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Stuck in a BG rut!

hale710

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,903
Location
Scotland
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I'm stuck in a BG rut. Before bed, meals, when I get up and when I drive, it is consistently in the 7s. I would like it to be just a teeny tiny amount lower though! 5s and 6s! I know 7 is far from awful, but I know I can do better!

Any tips for bring it down that don't include low carbing?! It would almost be easier if it was higher as I could take a correction for it haha
 
I would give my right arm for readings like that Hale 16 at 10.30am and 10 at 6.15 today
 
My basal is currently perfect to get me through the night without a hitch, so I wouldn't want to mess with that!

Engineer, I'm still in the honeymoon remember so it's a bit easier to keep things lower! I know 7-8 is really not bad, but I would like a slightly lower average then id be a mega happy bunny!
 
I wish I had your problem. Mines have barely been below 10, usually in the teens this last week or so despite eating fairly low carb and injecting lots. What about going walking or something to help it come down a little more?
 
Hooked said:
I wish I had your problem. Mines have barely been below 10, usually in the teens this last week or so despite eating fairly low carb and injecting lots. What about going walking or something to help it come down a little more?
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Desk job leaves little scope for that I know what you mean though, I've been walking to speak to people instead of calling or emailing, and I've taken the stairs to try and knock them down a touch. It's just me being a perfectionist and wanting immaculate control!

I hope you gets yours down soon! That's what I'm not looking forward to when I come out of the honeymoon
 
If you can't tweak the basal, which would be also my initial reaction, then I'd say your best bet is more control of the total amounts of carb per meal?.
 

I keep thinking after years of me misbehaving my sugars have decided just cos I got my act together doesn't mean they are going to behave now. :roll:

You are being very inventive with ways of getting some movement in with having a desk job. Hopefully you'll get them down that wee bit more soon.
 
Hi Hale,

I too am in the honeymoon period and managed to achieve an hba1c of 40 the last time I was tested. I have incorporated the following into my lifestyle/diet.

I have cut down the amount of carbs I eat. For my height and weight I am supposed to have about 300g of carbs a day (I rarely have 200g and monitor it using the carbs and cals app on my phone)

I also eat porridge every day for breakfast as it is low GI and my body seems to cope with it quite well

I tend to stick to simple foods and avoid processed carbs where possible (e.g. no bread or sweeties)

I have pretty much gone wheat free apart from the odd treat every couple weeks or so (the rest of my family don't eat wheat so it wasn't too hard)

I eat gluten free bread for lunch about 3 times a week and for the rest of the time either have left overs or salads which are made up of raw veggies topped off with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

I have pretty much stopped snacking completely to give my body a chance to get rid of the carbs that I eat at meal time.

I have found out a few things that spike me really badly, these include Chinese meals and OJ, so I avoid them as much as I can.

I have recently started to exercise again with a view to putting on some muscle as this will make me more sensitive to insulin as well as increasing my metabolism

With respect to my insulin regime I currently take the following:

8 units of Lantus at 6:45pm

0-5 units of novorapid at meal times depending on what my current BG is (using a ratio of 1 unit to 20g of carbs)

I find that my BG is pretty stable overnight, but I do have to watch for hypos.

My job is really sendentry (code monkey) so I don't walk much, but I do park my car about 10 minutes walk away from the office to make sure I get some exercise every day.

I have found that some of my readings have been a little bit erratic as of late, which could signal the start of the end of the honeymoon period, but I intend to try and keep it going as long as possible, although I know from reading that it can last anywhere from months to years.

Hope that has given you some ideas.
 

Thanks qbix

I don't consider myself to low carb, but I rarely exceed 150g per day (that is how I always ate before anyway!) I LOVE porridge and eat it for breakfast a work usually

I don't enjoy bread so rarely eat it anyway. Occasionally a bagel if I'm out and about but not often

Lunch is provided at work, and is surprisingly good. Soups and salad and plenty options available.

