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[Diabetes] General Chat and Support Thread

tbh

Hey guys - I've created a single "chat" thread for all the diabetics for any topics of conversation that don't fit in the existing threads.

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thehorse

Got 1 injection in to my left eye in the regional in Limerick today as I have diabetic macular odema. Been diabetic for 20 yrs so was told I’m doing well to get this far along without needing anything.my HBA1C is always very good.
I was frightened at first but it didn’t hurt at all. My eye has been tender all day but feels ok now, hence my writing this message.
Just wondering if anyone else has had this treatment ?

silverharp

gctest50 wrote: »

A few exotic hookworms will sort you right out :

https://bit.ly/2mqSmkj

“Parasitic worms are masters of controlling inflammation and experiments in mice have shown that worm infections are strongly protective against diabetes, a condition that currently affects over a million Australians” says Dr Giacomin."

that's the wildest thing ive read in a while. I think I'd still prefer to watch what I eat :pac:

BlackEdelweiss

I have recently returned from living abroad and moved to Galway. I registered with the doctor and got a referal to the diabetes clinic but they cant see me until January 2019. Can anyone recommend a private consultant as my blood is all over the place since arriving. My body seems to respond differently in the northern hemisphere than it did in the southern hemisphere. I am on a pump so someone who is well involved in that area would be great.

Buford T. Justice XIX

BlackEdelweiss wrote: »

I have recently returned from living abroad and moved to Galway. I registered with the doctor and got a referal to the diabetes clinic but they cant see me until January 2019. Can anyone recommend a private consultant as my blood is all over the place since arriving. My body seems to respond differently in the northern hemisphere than it did in the southern hemisphere. I am on a pump so someone who is well involved in that area would be great.

Might be no use to you as she's in Limerick but Mary Ryan in Barringtons is top notch, I couldn't praise her enough.

banie01

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

Might be no use to you as she's in Limerick but Mary Ryan in Barringtons is top notch, I couldn't praise her enough.

It's only an Hr on the motorway now between Limerick and Galway so it could well be an option.

thehorse

BlackEdelweiss wrote: »

I have recently returned from living abroad and moved to Galway. I registered with the doctor and got a referal to the diabetes clinic but they cant see me until January 2019. Can anyone recommend a private consultant as my blood is all over the place since arriving. My body seems to respond differently in the northern hemisphere than it did in the southern hemisphere. I am on a pump so someone who is well involved in that area would be great.

It could be the timezone difference that’s causing it. When I travel for work, sometimes the time difference makes blood sugars a little off.

I’m not a huge fan of The consultant mentioned in Barringtons as I used to go to her before. I Decided to go to the diabetes Team in clonmel hospital instead who were far ,far better.

Harry Palmr

I'm a lapsed diabetic patient who got back on the wagon and went to see a consultant, get a mild chiding and some new gear and dietary advice. I'm using the Freestyle Optium Plus which seems to be the standard "entry level" model. The strips are such a fiddy nonsense and wasteful with a foil cover for every one. Still there we are, the pouch is small enough for a pocket which is grand.

My job means maintaining a predictable carb intake is tricky - some days I'm outside in physical conditions so burn it all up quickly but other days are indoors and more sedentary. I'm big into bananas since the consultation while the other main help is eating winter stew which is full of low impact slow release fibrous food.

I'm missing chocolate!

My 7 day reading is 7.3 mmol/L which is too high if I can get it down to 6.5 then that should be okay for a middled aged patient.

banie01

Harry Palmr wrote: »

I'm using the Freestyle Optium Plus which seems to be the standard "entry level" model. The strips are such a fiddy nonsense and wasteful with a foil cover for every one.

I'm using a onetouch verio flex for the past couple of years.
It's Bluetooth enabled and syncs up to my phone.
No Diary/Notebook and until/unless I ever get approved for the freestyle libre it's as good as I've seen.

Harry Palmr

Bluetooth? Fancy Dan. I've got USB and am downloading the software for it as I type. Back in a few mins to say what I think of it!

Rubbish! The programme doesn't recognise the meter is connected even though windows is happy with the connection.

edit - I need to download something else as well

Okay got it running now to see how well I can get the average within the ideal band and keep it there.

thehorse

In my 20 yrs as being diabetic , the accu-check mobile is the best meter by far. It’s a self contained unit and no messing with foil packed strips.
It’s very reliable and doesn’t give trouble like some of the other meters out there.
Easy to download your results too.

