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Is BG harder to control if you are Type 1

B

birchy66

Well-Known Member
Messages
143
Location
Essex, England
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Just wondering if BG control is harder to control if you are Type 1 as opposed to Type 2. Or is it just a case of lower carbs, regular exercise and generally adhering to the discipline involved? I ask this because I see lots of Type 2s' on this site who have HbA1c levels, typically 5% to 6%, which is below what I seem to be able to achieve. Mine is usually around 7%.
Any thoughts welcome.
 
I'm not T1 but from what I have read T1 should be easier to get lower readings if you know basically how many carbs are in what you eat & adjust injection to suit.
Please correct me if I'm wrong but it is harder for T2 as we only have mainly diet to gain control.
 
birchy66 said:
Just wondering if BG control is harder to control if you are Type 1 as opposed to Type 2. Or is it just a case of lower carbs, regular exercise and generally adhering to the discipline involved? I ask this because I see lots of Type 2s' on this site who have HbA1c levels, typically 5% to 6%, which is below what I seem to be able to achieve. Mine is usually around 7%.
Any thoughts welcome.
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I think it is because of lower carbs and type 2's pancreas is still able to work. I read of a type 2, ( sorry, but I can't remember the members name,) who was feeling under the weather and I think they mentioned their BS was 8 and was concerned. Me, being type 1 when ill,being diagnosed with other medical conditions or worried,upset, hospital procedures etc affect my BS so much that it has doubled and trebled.:eek: That's what happens to me and it really does worry me. :( My BS in November 2014 was 7 %, but from August to November my BS were yoyoing so much, sometimes out of control. I was so surprised, but pleasantly happy when my consultant told me the over all number.

Best wishes RRB :)
 
Paul59 said:
I'm not T1 but from what I have read T1 should be easier to get lower readings if you know basically how many carbs are in what you eat & adjust injection to suit.
Please correct me if I'm wrong but it is harder for T2 as we only have mainly diet to gain control.
Click to expand...

From a type 1's point of view, if it was easier for type 1's, then most of us would be in the same range as you, being a type 2. Your pancreas still works to a certain extent. I have posted on this thread and have explained how certain things affect me and injecting Insulin and or adjusting can be tricky, it's not easy at all.

Best wishes RRB
 
I don't believe it is harder on the whole, but there is a lot more maths involved :D

Seriously, I think for a Type 1 it's more a case of Ye Darke Artes, because there are so many variables , and even if you take all of those in to account, you can still come up with an x=y+<2%= a *** ???:eek: moment !

It's all trial and error and re evaluating on an all too frequent basis, but a good HbA1c is achievable , it just takes work .

Signy
 
Robinredbreast said:
From a type 1's point of view, if it was easier for type 1's, then most of us would be in the same range as you, being a type 2. Your pancreas still works to a certain extent. I have posted on this thread and have explained how certain things affect me and injecting Insulin and or adjusting can be tricky, it's not easy at all.

Best wishes RRB
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Got ya.
 
Heathenlass said:
I don't believe it is harder on the whole, but there is a lot more maths involved :D

Seriously, I think for a Type 1 it's more a case of Ye Darke Artes, because there are so many variables , and even if you take all of those in to account, you can still come up with an x=y+<2%= a *** ???:eek: moment !

It's all trial and error and re evaluating on an all too frequent basis, but a good HbA1c is achievable , it just takes work .

Signy
Click to expand...

Good post, it is achievable, but with so many set backs over the past few years for me, I think I was lucky to get a 7 last time. Sometimes you just want to go :arghh: :banghead: :bag:
 
birchy66 said:
Just wondering if BG control is harder to control if you are Type 1 as opposed to Type 2. Or is it just a case of lower carbs, regular exercise and generally adhering to the discipline involved? I ask this because I see lots of Type 2s' on this site who have HbA1c levels, typically 5% to 6%, which is below what I seem to be able to achieve. Mine is usually around 7%.
Any thoughts welcome.
Click to expand...

A good thread birchy66. I try to be disciplined, as best I can. I am a very active person, always have been and remained at a good weight for decades. It's just that things seem to get in the way and screw everything up and then it can take weeks or months to get back to some normality ( but that's probably just
me though) :rolleyes: :oops:
 
birchy66 said:
Just wondering if BG control is harder to control if you are Type 1 as opposed to Type 2. Or is it just a case of lower carbs, regular exercise and generally adhering to the discipline involved? I ask this because I see lots of Type 2s' on this site who have HbA1c levels, typically 5% to 6%, which is below what I seem to be able to achieve. Mine is usually around 7%.
Any thoughts welcome.
Click to expand...

