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Just a thought about super low readings....

T

tree-peony

Well-Known Member
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As some of you know I have REALLY struggled to get my levels down from diagnosis and finally they are going in the right direction, albeit slowly! I know it's going to take time, and I shall have to continue to be careful with what I eat AND keep up with the exercise to achieve "normalish" levels, but at the moment, that's how I HOPE I can manage my condition - if I can't then ultimately I shall have to accept more medication. I don't get angry/depressed/miserable if I get the odd unexplained higher reading, cos basically, that's life! It's the overall trend that matters most to me.

However, I have become increasingly aware that because some of you have the MOST exemplary control which it to be applauded certainly, that some people (possibly with less experience or newly diagnosed) seem to expect perfect readings that would be good for a non-diabetic. MY concern is that they view this as some sort of failing and may get disheartened.

I just wanted to open the topic for discussion :)
 
Interesting one.

MY concern is that they view this as some sort of failing and may get disheartened.
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As a relative newbie (12 weeks) I love to hear of the tight control and success others have achieved and continue to achieve. It give me hope, and a sense of no being helpless in the face of this diagnosis. Especially when the HCP's I have met are full of doom and gloom

I also like how even those which very good control come on here with their occasional problem or high reading and share their ups and downs.

So for me, this forum is a group jog, not an individual race to the lowest result. But I am not a competitive person anyway.
 
Actually Lucy, come to think of it, that's JUST how I felt when I found this forum - it was light at the end of the tunnel for me. Having said that, I did start wondering why my levels didn't come down like everyone else's seemed to and got very despondent abut it after a few weeks when people who were diagnosed after me seemed to be gaining good control when I wasn't. Luckily, being a stubborn b**tard by nature, I just kept on going!
 
The super-low readings can be daunting, and I sometimes choose not to look at them when I feel I've had enough negative thoughts for one day, but I find they are a useful antidote to complacency. Once I got my readings below double figures, clinic and nurse were happy to just leave it at that, and given all the stress on trying to live a normal life with diabetes it's easy to let things slip. It's good to keep being dissatisfied and trying to aim lower than NHS dictate. The main thing is to use our friends' admirably low readings strategically: to push yourself when you need to be aspirational, but not to beat yourself up as long as your readings are going in the right direction towards the NICE recommended fasting anbd 2hr-after readings, at least. I know that I will never reach the super-low readings - but it's good to know that they are possible.
 
It could be a double edged sword. Seeing low figures when you're struggling could either spur you on to get lower figures, or make you disheartened.

I am like Lucy, I wanted to see the lower figures so I knew what was possible with just diet and Metformin. It did spur me on. I can also see the other side of the coin, where some might feel they will never achieve such control.

It did work for me, and I got the levels I want, but as we are all different, it will depend, on your own make up (physically and mentally) as to the level you can achieve and how long it might take. Also, I do think, it could spur people who are struggling with how many carbs they can have. Seeing lower figures may give them the incentive to lower carbs.

A really good thread, and one that really makes one think!
 
I get low readings, but it is because I low carb and I also take a shed load of meds (2550 mg metformin and 40 mg gliclazide).

Everyone's pancreas is different. Do we know how long we had diabetes before we were diagnosed? How much damage was done to the pancreas before diagnosis? How much insulin resistance do we have? How medication affects us.

Its nice to see people with low levels and no meds/hardly any meds but that's not me. I'm unique. If I have to take more meds in the future, then so be it, but I'd rather keep that day at bay. I had high levels before I found this forum, I'm never going there again, it keeps me on track coming here.

It is not defeat if for your unique situation you take more meds than you see people on here taking. Remember, the people on here are proactive people who don't want diabetes to beat them or newbies wanting to find out more. Out there in Diabetes land, there are many who believe the eat starchy carbs mantra and take loads of meds.
 
I entirely agree with all those sentiments Denise :) The point is that we're all unique and can't expect to get the same results as everyone else.
 
I can see both sides of the argument.. personally I think seeing low readings is a good thing... it shows us that this condition can be managed... I also think its important to remember that we all had 'bad' readings at some point... every person therefore has developed a strategy to get low readings and this is a really important resource of information for those newbies that are just starting out.

