How to Calculate an Insulin Dosage

Insulin is important for our bodies to stay healthy and to function efficiently. With diabetes, it is necessary to inject insulin to stay healthy. A diabetic can die in a matter of days without insulin. You calculate an insulin dosage based on the number of carbohydrates consumed. For example, you would need more insulin if you eat a large serving of french fries than you would if you ate a serving of carrots. Calculating insulin dosage is important to ensure your body has enough insulin, but not too much either.

Things You'll Need

• Insulin to carbohydrate ratio from doctor Calculator

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Instructions

• 1

  Write down each food item you plan to consume at each meal. Next to each food item, write down the number of carbohydrates. You can locate the number of carbohydrates on the package labels.

• 2

  Add the carbohydrates together from your list of food. This will give you the total number of carbohydrates for your meal.

• 3

  Divide the total carbohydrates by the larger number in the insulin carbohydrate ratio provided to you by your doctor. For example, if your insulin carbohydrate is 1 to 10, you will need one unit of insulin per 10 carbohydrates. If your total carbohydrates are 100, you would divide 100 by 10 to arrive at 10 units of insulin needed for that meal.

• 4

  Save your lists of food items you regularly consume, along with the amount of carbohydrates for each. This will help you to calculate your insulin dosage faster for future use.