Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Laddie on September 5, 2012 at 7:00pm

Sometimes I just have to shake my head at you newbies as you freak out over readings like 128. That's not the Type 1 I live with. If I mis-dose my lunch bolus by .1 or .5, my BG goes to 250, not 128.

I've been trying to eat lower carb for the last 6 months. All it's done is make me even more sensitive to carbs, so that eating 4 M&M's can raise my BG 50 points. I really think that Type 1 is a disease of non-equilibrium. Whenever things seem steady regardless of what you're doing to get steady, BG numbers will go crazy just because that's Type 1. I'm not convinced that I'm healthier at 100 carbs per day than I was at 250 carbs a day. I really miss oatmeal and I just don't like Greek yogurt.

To the original poster, the numbers you're mentioning are within the 20% accuracy of BG meters and are just not that significant. You're doing great.

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Permalink Reply by Molly on September 5, 2012 at 9:51pm

I am with you. It sucks to have to count absolutely everything, protein included now too. But c'est la vie. I wonder if you inject or bolus and wait long enough that you are trending downward that you can use your oatmeal to raise you and get your fix. I've been fooling around with this once in awhile to taste something I'm missing. Problem is if you wait too long or misjudge absorption you'll go low.
Education is everything when it comes to this dx. Keep reading newbies. Don't freak out. Test, keep a journal, and cut yourself some slack.

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Permalink Reply by Negg on September 5, 2012 at 11:52pm

i don't understand about going downwards. please explain. thanks

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Permalink Reply by Clare on September 6, 2012 at 3:50am

A lot of the folks on TuD have a (CGM) or continuous glucose monitor. It is a sensor that attaches and you can basically get your blood sugar at any time by looking at a monitor that you keep with you. The sensor tests your interstitial fluid not your blood so it can be a bit off, but it can tell you your trend is going up or going down or just staying steady which is what we all attempt to do. Problem is we don't have a functioning pancreas so we have to do the best we can. You can google "Dexcom 7" to give you the full run down on one of the CGM's available.

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Permalink Reply by acidrock23 on September 6, 2012 at 4:14am

If your BG is not where you'd want it to be and you are going to eat, you can bolus and wait to eat. In my experience maybe just wait like 15-20 minutes and then eat as if you wait too long, like Molly points out, it can get hair raising the other way with potential to run low. Particularly in the AM, waiting can be a good solution.

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Permalink Reply by Negg on September 6, 2012 at 5:35am

Acid, is this the case you mean?: Let's say the BG is higher than I would like it to be before a meal, and I am about to eat. I would take the amount of insulin that is appropriate for the meal + an additional amount to cover the high BG. You're saying in this case to wait longer, or less than usual? (15-20 minutes is how long I usually wait after taking Novolog before a meal).

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Permalink Reply by Molly on September 6, 2012 at 7:37am

Negg, I'm not sure when you were diagnosed and am assuming it's been pretty recent. Until you know you know how you react to specific foods and get more familiar with your dawn phenomenon (if you have it) and other patterns. I wouldn't mess around with waiting. Lathump seems to have been dealing with this longer. Also my CGM gives me more information that just testing, (although it's not perfect!)so I feel like I can experiment a little more. I am wondering though about your 4 unit correction before bed. How much does one unit bring down your BG? This amount likely should've dropped you way too much.

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Permalink Reply by Negg on September 9, 2012 at 1:13pm

Acid, I read this comment you wrote somewhere else -- "Before...I had the notion that the amount of insulin and food should sort of be in the ballpark but didn't ever consider counting carbs.... I just winged it and cleaned up the messes with more insulin...These days I ... am more organized and feel a lot better..."
Maybe I need some help with this carb-counting business.
I am eating very low carbs - proteins and good vegetables. Its a quarter of a chicken, or a can of tunafish or 2 eggs. That's it for the protein. Some lettuce, cucumbers, a piece of tomato, maybe some zuchini or other cooked vegs. The way I figure it, I need 1-2 units of novolog per meal, maximum. That leaves very little leeway. I even got a pen that gives 1/2 units, but I can't seem to get this right. Annoyingly, on different days and at different times of the day, that same 1-2 units do a different job on the same meal. So what in the world should I be counting to make this more exact?

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Permalink Reply by still_young_at_heart on September 9, 2012 at 3:27pm

Hi,

If you are going very low carb, you probably need to dose for your protein as well. I don't low carb so I can't help you but there is a TAG (total available glucose) group here where people should be able to point you in the right direction.

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Permalink Reply by John M on September 6, 2012 at 6:34am

The biggest factor for me is stress. :) I can go from mid 90's to over 180 without any change in diet or exercise routine. My readings can also go high if I am getting sick as well. I get different readings from different injection sites too. Its just one of those things. :)

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