It says carbs 20 of which sugars 4.6. But I read that carbs are all sugar.
Technically all carbs become sugars when they enter your blood stream. However some carbs are starches and the body treats these differently. It gets a little too scientific for me.
I am also thrown by "Fibre" in a listing, separate from Carbs but supposed to be DEDUCTED from carbs; how does this work please? Sometimes the fibre is listed as part of carbs; other times it is separately listed.
All starch turns to sugar in the blood but carbs cover much more than rice, bread, potatoes and pasta. There are carbs in virtually everything you eat except for fats and protein. Vegetables above ground are better than vegetables from below ground and especially leafy things. Fruit is stuffed with carbs unfortunately and is my own personal downfall. The sweeter a fruit is the more sugar and therefore carbs it has, a mango for example has more than an apple - and that has too many for diabetics 
.
Oh, it could never be that easy, LOL!
Starches are complex carbs, that digest slowly, and that makes all the difference.
But some digest more slowly than others, and that's called the "glycemic index".
But even fast starches and sugars might digest a little more slowly when eaten with fiber and fats.
And fiber doesn't really count at all, because it never gets digested.
And then even some sugars are different!
Fructose doesn't use any insulin to be processed by the liver, and it takes hours to be processed by the liver.
But it's hard to get data on which foods (mostly fruits of course) have more fructose than others.
And there's such a thing as "resistant starches" - if you make some pasta, and after it's cooked you cool it in the fridge, then it becomes "resistant" and more of it acts like fiber!
Soooo, have fun!
Hi. I had a level of 5.7 this evening. So I ate, walked, and it was 9.5 when I returned. I hadnt injected at 5.7. So how much do I inject now as I dont know how much more its going to go up. Maybe thats how I get hypos sometimes from not knowing how far its going to go. So I'm guessing really. If 1u of insulin takes it down by 3mmol, I wont be able to inject too much. Also how does short acting and long acting insulin work together in the same pen. Bit of a mystery to me still .
I inject twice daily so would prefer 3 times daily as maybe easier to control
Tom, I only did insulin myself for one month, and only used the short-acting, once just before each meal. I had a little of the long-acting when in the hospital. So I'm no expert. They gave me some long-acting to use at home, but the day I got home - I had a hypo, and we decided I never needed it.
It seems to me you should get the short and long separately. Sounds to me like you could take a little less of the long-acting, and use a constant amount of the short-acting before each meal. That was the protocol I was supposed to be on. You could even adjust the short-acting depending on your readings, but at least in the US few doctors seem to call for that for type2s.
This evening I had 6.9 level before dinner. I ate, injected walked and it was 6.1 on return this is more normal for me now. .the power of insulin and walking. But its still a guessing game as I dont know now how much of that 15u is left. Ive eaten a sandwich and will eat another later to keep it in check.
Hi Tom, those latest numbers are not so bad, but you shouldn't have to eat more just to keep your insulin happy, it's supposed to be the other way around.
Did your doctor really tell you to calculate/vary the amount each time you inject? That seems pretty rare for type2 treatments.
If I use less insulin, levels will rise. My doctor doesnt mention a thing about diabetes if I see him about some other issue. I go to the clinic every 6 months.but my eyes have been given the all clear recently. I'll soldier on. Its a good thing I can walk.
Tom, the combo insulin is supposed to be more convenient, but it's always a tradeoff, and there is just infinite variability in how people react to these things.
In your case it sounds like you would do much better with somewhat less of the long-acting, and taking some short-acting just before each meal. That is more the basic protocol, but then of course you're doing four or five shots a day - three short, one with each meal, and either one or two long. Basic seems to be just one long, before bed. That may leave you a little short of insulin late in the evening, but that's often naturally a low point anyway. Others will do two long, about twelve hours apart, because most of the long-acting insulins really don't last the full 24 hours.
So if you can handle two different pens, and four or five injections instead of just two, you will have a lot more flexibility to customize things as your body and condition seem to need. It's all up to you and your doctors.
Thanks for reply. Will definitely see doc about this. I think I have some insulin of my own also.I.forgot to inject insulin some years ago and my level was 6.7 in the evening.
I thought fibre was good for lowering carb content. Do I eat pasta from fridge cold. I inject the premix 25/75 at 9 at morning and at 6 in evening. I thought insulin was to be injected every 12 hours but I cant do that. A confusing one.
Hi Tom. So what time do you have breakfast? What time do you have dinner? Probably best to inject just before breakfast, just before dinner. Unless doctor said otherwise.
Cold spaghetti is supposed to be more "resistant" and less carbs, but you still need to watch how much you eat, pretty small servings, only about 3/4 of a cup of pasta, then any meat and veggies that are mixed in. Hope that helps.
Its actually working reasonably. Problem can be late evening before bed when it can go low. I have to balance walking with the insulin.
I eat at 9 or so and at 6 in the evening.
I eat at 9 or so and at 6 in the evening.
In the morning I inject before breakfast but in the evening I wait til after dinner. In the morning levels are higher. But I think I should inject when its around 6 as insulin takes a while to take effect. Although one evening I injected, ate and went for walk after 10 minutes. I had to come back in to my house after 2 mins as levels had plummeted. I went walking too early I think.
Do you remember what you had for dinner that night it went low, was it anything different?
Maybe you need to eat a few more carbs?