the so-called 'free snack' without insulin - even something like 5 carbs would send his levels up - so he needed insulin for every single thing he ate. Not everyone is the same - so it really is trial and error - try eating a packet of crisps 4 hours after a main meal and test your levels afterwards to see what difference they have made. If you dont go up - then I would say dont have insulin - but if you do go up then you do need some insulin to cover the crisps. Also, it depends what time of day your eating them - Alex has 3 different food ratios throughout the day - so perhaps you will too.Bev


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## novorapidboi26 (Aug 12, 2010)

bev said:


> It depends on how sensitive you are. For Alex - he could never have the so-called 'free snack' without insulin - even something like 5 carbs would send his levels up - so he needed insulin for every single thing he ate. Not everyone is the same - so it really is trial and error - try eating a packet of crisps 4 hours after a main meal and test your levels afterwards to see what difference they have made. If you dont go up - then I would say dont have insulin - but if you do go up then you do need some insulin to cover the crisps. Also, it depends what time of day your eating them - Alex has 3 different food ratios throughout the day - so perhaps you will too.Bev




I agree bev, ratios are important, but my assumptions would be that you know what these are.................

If not, then your are not been given the full story.....

As you have not been given any carb counting education, it might be unlikely, and you are just guessing.........

I am quite shocked that there are ppl out there on MDI that are just guessing there way through diabetes.......


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## bev (Aug 12, 2010)

Novorapidboi, as far as I can remember the OP has never been shown how to work out his ratios or even carb count - which is awful. (unless I have scotty mixed up with someone else?).

There have been quite a few people on here who have never been told how to work out ratios or carb count - they have been told to take x amount of insulin per meal and left to sort out the mess! It does astonish me too that lots of teams around the country think that this practice is acceptable. I could help Scotty to work out his ratios - but I dont think it is my place as I dont know all his medical background and sensitivites etc - so its probably best to let him do the DAFNE and work it all out himself.Bev


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## novorapidboi26 (Aug 12, 2010)

bev said:


> Novorapidboi, as far as I can remember the OP has never been shown how to work out his ratios or even carb count - which is awful. (unless I have scotty mixed up with someone else?).
> 
> There have been quite a few people on here who have never been told how to work out ratios or carb count - they have been told to take x amount of insulin per meal and left to sort out the mess! It does astonish me too that lots of teams around the country think that this practice is acceptable. I could help Scotty to work out his ratios - but I dont think it is my place as I dont know all his medical background and sensitivites etc - so its probably best to let him do the DAFNE and work it all out himself.Bev



Agree again, all DAFNE does is give you the tools, from then on you have to make sense of your own body, as it can change from month to month, like me, and many others, it would be so good if we all reacted the same....


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