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Permalink Reply by breaddrink on June 24, 2012 at 11:41am

I thought I would add to this after having a conversation this weekend with a co-worker who's boyfriend is a type 1 on long acting and short acting shots.

He is uninsured and doesn't test at all. I mean literally never. While he has a small number of test strips, he can't afford to regularly purchase them and so he survives on a heightened sense of going low and how awful he feels while high.

She told me today that he had an A1C test back and it was 5.2.
His doctor told him it was one of the best she'd ever seen and he was in perfect health.

And here's me looking like the bionic man with my continuous glucose monitor and insulin pump, and I don't get anywhere near that good.

It does make you wonder. We are told to test and test and test, and I imagine if I were an endo I would want you to do the same. How else could I possibly do my job otherwise?
But if you read between the lines a little, you see a lot of people doing pretty well all by themselves. While we hear a lot of horror stories to keep us on the straight and narrow, even the older generation who survived on not particularly long acting insulin and urine testing are still among us.

It also makes me wonder how the hell he did that. His body is NOT running like mine.

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Permalink Reply by Jacob's mom on June 24, 2012 at 12:56pm

i would have to say luck must have some component!! but he must eat very healthfully. and as you said be pretty in tune with his body. it does get you thinking that we can be really overkilling everything so focused on every number while your friend is busy living his live, very mindful but certainly not sweating the small stuff. mind you i am not ready to fork over his pump and meter, we really need those tools with his recent growth, interesting story though gets you thinking! thanks for sharing and best wishes! amy

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Permalink Reply by Zoe on June 24, 2012 at 1:09pm

Yeah, I definitely wouldn't think this is typical. Most people who were only able to manage their blood sugar like that would have dangerously high A1C's. I do believe that some of us have more "the luck of the draw" in managing our blood sugar easier than others - but a 5.2 - with little testing ? My guess is that he is in a honeymoon or there is some other factor we don't know about.

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Permalink Reply by Sam Iam on June 25, 2012 at 9:36pm

few possible explainations:

Maybe he's still making some insulin.

Maybe he eats very precise amounts, and doses perfectly.

Maybe someone is not being entirely honest.

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Permalink Reply by breaddrink on June 26, 2012 at 11:38pm

Well my first comment to her was "has he ever been tested to see if he still produces insulin?".
Second was "how long has he been type 1?"

She doesn't really know enough about it to exaggerate. She was in fact asking me what it meant. This was apparently his first Doc appointment in years due to his insurance (lack of).

He's been a type 1 for 11 years. No idea here about specifics here.

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Permalink Reply by CaityJ on June 26, 2012 at 11:00am

To be honest, i probably do it more then your son has! i've beena type 1 for 18 years i just tuned 23 years and when i was his age i was VERY careless for eht same reason...my boyfriend didn't even know i was a diabetic until we graduated! I was very self conscious about D but as a i got older i learned this is just something i have and most likely veryone i went to school with probably had some sort of medical issure as well....i say just let him run the course and i absolutly agree let him run higher rather then lower....thats what i always did.... and by the way my a1c has been up to 11 before! so dont worry im not even close to having this thing under control :)

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Permalink Reply by Kathy on July 28, 2012 at 6:45pm

I frequently don't test before lunch. But that's because my fasting numbers are very stable and I eat the same breakfast every day and spend my mornings doing the same thing, activity-wise.
I agree that it sounds like you are a wise and responsible mom!

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Permalink Reply by Jacob's mom on August 5, 2012 at 6:27am

thanks kathy! everyday is a different challenge although some are smooth sailing :). this site has really helped me with the emotional end of things so thanks for the vote of confidence. we are heading into the teen years.. he seems to want to take more control.. but doesn't quite have the skill set that i have since i have been doing a lot of his calculations and tweaking things for him to ease his burden.. one day at a time i guess! best wishes amy

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Permalink Reply by ultravires on August 6, 2012 at 7:14pm

I like to have *a* number I can use as a reference point, but I am often OK if that number is an hour or 2 old and it's a situation where my BG is typically pretty stable. Also, I go out for lunch with coworkers a lot, and will sometimes test before leaving the office rather than right before I take a bolus. If I have any reason to suspect my BG *might* be out of whack, then I'll definitely test.

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Permalink Reply by kmd on August 6, 2012 at 9:12pm

This is a great post! As a mom of a 12 year old girl (T1 for nearly 5 years) in the throes of puberty and wanting more independence from me, I'm also benefiting from reading all the responses to Jacob's mom's strategy. I think she's got a realistic attitude which will go far with her son - nagging and ultimatums are so rarely successful. Recently my daughter and I spent a month out of the country and away from our usual carb counting resources (scale, internet, English language labels) and so we guessed on nearly every meal she ate. We also engaged in different activities than we would normally and so on. Obviously I had to relax a bit (well, a lot really) with regards to her BG control and yet, interestingly, a month after our return my daughter's A1c was the best yet! While I believe that good habits with regards to her diabetes are important, I also see some room to reduce my rigidity. Thanks for sharing this with us Jacob's Mom.

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Permalink Reply by Jacob's mom on August 7, 2012 at 5:07am

So glad your traveling went well, i think with experience you can count carbs without looking at the labels for the most part, we tend to round up with everything to make things work lately. There are so many variables, confidence comes with experience i guess, not saying i am super confident with all my decisions or with handing over more control to jacob which is what he seems to be looking for lately, i think that is the teen i don't need you as much thing as opposed to a true desire to the the "head of his diabetic team" at this point. he has good skills but doesnt seem to think outside of the what his pump is telling him to do as much as i do.... we all do the best we can i guess, thanks for the vote of confidence, sharing with others here has really helped me, since my friends and most family not affected directly by D really can not truly empathize. best wishes with you and your daughter! amy

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