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Hi there
- Thread starter mlgrise
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rebrascora
Well-Known Member
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- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hi and welcome.
6.2 (44 in new money I believe) is a really good result, especially after managing it for so many years, so I would be pretty happy with that but I know it can be tempting to do even better. The important thing with diabetes is to find a balance between reasonably good results that you can maintain whilst living a life where diabetes doesn't create too much of a strain on your mental health and prevent you from doing things you enjoy within reason. (I used to enjoy eating 200g bars of Cadbury's Dairy milk and obviously that doesn't feature anymore 🙄)
Many of us find CGM generally underestimates our HbA1c so I try not to get too enthusiastic about it's predictions. It is a great bit of kit.... game changing for most of us, so I am not knocking it in any way, but just wouldn't want it to raise your hopes too high.
Would you like to tell us a bit about how you manage your diabetes? Are you on any medication etc. Do you get CGM on prescription or are you self funding? Is there any particular reason that you have come to the forum after being diagnosed so long? It is a great place to compare notes and learn from each other by sharing our experiences and is an absolute goldmine of knowledge, tips and support. I hope we can add your experience to it's depths as well as offer you some insights.
6.2 (44 in new money I believe) is a really good result, especially after managing it for so many years, so I would be pretty happy with that but I know it can be tempting to do even better. The important thing with diabetes is to find a balance between reasonably good results that you can maintain whilst living a life where diabetes doesn't create too much of a strain on your mental health and prevent you from doing things you enjoy within reason. (I used to enjoy eating 200g bars of Cadbury's Dairy milk and obviously that doesn't feature anymore 🙄)
Many of us find CGM generally underestimates our HbA1c so I try not to get too enthusiastic about it's predictions. It is a great bit of kit.... game changing for most of us, so I am not knocking it in any way, but just wouldn't want it to raise your hopes too high.
Would you like to tell us a bit about how you manage your diabetes? Are you on any medication etc. Do you get CGM on prescription or are you self funding? Is there any particular reason that you have come to the forum after being diagnosed so long? It is a great place to compare notes and learn from each other by sharing our experiences and is an absolute goldmine of knowledge, tips and support. I hope we can add your experience to it's depths as well as offer you some insights.
I use Libre 2 and have found a bulk supplier so I pay $40 for one. I am on meds but not insulin- metformin, gliclazide and forxiga.
I know that Libra is being optimistic and when I do finger pricks they are usually higher, so I am not planning a remission strategy! What I am doing is using time in range as a motivator.
With a target range of 3.9 to 10, I am in range 99%, so I have changed the target to 3.9-6.7 and it is 75%. My objective is to continually increase that percentage.
I did not join here until now because I just found you!
I have found recently that I get lower glucose readings when I start my meal with Fibre and vinegar. So last night for example I had a salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and balsamic vinegar, then I add a moderate portion of bacon carbonara - with pasta! I started the meal at 5.2 and two hours later it was still 5.2, and did not rise even later. The pasta, of course, I had cooked early in the day, then took out of the fridge and reboiled it before adding.
So my current challenge is the dawn effect. Yesterday it went up to 8.9, the only time during the day I was out of range. I will try eating protein tonight.
I know that Libra is being optimistic and when I do finger pricks they are usually higher, so I am not planning a remission strategy! What I am doing is using time in range as a motivator.
With a target range of 3.9 to 10, I am in range 99%, so I have changed the target to 3.9-6.7 and it is 75%. My objective is to continually increase that percentage.
I did not join here until now because I just found you!
I have found recently that I get lower glucose readings when I start my meal with Fibre and vinegar. So last night for example I had a salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and balsamic vinegar, then I add a moderate portion of bacon carbonara - with pasta! I started the meal at 5.2 and two hours later it was still 5.2, and did not rise even later. The pasta, of course, I had cooked early in the day, then took out of the fridge and reboiled it before adding.
So my current challenge is the dawn effect. Yesterday it went up to 8.9, the only time during the day I was out of range. I will try eating protein tonight.
