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Fasting, how does it help?

SueJB

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,336
Location
Heaven
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
cold weather
Hello everyone,
I've got T1 and would like to know what effect it has on us insulin dependent people.
I've searched the forums but don't get anything concrete.
Anyone any ideas please?
 
Last edited:
SueJB said:
Anpne any ideas please?
Click to expand...

Being type II and regularly fasting 24hrs once or twice a week I can see the benefits for ME. I really can't comment on what it would do for a type I. I only do it, having discussed it with my GP who fortunately is open minded and delighted with the results I have so far achieved.

Some research has been done, it's on this website at https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/201...od-sugar-control-during-ramadan-97282097.html. There should be some useful information there, just for starters.

If you google (or search engine of your choice) "type 1 diabetes fasting", you'll find many more links. Good luck, just be careful.
 
Thanks @DavidGrahamJones I'd searched the forums but have now found this which although has some very strange comments "binge eating" is actually very informative.
https://diabetesstrong.com/intermittent-fasting-type-1-diabetes/
 
Hi @SueJB - I rely on fasting to check my basal dose is set at the right level, so by omitting one meal and doing regular tests will confirm if my dose is ok or needs adjusting. I am not sure what you mean when you say does it help though, so are you looking to achieve say better BG control by fasting, if so then yes it would help as long as your basal dose is right otherwise you may see your BG levels go high/low.
 
Thanks @Juicyj You've helped a lot with basal info about that and think I've got that sorted.. I suppose I was really wondering was whether it would help to get Madam BG on a more even keel. I believe that generally it's OK and although it's just a number, I'd love to get more consistently in 4-5 rather than 5-6.
 
Hi @SueJB I appreciate you may want to achieve near perfection with your BG levels, however you're running close to low on the 4-5 scale there and i'm not sure if you drive but this puts you in a dangerous position with the DVLA. Where you are currently is exceptionally good so i'd be very happy to achieve anything near what you're currently running at
 
That's sweet of you. I do drive and test before doing so and always make sure I'm 6 just for that even though it irritates me having to do so and more if I've got to eat!! I'd be absolutely terrified if I didn't have 5.5 or 6.
I am a perfectionist and it usually gives me grief
 
It does feel like the DVLA insist we run sugar higher than is healthy in the long term, especially if you’re on the road a lot. I aim for low fives most of the time, and when I have to drive long distances I feel quite uncomfortable running it high enough to keep that particular rule happy.
 
I can only speculate it's in an attempt to maintain decent hypo awareness and a cushion for during the journey coupled with being drawn up by someone who doesn't live with the conidtion. I don't 100% agree with it but I've made the decision to comply which meant changing my target range to 5-8 from 4-7 as I drive every day and was sick of snacking on food I didn't want just to drive.
 
It's more to do with the fact of having a decent cushion for up to 2 hours as your BG levels can rise/fall considerably during this time frame and to err on the side of safety it's there to protect other road users. We had a delivery driver who ended up in a ditch outside of our village last December due to having a hypo, when he was found he was in a terrible state and an ambulance was called, he would of lost his job and his licence would of been withdrawn as a consequence of this, however it could of been alot worse.

Personally I wouldn't want to risk the potential of hurting anyone else so see this one of the most important aspects of managing my BG levels.
 
Don’t get me wrong, I stick to the rules religiously as I don’t want to cause any harm to others, or lose my licence. But when people who aren’t on glucose lowering medication seem to be able to drive happily in the threes and fours, it seems that they’ve set the level too high - not everyone has levels that change quickly. But it’s the rules, so that’s that.
 
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