Can you take your inslin after a meal?

[gman2004]

Well, the reason i ask this, is my girlfriend has asked to join her for dinner with her family in the coming weeks. Thats fine with me,but i'd rahter not have my diabeties be brought up with her whole family. but i would liek to know, if i could avoid taking my fast acting inslin untill right after im finished my dinner.  I would wiat till i was done, then ask to go to teh washroom, and do it then.

Are you able to do that? or is that not such a good idea?

[JDRF-Team-sgg]

I am not a physician, but am a type 1 diabetic for 34 years, who takes fast-acting insulin at meals like you do. I am well-controlled and can tell you what works for me, although you will have to experiment during life to find out how the timing works best for you. I do occasionally take my insulin right after a  meal when dining with others, for there is no way to know exactly what my carbohydrate count will be when someone else is serving the meal. In that case, it seems smarter to eat and count carbs while eating, then excuse myself to go to the bathroom to take my insulin. This is more accurate than guessing and perhaps taking too much insulin and finding myself dropping later when I discover that the food did not cover the insulin well. You may find that your sugar levels have risen a bit while eating because the fast-acting insulin is not at work when you begin digesting, but you will probably do fine if you test BEFORE you go to the dinner to find out where you were before you ate and calculate your insulin on that number rather than the number if you test after you eat and the carbs have started a rise in glucose.

Frankly, I have found that if my glucose is low, I am safer taking the insulin after the meal so that the insulin doesn't work too quickly. I have also discovered that some foods are not digested as quickly as the peak of the insulin, and so for certain foods, I HAVE to eat first and then take my insulin later so the insulin better matches the digestion and absorption rate. This knowledge comes in time with some trial and error. My only caution to you would be to not wait too long while talking at the dinner table before excusing yourself to go take the insulin, for waiting an hour or more could cause your glucose to rise uncomfortably before the insulin can get working.

I believe that you will find that if you read the insert that comes in your fast-acting insulin box, you will find that either before or directly after a meal is OK, and that there are situtations when one timing is better while in other instances the other time is better. There is nothing magical about taking the insulin before the meal other than the fact that most foods digest at about the same time as the peak of the fast-acting insuln, and so taking it before eating usually causes the least amount of rise of glucose while digesting. So this is the preferred timing in most situations. But your idea is, in my opinion, the smartest way to handle a mystery meal served by people who have not informed you about the menu. Just try to count carbs as you eat. And I would recommend that you test at about 2 hours after the meal to see if your counting of carbs worked or whether you may have miscalculated some of the foods. At that time, you can either take a little extra insulin if glucose is running high or drink a little juice if low. The second trip to the bathroom needn't be a big deal, but can protect you. It can all be done discreetly and you will be fine.