Do you check BGs of people around you?

[finsit]

I’d be more interested to know their insulin levels but since there’s no commercially available testing equipment this is not possible. Most people will have fairly normal glucose right up until they don’t. Normal glucose doesn’t mean you’re not a slow motion metabolic car crash. If health providers routinely checked insulin it would expose a massive problem of diabetic pathology in situ. Wouldn’t mind betting 50% of the population.

TLDR; no.

That's exactly true, probably you should listen to Norwood surgery doctors interview on PHC website who is saving close to £60k for NHS in his clinic by going low-carb for his diabetic patients, just Google it and you will know.

Because insulin labs are not easy what i do if i suspect some BG abnormalities in any of my volunteers, that i check their fasting and then 2 hr PP. Let's say if their postprandial was like 8, i will further test it at 4 hr pp. If by then it went close to 5 then probably their insulin is still working fine as opposed to going back 1 mmol down every couple of hours.

 

[lucylocket61]

He also says if a food raises your blood sugar more than 10 gm/dl (roughly 0.6 mmol) then you should look at your food components.

Paging all type 2 diet controlled diabetics - can and do you keep your levels to this tight control 24/7?

in fact, do type 1's manage this too?

 

[finsit]

And what does Dr B base his ideal BG of 4.7 on?
Seems a bit arbitrary (and low) to me and possibly a way to push his low carb approach where it is not necessary.

He is more of paleo living and secondly he is type-1 and expert on insulin so he can maintain it wherever he likes it to be But i still will agree to him, a normal a1c, BG for a person of a few hundred years ago would be the same range. You can see above several people have their partners very close to this range and even they are not on low-carb.

 

[finsit]

Paging all type 2 diet controlled diabetics - can and do you keep your levels to this tight control 24/7?

in fact, do type 1's manage this too?

I can't. I can keep it between 5 and 6.5 most of the time though and i am happy for it. I probably would do better but i will have to leave few more tasty things in my life...

 

[In Response]

he is type-1 and expert on insulin so he can maintain it wherever he likes it to be

Type 1 is not that easy even if you eat low carb.
There is much more than food which affects our levels and we can't spend 24 hours a day watching and correctly our levels. We have lives to live.

Edited to add - he is not female either. His answer to female hormones is to go on the pill permanently and suppress them,

 

[lucylocket61]

You can see above several people have their partners very close to this range and even they are not on low-carb.

yes, but they do not have impaired systems. You appear to be making a point that those of us with diabetes are to be aiming for the figures you quoted by Dr Bernsteins 24/7.

I do not believe that this is realistic in real life for diabetics.

 

[finsit]

Type 1 is not that easy even if you eat low carb.
There is much more than food which affects our levels and we can't spend 24 hours a day watching and correctly our levels. We have lives to live.

Edited to add - he is not female either. His answer to female hormones is to go on the pill permanently and suppress them,

Yes i understand, i was just talking for Dr. B, because he is a master and a doctor and he pricked his fingers more than any other human being in the world. He uses now CGM and still uses several strips to be certain that CGM is working correctly he is obsessive about this, which i like. So if i follow him, i can get close to his targets if not the same, but if i follow conventional medicine and be happy at 9 mmol pp, i may end up at 12.

 

[In Response]

He uses now CGM and still uses several strips to be certain that CGM is working correctly he is obsessive about this

It's great that you have found an approach and a guru you like.

But using a CGM and checking it with test strips is not that unusual for someone who needs to be confident with their insulin dose. Because it can kill us if we get it wrong because it is based on incorrect data.

There are multiple approaches to managing our lives ... not just our diabetes.

 

[finsit]

yes, but they do not have impaired systems. You appear to be making a point that those of us with diabetes are to be aiming for the figures you quoted by Dr Bernsteins 24/7.

I do not believe that this is realistic in real life for diabetics.

Yes, i mean the non-diabetic normal human being should have this range and we should try to keep as close to it as possible.

 

[Mr_Pot]

Paging all type 2 diet controlled diabetics - can and do you keep your levels to this tight control 24/7?

in fact, do type 1's manage this too?

If you are keeping such tight control you need to ask am I enjoying life or has diabetes become my life's work. If you can avoid any serious complications then surely that's good enough. When you die (of something else) is the fact that you maintained an HbA1c of 25 going to have made all the effort worth while.

 

[Jaylee]

Hi @finsit ,

Personally, (as I've always done.) I keep my D paraphernalia to myself..
If a friend/family member/colleague said "test me, I think I'm D.?" I'd suggest seeing a doctor..
I did once for the hell of it, test my wife prior to & two hours later after eating the same meal..
She came in 1.8mmol higher than me. Still within healthy perameters & she'd had a bag of chocolate raisins too.

Great. I think it makes sense to have your BG as close to 5 as possible in fasting or fed stat. Dr. Bernstein says that your BG should be around 83 mg/dl (4.7 mmol i guess) round the clock. He also says if a food raises your blood sugar more than 10 gm/dl (roughly 0.6 mmol) then you should look at your food components. That basically means that BG should be very tightly controlled between 4.7 to 5.5 most of the time. Again i would argue that it will differ from person to person. For some people a tight control between 5.5 - 6.5 most of the time is still excellent and in non-diabetic range.

I'm a reasonably low carber myself. But in my life experience, this may work for Dr B as basically a career diabetic.
Seriously, a liver dump for me can be like two Jelly babies worth.
With the best will in the world, the guy needs to try a week in my boots.? We all have our individual challenges.
I settle between 3.9 & 7.8. Providing the arrow is heading in the right direction.I'm not realy concerned about anyone else suggesting I flatline a sensor.. "Five to drive." But even a dodgy trip on an empty stomach can push me to just below 9.

