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Does T1D have a brain?

Steve14

Well-Known Member
Messages
95
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Because it sure feels like it! I keep a strict diet, but once every month or every two months, I order myself a pizza. The past two times (prior to this one) I had X levels, and gave X units of insulin. Not 2 hours passed by, and I was under 5. Weird. The very same thing happened in December. But today was different. Try to imagine this: I left 2 slices because I was full, then nearly two hours afterwards I was preparing for a hypo, and even checked: I was at 6. So I thought I'll be smart this time and eat the remainder two to avoid an incoming hypo, but now I ended up with 11.6!!!!!!!! ***? I haven't been over 10 in a month. You try to outsmart it, and then it laughs you in the face. I don't get it. Take this as a sort of venting or cry for help or as you please. It truly ruined my day.
 
It's like a **** if you do, and **** if you don't situation. I'm scared to go off my strict diet now because I work a job that compares to building a house of cards, and if I go high, then I become clumsy and may have to start everything all over, even if I'm almost done with my shift.
 
What is done is done @Steve14 , finish your shift and move on
 
Brunneria said:
Have a read of this link. Pizza is a law unto itself.
https://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/blog/foods-strange-tricks/
Click to expand...

"If you are taking insulin, the pizza effect is an even bigger deal. You might inject insulin to cover the first 1–2 hours after your meal, but the carbohydrate in the meal will not be in your blood yet. So you might go low. Then a couple of hours later when the glucose kicks in, the insulin will have worn off, and you’ll be way too high."

Oh God... well, no more "pizza effect" for me then. TY for the article!
 
@Steve14 .
Extra pizza.
11.6.
First time over 10 in a month.
Those 3 quotes together would be utopia for most T1's I know.
As @noblehead has said move on and don't waste time even trying to figure out the reason why.
Sounds to me you're doing just fine.
 
How silly that I thought that all the protein in cheese and ham counteracts the carbs in the dough.... little did I know it is the "pizza effect". Since then I had my evening snack and gave higher units than usual, but now I'm a solid 12 and starting to have that weird taste in my mouth. On the other hand I'm not thinking about food every 2 hours - that's the only positive side effect. It feels good to be "normal" every once in a while, but I won't risk it again. Good night!
 
My doctor has always told me that if I eat pizza, either take my insulin half way through the meal or immediately after.
 
Steve14 said:
How silly that I thought that all the protein in cheese and ham counteracts the carbs in the dough.... little did I know it is the "pizza effect".
Click to expand...

Don't be so hard on yourself as living with diabetes is one big learning curve, in this Mendosa article Gary Scheiner (Think like a Pancreas) explains the process how fat effects bg levels long after the carbs have digested:

So what about after the carbohydrates are finished doing their thing? That’s when the fat itself begins to exert its effects. The process goes something like this:

  1. You eat a high-fat meal or snack (this is the fun part).
  2. In a few hours, the fat begins to digest; this continues for several hours.
  3. The level of fat in the bloodstream (triglycerides) rises.
  4. High triglycerides in the bloodstream cause the liver to become resistant to insulin.
  5. When the liver is insulin resistant, it produces and secretes more glucose than usual.
  6. The blood glucose rises steadily as the liver’s glucose output goes up.
This is what causes the gradual, delayed blood glucose rise after consumption of large amounts of fat. The response seems to be “dose-dependent” – the more fat you consume, the more insulin resistant the liver becomes, and the more glucose it produces. The type of fat also appears to play a role. Saturated fats (the type found in dairy and animal products) seem to cause more insulin resistance than monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (the type found in vegetable products).

http://www.mendosa.com/The-Fat-of-the-Matter-How-Dietary-Fat-Effects-Blood-Glucose.htm
 
The main reason that this is a much bigger problem for T1s is that only a small proportion of Exogenous insulin makes it to the liver, while in a normally functioning human, the majority of insulin hits the liver first. As a result, the liver insulin resistance that takes place has little insulin to interact with in the first place, and the production of glucagon by the liver is much harder to restrain.
 
The thing is you can do everything correctly and still get a wayward high or low.

Our bodies are far more complex than the insulins and insulin delivery systems.

Regards

Martin
 
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