Non-diabetics telling me how easy it is!

A recent leaflet from my diabetes service for type 2s on insulin says you may need 10-15g snacks between meals to avoid hypos. One of the suggestions is "3 party rings", another is "a small bag of multipack crisps"..

saucequery said:

A recent leaflet from my diabetes service for type 2s on insulin says you may need 10-15g snacks between meals to avoid hypos. One of the suggestions is "3 party rings", another is "a small bag of multipack crisps"..

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Sounds about right.

From what I remember with T1 also?
Had to google “party rings.”

Back in my day. It was the good ol’ deegestive!

These days I adjust my basal if anticipating a hard graft the following day?

Dieticians phhhhhht they were the ones when I was about 21 decided that rather than treating a hypo with chocolate or quick acting Sugar to have a sandwich that worked ……………NOT ,

I've had some corkers from my support workers.

When I first signed up to use the agency, I was assured that all their staff had decent diabetes / glucose control knowledge, bc I was really struggling (and still am).

My "low glucose" alarm went off on my libre - my worker asked if low blood sugar just meant I was hungry.

On an afternoon when my bg was at about 11 and I was freaking out, one suggested eating an apple to bring it down, or maybe going to hospital.

I get quite a lot of "my mum/dad/neighbour's dog is diabetic and they eat ice cream all the time/don't worry about their sugar levels" and the like. I've given up even trying to talk about it with them.

Sorry, not quite on topic, but I needed to vent.

Ushthetaff said:

Dieticians phhhhhht they were the ones when I was about 21 decided that rather than treating a hypo with chocolate or quick acting Sugar to have a sandwich that worked ……………NOT ,

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At the age of 12 or thereabouts, I was given a b*llocking by my dietician (whom I never saw again) for having sugar on my morning Weetabix and sometimes in my coffee. I'm pretty sure I was also told off for eating chocolate biscuits (which was tricky as Penguins were standard afternoon tea fare at school).

I was curious as to why this was such a problem when my HbA1c had never been above 5.0% (31 mmol/mol) and was at that point ~4.6% (~27mmol/mol) [i.e. too low - it had been suggested by my consultant that I try to run a bit higher] but I was fobbed off and was actually quite upset afterwards as I couldn't really work out how to keep both the medical profession happy, and remain alive.

I obviously ignored what I was told to do (after discussing with my parents) and it did at least teach me a useful lesson that despite being both an adult and having a professional qualification, some people simply don't know what they are talking about. Not a bad life lesson.

SimonP78 said:

Interestingly 4 decades back this was the way to treat T1 diabetes (well I'm not quite 40 years in, but only 1 off) - 3 meals with snacks in-between, which probably works out at roughly every 2h. Not sure how a dietician managed to come up with it these days though (even for a T1 on MDI and especially not for a T2 and diet only!), but then dieticians have their own special circle in my Inferno....

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That’s how I was treated when I was diagnosed in 1967. It was, we were told, eating to the pattern of insulin ‘peaks’. Hmmm

SimonP78 said:

At the age of 12 or thereabouts, I was given a b*llocking by my dietician (whom I never saw again) for having sugar on my morning Weetabix and sometimes in my coffee. I'm pretty sure I was also told off for eating chocolate biscuits (which was tricky as Penguins were standard afternoon tea fare at school).

I was curious as to why this was such a problem when my HbA1c had never been above 5.0% (31 mmol/mol) and was at that point ~4.6% (~27mmol/mol) [i.e. too low - it had been suggested by my consultant that I try to run a bit higher] but I was fobbed off and was actually quite upset afterwards as I couldn't really work out how to keep both the medical profession happy, and remain alive.

I obviously ignored what I was told to do (after discussing with my parents) and it did at least teach me a useful lesson that despite being both an adult and having a professional qualification, some people simply don't know what they are talking about. Not a bad life lesson.

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I absolutely agree with your last paragraph especially!

Ushthetaff said:

T1 for 44 years and I’m use to being T1 its a “ normal “ way of life for me now, but it has made me realise I really wouldn’t like to be T 2 yes I have to inject blah blah blah , but now I can virtually eat what I like it’s taken a good few years to work out what works for me but now I’ve just about sorted it , not and it never will be 100. % but so much easier than years gone by, I know there are a percentage whose lifestyle habits might contribute to T2 but definetly not all, I don’t think I could be disciplined enough at least with T1 my sugar goes high I take insulin blood sugar comes down but it does come down doesn’t seem that easy with T2

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Yes, I have often thought that as well. It does give a more positive ring to Type 1, despite everything....!?

New here; type II from outside the UK (but travel there with some regularity, if that counts). In regard to the original post, even my doctor told me to read the Glucose Goddess material, which I did. I read it critically and highlighted as I read (my habit); some was common sense, some I disagreed. I think it's more appropriate for non-diabetics. I do like the Jenny Ruhl books, though I disagree on some points there, too.

I travel extensively, frequently across the dateline, regular trips to Africa, Europe, the middle East, Australia, south America and Asia as the south pacific. The time zone changes, generally on a daily basis, mess with medication, circadian rhythm, and meals, and introduce problems with glucose control. My diet is often limited to what's on a flight, and the hours I arrive and leave at locations make choosing food, or obtaining food, difficult or impossible. I'm often left to eat whatever I can carry, which is typically limited to small packets of nuts or nut bars.

That, in turn, can lead to frequent discussions about diet (sorry, I can't eat that...). The public perception that one makes one's self a diabetic through abuse of sugar is the most common misconception that I hear. In fairness, I did carry a bag of red bulls in my travels and was as big a sugar abuser as there ever was, until discovery of diabetes; timed close to the discovery of my father's demise due to diabetic keto acidosis (I wasn't aware of his diabetes; we didn't talk much, or live nearby). Radical changes since. Public perception, and functioning with a crowd out to dinner or on a flight does prove, at times, a bit troublesome, and frequently leads to only eating small portions of what's available, to avoid carbs, etc.

I found this thread really interesting because having had type 2 for 25 years and 4 bouts of gestational diabetes before this - I have learnt more in the past year since self funding a CGM than I have in the previous almost 40 years. I have recommended getting a CGM for a brief period to friends who are noticing struggles with weight gain especially around their middle as currently the NHS tests for prediabetes and diabetes only show up when there is already a problem. Until we actually start testing for elevated insulin levels instead of elevated blood sugar people will have damaged their bodies before it shows up in a test - at least seeing a sugar spike might help people recognise how hard their pancreas is having to work to pump out enough insulin to manage the spikes. I would have been irritated if a friend without type 2 then suggested it was easy to manage though so really understand the frustration. I also get the 'you are not fat enough to be type 2' - we've got to get society to understand that being overweight does not cause type 2 diabetes - it is the other way around and becomes a vicious circle. More and more I am learning that foods that look OK or claim to be healthy are really problematic. I'd really like my hubby (who is not diagnosed but has started to change shape) to try a CGM but he doesn't want to give up his KFCs and other UPFs and so is reluctant to see what impact they have.