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Shame you didn't find us sooner. You clearly have a good knowledge of how things work. I too find that vinegar (love balsamic but try to incorporate ACV too) and pickled veg like beetroot and gherkins are beneficial and try to incorporate them into my menu as often as I can. Personally I gave up on pasta and bread and rice and I don't miss them. I have a small amount of potato occasionally and occasionally sweet potato but often sub them for butternut squash or cauliflower which makes a good mash substitute and I have my bolognaise/chilli/curry on a bed of veg instead of the usuall carb rich foods.
Yes, the TIR on Libre is definitely a great motivator, both in terms of what to eat, what not to eat or only have very occasionally as a special treat and for exercise. Sounds like you have a good deal going at $40. Those people here in the UK who don't get them prescribed on the NHS and self fund usually pay about £48 each, so quite a bit more. Do your Libre last 10 days or 14?
As regards DP, have you tried exercising on an evening.... or a glass of wine or two
.... obviously not suggesting you have alcohol every night but worth having a bit experiment with if you haven't already.
Yes, the TIR on Libre is definitely a great motivator, both in terms of what to eat, what not to eat or only have very occasionally as a special treat and for exercise. Sounds like you have a good deal going at $40. Those people here in the UK who don't get them prescribed on the NHS and self fund usually pay about £48 each, so quite a bit more. Do your Libre last 10 days or 14?
As regards DP, have you tried exercising on an evening.... or a glass of wine or two
.... obviously not suggesting you have alcohol every night but worth having a bit experiment with if you haven't already.Yes a little red wine is not a treat, it's a testament! Lol. I crave pickles and have tons of them canned this year. When I make potatoes for the family, I cook them in the skin, them peel the skin and rebate it with butter for me. Satisfies the potato urge. As for bread, I wsmas surprised one night after having the vinegar & veggie combo, that I could eat slice of toast under my turkey leftovers. No spike. It was great.
I am looking forward to trying poutine with skins.
Libre lasts 14 days, and is now continuous.
I am looking forward to trying poutine with skins.
Libre lasts 14 days, and is now continuous.
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Love the idea of eating the potato skins in butter. Don't you feel guilty robbing your family of the best bit of the tattie? You are getting all the vitamins and nutrients and flavour and they are getting the stodge! They are probably not complaining though! Skin is my favourite bit of most things I think although no doubt there will be a few exceptions. It really upsets me when I see chefs removing the skin from tomatoes etc as that is perfectly edible and contains lots of nutrients and fibre and basically it is just adding work in preparation when it isn't necessary.
I can just sit and eat pickles from the jar on their own.... until it starts to pickle my tongue and it doesn't seem to impact my levels at all, even with beetroot which contains more sugars than the likes of gherkins!
Had to Google poutine. Can I assume you are in Canada from that since it is sort of a Canadian National dish!
Should work well with the potato skins I imagine.
I thought I had read somewhere that Libre in the US was limited to 10 days but maybe that was when they first came out and it was revised and extended after they experimented on us in Europe.... where we are less likely to sue if it all goes wrong 🙄 or perhaps we strike a harder bargain and want more for our money!
I can just sit and eat pickles from the jar on their own.... until it starts to pickle my tongue and it doesn't seem to impact my levels at all, even with beetroot which contains more sugars than the likes of gherkins!
Had to Google poutine. Can I assume you are in Canada from that since it is sort of a Canadian National dish!
Should work well with the potato skins I imagine.
I thought I had read somewhere that Libre in the US was limited to 10 days but maybe that was when they first came out and it was revised and extended after they experimented on us in Europe.... where we are less likely to sue if it all goes wrong 🙄 or perhaps we strike a harder bargain and want more for our money!
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Sounds idyllic @mlgrise
And great that you have found ways to manage your diabetes so successfully over the years - including the insights that continuous monitors and glucose sensors can bring.
You might find the results of this trial interesting which looked at CGM results from healthy people without diabetes.
It is also fairly well established that HbA1c generally rises with age.
So you may be able to give yourself a little more liberty with poutine, and may not need to stress so much about keeping readings within an artificially tight range? It’s a personal choice, of course, but there are sections of the internet that give the impression that any reading above 7.5mmol/L (135mg/dl) spells instant doom when this simply isn’t supported by the evidence.
Glad to have your experiences on the forum 🙂
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