-----Flatliners Club-----

No, I did not weigh the cherries, though I’ve had that many cherries many times before, and typically a 1u-per-cherry dose covers them (even, perhaps too much some times!). I’ve had other times, though, that I’ve only had a cucumber at lunch and watched my BG spike like crazy for no good reason that I can ascertain. Is this like the “Chinese restaurant effect” or something?

Yes, that was a 2-day Clarity report (not even a whole day yet). I suppose I could have posted the xDrip screen or loaded my receiver into Studio (yes, I can still do that :slight_smile:), but this was easier :slight_smile: The average when I make it actually 1 day, was 113, with an SC of 14.5 – the shaded portion overnight in the posted graph reflects the fact that my BG stay higher most of the night, despite my fairly low-carb dinner.

Best blood sugar day ever.

So far I am loving metformin. Insulin doses haven’t changed, but blood sugar is so stable! Usually, even with low-carb, I feel like I have to pay attention to my blood sugar every hour or so to keep it in range. Today, I’ve bolused for meals and once between meals, and that is it.

Today has been the best blood sugar day I’ve ever had. Probably ever, as in almost 26 years of diabetes. Average blood sugar of 5.1 mmol/L (91 mg/dl), 100% in range, and standard deviation of only 0.4 mmol/L (7 mg/dl)! That last one is just incredible!

And so far, aside from some stomach troubles yesterday, no side effects.

(Sorry that I don’t know how to make the picture smaller. Discourse used to use actual HTML to embed pictures, which I know so could modify the size or add alt tags, but now they’re using something else that I don’t know how to modify.)

6 Likes

Wow, @Jen, beautiful graph there! And an SD of just 7! I had a “good day” today, too, but still had a spike after breakfast, but at was due to a failed infusion set. Still my average was 98, SD of 14 – good, but not close to yo your perfomance with metformin added! (Too bad I can’t tolerate met…)

Thanks. I don’t know if every day will be like this, usually I have a standard deviation of around 30-35 mg/dl. So the 7 mg/dl is far, far better than I’ve ever seen before! This is my third day and the first two weren’t nearly this good (I’m also eating very low-carb, about 10-15 grams per meal/snack). But here’s hoping! It’s certainly something I’ll strive for.

Failed infusion sets are frustrating. One of the things that still sends me high. Sometimes it’s obvious, like if the site fails completely and I spike to 17+ mmol/L (300+ mg/dl) and won’t come down. But some infusion set failures seem more subtle, sort of like insulin is being delivered but just not really absorbing well, and I end up stuck at 8-10 mmol/L (160-200 mg/dl) for a day despite corrections every two hours. I’m trying to change infusion sets sooner when I suspect there might be an issue (I’m trying to do it if two corrections in a row don’t work, even if I’m not running all that high).

Curious, did you try the extended release version? My endo gave me that version because he said it has fewer side effects than the standard version. He also started me with 1,000 mg a day, but said if I feel it’s working well, I can increase it to 2,000 mg a day (he said starting at a lower dose and working up also helps with side effects).

I never tried the newer XR, but did try ER… My understanding, though, is that those versions really only help with the GI side effects – THOSE I did not have badly. I had weird things - the worst of which was a complete disruption of my sleep cycle, such that I started having memory loss from sleep deprivation. Even at just 500mg/day, I had these effects.

As to the failed infusion set – it was one that simply fell out, so I knew pretty soon… Problem is. that was just the latest in a series of failed sets – some “failed” a day or so early, some had adhesive problems, as this one did. Not been fun!

Yay! :sparkler: :fireworks: :sparkler: A standard deviation of under 10 mg/dL (0.6) is a rarified place! I think it’s even better than that of an average non-diabetic. I think low variability in BG levels gives our body time to really rest.

I tried Metformin ER but stopped taking it after a week due to digestive upset. Maybe I didn’t give it long enough but I also live with gastroparesis and I thought it better to be more conservative.

I hope this turns into a major pivot point for you in terms of your long-term control. That’s an incredible line.

1 Like

So far, still no digestive problems (aside from the second day), so I’m hoping that means I won’t have that side effect. My primary reason for starting metformin (the reason I brought up to my endo) was to help with how variable my insulin needs are around m period. My endo said (and I saw a video from Dr. Bernstein saying the same thing, which is what gave me the initial idea) that metformin can help women who have huge changes in insulin needs throughout the month. So I wasn’t really expecting better control right off the bat. I’ll be very curious to see what happens in a few more weeks.

Ugh, how frustrating. I use Contact Detach sets and the adhesive on those seems so weak that I always put extra tape over them, otherwise they fall out if I move the wrong way.

That’s one reason I hated Contact Detach when I tried them a while back. I found that the anchor piece stuck fine but the infusion piece was terrible. I have enough issues with skin rashes that I am not going to use a pump set that requires tape to keep it on. Fortunately I don’t have allergic issues with teflon cannulas and don’t have to use the metal sets.

Yeah, for me the issues I have with the metal sets are much easier to deal with than those I had with the plastic sets. I also find the anchor piece sticks well but not the cannula piece. I just put a square piece of Hypafix tape over top and that holds it in place perfectly for the two days (or sometimes one day) I wear a set, and thankfully it usually doesn’t make me itchy. Trying to keep my Dexcom sensor on for a month is much more complex, since Skin Tac, Tegaderm, and Flexifix tapes all seem to make me itchy (though Skin Tac is by far the worst). I’m experimenting with Cavilon barrier cream to see if that might help.

Ok… been doing a fitness program the last couple weeks – Hoping to lose some weight, but so far, that has not happened… OTOH, my diabetes LOVES this program! Here’s the last 14 days, skipping Friday and Saturday (because I “cheated” for the Sabbath those days):

The last four days, I had a BG average od 94, SD of 11 and TIR of 100%!!

Here’s the last 5 days - BG average 96, SD of 13 TIR: 98% :

And (to me) even more impressive – I did that with an average TDD of 25% less than my typical!

3 Likes

Those numbers and lines are amazing! Four days 100% TIR is incredible. Keep up the great work!

1 Like

It’s only a 4-week program. The real trick will be to keep up the good result when I don’t have a trainer breathing down my neck! :slight_smile:

@Thas, what a fabulous run!

These days, I tend to be a bit envious of these :slight_smile:

Today would appease your jealousy! Yeek!

1 Like

That’s great! And impressive that you’re able to manage more exercise without lows and subsequent roller coasters. I’ve also become much more active over the past week or two, and I’m using less insulin, but I think my control has worsened (certainly my SD has). I’m getting crashes, then treating and going to the top of my target range, then either getting stuck there for hours before crashing again or crashing again right away, and repeat. Even conservative temporary basals often overshoot and send me too high, since I’ve already lowered my permanent basal rates… I know exercise is healthy, but it sure makes control harder, even when eating low carb, at least for me!

1 Like

I’ve been in my target range ALL DAY. Not exactly a flat line, but for me this is amaaazing. I’ve recently started pre-blousing and using the TAG method I picked up from here! It is work. But this makes it so worth it. Thank you all you lovely forum people x

5 Likes

This proves that house cleaning is bad for us… :sunglasses:

3 Likes

I think I have a ticket to the Flatliners Club lounge now. After years of marginal 8% or so A1C control, thanks to starting with Omnipod in Jan and many low carb eating tips and pump insight from the TuD community, my Aug 30th A1C was 5.5%. Best ever since 1997 and first time under 6%. I don’t have a CGM but testing 6-8 times a day is working. My glooko chart for the last week in Aug:


6 Likes