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Newbie diabetic for 36 years

MIQ

Member
Messages
20
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hello,

I have stumbled across this forum searching google , asking if the freestyle libra can be worn other than on arm, (it appears that it can)

I won’t be able to wear mine on my arm as I train triceps and have no fat there. (Getting one tomorrow)

A bit about myself, was diagnosed when I was 2 (1981) and I was one of the 1st registered diabetics locally. I have always been insulin dependent and been under relatively good control for most of my life.

Recently I decided I wanted to loose weight (as I was getting fat) so I used carb counting and reduced my carbs which meant less insulin and have lost almost 3 stone and have improved my HBA1C.

I am looking forward to looking through the forum and seeing other people’s advise and experiences.

I am pretty familiar on how forums work as I am a administrator of the R32OC and have over 10,000 posts, so you can safely say I quite like forums.

Thanks

Mark
 
Welcome Mark!

Would be great to hear your amazing 36 years of experience and how you can help so many T1s in this forum!
 
Hi , and thank you

I would not know where to start lol as I have had so many ups and downs and learnings , especially with medication getting better , when I was diagnosed it was 1 injection a day and from a vial and needle ,

A lot has changed since then.

But if anyone had any questions on anything I am sure I can help and answer
 
Beware - an article i was reading recently compared libre accuracy in different sites - the arm came out with better accuracy than other sites such as the abdomen. I have heard of people wearing them on the thigh but with more adhesion and accidental dislodging problems
 
Reactions: MIQ
I am
Gonna try inner leg and for the first week also use my current monitor to compare the results
 
I've worn them on my chest, and they are a lot more accurate now I wear them on my arm. You don't need a lot of fat on your arm for the sensor, I would still try my arm if I were you. The filament that goes in is not much longer than your skin is deep.
 
Reactions: MIQ
Just don't look at the needle before shooting it in! You usually don't feel a thing, but last week I took one apart (used one of course) to see how it worked and you don't want to know because you're not going to believe it won't hurt!
 
MIQ said:
I won’t be able to wear mine on my arm as I train triceps
Click to expand...
Hello MIQ, I too was wondering about alternative sites for wearing a Libre as I had read somewhere that one can't do triceps exercises while wearing one on the arm, as is usually shown. I too Googled and I found lots of useful info on this site: https://diabetesstrong.com/5-cgm-tricks-for-the-active-diabetic/
The fact that the young woman demonstrating the Libre is very attractive AND well muscled is an added attraction!
 
Reactions: MIQ
MIQ said:
I won’t be able to wear mine on my arm as I train triceps and have no fat there
Click to expand...

I recently had a trial of the device and worried about it going in my tricep as I've no fat there from training but the nurse got one in ok.
It survived the French press too
 
MIQ said:
I am
Gonna try inner leg and for the first week also use my current monitor to compare the results
Click to expand...

Hi there. I'm picking up on your "for the first week" remark. If you are suggesting you might move the sensor after a week, that won't work, do to the application process and the device itself, so best to choose where you want it for the two weeks.

If you do elect to wear the sensor on an alternative site, Abbott will not be liable to provide you with any support you might need, as it's only supposed to be worn on the arm.

Going back to you remark about having little fat on your arms; I have very little fat on me, period. I still use my arms. Small children use the sensor on their arms, so on that basis I reckon it's probably fine, but you have to make your own mind up.
 
I agree with @DCUKMod , you don’t need fat on your arms to use the Libre there. I am a climber so have relatively muscly arms. The Libre is not inserted into muscly area so I had no problem inserting it into the approved and most accurate area.
 
Hi, you've found us which is brilliant and I'm sure I for one will learn a lot from you and perhaps give a little too. I still think of myself ad new which compared to you, I am.
That's one impressive weight loss. Did you count calories as well as carbs? I was "labelled" type 1 Aug last year and have gained 7k because of insulin so any tips would be especially welcomed by me and a lot of others I suspect
 
kev-w said:
I recently had a trial of the device and worried about it going in my tricep as I've no fat there from training but the nurse got one in ok.
It survived the French press too
Click to expand...
French press as in making coffee, or is that a resistance exercise?
 
Reactions: MIQ

Hi,

What I did was lower the carbs in my food , for example swapping chips for salad / rice for bulgar wheat and that meant less insulin

If you have a non carb meal you can have no insulin.

And that way you feel better and loose the excess fat

I went from 16 units per meal to 4.

Even when out I ask for the meal with no chips / potatoes etc .....
 
Hi everyone else thanks for the response on the Machine

When I have it and have tested etc I will do a write up of my findings
 
Thanks, doing that already, never been a fan of chips, pizza or bread. I'm on minute amounts of insulin 2units basal daily and bolus for meals is rare, so far this week 1 unit in some soup I made before I acquired my label
 
Hi @MIQ. Welcome to the forum.
Great success story.
For the benefit of some less experienced T1's can I just say that carbs are not the only thing we need to bolus for.
A carb free meal if high in protein will for me definitely need a bolus to cover for the effects of gluconeogenesis.
It's trial and error for us all, especially newbies. ( I hate that term )
Good luck with " sticking " the libre on.
 
Reactions: MIQ

Yeah I have noticed that protein does have an effect not as much as carbs and you also need some insulin in your body if exercising as your body shoots glucose out if no insulin available for recovery
 
I work out regularly and have the sensor on my upper back of my arm, in the tricep region and have had no problems with it coming loose or anything like that.

Train your legs
 
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