I have a puppy so I walk him daily which gives me lows, so I need to eat while I do it which is a pain! Like you I e started increasing fitness too, I've started running twice a week with the puppy to tire us both out. It causes havoc with my BG though which really puts me off it

I'm on 3 units levemir at 6pm. If I've been for a run I reduce this to 1 unit (DSN suggestion)
With meals I'm on 0.5 unit Novorapid for 8g carb. Usually 0.5 - 2 units per meal.
I'm very insulin sensitive already, so if I correct I only take half unit to bring me down 3mmol/l

I guess I could try parking further away, that would bring me down in the mornings just a touch if I walked further. So that's a good idea! I rarely snack, I prefer to drink mint tea if I have the urge as the mint acts as an appetite suppressant. I do eat a Jaffa cake (9g carb) when out walking the dog (usually about 5k) to prevent hypo. I could maybe try something only 5 or 6g instead next time
 
Arent you on a pump Hale?
 
donnellysdogs said:
Arent you on a pump Hale?
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I wish! I'm going to ask at my appointment next week but I'm 99% sure I've got no chance. My control is pretty good (bar when exercising) and I'm still in the honeymoon
 
If you're happy with your basal, the most important figure to work on is your going to bed one (third of your life sorted) which should also set you up for the morning.
 
Hi Hale,

Sounds like you are doing all the right things :clap: . Diabetes is a funny things, what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another. I also find that my insulin sensitivity etc varies from one day to another without any real correlation with anything. Is it worth taking your BG 2 hours after your meal to see how high you have spiked. That should give you a good idea of whether or not you are taking the correct bolus for what you have eaten?
 
qbix said:
Is it worth taking your BG 2 hours after your meal to see how high you have spiked. That should give you a good idea of whether or not you are taking the correct bolus for what you have eaten?
Click to expand...

I suppose I could do. I tend to avoid this as I find it a bit demoralising! Insulin seems to have little affects for the first 2-3 hours then I come crashing down to where I began! I played around a lot when I was first diagnosed with when I tested. So if I tested at 2 hours after and read 12, is have to fight the urge to correct as I know in another 2 hours ill be at 7 anyway, correcting would give me a hypo later etc
 

Just had a look at think like a pancreas (awesome book). It states levemir is 25% less potent than other types of insulin. It also has a great graph of the time period that it is active in the body for and it is only 18-24 hrs. It also takes a few hours to reach its peak and has a few hours to tail off. From what I have read most people split their levemir injections over the day giving themselves one in the morning and one at night. The problem you have is that you are on such a small dose there is no way to split it. I am on lantus for my basal. That gets to work quicker, has no peak and lasts longer. Might be worth talking to the DSN about switching basal insulin? Just a thought

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 

Read the same book a couple months ago! It's great!

I used to be on a higher dose of levemir, but as my honeymoon as progressed I'm needing less and less insulin. There was a point in July where I had no basal at all (after speaking to my DSN of course!)

I know it says there is a greater peak with levemir, but Ive yet to see any evidence of that in myself, perhaps because I inject at 6pm rather than at bedtime like many people seem to. If I'm not receiving insulin it seems to coincide with my busiest time of day (walk or run with the dog) so I'm not too bothered about changing it. Unless I've taken Novorapid close to bedtime I wake up within 1mmol/l than I went to bed at. Perhaps when the honeymoon ends ill have more of a drive to change!

It's purely greed making me want to be lower. I've got my hba1c a week on friday so ill be glad of a good indication of overall control!
 
Sometimes I think it is hard to do right but end up doing wrong. Tightening up control in order to get lower bg levels can sometimes result in some degree of loss of awareness when going low so try to keep your awareness to picking up on the hypo bg feeling to 3.5mmol. This usually also represents an hba1c of about 6.6 - 7.1% for most diabetics.
 

My hypo awareness is currently around 4.3 downwards, not keen on that being lower! Like you say, easy to end up screwing things up if you mess with it too much
 
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