If there is an emergency, you might need to switch from using an insulin pump to insulin injections.
To do this safely, it is important to have a current record of your pump settings. Keeping this information up to date means you can work out your insulin doses correctly, even if you cannot get the details from your pump.
Record your pump settings
Always keep a written copy of your current pump settings. You’ll need:
- Total amount of basal insulin
- Insulin to carbohydrate ratio
- Correction factor (Sometimes called insulin sensitivity)
You can find these settings either on your pump or PDM, or by using your pump upload website: Carelink for Medtronic MiniMed pumps, Glooko for Omnipod and Yspomed devices, and Tandem Source for T:Slim pumps.
Calculating Your Background (Basal) Dose
Use your total daily basal insulin amount:
- For Lantus insulin pens – take the total daily amount as a single dose.
- For Levemir or Humulin I – divide the total daily amount in half and take one half in the morning and the other half in the evening.
Calculating Your Mealtime (Bolus) Doses
Use your insulin-to-carb ratio to calculate how much insulin to take with food.
Calculate grams of carbohydrates in your meal, then divide this figure by the ratio to give the number of units of insulin.
Example:
- Ratio: 1 unit per 20g carbs
- Meal: 80g of carbs
- Calculation: 80 ÷ 20 = 4 units of insulin
Using a Correction Dose (if needed)
Use your insulin sensitivity factor to correct high blood sugar. This tells you how much your glucose will drop per unit of insulin.
Example:
- Insulin sensitivity factor: 1 unit lowers you by 2 mmol/L.
- Glucose reading: 10.3 mmol/L
- Target: 6 mmol/L.
- The difference is 4.3 mmol/L (10.3 – 6 = 4.3).
- 4.3 ÷ 2 = 2 units of insulin required for correction.