Buford T. Justice XIX

thehorse wrote: »

In my 20 yrs as being diabetic , the accu-check mobile is the best meter by far. It’s a self contained unit and no messing with foil packed strips.
It’s very reliable and doesn’t give trouble like some of the other meters out there.
Easy to download your results too.

Yeah, 50 tests between each change of cartridge and no packaging to collect up after.

banie01

thehorse wrote: »

In my 20 yrs as being diabetic , the accu-check mobile is the best meter by far. It’s a self contained unit and no messing with foil packed strips.
It’s very reliable and doesn’t give trouble like some of the other meters out there.
Easy to download your results too.

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

Yeah, 50 tests between each change of cartridge and no packaging to collect up after.

I used the accu-check mobile for a few yrs before I switched to the verio flex.
It is great for tidiness, the cassette testing strips and the high contrast screen are great.
IMO if I could link it to my phone it would be a near perfect tester.

The thing I like about the verio flex tho, is that the app can track my insulin, diet and levels all in an easy to use app that means I don't have to remember to fill my diary before each appointment.
Test strips come in tubs of 50 so no foil to mess with either

Just hand the Doc or Nurse my phone with the app open and they can scrool thru the app all they like.

Other thing I like is that I can use multiple meters with the app, I keep a meter in my car aswell as one at work and my usual one at home.
All sync up to a single view.

CramCycle

Contour USB next, size of a large USB stick, strips come in a tub so no foil unwrapping, charge by plugging into any USB socket, plug into my PC and it automatically downloads my results. My favourite tester yet.

Have been moved to the Medtronic CGM called elite. What a pain in the hoop compared to the Libre or Dexcom. Insertion needle is so flimsy it bends 50% of the time so never works, the emitter only works when it feels like it and the adhesive is so poor they ask you to put on 3 extra stickers of what feel like "No more Nails" as they rip your skin off upon removal*.

*Dramatic license may have been used.

On the same note, I'd like to pay it forward in general, so if anyone would like a dexcom receiver, and a few insertion kits (and you don't currently get them via an LTI card), let me know, you can have mine. You will still have to buy a transmitter but that is alot less than the whole kit.

I also have a Libre receiver as well.

CathyMoran

Currently on the badly needed Dexcom (it has it's faults but it is helping me) - I loved the Libre but it did not have alerts when low so waiting for Libre2 to be released. Hba1c at 41 which is 5.9 on the old measure so must be doing something right - T1 diabetic for most of my life...

banie01

Had my Endo review today.
Went really well apart from the old chestnut of my control being too good.

Last 4 Hba1c have averaged out at 46, and lowest read on my meter was a 4.2 and he's worried I may not be hypo aware.

So I was packed off with a prescription for a statin and an order to loosen my insulin a little.

And apart from a follow up blood test next month I'm done for 12 months

CramCycle

banie01 wrote: »

Had my Endo review today.
Went really well apart from the old chestnut of my control being too good.

Last 4 Hba1c have averaged out at 46, and lowest read on my meter was a 4.2 and he's worried I may not be hypo aware.

So I was packed off with a prescription for a statin and an order to loosen my insulin a little.

And apart from a follow up blood test next month I'm done for 12 months

While I don't know the full story, and this is not medical advice, if my HbA1c was 46 and my lowest reading was 4.2, I wouldn't change a damn thing, is it hard work keeping it that well controlled?

banie01

CramCycle wrote: »

While I don't know the full story, and this is not medical advice, if my HbA1c was 46 and my lowest reading was 4.2, I wouldn't change a damn thing, is it hard work keeping it that well controlled?

That's kind of my own opinion on it too

The specialist nurse was delighted but the Endo was/is much more cautious.

It was hard to adjust at the start(Diagnosed 2007), I was originally diagnosed as T2 but the thinking now is that I'm LADA/Type 1.5.
If I'm honest, starting on insulin has made my control a lot simpler.

Previous regime was Victoza and oral meds that left me feeling quite ill for a long time but that I persevered with for the sake of good BG.

My biggest worry is avoiding retinopathy.
Despite my good control, I have incipient retinopathy in both eyes so my BP and BG are the 2 things I can control to keep that at bay.

I'd imagine that type of tight control would be much harder for a T1.

RobbingBandit

Blood pressure stress hot food bending over bending down heavy lifting too are among several things that triggered or contributed to my 2 year battle with retinopathy, bg is very important to the battle but not the only thing.

I have had multiple intraocular injections in each eye two vitrectomy in one eye and one in the other thankfully things are stable at this moment in time things flare up every so often but that's normal too unfortunately.

