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diabeticjohn

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Type 2
Hi All,

I was diagnosed with diabetes a few years ago, and to be honest I didn't really take much notice of it. I'd never had any symptoms and it was a visit to the doctor for something completely unrelated that picked it up. I didn't take any medication, and decided I would go for a change in diet/lifestyle to get it under control. I did that for a while, and eventually figured I had it all sussed which pretty much resulted in me reverting back to pizzas and beer and cake.

As the years have gone on, I've still not taken it all very seriously but I guess as I've got older I figure I need to start taking better care of myself.

I bought myself one of the Constant Glucose Monitors because I figured it would be good to have the numbers in my face all day and be able to see what the consequences of my behaviour are and ideally change that behaviour. I'm also a software developer and thought it might be quite fun to create some kind of app using the data that's being collected.

It's pretty expensive though, so I'm not sure if it'll be a long term strategy but I like the almost gamification of it, so I'll give it a go for a month and see how that works out. I'd be really interested to hear from anyone who has used one before.

I'll also be keeping a blog about it, mostly as a record of what I'm eating and the effect that has on the mmol/L, not sure if it would be classed as spam to post it so that's why I'll wait until I've been around here a bit longer, that's also why I've not said the brand of the Glucose Monitor.

Looking forward to being around here.

Cheers...

John
 
I'm not being flippant when I write that I hope your blog will be boring - I was diagnosed at the end of 2016 and my blog would be 'ate low carb got normal levels'.
I have accumulated a folder of recipes over the years, for low carb options - I suggest looking up 'chaffles' and 'fat head' pizza and the making of cakes using low carb options rather than wheat flour.
Chaffles are waffles made with cheese and egg and a small amount of something fibrous to make them more bread like. I use them to make 'chaffies' which are a chaffle with a rasher of extra thick bacon inside it.
 
Hello @diabeticjohn and welcome to the forum.
It sounds like an interesting experiment that you are embarking on and hope that it brings you some positive results.
Look forward to hearing how it goes.
@Drummer thanks for the 'heads-up' on Chaffles, I've just googled them and they sound really good.
 
Welcome to the forum @diabeticjohn .
It will be interesting to hear what progress you make using the monitoring (is it a Libre?) alongside a good diary to find out what foods and portion sizes will work for you.
Keep in touch and ask any questions that you have.
 
Hi and welcome from me too. I too consider the Flash Glucose monitor a bit like a computer game.... trying to keep levels within target. Bit more complicated for those of us on insulin as we can stray too far into the low numbers as well as too high but it is challenging!
As you can see we are happy for you to name the monitor system as their use is quite commonplace here on the forum, so we will be interested to compare data. We do have some other Type 2 diabetics who self fund the Freestyle Libre system and find it invaluable for the data it provides.
 
Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replies!

@Inka It's the Dexcom G6 GCM. Only had it 1 day but I quite like it and so far every time I think of high carb food I take a look at the numbers and ask myself if it's worth it.

For the last couple of years I've been on Metform 2x500mg twice a day. Empagliflozin 1x25mg once a day. I've just recently also been given Gliclazide 1x40mg daily for a week then 2x40mg after that.

My last HbA1c was around 70, that's why the nurse suggested Gliclazide.

@Drummer, looking forward to trying out chaffles!
 
Cool @diabeticjohn A number of people here have a Dexcom but the only ones I can remember are Type 1. I can understand how it helps motivate you.

Do you have any weight to lose? Losing weight if you need to and exercise can also help a lot.
 
Inka said:
Cool @diabeticjohn A number of people here have a Dexcom but the only ones I can remember are Type 1. I can understand how it helps motivate you.

Do you have any weight to lose? Losing weight if you need to and exercise can also help a lot.
Click to expand...
I don't remember seeing any Type 2 with Dexcom.
 
Inka said:
Cool @diabeticjohn A number of people here have a Dexcom but the only ones I can remember are Type 1. I can understand how it helps motivate you.

Do you have any weight to lose? Losing weight if you need to and exercise can also help a lot.
Click to expand...
Yea... I have quite a bit of weight to lose. As I said, it's definitely too much bad living that's got me to here, I feel like I know the things I *need* to do, I'm just not so good at actually doing them.
 
diabeticjohn said:
Yea... I have quite a bit of weight to lose. As I said, it's definitely too much bad living that's got me to here, I feel like I know the things I *need* to do, I'm just not so good at actually doing them.
Click to expand...

Ah, that’s always the way! Saying is easier than doing. You’re not alone in that.

I think the trick is finding what motivates you and what methods you like eg some people like to plan out their whole day or week of meals, when they’re going to exercise, etc whereas others would find that too much pressure. Some people like to follow a book, some people like apps. Some people like rewards for reaching certain points.

It also helps to identify your weaknesses eg do you eat unnecessarily while watching TV, do you buy crisps or biscuits and then can’t stop eating them (that’s me so I tend not to buy them or avoid certain favourites).
 
Welcome to the forum @diabeticjohn

Look forward to hearing about your experiences with the G6. Are you restarting them for double-life? or planning on using the subscription model?

A classic forum technique for a bit of a diabetes reset it keeping a brutally honest food diary. All meals, snacks, drinks and nibbles, with an estimate of their carb count, and especially with the dex data you are collecting, can be a really useful starting point for identifying some easy changes to make.
 
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everydayupsanddowns said:
Welcome to the forum @diabeticjohn

Look forward to hearing about your experiences with the G6. Are you restarting them for double-life? or planning on using the subscription model?

A classic forum technique for a bit of a diabetes reset it keeping a brutally honest food diary. All meals, snacks, drinks and nibbles, with an estimate of their carb count, and especially with the dex data you are collecting, can be a really useful starting point for identifying some easy changes to make.
Click to expand...
I don't know anything about "restarting them for double life"... I'll need to have a look at that. I just bought the starter kit to see how it works and how I get on with it, but so far I think it's great. I'm a software developer so I'm planning on using their API and see if there's anything cool I can make with the data.

It looks like I'm following the classic technique then because that's exactly what I'm doing. Every time I think about a biscuit I have a wee look at the number and ask myself if I really want to see a high number next time I look. Last night was tough, Friday night, kids off school for a week or so, everyone was pretty hyper and the missus bought them a cake.

I guess I'm probably going through some kind of sugar withdrawal too, headaches etc... but I was expecting some sort of reaction.
 
diabeticjohn said:
I don't know anything about "restarting them for double life"... I'll need to have a look at that
Click to expand...

It’s not recommended by the manufacturer (obviously!), but many self-funding users have found ways to restart sensors over the years as a way of getting maximum coverage out of their budget.

If you are interested in trying it out, there are a number of strategies for restarting the G6, and a quick internet search will give you options of ‘bluetooth unpaired’ restarts, or carefully levering out the transmitter and putting it in another room for an hour or so. Obviously you need to best in mind that a restarted sensor is more likely to provide less reliable flow of data, so you need to be a bit cautious 🙂
 
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