Hi @Larryk 2 and welcome to the forum and this group of T1 ‘family’.
Yes, an Abbott Freestyle Libre is good for seeing what your interstitial glucose levels are doing. The readings are best double checked with a finger prick blood test twice a day as the sensors are calibrated at source and are sometimes set a bit above or below a blood test result, but as long as it’s consistent you can adjust in your head.
You need to scan the sensor with a reader - there’ll be people who can explain how to use an app on a phone instead of a reader - and it’ll give you graphs and bar charts that let you know what your levels are over 24 hours. As long as you scan every 8 hours it provides a good picture of how you’re doing and helps if you need to make any adjustments such as before using a bit more energy than usual or getting up in the morning and beating the Dawn Phenomenon which is when quite a few see a blood glucose rise.
For many of us it’s a game changer.
If you can’t get it prescribed on the NHS then you might be able to fund it yourself: the sensors can be ordered from Superdrug, currently for £35 VAT free (you qualify if you have T1), they last 14 days, but the scanner needs, I think, to be bought from Abbot, c£156.
Good luck and everything with the cancer, you’ve certainly had a lot to contend with and it’s great to hear you’ve had excellent treatment.
If you don’t want to use glucotabs to raise blood sugars then lots of us also do a bit of canabilism on a jelly baby or two - one jelly baby = 5g carbohydrate.
I see that you’ve already embraced low carb but if you want to widen your options you could also ask to be included on a Dafne course which takes you through ways to calculate insulin dose for carbohydrate eaten as well as a range of other useful stuff.
You’ll no doubt get lots of welcome and advice here so as has been said already, ask away if questions come to mind (or body).
Hi Karen!Hi larry
Just as well I found you then......thanks!
Hahaha, thanks. lypo sarcoma in right leg, 3.5kg, which brought out the magic melanoma monster with post op radiotherapy, which infected all lymph glands on my left neck, 2 neck resection there!Hey,
Hi @Larryk2.
A fellow cancer person here!! 2 mastectomy’s and now discharged from care....been thru blooming rough time with all that too. However I am so very sorry that you suffered sepsis (I got poisoned but fortunately poison came out of my body before attack took over me). Long story. Then to get medical induced T1 is well,got to be blooming tough going on you, to be honest...
Glad you found us here.. so welcome...
I been type 1 since teens and been thru good n bad with that too.
Definitely not a squaddie or 6’tall though, but do reckon I have been very lucky dodging bullets!!
Welcome, stay around.. and hope you can keep dodging those bullets too!!
Thought I had my hands full with three lots of cancer surgery, all the follow-up treatment, killed the remnants of my cancer then had Sepsis twice, and now have medication induced type 1 Diabetes! Oh well! This is me then, newbie, still fighting the big C, and now fighting the big D1!
Ex squaddie, old school 6ft tall and bulletproof! Just saying hi to all on here!
Hahaha, thanks. lypo sarcoma in right leg, 3.5kg, which brought out the magic melanoma monster with post op radiotherapy, which infected all lymph glands on my left neck, 2 neck resection there!
Type 1? Yeah, I can do it!
Good to hear from you! Thank you!
Blimey, your liposarcoma must have been b uncomfortable - almost as big as a baby! And then to discover melanoma and end with sepsis . . . Complete bombardment.
Did you by any chance have contact with odd chemicals while in super-sunny climes?
T1’s a walk in the park compared to what you’ve been through - if you catch me moaning about it then dunk me headfirst in a bag of hot melted jelly babies.
Yep, my baby was under 2kg, so that lump was huuuuge! Even more respect to @Larryk 2Revised assessment: it was bigger than each of the babies I had back when they were weighed in lbs!! My jaw’s dropped.
Good luck, at least you know when you might meet the lovely hypo elf. It’s always good to have anti-hypo kit by the bed, easily reached and unwrapped.
Hey,
Hi @Larryk2.
A fellow cancer person here!! 2 mastectomy’s and now discharged from care....been thru blooming rough time with all that too. However I am so very sorry that you suffered sepsis (I got poisoned but fortunately poison came out of my body before attack took over me). Long story. Then to get medical induced T1 is well,got to be blooming tough going on you, to be honest...
Glad you found us here.. so welcome...
I been type 1 since teens and been thru good n bad with that too.
Definitely not a squaddie or 6’tall though, but do reckon I have been very lucky dodging bullets!!
Welcome, stay around.. and hope you can keep dodging those bullets too!!
Hey,
Hi @Larryk2.
A fellow cancer person here!! 2 mastectomy’s and now discharged from care....been thru blooming rough time with all that too. However I am so very sorry that you suffered sepsis (I got poisoned but fortunately poison came out of my body before attack took over me). Long story. Then to get medical induced T1 is well,got to be blooming tough going on you, to be honest...
Glad you found us here.. so welcome...
I been type 1 since teens and been thru good n bad with that too.
Definitely not a squaddie or 6’tall though, but do reckon I have been very lucky dodging bullets!!
Welcome, stay around.. and hope you can keep dodging those bullets too!!
Diakat,
Wow! You're a pro! Bloody hell! Long term or what? I stand before giants, and to thee I offer my humility!I have jelly babies and biscuits in a small bowl on the bedside table as I know from experience that if it’s a bad hypo I won’t be able to open a drawer. T1 for 48 years and thankfully, fingers crossed, no bad hypos for the past few months. Thank you Levemir and thank you libre.
Hi @Larryk 2 Big hello and welcome from me. I am 6 years type 1 but remember early days and dealing with the shock of it all, although sounds like you've had your fair share, crumbs.. Best tips are to talk about your feelings, people are like pressure cookers so not good at bottling up emotions, be kind to yourself so just take it easy on yourself and take it one day at a time, it does get easier.
Hi juicyj, thanks! I have sneaky hypos at the mo, but I am getting good at spotting the signs!
I also have borderline PCSD due to army, and some of the symptoms are similar, so I am having fun!
This site has been a rock! Only had T1 three months....!!!!
We are all here to chat to also, lots of experience to help if and when you need it.
Hi @Larryk 2 Big hello and welcome from me. I am 6 years type 1 but remember early days and dealing with the shock of it all, although sounds like you've had your fair share, crumbs.. Best tips are to talk about your feelings, people are like pressure cookers so not good at bottling up emotions, be kind to yourself so just take it easy on yourself and take it one day at a time, it does get easier.
We are all here to chat to also, lots of experience to help if and when you need it.
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