I am a type 1 diabetic (questions and comments)

[troika]

yup. leave her alone. when my sugar gets low im cranky as hell. just keep an eye on her and dont touch.

Luckily I have the dexcom app so I get alerted when the BS is irregular

 

[jcman311]

thats awesome. i need to meet with my medtronic nurse again.... nothing specific...shes just hot.

During our first meeting, she "accidentally on purpose" showed me a pic of her naked.

What!? Damn, I havent met the nurse yet but the rep was about a 6'4" guy... not exactly my type.

Have you checked out the closed loop system? It looks pretty damn cool.

My gf is type 1 and I feel like I may be trying too hard to help when she goes high/low - any advice for what to do? Just stay calm and let her figure it out?

I'm also one that kind of hates that too. I'm ok with concern, but I can figure it out on my own. I will literally run people over to get to some food if my blood sugars are low. Now if she is having paramedics assisting all the time I would help more. I knew a guy who had terrible control and would be found passed out on the floor next to the fridge (usually with an unopened can of soda) about once every 2 months.

 

[piccolochimico]

Hi guys, let me tell you NOT to underestimate diabetes.
I'm a pharmacist, not the justreadingoogle expert, if you ever wonder
If your main concern is to avoid daily glucose scan (likely 3 times per day), there is a device made by Abbott (freestyle libre) that might fit your needs, but i don't know how your health and insurance work.
Remeber that insuline must be handled with care and that the diabetes is a silent disease that, when carefully untreated, damages your nerve system, vascular system, etc.

When the glucose level is too low, you may experience headache 'cause glucose is brain's fuel.

 

[jcman311]

The problem with constant glucose monitors (cgm) is that they are fairly inaccurate. Calibrating is done to help get a better picture of where you are truly at. The cgm you posted from abbott is no better in accuracy than the dexcom or medtronic. The fine print on the bottom states how hypoglycemic situations can be misreported. (bs shows <60 and actual is >80). That error is greater than 10% which seems to be the industry norm. The new medtronic falls just below 10% which allows it to be used in a closed loop system.

 

[piccolochimico]

Thank you for the infos, i didn't know those devices.
Accuracy is what a patient is looking for, before insuline's administration, thus it seems the old needle and blood's drop is still the best system (although uncomfortable).

I've been asked whether there was worthy alternatives, now i know that before shifting to CGM is better to carefully evaluate.

 

[jcman311]

Thank you for the infos, i didn't know those devices.
Accuracy is what a patient is looking for, before insuline's administration, thus it seems the old needle and blood's drop is still the best system (although uncomfortable).

I've been asked whether there was worthy alternatives, now i know that before shifting to CGM is better to carefully evaluate.

I should probably add that using CGMs are much better than just finger testing alone. Much more data is collected about highs and lows and the user can see trends, that is if they are trending high or low and can adjust accordingly. Using finger testing just puts tighter control at mealtimes in order to better compensate for the meal. Using a CGM and finger testing is still the best way to go at the moment. Until an implant or other testing way comes along, I think that finger testing isn't going away.

 

[John L]

I had a CGM for two weeks and hated it.

I run a ton so I also sweat a ton. It would constant fall off (despite my infusion site never falling off) and loudly demand that I calibrate in the middle of the night (I know you can turn this off but that's not the point).

My A1C has been under 7 recently -- I think the only times I was over 7 was sometime in college or high school and my diet was all fritzed on crappy dining hall food -- with the occasional spike.

Something I've noticed since I've been type 1 for the past 13 years (now half my life!).

There are food I don't eat:

I don't eat pasta.

I don't eat pancakes or waffles. Even with the sugar reduced syrup.

I shouldn't eat pizza either but pizza is pizza. What do you want? I try to avoid it outside of family/social gatherings.

Large meals that require large boluses should be avoided. You go high, then you go low, all the while feeling like crap. If you don't go low, you just end up being high for forever and slowly working your way back down -- which also sucks. If you do have a large meal coming up, make sure you don't have plans afterwards. Give your body time to process all that crap you did to it.

Always, always, always check your sugar before you run or go to bed. I've had two seizures that have required an ambulance. Both could've been avoided if I had checked my sugar before the activity.

Having a blood sugar of 40-70 isn't ideal, and you should pay attention to it, but you're probably not going to pass out. Anything below that and you should *probably* start to freak out a bit.

If your thoughts are not coherent, check your blood sugar. They're usually related. I stopped feeling my lows so this one of the better internal tells.

Fruit and salad are great. Cheese is great. Stevia is great with coffee. If you have a couple bucks lying around, buy some pistachios. They're lit.

Right now my big issue is going off my parents health insurance. The best plan in my area, for my situation, puts me in a position where I have to spend 5k on medical supplies before the insurance kicks in. That's a lot of moolah that I can't spend on clothes.

But, I guess, you can't wear cool shoes if your doctor had to cut your feet off because you couldn't be bothered to take care of yourself.

 

[AirForceDave]

Looking to revive this thread. I was diagnosed 2 years ago in my 30s. Using a Dexcom CGM and love it.

 

[jcman311]

Holy crap, just started on the 670g. So far (in like 4 hours) this thing is way superior to the 630g. Calibration is instant (630g used to take like 5 minutes to calibrate) and readings are much more accurate. How a company can make users stay on the 630g and still try to get people to use it is like making someone use a VCR.

My last A1C was at 7. I live a pretty rough and stressful life so hopefully the new system (and better eating/carb calculations) will get me to around 6.5