Using Sliding Scale to Determine Insulin Dose

Learn how to use the correction factor and insulin to carb ratio on a sliding scale to determine how much insulin to give with a meal.

Transcript

Using Your Sliding Scale

A sliding scale is what you will use to determine how much insulin you need to give to correct an elevated blood sugar and/or for food. There are two parts. Correction factor and insulin to carb ratio. In our example, the correction factor is half a unit will lower the blood sugar 25 points, and the insulin to carb ratio is half a unit will cover 10 grams of carbs.

Here, we’re just looking at the insulin to carb ratio. You can see if I eat 60 grams of carbs at a meal, I’ll need three units of insulin to cover it. Before you eat, you need to check your blood sugar. Let’s say, my blood sugar is 220. Look on the scale to find 220. To help lower my blood sugar before I eat, I’ll need to give two units. So, in total, before this meal, I’ll give five units of insulin — two units of insulin for correction and three units of insulin to cover the carbs.

Topics Covered: Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes, Cystic Fibrosis-related Diabetes

Related Centers and Programs: Diabetes Center