We should also remember that we are all different.. and will have different circumstances and goals.. I think as long as in your mind you have a target that's achievable and not un-realistic then there is no harm aiming for good readings...

Personally I started with a number of goals 5 years ago when I brought my type I under control... on the readings front it was anything under a 6.5% HbA1c.. now I do regular better that BUT if I went in today and got a 6% HbA1c I would still be happy with it.. I think we all need to keep in mind realistic goals for ourselves.. it can be all to easy to 'obsess' over the metre!
 
I have had problems over the years with keeping my sugars low and at present it is still not much better the clinic has now put me on victoza. I find this regime ok but this morning my sugar was 13.3 which is too high. I also take insulin which has reduced but I have had to increase it now. You know for all the years (20) that I have been diabetic I have struggled with high sugars. Since taking victoza I have to say that I do have more engery and do feel better in myself but I want to get my sugars lower any ideas out there!!
 
To me this is very much a psychological thing. Everyone of us has to get control of our condition and to do that we pick a way of achieving that control which suits us. For some it's the regime that counts so you pick VLC or GI or whatever but for others including myself it is the levels themselves which psychologically forms the rock of our control. So to us getting a level within a range that we think is right is what counts. Some see it as odd and maybe obsessive but to me its no more obsessive than say never eating grains or always choosing the low GI version of a food which I accept are equally powerful means of control. A case of each to their own and so long as others see that is the reason some of us aim for very low levels then it should be accepted in the same way I accept that other approaches to control are equally valid.
 
xyzzy said:
Some see it as odd and maybe obsessive but to me its no more obsessive than say never eating grains or always choosing the low GI version of a food which I accept are equally powerful means of control.
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Don't know. I don't eat grains for the same reason I don't smoke.
 
Hi Tree-peont,

Its disheartening and demoralising when you have sugars and dont know why and have nowwhere to go ( ie dont have strategies in place or a management routine .) The odd high, learning from it and knowing what to do next time is ok.

It is also possible to have a high and hold your hands up in the air not having a clue! ( as long as its not the norm )

I have been up and down learning carb counting ( self taught ) and have had hands in the air moments very rarely.

I feel more empowered now ( more than ever ) as I am understanding more and feel like I am really getting there so the odd blip is not demotivating me.

I had a great appt with the dietician today............Her words were that She thinks I am doing brilliantly and that I will be fine once I have had the specific tweak here and there.

Knowledge is deffinatey power!!!

Lucy.

:)
 
Well one thing I've learnt is to go with the flow as things change. BGLs don't always give you what you expect either.... you just have to accept and move on. Stress is no good for diabetes and it's not a good idea to stress yourself out over it. Basically you're just aiming to not go too high or too low and keep a happy medium. How you do this is really up to what your body can tolerate... we're all different. I certainly wouldn't expect what works for me would work for someone else... and what I'm doing today may not stay the same. :lol: have fun on the rollercoaster.
 
mep73 said:
Well one thing I've learnt is to go with the flow as things change. BGLs don't always give you what you expect either.... you just have to accept and move on. Stress is no good for diabetes and it's not a good idea to stress yourself out over it. Basically you're just aiming to not go too high or too low and keep a happy medium. How you do this is really up to what your body can tolerate... we're all different. I certainly wouldn't expect what works for me would work for someone else... and what I'm doing today may not stay the same. :lol: have fun on the rollercoaster.
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Totally agree there Mep73,
I was diagnosed in Nov 2010 and spent just over a year with great control in the 4 to 8 range after coming down from 25 at initial diagnosis with the help of some Glic (which I soon ditched) and the regular Metformin and lower carbs.
The last few months however, it has gone more random though with fasting levels both morning and pre-meals gradually rising. The Doctor and Nurse weren't concerned as they were still in single figures :!: but I kept complaining and got my Met upped a bit and Januvia added. The after meal spikes aren't so high maybe now but my fasting levels and pre-meal figures are still in the 6 to 8 range rather than 4 to 6 regardless of what I eat or do it seems.
So as you say we must just go with the flow and do the best we can. As my Nurse said if my pancreas is going to pack up (and I end up really being a 1.5 or something) there is nothing much I can do about it if I am already doing all I am able to, she knows I eat very few carbs and is not worried as long I don't lose any more weight (I'm a skinny).
Would love to get back into the realms of you guys with the low figures but it doesn't look promising just yet!
Regards
Angie
 
borofergie said:
xyzzy said:
Some see it as odd and maybe obsessive but to me its no more obsessive than say never eating grains or always choosing the low GI version of a food which I accept are equally powerful means of control.
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Don't know. I don't eat grains for the same reason I don't smoke.
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Yes get that.

