Unwanted freestyle libra

[SB2015]

Thanks Jonathan

There are so many different factors to consider, and the idea of limiting the differences is sensible. I will swap back to my porridge again for the life of this Libre, apart from the weekend.

I had forgotten about the issue of dehydration. That must affect the Libre readings a lot more as it is the interstitial reading.

I shall plug away at this all step by step.

 

[Mr Jonathan Stone]

Thanks Jonathan

There are so many different factors to consider, and the idea of limiting the differences is sensible. I will swap back to my porridge again for the life of this Libre, apart from the weekend.

I had forgotten about the issue of dehydration. That must affect the Libre readings a lot more as it is the interstitial reading.

I shall plug away at this all step by step.

It is difficult but I think trying different things different amount of insulin is key to getting it better. But getting it perfect is near impossible. My partner didn't want to try different amounts of insulin because that's how it had been for years. But now she's seeing such better results. I wish you the best of luck.

 

[DeusXM]

I'm no professional but I have looked and researched to try and help my partner manage her diabetes.

I don't want to get too disruptive when this seems to be working for your partner but there's quite a few things in your post that set off my alarm bells about storing problems up for the future.

Firstly, there is no such thing as 'natural' sugar. All sugar is natural. Even the white stuff in packets came from sugar beets originally.

Secondly, your body doesn't differentiate between sugar sources. 10g of sugar as granules is the same as 10 grams of sugar in honey. It's all just sugar. So don't fall into the trap of thinking fruit sugar is good and sugar in chocolate is bad - it's all sugar and can all be bad. Fruit sugars can actually be even worse because fructose has to be converted to fat first before it can be metabolised for energy.

Thirdly, I'm a little worried about the snacking. If your partner is on multiple injections, there's no need to snack and she shouldn't be going low between meals. No-one on multiple injections should ever have to specifically plan in carby snacks to prevent their blood sugar from going low - they should be taking less insulin with their meals or reducing your basal insulin. Snacking to keep your blood sugar up the whole time is just 'feeding the insulin' and is a sure-fire way to gain weight quickly and increase insulin resistance. Her blood sugars may be good but do remember that all glucose in the blood that isn't used for energy is turned into fat by insulin.

This is one of the hardest lessons to learn about diabetes - some of the habits that work effectively for blood sugar management can actually cause some quite major issues in the long-term. I think what you've achieved together is incredible - and with a few minor tweaks, it'll be perfection. Good luck!

 

[Mr Jonathan Stone]

I don't want to get too disruptive when this seems to be working for your partner but there's quite a few things in your post that set off my alarm bells about storing problems up for the future.

Firstly, there is no such thing as 'natural' sugar. All sugar is natural. Even the white stuff in packets came from sugar beets originally.

Secondly, your body doesn't differentiate between sugar sources. 10g of sugar as granules is the same as 10 grams of sugar in honey. It's all just sugar. So don't fall into the trap of thinking fruit sugar is good and sugar in chocolate is bad - it's all sugar and can all be bad. Fruit sugars can actually be even worse because fructose has to be converted to fat first before it can be metabolised for energy.

Thirdly, I'm a little worried about the snacking. If your partner is on multiple injections, there's no need to snack and she shouldn't be going low between meals. No-one on multiple injections should ever have to specifically plan in carby snacks to prevent their blood sugar from going low - they should be taking less insulin with their meals or reducing your basal insulin. Snacking to keep your blood sugar up the whole time is just 'feeding the insulin' and is a sure-fire way to gain weight quickly and increase insulin resistance. Her blood sugars may be good but do remember that all glucose in the blood that isn't used for energy is turned into fat by insulin.

This is one of the hardest lessons to learn about diabetes - some of the habits that work effectively for blood sugar management can actually cause some quite major issues in the long-term. I think what you've achieved together is incredible - and with a few minor tweaks, it'll be perfection. Good luck!

Thank you for your feed back and again I'm no expert but there's a massive difference between sugar found naturally ( as in honey and fruit and all other carbohydrates plants) and those that are refined to what is put in products and as granules.

