How do you manage your diabetes

[Yaya10_10]

Hi, hope everyone doing well.

Yes, everyone is different but we face similar problem, high lows and so on.

How do you manage your diabetes, the aim of this thread is to give us a little bit on different managing approaches.

For me, insulin dependent i try to lower my carb intakes and do exercise.

If my bg goes high, i try to do a quick exercise to bring it back to the green range.

Is low carb effective?

Yes, helps with the spikes.

What about you?

 

[Patsy B]

I have Insulin (novaRapid in the day and Treseba at night) also Metformin and forxiga tablets and have had Diabetes for twelve years now.

 

[In Response]

I manage my diabetes by counting carbs and using insulin with technology. I have a CGM and a pump.
I exercise a lot but I don't do it to reduce my BG, I do it because I enjoy it. It increases my insulin sensitivity but that is a double edged sword because it can cause hypos.
I do not restrict my diet. I preferred to learn to use the tools I have available to me - insulin and technology. I find it works incredibly well for reducing the spikes.

 

[becca59]

Carb counting/technology/swimming. On injections of Tresiba and Fiasp. Eat relatively low carb during the week, more relaxed Friday and Saturday. Swim three times a week 70 lengths in 40 minutes. The knock on effect from this carries for about 24 hours though the initial swim raises levels and I take insulin not food beforehand. I don’t find going for a walk after food helps, it also tends to raise my levels. Best exercise for reducing highs-vacuuming!

 

[Antje77]

Freestyle Libre and pens (Tresiba and Fiasp, and Levemir on days I need more basal).
Usually lowish carb, lots of sugar surfing techniques because the amount of insulin per carb I need varies a lot.

 

[Outlier]

Keto and intermittent fasting. Suits me.

 

[EBe66]

T2 on metformin and gliclazide. I try to manage my diabetes with exercise (cycling/walking) and intermittent fasting with a lchf diet on a one meal a day scheme and generally managing it well I think.
Edit: Started using the freestyle libre in march 2021, it told/learned me so much!!! Expensive if it's not covered like mine but worth every nickel.

Challenges: Loosing weight seems near impossible for me. Tried everything under the sun in the last ~18 years. The only thing that helped last year was not eating 72 hours straight, then have 2 carnivore omad days and repeat. But even that bottomed out at 92 point something kg. Returned to omad lchf and now back at the weight I started with ~18 years ago. (So frustrating reading the success stories on here about people loosing nearly half their starting weight) But the diet keeps my bs levels in check. I want to try it again, but I don't see myself combining 72h fasts with cycling...

Challenge 2: Managing my dawn phenomenon spike in the morning which shoots up the moment I wake, peaks at a level of ~10 between 9 to 10 and then tapers off to return to normal values (6’ish) after 1 o'clock. Tried apple cider vinegar/green apple/cheese etc etc before going to bed with to put it mildly limited success. I started last Friday with berberine capsules, to early to really tell but it seems to do wonders for me. The dawn peak is not as high (even had a day it was hardly there at all) and it is certainly shorter. New problem: It also lowers my bs significantly during the rest of the day. So I am now trying cutting some of my metformin and gliclazide and see how it goes…

 

[Antje77]

Challenge 2: Managing my dawn phenomenon spike in the morning which shoots up the moment I wake, peaks at a level of ~10 between 9 to 10 and then tapers off to return to normal values (6’ish) after 1 o'clock.

I guess you have already tried this, but I hear that for some it helps to have a little bite. Apparently this 'wakes up' the pancreas, telling it to start producing insulin. Not much, just a bit of cheese or a spoonful of yoghurt or such.
Might be worth a try if you haven't yet.

 

[EBe66]

I guess you have already tried this

I have indeed . Most suggestions I read meant eating something before going to bed as a way to keep the liver sleeping. Have tried the eat something in the morning route too but that was some time ago. Could try again I guess, but by the time I get downstairs most of the time the bs is already way up. Find something I can keep by the bed than that the cat doesn't like too. (Does such a thing exist? )

 

[Antje77]

Find something I can keep by the bed than that the cat doesn't like too. (Does such a thing exist? )

Even langs de Blokker!

I love a midnight snack (and so do my dogs and cats). But since that one time my dog ate my chocolate and I had to rush to the vet I keep everything in those containers.
Currently the large one holds half a bag of pork scratchings and some pistachios and the small one half a bar of chocolate (Delicata 85%, tastes better and is cheaper than the Lindt ones.)

edit: If you keep a cube of cheese in it, you can share with the cat when waking up too!

 

[RoughcutAU]

Coming up to almost 12mths since joining the T1D club. Still learning something new all the time.

On a bolus/basal regimen and started carb counting very early on after diagnosis. I haven’t gone down the low carb route and just bolus for what I want to eat. I do try to eat well - so have cut out alot of snacks and maintain a healthy BMI.

I am on my feet all day for work and do a decent amount of walking but not much more in the way of exercise. I am very lucky that this level of activity works for my body to maintain good BGLs.

4/5 fingerpricks a day which are mostly in range and HB1AC’s 6.0/42 and below suggest decent management but definitely room for improvement.

I am about to try CGM for the first time now they are available/affordable to more Aussies. Looking forward to the information they can provide but also apprehensive of what they could show.

 

[EBe66]

I am about to try CGM for the first time now they are available/affordable to more Aussies. Looking forward to the information they can provide but also apprehensive of what they could show.

You won't (want to) believe what you will see I promise you. But so so so worth it. Couple of weeks ago bought 3 different types of sugarfree liquorice of the same brand. two of them were fine, the third send my bs skyrocketing. Without the cgm I wouldn't have known and just assumed it's sugar free, no problem...

 

[EBe66]

Even langs de Blokker!

I know I know... Pork scratchings by the bed, love it!! (and the "wallpaper")
Good suggestions me and my cat thank you! Every now and again I try fried eggs with bacon but by the time thats ready I don't have to bother any more.

 

[In Response]

You won't (want to) believe what you will see I promise you. But so so so worth it. Couple of weeks ago bought 3 different types of sugarfree liquorice of the same brand. two of them were fine, the third send my bs skyrocketing. Without the cgm I wouldn't have known and just assumed it's sugar free, no problem...

Unfortunately, sugar free does not mean carb free and all carbs turn to sugar when we digest them.

 

[JAT1]

I'm on a basal/bolus regime, stay lowish carb (goal is 100/day), carb count, long walks, monotonous diet, finger-prick to measure blood glucose. In range 95% of the time.

 

[Ricmel]

After my T2 diagnosis (Feb 21) I launched into weight loss, exercise and low carb all worked and got my Hb1Ac down to 37 pretty quick. But my improvement just plateaued and I found carbs gave me significant spikes. Then I started resistance training and really shifted my body composition dropping to 17% fat. That has been the game changer for me. My carb spikes now top out at between 6.5 and 7 and I have been able to relax my diet a lot more. I’m still relatively low carb, average about 120gms per day but my body just seems to handle it so much better. I do also walk and swim but it has been the weights that have made the real difference.

 

[Jaylee]

Ona day at a time with what I’m prescribed..

Oddly, being an active member of two bands. In my spare time… Lantus as sketchy as it is for me as a basal works in a rock & roll environment..
Gigs, rehearsals, recording. BGs are stable consistently (99.9% of time during & the morning after.) They need to be regarding performance at the best of my ability. (I’m seriously not even trying to balance the plates..)

Lol, the advice I got from a DSN was “give up the day job?”