# Porridge



## CBK (Apr 17, 2012)

Hi folks well that's me almost 2 months pumping and things beginning to make sense ha ha ha. Levels pretty stable most of time, few exceptions but beginning to understand better why. One problem I having is porridge. It does not seem to be very low GI for me. I make it with water add a few sultanas and half a banana which works out at 35gr carb. Spoke to my DSN and she suggested a dual wave bolus 50% up front and rest over half hour. This did not work levels shot up from 7.9 to 15.1within an hour but did come back down by lunch. Tried again today and did dual over 1.5 hours bit better 7.8 then 11.2 an hour in but still bit high. Will try over two hours tomoro and see what happens. Anyone like their porridge, and have any other suggestions, I would be very grateful.


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## novorapidboi26 (Apr 17, 2012)

When do you take the first dose?

The large spike is because the porridge peak is coming before the insulins' peak.......so you should maybe try a longer time between first dose and eating........


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## CBK (Apr 17, 2012)

Ah ok have been waiting about 15mins after first dose so maybe 20 - 25 perhaps be better.
Cheers Novo try this tomoro.


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## everydayupsanddowns (Apr 17, 2012)

Hi CBK

I had a similar issue with porridge on MDI, and have tried again since being on a pump. There is no point doing any dual/square wave for me as I absorb porridge plenty fast enough for a standard bolus. I'll also usually wait about half an hour between bolus and eating to give the insulin a 'head start' (though I know others for whom this delay would cause problems as their livers might start pushing glucose out if there is a big delay between rising and eating).

Wrote a post about porridge here after a few months on the pump: Rediscovering Porridge

As ever, you just have to carry on testing and tweaking until you have found a system that works for you regardless of what is supposed to work on average. If you are coming down by lunchtime it suggests the dose is not far out. I'd consider trying it as a standard bolus all up front and see what happens. If you dip at around 1-2 hours you might want to try a shortish square wave or dual wave with most upfront and less later (80:20 over an hour say?). 

Your second attempt seems to confound the first as a longer Dual Wave would spread the second 50% of the dose over a longer period so that at 1 hour you would have had *less* insulin working but seemed to get better levels. This is why it can be difficult when trying things out - each day will have its own variables and if you have the patience it can be worth testing the same approach a few times to get a spread of results.

Good luck with it!


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## Hanmillmum (Apr 17, 2012)

What works for my little one is a 75/25 bolus over an hour, administering 15-20 mins before eating.


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## CBK (Apr 20, 2012)

Thanks guys for all your advice. Looks like a bit of trial and error need, so will let you know when i find something that works.


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## Phil65 (Apr 20, 2012)

CBK said:


> Hi folks well that's me almost 2 months pumping and things beginning to make sense ha ha ha. Levels pretty stable most of time, few exceptions but beginning to understand better why. One problem I having is porridge. It does not seem to be very low GI for me. I make it with water add a few sultanas and half a banana which works out at 35gr carb. Spoke to my DSN and she suggested a dual wave bolus 50% up front and rest over half hour. This did not work levels shot up from 7.9 to 15.1within an hour but did come back down by lunch. Tried again today and did dual over 1.5 hours bit better 7.8 then 11.2 an hour in but still bit high. Will try over two hours tomoro and see what happens. Anyone like their porridge, and have any other suggestions, I would be very grateful.



What sort of porridge are you eating?....I found the microwave 'porridge' was a nightmare for me but am ok with a normal bolus with quaker oats.


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## Robster65 (Apr 20, 2012)

Depending on quantities, the sultanas and banana will be high GI and may not be delayed by the oats. 

have you tried it without any additions?

Rob


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## CBK (Apr 26, 2012)

Hi Phil same as you the micro stuff is loaded with sugar and was no good for me. I just using ordinary porridge oats now made with water. Am experimenting at moment with timing my bolus, getting there but have to be organised not a strong point for me ha ha ha.
Always get good result pre lunch so not to worried.


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## CBK (Apr 26, 2012)

Ye Robster think it maybe the sultanas and banana usually small handful sultanas and half banana, but it sssssooooo tasty have to find the way to get it right ha ha ha.


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## MaryPlain (Jul 20, 2012)

I make my porridge with soya milk and stir in 15g flax seed.  It seems to make the porridge more filling, and I don't feel hungry two hours later, which normal porridge does for me.  I wouldn't ever consider using an extended bolus for something so low in fat. For flavour and sweetness I use a little cinnamon and a tiny sprinkle of sweetener.


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## Pumper_Sue (Jul 21, 2012)

MaryPlain said:


> I make my porridge with soya milk and stir in 15g flax seed.  It seems to make the porridge more filling, and I don't feel hungry two hours later, which normal porridge does for me.  I wouldn't ever consider using an extended bolus for something so low in fat. For flavour and sweetness I use a little cinnamon and a tiny sprinkle of sweetener.



Hi mary, the extended bolus is used by many when eating porridge is due to it's slow digestion rate, nothing to do with it's fat or lack of content as in this case.


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## pgcity (Jul 21, 2012)

I love porrige and had almost given up trying to sort out a way of eating it on mdi. 

I pre bolus 1 unit 40 mins before and 3 units just before I eat and this seems to work. That is a 1:6g ratio for 24g of carbs. I make it with soya milk. My usual ratio is 1:8g in the morning.

By doing this I think I counter the effect of getting up (the feet on the floor rise) and the high glycemic load of the meal.

I worked my method out by testing every 15mins for a few days until I could see the pattern. I justified this to myself as this is the meal I eat most often but it did cost the nhs loads in test strips. I thinks it's ?14 for 50!


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## MaryPlain (Jul 21, 2012)

Pumper_Sue said:


> Hi mary, the extended bolus is used by many when eating porridge is due to it's slow digestion rate, nothing to do with it's fat or lack of content as in this case.



I know - that's the point I was making really; for me, only high fat foods have a slow digestion rate! I know the theory; high fibre is meant to make foods digest more slowly. I also know from experience that in my case this is just simply not true. That's why I add flax seed - it's got fat and protein so it makes the porridge more satisfying and longer lasting!


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