You don't eat grains as you "obsessively" think they will damage you.

I "obsessively" want low levels to avoid damage also.

Both ways are equally valid and should be seen as such. I don't quite get your obsession about grains, you don't quite get my obsession with levels. Doesn't make either of us right or wrong just that we are different.

What I was trying to point out to the OP is that those of us who aim for low levels do so as a means of control and are pleased at our low levels and report and encourage others in the exact same spirit as you encourage others not to eat grains. If someone choose "I won't eat grains" then did they could be just as disheartened and feel as if they are failing as someone who does not get low levels.
 
Those who are posting with low levels will have probably started off with high levels themselves and will have been encouraged to see others with low levels posting - well I was anyway.

For me posting is part of my reinforcement for myself to remind myself every morning that I am a diabetic and I mustn't let my guard slip. Some days they are up a bit and some days they are really low - they are fickle. I also try to be encouraging to those who post and it is genuinely a pleasure to see the levels of other posters coming down. I'm now wondering if I should post my levels here. Maybe I'll put them on my Facebook instead.
 
When I first caught the T2 diabetes, all I needed to know was that it was possible to control it. Once I knew that (by reading the success stories of others), I knew that it wasn't going to ruin my life, and that with a bit of hard work I'd (probably) be able to do the same thing.

For me this forum is abot mutual support and celebration of achievement. It doesn't matter if you get 4mmol/l every morning before breakfast, or if you've struggled to get below 10mmol/l, almost all of us will recognize your progress and give you as much encouragement to take the next step as you need.

Each of us has a pancreas that is banged up to a different extent. You can only do what you can given the state of your endocrine system. By all means take inspiration from someone who apparently has better control than you, but don't compare yourself against them or you'll be on a hiding to nothing.
 
didie said:
Those who are posting with low levels will have probably started off with high levels themselves and will have been encouraged to see others with low levels posting - well I was anyway.

For me posting is part of my reinforcement for myself to remind myself every morning that I am a diabetic and I mustn't let my guard slip. Some days they are up a bit and some days they are really low - they are fickle. I also try to be encouraging to those who post and it is genuinely a pleasure to see the levels of other posters coming down. I'm now wondering if I should post my levels here. Maybe I'll put them on my Facebook instead.
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Didi,

Dont let it put you off, posting Bgds is good. If someone chooses not to do it, it is thier choice. I haven't been posting mine recently because I am going through an up and down phase and trying to figure it out. ( just because I am not posting on here doesnt mean I am not rigourously trying to get my sugars right. I am writing so much down at the minuet that posting on here is simply 1 less thing to do ) I am still motivated to get stable sugars. I do think that there is a benefit to all to post. Those that choose not to can make their choice.

Keep up the good work it is motivating to see others doing well, we just have to figure out what is best for us as an individual.

Lucy xxx :)
 
borofergie said:
When I first caught the T2 diabetes, all I needed to know was that it was possible to control it. Once I knew that (by reading the success stories of others), I knew that it wasn't going to ruin my life, and that with a bit of hard work I'd (probably) be able to do the same thing.

For me this forum is abot mutual support and celebration of achievement. It doesn't matter if you get 4mmol/l every morning before breakfast, or if you've struggled to get below 10mmol/l, almost all of us will recognize your progress and give you as much encouragement to take the next step as you need.

Each of us has a pancreas that is banged up to a different extent. You can only do what you can given the state of your endocrine system. By all means take inspiration from someone who apparently has better control than you, but don't compare yourself against them or you'll be on a hiding to nothing.
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+1 :)
 
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