 

[KK123]

Type 1 is not that easy even if you eat low carb.
There is much more than food which affects our levels and we can't spend 24 hours a day watching and correctly our levels. We have lives to live.

Edited to add - he is not female either. His answer to female hormones is to go on the pill permanently and suppress them,

Not to mention that it's not just about the insulin associated with food either. In the total absence of food our levels will still go high without our basal, that seems to get forgotten in the low carb for type 1s debate. I'm going to be honest now, I am sick to death of hearing about Bernstein and his diabetes! I agree with the concept that fewer carbs may mean less insulin overall but he does like to leave people with the impression that it's all a given if only they'd......etc, etc. He hasn't tried running about in the middle of the night trying to restrain people whilst reading in the 4s and getting lower by the second!

 

[pinkfoot]

with the price of test strips, sod that!!

 

[Ronancastled]

Yes, i mean the non-diabetic normal human being should have this range and we should try to keep as close to it as possible.

Normal non-diabetic glucose was defined in a 2019 Dexcom trial.
I'd a thread on it here:
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/th...ine-normal-glucose-the-results-are-in.182221/

The primary findings:

• Among all study participants, the average blood sugar was 99 mg/dl
  
  
• Time-in-tight-range of 70-140 mg/dl was 97% in this group of people without diabetes
  
  
• Average time in hyperglycemia (blood glucose greater than 140 mg/dl) for the group was 2.1% (just 30 minutes per day)
  
  
• Average time greater than 160 mg/dl was approximately 4 mins/day
  
  
• Time below 60 mg/dl and 54 mg/dl were both negligible

 

[SuNuman]

I can't. I can keep it between 5 and 6.5 most of the time though and i am happy for it. I probably would do better but i will have to leave few more tasty things in my life...

I wish I had those levels. Well done. X

 

[SuNuman]

If you are keeping such tight control you need to ask am I enjoying life or has diabetes become my life's work. If you can avoid any serious complications then surely that's good enough. When you die (of something else) is the fact that you maintained an HbA1c of 25 going to have made all the effort worth while.

No. Lol. X

 

[SuNuman]

I test my partner on the odd occasion too. He doesn't have a super healthy diet, and does not exercise much (although he seems to maintain fitness much better than I do). His levels are generally around the 5.4 - 7 or 8 mmol, with the odd high reading when he has been unwell. An A1C would be interesting to see though!

He has much tougher hands than I do, so I have to dial up the lancet, and then remember to dial it down for myself otherwise my finger prick looks like a battle wound

And it rather hurts if you have not turned the dial down lol. X

 

[finsit]

Hi @finsit ,

Personally, (as I've always done.) I keep my D paraphernalia to myself..
If a friend/family member/colleague said "test me, I think I'm D.?" I'd suggest seeing a doctor..
I did once for the hell of it, test my wife prior to & two hours later after eating the same meal..
She came in 1.8mmol higher than me. Still within healthy perameters & she'd had a bag of chocolate raisins too.




I'm a reasonably low carber myself. But in my life experience, this may work for Dr B as basically a career diabetic.
Seriously, a liver dump for me can be like two Jelly babies worth.
With the best will in the world, the guy needs to try a week in my boots.? We all have our individual challenges.
I settle between 3.9 & 7.8. Providing the arrow is heading in the right direction.I'm not realy concerned about anyone else suggesting I flatline a sensor.. "Five to drive." But even a dodgy trip on an empty stomach can push me to just below 9.

Thanks, appreciate your input. I don't have D paraphernalia but the reason i used to check BGs of my close friends and family members in the start was because i was confused as to what is the normal value. Now, if i know a close one's family history or seeing that he/she might have metabolic syndrome, i do suggest them to get their a1c checked. If i can make a change in anyone's life before its too late, that is the effort i am going to make till i can.

Settling below 7.8 as a T1 is still excellent control. I can't reach Dr. B's levels, but he is an inspiration as he is honest and a true scientist, the world will always remember him as the greatest person to guide diabetics.

 

[finsit]

Normal non-diabetic glucose was defined in a 2019 Dexcom trial.
I'd a thread on it here:
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/th...ine-normal-glucose-the-results-are-in.182221/

The primary findings:

• Among all study participants, the average blood sugar was 99 mg/dl
  
  
• Time-in-tight-range of 70-140 mg/dl was 97% in this group of people without diabetes
  
  
• Average time in hyperglycemia (blood glucose greater than 140 mg/dl) for the group was 2.1% (just 30 minutes per day)
  
  
• Average time greater than 160 mg/dl was approximately 4 mins/day
  
  
• Time below 60 mg/dl and 54 mg/dl were both negligible

Now consider if this population goes on the real food, low-carb diet, their average is going to come down below 90.

 

[Jaylee]

Thanks, appreciate your input. I don't have D paraphernalia but the reason i used to check BGs of my close friends and family members in the start was because i was confused as to what is the normal value. Now, if i know a close one's family history or seeing that he/she might have metabolic syndrome, i do suggest them to get their a1c checked. If i can make a change in anyone's life before its too late, that is the effort i am going to make till i can.

Settling below 7.8 as a T1 is still excellent control. I can't reach Dr. B's levels, but he is an inspiration as he is honest and a true scientist, the world will always remember him as the greatest person to guide diabetics.

I see it this way.. One rogue test (for any reason, bad strip?) could cause distress to a family member or friend till they get to see a doctor?
It can be tricky if that dodgy incorrect number happens to me. However, I know me..

I'll draw the analogy of a runner constantly looking round to see where everyone else competing is at.
Lack of focus, could cost the race with a trip or fall...

You speak like Doctor Bernstien has died? His longevity is testiment to what he does..
However, my path takes a different direction, which I wouldn't change for the world.