CathyMoran

banie01 wrote: »

That's kind of my own opinion on it too
The specialist nurse was delighted but the Endo was/is much more cautious.

It was hard to adjust at the start(Diagnosed 2007), I was originally diagnosed as T2 but the thinking now is that I'm LADA/Type 1.5.
If I'm honest, starting on insulin has made my control a lot simpler.

Previous regime was Victoza and oral meds that left me feeling quite ill for a long time but that I persevered with for the sake of good BG.

My biggest worry is avoiding retinopathy.
Despite my good control, I have incipient retinopathy in both eyes so my BP and BG are the 2 things I can control to keep that at bay.

I'd imagine that type of tight control would be much harder for a T1.

I am a type 1 and my Hba1c is even lower than yours but I do have bad low blood sugars (mainly at night but they can appear at any time due to the effects of treatment of another medical condition) so in my case they are right in trying to get me to loosen my control - I do understand the fear of complications though. I do constantly work on my diabetes but have the advantage of having grown up with it so it is automatic to me.

banie01

Just got an update to the Onetouch reveal app which adds a nice option of comparing your HbA1c to your meter readings.
Also added an alert for repeated hi/lo patterns rather than just tracking them.

Roberto_gas

banie01 wrote:

Just got an update to the Onetouch reveal app which adds a nice option of comparing your HbA1c to your meter readings. Also added an alert for repeated hi/lo patterns rather than just tracking them.

Is this provided by your diabetic clinic ?

banie01

Roberto_gas wrote: »

Is this provided by your diabetic clinic ?

The app? Or the meter?
The app is available from the playstore/app store. The meter can be requested from Onetouch FOC.

It's designed to pair with the Bluetooth range of one touch verio flex meters and sync automatically.
You can use the app with any meter and manually enter your data tho.
I much prefer it to a logbook as I always have my phone with me

AFAIK the flex doesn't monitor ketones but there may be a version that does.

BlackEdelweiss

Heineken 0.0
Has any body tried this beer and noticed a spike in their blood sugars? I want to cut out alcohol for a while to try to get my blood under control. The alcohol does not usually affect my blood but the food that comes with it does. We went out for a meal tonight and I had 2 Heineken 0.0 in the pub before the restaurant. I checked my blood in the restaurant on my libre and I had an almost vertical spike in my sugars, from 8 to 18. It settled again with some insulin and I had a low carb dinner. Went to the pub after and had 3 more bottles and had a huge spike again. Not great news as I was hoping this could be something I drink if I was ever out. Are all non alcoholic beers the same?

questionmark

looks like theirs about 16 carbs in a 330ml can so in two thats about 32carbs (if they were 330ml servings) and then in the 3 you had later it would have been 48 carbs. not sure what your carb to insulin ratio is but i would definitely need to take insulin for them.

BlackEdelweiss

I was always told not to take insulin for alcohol so I just went with the same thinking for that. I suppose that is not really the case with zero alcohol drinks. First night mistakes.
As the Libre directional arrow showing which way your blood is going was pointing down when I recorder the high reading at the end of the night I left it to see where it would settle before taking a corrective dose. By the time I was going to sleep it was at 10.6 still with an angled down arrow and remained on the smoothest line I have ever had for the rest of the night. I woke up to a 6.7.
Strange for it to spike and correct itself without insulin. My low carb dinner definitely helped.

ebbsy

Had my 3 monthly eye test in the Eye and Ear today, eyes are stable.

Considering the Laser and Injections I have had over the last 6 years, I will take that result.

Combination of the above treatments plus the Noctura 400 glasses (possibly).

I hear they have started extensive research into this in Belfast.

Harry Palmr

I've been switching my evening meal to bulky slow release carbs - basically winter veg stew and soups. It does work for me and it I do make a good stew and I'd not miss the meat when it's not there - just load in the onions, garlic and herbs for an edge to the flavour. That and cook it and then fridge it for a day before re-heating helps and the more you do that the better it gets! By end of week (having supplemented it with more bits and pieces) you're left with a thick tasty soup. This fills you up but doesn't spike the readings, indeed a slice of buttered bread is needed really.

imfml

Made me hungry!

Royal Legend

Just back from the Diabetes Ireland day in the Rochestown Hotel in Cork. Some good seminars and advice.

Xofpod

Without realising it, I accidentally cracked a vial of novo rapid as I replaced it yesterday. Didn't cop that it was leaking until much later so spent the entire day with ridiculously high blood sugar, a fuzzy head and peeing my own body weight. It was a very unwelcome flashback to how I felt 10 years ago immediately prior to diagnosis. Won't be doing that again.....