rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Well done from me too. I know that must have been a really difficult step but it is major progress.
Can I just suggest that you alter your Libre settings to the standard 3.9-10 that are commonly used.... even for non diabetic people. This is important, firstly because non diabetic people fluctuate within this larger range, so by setting it at 4-7 you are trying to achieve something that "normal" people often cannot achieve and mentally it is setting you unrealistic targets... which you are then trying to adhere to. The 4-7 range guidelines for diabetes relate to spot BG tests before meals and should not be applied to Libre which shows you what BG levels do in between those spot tests. Having that very narrow green band on your graph gives you the wrong perspective. You also have to remember that 70% time in range (3.9-10) means that your diabetic management is very good..... so it doesn't mean that you should never go above 10. The doctors and nurses now understand that it is perfectly acceptable to go above 10 as long as you come back down again reasonably promptly most of the time, either by use of insulin or exercise. If it doesn't come back down from double figures in say an hour, then try a unit of insulin.
Please amend that range to 3.9-10 because I know that bigger range has made a massive difference mentally to how I cope with my diabetes (and my perfectionism) and whereas I was really struggling to achieve the 4-7 premeal BG targets quite often, which made me feel like I was doing badly, I can consistently get 80-95% time in range with this Libre recommended range and that means that I am actually excelling rather than failing. It may seem like changing the goal posts in order to achieve success but it really isn't. BG and Libre monitoring are very different and you have to adopt different approaches. Not only that but I think at long last clinicians are starting to realise that making us feel like "bad diabetics" when we fail to achieve unrealistic targets is demotivating and damaging mentally. Getting a positive result and feeling like you are doing well is much more encouraging to keep at it and perhaps try to do better still. So set those goal posts wider apart and don't be frightened of missing occasionally or even regularly. There are a lot of top class footballers who get paid huge sums of money and still don't hit the target, often in front of millions of people..... surely you are allowed to send a few wide of the posts or over the top.
Can I just suggest that you alter your Libre settings to the standard 3.9-10 that are commonly used.... even for non diabetic people. This is important, firstly because non diabetic people fluctuate within this larger range, so by setting it at 4-7 you are trying to achieve something that "normal" people often cannot achieve and mentally it is setting you unrealistic targets... which you are then trying to adhere to. The 4-7 range guidelines for diabetes relate to spot BG tests before meals and should not be applied to Libre which shows you what BG levels do in between those spot tests. Having that very narrow green band on your graph gives you the wrong perspective. You also have to remember that 70% time in range (3.9-10) means that your diabetic management is very good..... so it doesn't mean that you should never go above 10. The doctors and nurses now understand that it is perfectly acceptable to go above 10 as long as you come back down again reasonably promptly most of the time, either by use of insulin or exercise. If it doesn't come back down from double figures in say an hour, then try a unit of insulin.
Please amend that range to 3.9-10 because I know that bigger range has made a massive difference mentally to how I cope with my diabetes (and my perfectionism) and whereas I was really struggling to achieve the 4-7 premeal BG targets quite often, which made me feel like I was doing badly, I can consistently get 80-95% time in range with this Libre recommended range and that means that I am actually excelling rather than failing. It may seem like changing the goal posts in order to achieve success but it really isn't. BG and Libre monitoring are very different and you have to adopt different approaches. Not only that but I think at long last clinicians are starting to realise that making us feel like "bad diabetics" when we fail to achieve unrealistic targets is demotivating and damaging mentally. Getting a positive result and feeling like you are doing well is much more encouraging to keep at it and perhaps try to do better still. So set those goal posts wider apart and don't be frightened of missing occasionally or even regularly. There are a lot of top class footballers who get paid huge sums of money and still don't hit the target, often in front of millions of people..... surely you are allowed to send a few wide of the posts or over the top.
