Type 1: Decision re libre results

[samantha13]

So 7 days since starting the wonderful freestyle libre and seeing my graphs has led me to the decision I have no choice but to try lchf. My spikes are horrendous. My graphs are far from in range. I'm going to aim for lower carb (low for me personally) to begin with 100g ish. I'm terrified as I love my food (especially my weekly Chinese takeaway)but I want to be healthy to adopt a family more. This weekend will be spent reading this forum and planning ahead. Wish me luck!

 

[azure]

Did you try the pre-bolusing @samantha13 ? That works wonders

 

[samantha13]

Yes I did @azure. Only 5mins this time before my evening meal but I'll have to play around with the timing to see what works for me! Thanks for the tip

 

[azure]

Yes I did @azure. Only 5mins this time before my evening meal but I'll have to play around with the timing to see what works for me! Thanks for the tip

Keep experimenting. 15-20 mins in advance is a common time, but some people need to bolus further in advance for some meals (like me and breakfast) and less in advance for others.

Many spikes are simply due to mistiming the bolus. It took me years to find this out and that's why I keep shouting about it : D It can solve a lot of problems.

 

[donnellysdogs]

Also your bolus ratios may need attention etc...

 

[steve_p6]

So 7 days since starting the wonderful freestyle libre and seeing my graphs has led me to the decision I have no choice but to try lchf. My spikes are horrendous. My graphs are far from in range. I'm going to aim for lower carb (low for me personally) to begin with 100g ish. I'm terrified as I love my food (especially my weekly Chinese takeaway)but I want to be healthy to adopt a family more. This weekend will be spent reading this forum and planning ahead. Wish me luck!

Good luck Sam, big carbs equals big spikes so carb moderation will help. Don't reduce too low too quickly as it then can get more complicated with bolus for protein etc.

 

[samantha13]

Also your bolus ratios may need attention etc...

I had wondered about that but my bg at meal times and 4 hours post are very similar it's just the bit in the middle

 

[catapillar]

I had wondered about that but my bg at meal times and 4 hours post are very similar it's just the bit in the middle

That really suggests you need to play about to determine timing - once you get timing of your bolus right, you might find you need to reduce ratio.

You can use the libre to help with timing. Inject and have a meal ready to go. Keep scanning every 5 minutes. Once you see the line start to curve downward you know the insulin is working so it will be working when you eat.

 

[col101]

The author of think like a pancreas has a paper online called strike the spike you'll find it easily on Google it's all about bolus timing I found it really helpful

 

[noblehead]

The author of think like a pancreas has a paper online called strike the spike you'll find it easily on Google it's all about bolus timing I found it really helpful

Here's the article:

http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.c...blood-glucose-management/strike-the-spike-ii/

Only 5mins this time before my evening meal but I'll have to play around with the timing to see what works for me!

Fast-acting insulin's like Novorapid take around 15mins to work (the Strike the Spike article mentions this) so injecting 5 mins before will have a minimum effect, for most meals I bolus 20mins before which works well for meals such as porridge, the only time I bolus just before eating is when a meal is high in fat, usually HF meals mean a spit-dose bolus is required.

Just keep experimenting but be mindful of the potential for hypo's if you leave too big of a gap.