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Low-carb is definitely the way to go ... if you've got the will-power.

An important thing to remember about hypos: The symptoms that you have (pounding heart, sweating, etc.) are from the adrenalin that is pumped into your system to warn you that your blood sugar is low. (The adrenalin also stimulates a release of sugar from your liver.) Even after you return...

That really doesn't sound very hospitable of you. On the home page, it says "the global diabetes community", so I think you need to be accommodating of Americans. There are far more diabetics in the U.S. than there are in England. When I was posting on an American forum, I didn't criticize...

To a certain extent, I think we are getting hung up on terminology. When I said that insulin injected into fat takes "hours to work its way into the system", I should have said "through", as in "work its way through the system". The point is, there is always a delay when injecting into fat. A...

Regular insulin takes 45-60 minutes to begin acting, and then stays in the body for 4-5 hours. When I said 5-6 hours, I was including that initial hour before it starts to work. However, Bernstein says it can have a residual effect up to 8 hours. According to Bernstein's book, the fast-acting...

Sid, if you are managing your diabetes with metformin and eating fruit ever day, then you still have a lot of pancreatic function left. I eat sweets every day, but I have to inject insulin to do so. Just a couple observations on this topic: berries in general are lower in carbs than other...

Grant, about regular vs. fast-acting, the regular insulin dribbles into my system (from my fat) for a period of 5-6 hours, and that allows me to eat two smallish meals. What you seem to be doing with the fast-acting insulin is covering one large meal with one dose of insulin. Personally, I...

Correct me if I'm wrong. Your pancreas stores up insulin in the form of granules, and when you first start to eat, it squirts this stored insulin into your blood (there may be more than one squirt, a squirt when you start to eat and then a squirt or two later in the meal). That's called the...

Probably most fruit juices will be too high in sugar for a diabetic. V8 and tomato juice are fine, but probably most fruit juices should be avoided. If you want a fruity taste on your tongue, get a fruit-flavored dietetic drink. Fruit and fruit juices have an additional problem that many...

Grant, you say so much that I can't really respond to it all. Let me say a few things, however. As I said above (I think), Jenny Ruhl turned me on to R insulin. My experience with R insulin is that if I cover my meals adequately, my BS returns to normal as the insulin wears off. That's not...

Grant, you and I seem to agree on everything. Diabetics should start insulin early (why wait until you have permanent nerve damage?), and it should be fast-acting insulin. In your case, you are using a very fast-acting engineered insulin; in my case, I am using regular insulin (I don't have...

I'm coming to this thread a little late. I'm wondering if maybe you aren't having hypos at all. The numbers you quoted are not low. Also, metformin is not a drug that causes hypos. What other medications are you taking?

Well, the risk of mortality for all of us is 100%. It's all about balance. Some people have the self-control and temperament to control their diabetes to near perfection, but many of us don't. We do the best we can. However, we mustn't fool ourselves into believing that a high A1c is okay...

This is the calculator on Jenny Ruhl's site, which is the one I use: http://bloodsugar101.com/A1Ccalc.php Jenny Ruhl is so current with the latest thinking that I am sure it is the most accurate available.

The embarrassing misspelling has been corrected! I didn't mean to suggest that women should set their breasts on fire.

In my own post, I didn't mean to suggest that people should be unhappy with their A1c's if their A1c's are coming down, but we shouldn't be complacent. I've had a remarkable experience since I started insulin. For about 4 months I was doing not so well in controlling my carbs (about 200 grams...

I just want to re-state what borofergie said in a way that might make it clearer. Basically, sugar in your blood sticks to your red blood cells, and the higher your blood sugar levels, the more sugar will stick to the cells. The A1c test measures the amount of sugar sticking to your red blood...

I just want to point out that the A1c test measures a different blood factor than your meter measures. The numbers look similar, but they are not equivalent. Your meter measures the free glucose floating in your blood, and the A1c test measures the glucose clinging to your red blood cells...

Well, now, let me backtrack just a smidgen. I encourage people to get their A1c's as low as possible, but if we have to get down to 4.7 in order to stop any damage to our bodies, that may be an unattainable task for a lot of us (like me). I just got an A1c of 6.0; and although I'm happy with...

I have to disagree with some of the posters who have made it sound like it's okay to have an A1c of 7 or more. Studies have shown that you can develop diabetic complications with an A1c of 7. Personally, I think we should all be aiming for an A1c that is low enough to avoid any complications...