Comment by jrtpup on September 7, 2012 at 7:27am

Thanks Jester, great points!

Comment by Lis on September 7, 2012 at 9:27am

Thanks for the tips- I am still learning the "ropes"

Comment by John M on September 7, 2012 at 12:12pm

I think we all are still learning the ropes :) The more we share with each other, the better we all become.

Comment by David (dns) on September 7, 2012 at 1:17pm

Lots of great advice here. Here's more: learn what's in your food, specifically the quantity of carbs and protein, 'cause those are the things that drive blood sugar up. READ LABELS. Learn how to estimate the carb and protein content of meals, or better still, get a scale that automatically calculates them for you. There are several out there and they are not dreadfully expensive.

If you are using meds to control blood sugar -- no matter which meds they are -- learn how much 1 gram of carb will raise your BG and how much the meds will lower it. You must know those two numbers in order to consistently balance the two against one another.

Finally, read this book:

Richard K. Bernstein, Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution: The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars, 4th ed. (New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2011)

Bernstein is an endocrinologist who is himself a Type 1 diabetic, so unlike most doctors, he has skin in the game. Regardless of how much of his recommendations you do or don't choose to follow, his book will teach you more about what the disease actually is and how to control it than any other single source available.

Comment by David (dns) on September 7, 2012 at 1:38pm

Oh yes, echoing Jester's last comment above -- never stop learning. For two compelling reasons:

(1) It's your life (and your quality of life). When it comes to controlling diabetes, it's impossible to know too much. It sounds like a paradox, but it's true: the more you know about managing this thing, the freer you are to get on with the rest of life.

(2) Where diabetes is concerned, the state of the art is continually advancing. We are constantly learning more about it, and the tools for managing it are improving almost day by day. For example, the meds I use didn't exist when I was first diagnosed.

Comment by Clare on September 7, 2012 at 6:01pm

You mean I can't keep my "cheat meter" you know the one you never download ? Crap I thought that was my secret.

Comment by Clare on September 7, 2012 at 6:01pm

My meters won't zero out how do you do that ?

Comment by Marie B on September 8, 2012 at 3:03am

great tips Jester. I'd never "zero out" a reading, it's just a number, not a grade on how good a person you are. I like this post here, to help get back on track

http://www.tudiabetes.org/group/simplestepsforhealth/forum/topics/s...

so glad you're with us!

Comment by John M on September 8, 2012 at 3:39am

FreeStyle Lite Meters have three buttons on the front: M, C, and the goofy one that turns on the light. After you test, press and hold the M button. On the screen a little bottle appears - meaning that the readings is now considered a glucose solution test (which doesn't count against your averages). Yeah, I used to do it...

Comment by Clare on September 8, 2012 at 4:44am

Thanks, it's probably a good thing I did not know how to do that, but this morning I woke up and felt fine, on one meter I was 62, on the next one I was 74 and on the next I was 80. Now since I felt find and not low I went with probably an average between the three, at 72 or so. It does not seem right though that one meter would be almost 30 % different from another meter.

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