Hello everyone. I'm in my 20th year of being a Type 1 (since I was 14) and thought it was a good a time as any to make some contact with some others. I am half-decent at best at looking after myself and am on the hunt for some role models to aspire to. Just had my first Hba1c for a while and clocked in at 7.5% I have checked a few of your signitures out and would like to start competing around the 6.5% Any tips for starters??
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Long-time Type 1 - New Member
- Thread starter Edward
- Start date
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Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hi Edward, welcome to the forum 🙂 What insulin regime are you on? One of the best tips I came across was to inject my fast-acting insulin (novorapid) at least 15 minutes before eating. I used to inject immediately before eating, but testing showed that my food would usually peak and spike high before the insulin started working. Giving it time to work reduced this spike and consequently reduced my HbA1c 🙂 You do need to be very cautious to begin with, so you get a good idea of the appropriate time to inject, and this can change according to the time of day, but eventually it becomes second nature 🙂
Pumper_Sue
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hello and welcome Edward, you need to add to our running total of diabetes years on the main forum 🙂
To keep your A1c down carb counting and making sure your basal and bolus amounts are correct are the main things to help. 🙂
To keep your A1c down carb counting and making sure your basal and bolus amounts are correct are the main things to help. 🙂
trophywench
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hiya ! Not quite as long term as you think LOL
Yup - what Sue said - do basal testing first off please - if that's right, you'll get better results all round. Carb ratios at mealtimes can never be 199% relied on. if the basal isn't ****- on.
See http://www.diabetes-support.org.uk/info/?page_id=120 for details.
Yup - what Sue said - do basal testing first off please - if that's right, you'll get better results all round. Carb ratios at mealtimes can never be 199% relied on. if the basal isn't ****- on.
See http://www.diabetes-support.org.uk/info/?page_id=120 for details.
Flower
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hello and welcome Edward 🙂
Have you thought about trying something like the Abbotts Libre where you use sensors and a reader to track interstitial glucose through the day and night? It's similar to CGM except it doesn't have glucose level alarms and it needs to be swiped to show the result. It seems to be helping users get good information on spikes/lows/trends etc and could help to do some appropriate insulin tweaking for tighter control.
Have you thought about trying something like the Abbotts Libre where you use sensors and a reader to track interstitial glucose through the day and night? It's similar to CGM except it doesn't have glucose level alarms and it needs to be swiped to show the result. It seems to be helping users get good information on spikes/lows/trends etc and could help to do some appropriate insulin tweaking for tighter control.
Maryanne29
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hello and welcome Edward, from an even longer timer - 56 years! 
Hey guys. Thanks for all the replies.
Firstly - I am on 1x Levimir and 3x Novorapid per day.
My diet is way too carb based I think. Too many carbs and too much insulin to be able to avoid big spikes.
I take around 34 units of each in total every day.
I have moved from UK to Vietnam in the last 12 months, doing a different, less consistent, job and not been great at controlling it. And I think I suffer from a mild hypo paranoia! I am a teacher over here and, before a 2 hour lesson, I find myself topping up on biscuits for fear of dropping low during a lesson. The obvious answer to this is to check my sugar before lessons and get a better handle on my daily sugar level graph.
So I think I need to get back on to a less carb orientated diet, as I had got to in the UK, to give myself less spikes. Are there any tips for good foods to go for??
Also, how much insulin are you guys on?? I am guessing my dose is a big one.
Firstly - I am on 1x Levimir and 3x Novorapid per day.
My diet is way too carb based I think. Too many carbs and too much insulin to be able to avoid big spikes.
I take around 34 units of each in total every day.
I have moved from UK to Vietnam in the last 12 months, doing a different, less consistent, job and not been great at controlling it. And I think I suffer from a mild hypo paranoia! I am a teacher over here and, before a 2 hour lesson, I find myself topping up on biscuits for fear of dropping low during a lesson. The obvious answer to this is to check my sugar before lessons and get a better handle on my daily sugar level graph.
So I think I need to get back on to a less carb orientated diet, as I had got to in the UK, to give myself less spikes. Are there any tips for good foods to go for??
Also, how much insulin are you guys on?? I am guessing my dose is a big one.
And hey Flower. Thanks for the heads-up on CGM! II haven't looked at any technology for a long time - but this is exactly the sort of thing I need. A CGM watch would be perfect for me - and would be for anyone who gets a little hypo-paranoid sometimes too.
This is something I will look in to - but may have to return to the UK and a proper healthcare system to actually get on to it!
This is something I will look in to - but may have to return to the UK and a proper healthcare system to actually get on to it!
Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Have you tried writing a food diary, noting the carbs in everything you eat and drink each day? This can be helpful in showing you your true carb intake (we often miss out quite a bit if we are asked to estimate afterwards), plus it may highlight areas where you can reduce carbs by using an alternative. I'm not familiar with what sort of foods might be available to you there, so can't really comment - my only experience of Vietnamese food was in a restaurant in Paris in 1981! 🙂
34 units of novorapid doesn't sound particularly high to me, and of course it can vary widely from person to person. I do find it very true though, that the greater the carb content of a meal, and therefore the greater the dose of insulin, the more likely I am to get unpredictable levels. I'm currently training for a half-marathon, so my doses are quite low - around 15 novorapid a day - but a few weeks ago they were pushing 40 units a day. I consume around 100-150 grams of carbs a day.
I've heard other teachers employing a similar strategy regarding levels before lessons - certainly testing beforehand, plus getting more predictable control overall should give you more confidence that you are not going to drop low. You should certainly be able to achieve a situation where hypos become a rarity without having to maintain your levels too high.
34 units of novorapid doesn't sound particularly high to me, and of course it can vary widely from person to person. I do find it very true though, that the greater the carb content of a meal, and therefore the greater the dose of insulin, the more likely I am to get unpredictable levels. I'm currently training for a half-marathon, so my doses are quite low - around 15 novorapid a day - but a few weeks ago they were pushing 40 units a day. I consume around 100-150 grams of carbs a day.
I've heard other teachers employing a similar strategy regarding levels before lessons - certainly testing beforehand, plus getting more predictable control overall should give you more confidence that you are not going to drop low. You should certainly be able to achieve a situation where hypos become a rarity without having to maintain your levels too high.
Welcome Edward. & keep up being so competitive ! I am in my 49th year & like you will not give in
. I would employ 90% of T1 because they have a certain attitude like that 😉- Status