It is actually more sensible to eat smaller meals throughout the day then having 3 large meals. As I understand for a diabetic especially, this will keep the blood sugar levels from spiking and dropping too much.

I understand that snacking as in eating junk food is bad and that unused sugar (from any source) turns to fats to be stored for later use. But we all get hungry inbetween meals so we have purposefully planned a snack inbetween as part of her day to day routine.

My partner is on a mix insulin and we are waiting for an appointment to be put onto the separate fast and slow release insulin. Which will help her to control her blood sugar levels.

I appreciate your point of view because we are still learning how different foods effect her blood.

We are all different and our bodies work differently so how we have managed things may not work for another but there's no harm in sharing.

Thank you

 

[Robin]

Thank you for your feed back and again I'm no expert but there's a massive difference between sugar found naturally ( as in honey and fruit and all other carbohydrates plants) and those that are refined to what is put in products and as granules.

It is actually more sensible to eat smaller meals throughout the day then having 3 large meals. As I understand for a diabetic especially, this will keep the blood sugar levels from spiking and dropping too much.

I understand that snacking as in eating junk food is bad and that unused sugar (from any source) turns to fats to be stored for later use. But we all get hungry inbetween meals so we have purposefully planned a snack inbetween as part of her day to day routine.

My partner is on a mix insulin and we are waiting for an appointment to be put onto the separate fast and slow release insulin. Which will help her to control her blood sugar levels.

I appreciate your point of view because we are still learning how different foods effect her blood.

We are all different and our bodies work differently so how we have managed things may not work for another but there's no harm in sharing.

Thank you

Ah, the fact that she's on mixed insulin explains the snacks. I went straight on to basal/Bolus, which I've found gives me greater flexibility. I can still snack if I want to, but I don't need to.
I see where you're coming from with the fruit/honey versus table sugar. If I'm going to have something sweet, I'd rather it had some vitamins and minerals in it than just 'empty' calories. However, what Deus XM says is right from the point of view of carb counting. 10g of carb in an apple needs just as much insulin as 10g of granulated.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

My partner is on a mix insulin and we are waiting for an appointment to be put onto the separate fast and slow release insulin. Which will help her to control her blood sugar levels.

Congratulations on the amazing work you are both doing so far.

Being on mixed insulin is very diffucult to manage without snacking (and actually, looking back 20-odd years to when I was on mixed I have NO idea how I could eat anything much for lunch since much of the actiion of the mixed is spent by then!)

Hopefully you will find multiple daily injections much more felxible and accommodating. Do stick around during transition though as there are many old hands here whose brains you can pick for what might be causing what during that switchover phase. Obviously she'll be speaking to her clinic first and foremost, but sometimes it's useful to have others to bounce ideas and frustrations off.

 

[Mr Jonathan Stone]

That is what we are waiting for because she's never been taught how to correctly count carbs and then work out the amount of insulin to blood level before eating. I know what your saying and dues xm said.

I was just talking about the length of break down when posts ago I mentioned having honey on breakfast rather then granulated or sugary cereals.
As honey takes longer to break down, where as processed sugar is ready to make your bloods sky rocket and then drop fast after. So having the honey will give you a peak but more longevity over all and oats will then keep the blood sugar going as the honey is used up.
Hi everyday

Thank you for your advice. Her diabetes nurse has said that she has to do a course about counting carbs before they can put her on separate. At the moment she does 3 injections of the mixed which I understand is a little unorthodox because your doubling up on long lasting. But it has enabled us to work out a plan for her which works for her when we first met she was doing around 60-70 mmol of mixed through out the day. Now she does around 20 breakfast 5 for lunch and 20 for dinner. We eat very similar meals throughout the week Evey week so it has been easier. We have set an index up so if her bloods are at different levels she does different amount. Like breakfast 5-6 =18, 7-8=21,9-10=23 obviously she maybe high or lower but so far at meal times she has been inbetween most of the time bare in mind this is our second week of this set up.

I really appreciate all the advice. My partner was someone that would like to ignore her diabetes and carry on as if it was not there she would just inject pretty much the same no matter what she was eating or how she felt. After being in hospital with bad
Diabetic ketoacidosis she is finally doing more.

Thank you Jon