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speyside

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
My husband has been recently diagnosed with cancer and we also have to measure because he has diabetic two and I would like to know having a put on the Libra freestyle to sensor how to measure carbohydrates in a simple way because seems to me very complicated. The diabetic medication as already conflicted with C chemotherapy and that’s worrying because we had to go without the chemo for a week. Does anyone else experienced this I’d appreciate any advice thank you.
 
Hi @speyside and welcome to the forum

So sorry about your husbands cancer diagnosis.

I can't answer your question about Libra Freestyle, but I'm sure someone will come along with some help and advice

Alan 😉
 
Hi @speyside
Sorry to read of your husband's diagnosis.

Many people find the book or app, Carbs and Cals useful for carb counting. It contains pictures of meals with carb (and calories) estimates.
If you are eating food not in the book/app, you could look on the label for pre-prepared foods. If you are cooking from scratch, you need to weigh the food and calculate the total carbs based on the carbs per 100g. You may find you repeat the same meals so only need to do this once per meal.
Bear in mind, you probably only need an approximation. Even if your husband is taking insulin (you do not say), it is usually good enough to think of combinations of 10g of carbs
 
Thank you so much for your help
I appreciate it
I was thinking that Pasta potatoes white bread are not our friends anymore. Similarly some fruits like bananas are no longer a friend is that correct? It’s easier just to think that rather than add everything up but I like the idea of a book with pictures that would be much easier because dealing with the Cancer diagnosis I’ve had lots of work to do to help my husband so this is just adding to it. He was on insulin when he first came out of hospital but he’s not anymore so that’s easier and instead of having to do the pinprick daily we now do we have the sensor but I’m finding the sensor very confusing. I can’t get it. I’ve got it on my phone but it doesn’t seem to be connecting and I have to send it to the specialist too. I’m trying to work out how to do that any offer of help appreciated thanks to everyone. I don’t know whether I should call the company and ask them the videos on YouTube are not helping me. I’m just confusing me I hope you have a good and sunny day wherever you are love me.
 
Hi @speyside and welcome to the forum - sorry to hear about your husband's cancer diagnosis - I'm afraid I have no knowledge of how the medications prescribed would react with the chemo, but hopefully someone will know here - in terms of counting carbs, as @helli has said the Carbs & Cals Book or app are one of the easiest ways and a very good starting point - you can get the book from the online shop (link at the top of the page) - using a Libre sensor is a good way of monitoring glucose, but is very expensive if you don't have it on prescription, and does have its limitations - however if you do decide to try it, a short video is here to show you how to apply one (it's very easy BTW):

 
speyside said:
He was on insulin when he first came out of hospital but he’s not anymore so that’s easier and instead of having to do the pinprick daily we now do we have the sensor but I’m finding the sensor very confusing. I can’t get it. I’ve got it on my phone but it doesn’t seem to be connecting and I have to send it to the specialist too. I’m trying to work out how to do that any offer of help appreciated thanks to everyone.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear you are having a difficult time with the Libre :(

I’m not completely sure which aspect of Libre you are struggling with, but we have lots of experienced Libre-users here who should be able to help.

Is it inserting the sensor itself?
Is it getting a reading from the sensor?
Or is it uploading sensor data to his LibreLink account so that his hospital Drs can see his levels?

My understanding (it’s a couple of years since I used Libre), is that as a CGM, Libre automatically transmits levels to a paired mobile phone which has an active copy of the Libre software via Bluetooth. So your husband would need a smartphone near enough to receive the information, which has data upload enabled (eg part of his phone’s payment plan or via a WiFi connection) which uploads his results to Abbot’s servers.

From there reports can be downloaded / monitored by his clinic, and you can follow his results on your own mobile phone using LibreLinkUp.

But the phone which is receiving data from the sensor needs to be close by the sensor.
 
Welcome to the forum @speyside. Has your husband been diabetic for long? Some medications require you to eat a reasonable amount of carbs eg 130 grams. I eat potatoes occasionally. New potatoes aren't as bad as old potatoes and I am looking forward to a few with a lamb chop or fish. There are pasta alternatives in Holland and Barrett or many supermarkets. Don't forget most fish, meat and a lot of veg is carb free. Generally veg below ground eg carrots are more starchy but it's a matter of portion control. Eg two non carby one carby. I enjoy a lot of fish. If your user name is location based there must be a lot of fish available. I was born in Morayshire. I have had cottage pie since diagnosis but had half a portion with extra veg. As far as fruit is concerned berries are good. Ilike blueberries and raspberry berries and i have a full fat Greek yoghurt for breakfast with berries and seeds or nuts. I have been fortunate not to be touched by cancer apart from a grandfather. The important thing is to make sure your husband has sufficient nutrition and as far as possible is able to eat things he likes. Don't forget if there is a ready meal he fancies the carbs are under nutrition often on the bottom.

I still occasionally have a sandwich if I'm in a cafe. I have stopped buying bread because im too greedy but used to enjoy an open sandwich of smoked salmon and cream cheese on rye. I also occasionally have dark chocolate. I am still quite new to diabetes.My hba1c is 44 and I have lost weight but could do with losing more. Your husband may need to keep weight on. I believe protein and good fat will be your friend. Depending on other health conditions an occasional fry up is good.I decline beans and hash browns. I'm sure the hospital will have dieticians.

Finally this website from the New Forest on the left handside has links to Freshwell Caldesi and Moseley which have diabetic friendly recipes.

newforestpcn.co.uk

Diabetes & Metabolic Health | New Forest PCN

newforestpcn.co.uk newforestpcn.co.uk
 
Hi @speyside and welcome to the Forum 🙂 . I have been using the Libre 2 sensor for some time now and for me it's a game changer! I find it really easy and very straightforward to apply the sensor. Does your husband already have the sensor and Libre app on an iPhone?
 
Is there a reason you need to count carbohydrates? Sounds to me like you’ve both got enough going on without introducing that hassle into your life unless absolutely needed. You don’t need to count carbohydrates to understand what foods are good or bad for your blood sugars.
 
speyside said:
I’m finding the sensor very confusing. I can’t get it. I’ve got it on my phone but it doesn’t seem to be connecting and I have to send it to the specialist too.
Click to expand...
Does your husband have a phone with the app “freestyle librelink” on it (yellow app on my iPhone) and a sensor inserted into his arm? Does his app work, what does he see?

Do you have a phone with the freestyle LibreLinkUp app installed (orange on my phone)? What do you see in the app?
 
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