Hi everyone I'm new to the group but not to diabetes, I've been an insulin dependent for 28 years and to be honest I have struggled with the control of it throughout and unfortunately I don't understand the terminology of all the equipment because it seems everyone calls it by different names so when names are used that I'm unfamiliar with I'm lost. I thought it would be useful to connect with other diabetics as I don't know anyone who has it.
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Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
New to the group
- Thread starter LouMoo08
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SB2015
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Welcome to the forum @LouMoo08
If you are happy to do so it would be useful to know what insulin(s) you are using, as that will help us tailor any comments to suit you.
Also have you done an education course about your diabetes? I was fortunate enough to do one called Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating. This taught me how to make adjustments to my insulin doses to match what I wanted to eat, when I wanted to eat it.
I knew absolutely nothing about Diabetes at diagnosis, and have drawn on the experience of others on here, which has helped a great deal. Whatever questions you have just ask. Nothing is considered silly on here.
If you are happy to do so it would be useful to know what insulin(s) you are using, as that will help us tailor any comments to suit you.
Also have you done an education course about your diabetes? I was fortunate enough to do one called Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating. This taught me how to make adjustments to my insulin doses to match what I wanted to eat, when I wanted to eat it.
I knew absolutely nothing about Diabetes at diagnosis, and have drawn on the experience of others on here, which has helped a great deal. Whatever questions you have just ask. Nothing is considered silly on here.
Flower
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hi and welcome @LouMoo08 glad you've joined us🙂
This is useful for a lot of the abbreviations etc but if there's a term you haven't heard of please ask and someone will know the answer 🙂.
forum.diabetes.org.uk
How have you been getting on with your diabetes? Are you using a pump or on injections MDI ,using the Libre ? There's been so much new technology lately it is hard to keep up sometimes.
I've found this forum a very friendly place for support, information, help and for a diabetes/anything else themed rant when the need arises! It is so helpful to connect with others who 'get' the daily challenges.
This is useful for a lot of the abbreviations etc but if there's a term you haven't heard of please ask and someone will know the answer 🙂.
Acronyms and Abbreviations
Here is an alphabetical list of acronyms and abbreviations you may come across on the forum: Health-related A1c - Shortened version of HbA1c the blood test that checks average BG over previous 6-12 weeks ADA - American Diabetic Association Basal - 'Background', long acting insulin (eg Lantus...
forum.diabetes.org.uk
How have you been getting on with your diabetes? Are you using a pump or on injections MDI ,using the Libre ? There's been so much new technology lately it is hard to keep up sometimes.
I've found this forum a very friendly place for support, information, help and for a diabetes/anything else themed rant when the need arises! It is so helpful to connect with others who 'get' the daily challenges.
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hi and welcome from me too.
In case you are wondering (Freestyle) Libre is a sensor which goes on your arm and provides information on your BG (Blood Glucose... you may know it as BM) levels which you obtain by scanning the sensor with a reader or a phone. You can scan 100x a day if you want but it samples your levels every few minutes and stores the information and produces a graph when scanned so that you can see what is going on with your readings day and night. It also provides a direction of travel arrow with each reading, so that if you get a reading of 5.0 which you might think was a good reading from a finger prick but you also get a vertical downward arrow along side that 5.0, you know you may soon be hypo unless you eat some carbs. It is a great bit of kit and can be available on the NHS if you fit certain criteria. The new model (Libre 2) even has alarms which will tell you when you are going too low or too high which can be a game changer for people who have lost hypo awareness or suffer nocturnal hypos.
Anyway, as others have said, make yourself at home and ask if there is anything you don't understand. It was all very confusing to me when I first joined 2 years ago but you soon learn what things mean and the advice and support from the wonderful members here is second to none.
In case you are wondering (Freestyle) Libre is a sensor which goes on your arm and provides information on your BG (Blood Glucose... you may know it as BM) levels which you obtain by scanning the sensor with a reader or a phone. You can scan 100x a day if you want but it samples your levels every few minutes and stores the information and produces a graph when scanned so that you can see what is going on with your readings day and night. It also provides a direction of travel arrow with each reading, so that if you get a reading of 5.0 which you might think was a good reading from a finger prick but you also get a vertical downward arrow along side that 5.0, you know you may soon be hypo unless you eat some carbs. It is a great bit of kit and can be available on the NHS if you fit certain criteria. The new model (Libre 2) even has alarms which will tell you when you are going too low or too high which can be a game changer for people who have lost hypo awareness or suffer nocturnal hypos.
Anyway, as others have said, make yourself at home and ask if there is anything you don't understand. It was all very confusing to me when I first joined 2 years ago but you soon learn what things mean and the advice and support from the wonderful members here is second to none.
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
- Pronouns
- She/Her
There are obviously a number of diabetes management programs which people might be referred to some are aimed at people with Type 1, others Type 2 or prediabetes. There is someone who contributes to the chat on the one I was referred to who mentions the Milton Keynes NHS advice information www.parksmed.co.uk. Does anyone know of this and is it a useful resource?
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I am guessing that 90 is your HbA1c reading. If so it will be mmols/mol rather than a percentage as you would likely be dead with an HbA1c of 90% .... unless you meant 9%. It is easy to get confused with the units of HbA1c as they changed them (thankfully before I was diagnosed so the new units are all I have been used to) but some HCPs still report them as the old % and some the new units and many don't specify units at all. If you are sure of the number 90 then it will be the new units. If it is 90, then it sounds like you need some help to lower it... in which case you have come to the right place... as there are lots of tips and tricks or gadgets or techniques which experienced members can suggest to improve it.
How often do you test your BG (BM) and what do you use to test it? And what sort of readings do you get?
The key I found to improving your readings and therefore your overall HbA1c score is to test more frequently, so that you can identify the problem areas and figure out strategies to improve them.
How often do you test your BG (BM) and what do you use to test it? And what sort of readings do you get?
The key I found to improving your readings and therefore your overall HbA1c score is to test more frequently, so that you can identify the problem areas and figure out strategies to improve them.
HbA1c is 90% gosh it's so confusing I check my blood sugars up to 8 times a day my fingers are so sore, I'm on a 1 to 1 ratio and I carb count which is extremely hard and my sugars are always all over the place and always have been I've been put on so many different types of insulin over the years and I've developed a few lumps all over where I inject and I inject everywhere and change it up so it's not always the same place yet I've still developed lumps I've very little fat because my sugars are so high all the time I've been put on different ratios of amount of insulin as well and yet still high saddest part is because my sugars have been so high for so long I developed an ulcer on my shin when I was 15 I'm nearly 37 now and it still looks awful
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