Type 1 "Free"style Libre Strife

Messages
19
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
HI Everyone,

I've recently got myself in a a real loop. Just got a freestyle libre. At first I thought it was great, but now I'm having second thoughts. The ability to constantly get a reading has made me paranoid, stressed and concerned 24 hrs a day. Before I got the Libre I was just finger prick checking a few times a day, I had decent Hba1c and never gave a thought about my diabetes since diagnosed 20 years ago, I felt free. Now all I think about is diabetes and blood sugars! I'm now able to check b.g. readings between meals and I've been over correcting sending me into low blood sugar. The last few days have been terrible. Now I'm getting glucose rises with anxiety e.g liver releasing its glucose into the bloodstream. But here is the problem. I have found that like the dawn phenomena, where the body releases it own glucose stores, at first I was taking insulin to counter the rise! That was a big mistake..... I know you should never correct insulin in this situation because there is already zero glucose anywhere in your body and I then suffer insulin shock. So, now I have to eat min 30g carbs at the same time whislt I take my insulin + correction dose, when the high reading is caused by anxiety and not food.

In short, I've been so convinced by the Libre's 24hrs a day 7 day a week outputs and graphs, all my previous diabetes management and good sense has gone out of the window, now i'm left with anxiety which I can't treat with insulin on it's own because I go into insulin shock. Eating when your b.g. is high feels counter-intuitve, but its the way I can deal with the problem. I've now been prescribed propanalol for a couple of weeks try and settle me.

Has anyone else any tips for dealing with blood sugars raised by anxiety and not food?
 
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steve_p6

Well-Known Member
Messages
418
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I have noticed that sometimes my early morning rises dont have a lot of weight behind them too. I would suggest a read of Sugar Surfing, the specific relevant advice would be to give yourself wide targets to operate in, use small corrections to learn how your BG reacts in different situations and you will steadily build your control skills and confidence. Everyone seems to scan 100 times a day when girst on libre that will settle down to 3-4 times an hour. - regular scanning is part of not getting surprised by unexpected rises/falls
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
Messages
19
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I have noticed that sometimes my early morning rises dont have a lot of weight behind them too. I would suggest a read of Sugar Surfing, the specific relevant advice would be to give yourself wide targets to operate in, use small corrections to learn how your BG reacts in different situations and you will steadily build your control skills and confidence. Everyone seems to scan 100 times a day when girst on libre that will settle down to 3-4 times an hour. - regular scanning is part of not getting surprised by unexpected rises/falls
Thanks Steve, have you ever taken insulin without food whilst b.g reading was high due to dawn phenomena or anxiety? Seems this is the worst thing you can do in terms of insulin management. It took me 4 days to realise what I was doing wrong. Now I make sure I take food with the insulin + correction if the b.g is high as a result of bodies own release of glucose and not food.
 

steve_p6

Well-Known Member
Messages
418
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Yes always, I will avoid carbs when I am high simply because the carbs kick in faster than the insulin and send you even higher.

I guess I am not understanding why you dont just use a smaller correction dose with no carbs? What BG level are you starting at and what BG level would you be aiming to correct to?
 

paulliljeros

Well-Known Member
Messages
417
Type of diabetes
Other
Treatment type
Other
Hi @smilesandsmiles , I agree wholeheartedly with @steve_p6 comments above. Sugar Surfing is a great book, and definitely worth the read. Another book worth reading is Think Like a Pancreas. Both these books will give you great insight into the things you are struggling with. I have been diabetic for 30 years and thought I knew everything, but I have lost count of the things that I read that I had been overlooking or not even known for years!
 
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tim2000s

Expert
Retired Moderator
Messages
8,934
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Other
I too subscribe to the sugar surfing approach. I'd been looking at CGM for years before libre because direction was always more important to me than value.

Getting the Libre set me free. I finally knew what was going on. Corrective measures became pre-emptive. It was how I wanted to manage myself.

It does sound like you are over compensating and not taking account of where you are. Sugar surfing will help you both action it and reduce your anxiety.

To be fair though, your worries are exactly the issues that diabetologists are worrying about with the technology. We as a community need to educate people how to do this kind of thing.
 
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Reactions: 5 people

paulliljeros

Well-Known Member
Messages
417
Type of diabetes
Other
Treatment type
Other
HI Everyone,

I've recently got myself in a a real loop. Just got a freestyle libre. At first I thought it was great, but now I'm having second thoughts. The ability to constantly get a reading has made me paranoid, stressed and concerned 24 hrs a day. Before I got the Libre I was just finger prick checking a few times a day, I had decent Hba1c and never gave a thought about my diabetes since diagnosed 20 years ago, I felt free. Now all I think about is diabetes and blood sugars! I'm now able to check b.g. readings between meals and I've been over correcting sending me into low blood sugar. The last few days have been terrible. Now I'm getting glucose rises with anxiety e.g liver releasing its glucose into the bloodstream. But here is the problem. I have found that like the dawn phenomena, where the body releases it own glucose stores, at first I was taking insulin to counter the rise! That was a big mistake..... I know you should never correct insulin in this situation because there is already zero glucose anywhere in your body and I then suffer insulin shock. So, now I have to eat min 30g carbs at the same time whislt I take my insulin + correction dose, when the high reading is caused by anxiety and not food.

In short, I've been so convinced by the Libre's 24hrs a day 7 day a week outputs and graphs, all my previous diabetes management and good sense has gone out of the window, now i'm left with anxiety which I can't treat with insulin on it's own because I go into insulin shock. Eating when your b.g. is high feels counter-intuitve, but its the way I can deal with the problem. I've now been prescribed propanalol for a couple of weeks try and settle me.

Has anyone else any tips for dealing with blood sugars raised by anxiety and not food?
@smilesandsmiles, sorry if this is a stupid question, but have you worked out your insulin correction factor, insulin action period/sensitivity, insulin to carb ratio and after injections, how much insulin you have on board. All very simple, but required if you are are going to use the CGM to its best potential and fundamental to sugar surfing.