I'd imagine both types have their challenges, but certainly with type 1 diabetes you have to way up (and account for) the many factors that can effect bg levels.
 
Don`t know about T1, but in my experience, T2 is brutally straightforward most of the time ie. if you eat the wrong thing then your bg levels go up. You can mitigate it slightly with exercise but that`s pretty much what it boils down to. I would imagine T2 is much more complicated to cope with and certainly more time consuming, wouldn`t wish either of them on anybody!
 
I'm T2 and have to work at keeping my readings low and under control but it's pretty straight forward really.
Diet is the key.
I know when I'm taking chances and what the results are likely to be.
 
Heathenlass said:
even if you take all of those in to account, you can still come up with an x=y+<2%= a *** ???:eek: moment !
Click to expand...
This. As a T1, it's the "I'm repeating the same thing on multiple occasions and getting different results" that makes it, in my view, harder to maintain a consistently lower Hba1C/glucose level.

Environment, stress, weather, illness, tiredness, variable insulin absorption to name but six factors that affect glucose levels and that aren't easily accountable with some of the more complex maths.

To use the fake famous Einstein quote...

Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results....... is Type 1 diabetes
 
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As a well controlled, potentially reversed T2, I would say controlling on a spot basis, for a "whatever you want to eat meal" is possibly easier for T1, in that you can calculate the carb content and dose accordingly, in order to manage the levels to which your bloods rise. As a T2, eating that meal is likely to be a bit or Russian roullette/lucky dip, in that our bloods peak where they peak, and there's not a lot we can do about that.

Conversely, over the longer term, I think T2s have it easier, in that if we eat in a reduced carb way, we can learn where our bloods will go on a day to day basis, which allows us to formulate a good range of options for our day-to-day living, without having to add the layer of complication of injecting/fluctuating basal requirements/honeymoon period, and many of the other out of direct control issues T1s can face.

I've often said that having drawn the D card, I'm garethmalone IT was the 2 variant. I stick by that, although, clearly, I'd rather not have drawn the card in the first place.

As my dear old departed Mum used to say, "you've just got to work with what you've got". She knew a thing or two about life.
 
Controlling either type is a huge challenge. If you were to compare national efficacy and safety results, then T1s do much worse than T2s, from HbA1c results to all of the complication results. This implies that controlling T1 is more difficult than T2, but don't forget, T2 is more of a spectrum disorder, where as T1 is not.
 
tim2000s said:
This. As a T1, it's the "I'm repeating the same thing on multiple occasions and getting different results" that makes it, in my view, harder to maintain a consistently lower Hba1C/glucose level.

Environment, stress, weather, illness, tiredness, variable insulin absorption to name but six factors that affect glucose levels and that aren't easily accountable with some of the more complex maths.

To use the fake famous Einstein quote...

Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results....... is Type 1 diabetes
Click to expand...

Yes that is true, but never heard of that quote before, but it says it all :DThanks for posting this :)
 
As an insulin dependant t2 I can say its just as hard for me as any t1, I have to carb count to make sure I get the right dose of insulin for what I eat, I am on 2 injections a day so what I eat in the morning will be reflected in my numbers all day, insulin uptake or lack off can play havoc and cause hypos later in the day or overnight, I am luckier than some t2s in that I get my strips on prescription, but I still have to beg and worry my dr for them as I need to test like a t1 up to 8-10 times a day and I have to prove to him that I need them to keep my bs in a good range, so as far as I can see we are all struggling and there is no easy diabetic type
 
Robinredbreast said:
Yes that is true, but never heard of that quote before, but it says it all :DThanks for posting this :)
Click to expand...
The original quote is "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results".
 
I think the fact that persons on injections can bolus extra for takeaways etc is easier than for a type 2 who seriously wants low hba1c's. I look at the struggles that many type 2's on diets or tablets and I always feel that I have an easier time of it regards the foods I could eat if I wanted to (which I don't!!).
As i've never ate substantial amounts of food then (not meaning that detrimentally) and having no appetite it is easier for me as a T1 to achieve lower hba1c's. I've never really had to change my diet...I tried eating more carbs from advice given to me previously but I can't eat or have good health from doing so.
So because of my limited eating I believe type 2's find it harder to achieve the hba1c's that I achieve. Last one 44 which I and consultants think too low...
 
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