Diabetes solutions vs Think like a pancreas

[samantha13]

So a very frustrated type 1 here not able to get my head around things despite completing dafne. Sat with the two books in front of me here but which one should I read first??

 

[novorapidboi26]

only heard of think like a pnacreas, but i am sure both are good......

is there something specific your are struggling with or all of it in general?

 

[noblehead]

Who is the author of diabetes solutions?

I've read Think Like a Pancreas quite a few times and have to say its a fantastic book on type 1 management.

 

[samantha13]

only heard of think like a pnacreas, but i am sure both are good......

is there something specific your are struggling with or all of it in general?

I'm constantly sitting above 10mmol every day and am constantly correcting. I feel a bit overwhelmed and not sure where to start so bought these two books. I've insulin resistance and take metformin on top of my insulin therapy

 

[samantha13]

Who is the author of diabetes solutions?

I've read Think Like a Pancreas quite a few times and have to say its a fantastic book on type 1 management.

It's Dr Bernstein noblehead. Seems a bit americanised and centers around low carb from first glances but I think that's the direction I may need to head

 

[noblehead]

It's Dr Bernstein noblehead. Seems a bit americanised and centers around low carb from first glances but I think that's the direction I may need to head

Thanks @samantha13, maybe because it wasn't prefixed with Dr B that the Diabetes Solution book throw me

Anyway I've not read the book so can't really comment, but if your looking to follow a diet like the author then it might be a better book than Think Like as that author doesn't really mention diet or makes dietary recommendations.

 

[samantha13]

I'll maybe go with think like a pancreas first then @noblehead then when I feel I've a better grip on things move onto Dr bernstein. Thanks for replying have a good day

 

[azure]

I've read both and I'd go with Think Like A Pancreas too It's very readable - helpful but funny too, but not in that silly, annoying way. I've read it a few times and still refer back to it. I have a number of diabetes books and it's my favourite, I'd say.

For your control problems, I'd try a basal test if you haven't already. I know they're a pain to do, but if you get that right you can then look to your meals and sorting out your ratios. When your control isn't as good as you want, it can be really hard, and difficult to know where to start, but basal is the foundation, so a good place to begin

 

[samantha13]

@azure thanks a million

 

[paulliljeros]

I've only read Think Like a Pancreas out of these two, but I'll give it another vote.

 

[novorapidboi26]

what did your last basal test reveal?

 

[samantha13]

what did your last basal test reveal?

OK my last three overnight checks were:

9pm 9.1
3am 12
8am 13.6

1030pm 11.1
3am 14.1
8am 16.8

11pm 8.4
3am 10
8am 14.7

I was taking 16u levimer at bedtime now increased to 18u but readings similar.

I take 8u levimer in morning but yesterday increased that to 10u.

I'm not sure how to check that my am basal is right I'm just judging it by how I'm correcting all the time.

 

[Kristin251]

I've read them both and both are great but they take different approaches. The diabetes solution is low carb. For me it was the only way to get control without going hyper and the hypo. It also allows me to use MUCH less insulin. If you don't want to do low carb then I would start with think like a pancreas but the diabetes solution is definately worth reading.

 

[novorapidboi26]

OK my last three overnight checks were:

9pm 9.1
3am 12
8am 13.6

1030pm 11.1
3am 14.1
8am 16.8

11pm 8.4
3am 10
8am 14.7

I was taking 16u levimer at bedtime now increased to 18u but readings similar.

I take 8u levimer in morning but yesterday increased that to 10u.

Wow, good set of readings there...

they clearly show that you need more overnight, so if they are still going up on the 18 units after a few nights of tests then bump it up again by 2 units....

to make things easier you should try and only change one dose at a time......

 

[samantha13]

Thanks so much @novorapidboi26. Will give that a go. Hopefully if I get my night time basal right and wake up with lower numbers will be easier to figure out my day time adjustments

 

[tim2000s]

Thanks so much @novorapidboi26. Will give that a go. Hopefully if I get my night time basal right and wake up with lower numbers will be easier to figure out my day time adjustments

Just to be clear Samantha, when you wake up, your number should be similar to what you go to bed on (+/-1.7mmol/l). Your overnight insulin shouldn't be reducing your glucose levels.

 

[samantha13]

Oh right I'm so confused then. I thought my bedtime levimer would be what I need to adjust to give me a morning bg within range? @tim2000s ? I definitely need to get Reading this book lol

 

[noblehead]

@samantha13, the following from Gary Scheiner (Think like a Pancreas) explains why getting the basal dose right is the foundation of good bg control, thankfully it mentions bg readings in both mg/dl & mmol/l:

http://integrateddiabetes.com/Articles/insu/basal insulin for friends with diabetes.pdf

 

[tim2000s]

@samantha13 The basic way to look at it is that you use your basal insulin to counter background glucose production. This means that with the right amount of basal and no food, your bg level should remain flat.

Once you attain this, you move your levels down by using your fast acting insulin as a correction. With a level bg, you inject 1u of insulin and see how many mmol/l your bg drops over the next 4 hours or so. This is your correction factor. Obviously you need to start this somewhere around 8 or 9 mmol/l.

Then, say at 6pm, your bg level was high, you'd work out how many mmol/l you were above the level you wanted to be, divide that by your correction factor and then give that many u of insulin.

For example:

Correction Factor - 1u reduces bg by 3 mmol/l
BG at 6pm - 12.3mmol/l
Target BG - 6.5 mmol/l
Amount to reduce by - 12.3-6.5 = 5.8
Amount of insulin needed to reduce - Amount to reduce by/correction factor = 5.8/3 = 1.9

You can then either round that up or down to the nearest 0.5u. In the example I've just given I personally would round up to 2u.

Hope that helps.

 

[samantha13]

That helps massively @tim2000s thanks for laying that out so clearly for me too!