Richard, I know I’m repeating myself but you must have missed my first post here.
There is no magic button you push to achieve this however with determination it can be done.
It cannot be done by everyone. Some people achieve good control, with or without gadgets, and some don’t despite their training, work and determination.
This title just cracks me up. It is indeed" Good News!" It is not New News though, some of us long timers have been controlling ours for years. Whether by injection, pump, meters, CGMS, or for many just by diet and exercise. The control is in the hands of the diabetic, and the support they receive to reach their control. Richard, please be aware that not everyone can use a pump, a CGMS and have limits on meter strips and such. There are lots and lots of folks who do as well without them. Congratulations on your newfound ability to control your diabetes by pump and such.
I say ■■■■■■■■. I got fired from my job last week and my sugar skyrocketed. Had nothing to do with management. Way too many factors involved. On top of that I just got up feeling horrible expecting to be on the high side and was only 106. Technically a little higher then a non diabetic fasting but for me a fasting over 95 generally = distress and irritability. You can get overall decent control as well on MDI if you test and are willing to take at least 6 shots a day but I’d say its near impossible to do the 75-120 post meal range a non diabetic gets even with a pump and cgm and you devoted every waking second to trying to do so. I’d say the more realistic numbers are between 50-200 most of the time yet sometimes still going outside those numbers.
Stress is one of many inputs. If my sugar skyrockets (130+), I adjust my “settings” to take more insulin and, at least the BG goes away.
Nothing is “impossible” though…
woot! woot!
Diabetes has always been controllable it is the obvious human factor that has always been the x factor. All these gadgets and apps are not basic necessities, just add-onn to make management easier. Show me some Insulin, a syringe to Inject it with and a meter to test my blood sugar levels and I will show you a case of controlled diabetes…
Agreed Ronnie!
In my case, the pump is NOT a good tool to get there. It made it worse. My body rejects having an infusion set stuck in it. I am allergic to Teflon and using the metal sets, I build up a ton of scar tissue in the 8 months I used a pump. I rotated sets and since I had big red flags for 2-3 weeks after pulling one out, I can assure you that I did not put new sites in anywhere close to where I pulled one out of. In almost 28 years of using shots, I never had crunchy skin like I did from a pump. It has nothing to do with training when you body rejects a foreign object being in it. It is great that you have had success with a pump, but that is not the case for everyone. My A1cs are much better on MDI (in the 5s) and my body doesn’t reject a needle going in for 10 seconds.
I work very, very hard to keep my BS under control but there are a lot of factors that impact that I have no control over. Striving for good control is one thing but achieving perfect control 24/7 is something different.
+1
Dickrichard, I think you mentioned technical items, and if one has a brain like a computer, one can operate them like computers, but humans are built of other things: hormones, emotions when seeing favorite foods, math ability, enjoyment levels at having constant challenge, levels of other substances in the body, persistence levels, level of being worn down or alertness, drive, closeness of a mentor or coach. I could go on and on with other modalities affecting control. No, though a PWD must learn how to work it, even after you learn how, you may despair, feelings of overwhelmingness, and these may recur to prevent enjoying life. Yes, everyone theoretically can work to gain control, but there are many factors in the situation that may prevent a PWD gaining and keeping control all the time. Your Good News has some parameters that darken the situation once in a while. Your realistic respondent.
Even with all the tools, you still have to make major adjustments to your life. These are not pro-active decisions but reactions to a major issue. Nothing in life can compare to having to control your blood sugar. There are so many unknowns to the human body and each PWD is different and will react differently to methods of control. For those who have found something that works for them, congrats. Though I urge you to not ever let your guard down or take a day off else you get kicked in head by the POS following you (Mr Diabetes).
Low-Carb diet is the closest thing I have found to being able to truly control my blood sugars. Though it is tough.
+2
And adding, even the controlled diabetics have bad days, hours, whatever.
Good News! Weight gain is now controllable.
With a combination of a high-precision scale and a nutrition table anyone can be as well controlled as well as one wishes. Just like driving a car or operating a computer, a person must learn how to work it. After you learn how, you will be able to enjoy life again.
I agree with Helmut to a point. A CGMS helps my control in ways a pump can’t. Not to take anything away from a pump because it does greatly help me but CGMS takes my control to the next level. With it I “feel” like I can be more agressive which is what needs to happen to take control to the next level, for me anyways.
I also agree with what others have said. A CGMS makes all the difference in the world to me but for others it may actually do the opposite (stress etc). Then there are those that regardless of the situation “good control” will never come. Most the time the reasons are unknown. Hormones, stress, the weather, whatever may effect you more than me…
Me, too. If I keep my carb intake low, I look like I’m doing really great. If I eat carbs, it’s a choice between high BGs for hours while gradually correcting, or taking a bigger bolus, which means a short, possibly lower peak, and then a plunge too low. It’s a lose-lose situation, isn’t it?
Me, three, Sean. Low carb is the only approach I’ve found to tip the scales in my favor. Do whatever I can to avoid a large bolus. Hate the result.
Exactly, Helmut, exactly!!! 
me four. When I went on a low carb (well, low everything) diet primarily to lose weight, my BG control was by far the best I’ve ever attained. (And I lost 40lbs!) But I wouldn’t say my BG was controlled.
When you’re only eating 15 carbs 5 times a day, you can adjust with smaller doses, hence smaller mistakes to correct later, however things can still get wacky. They just tend to be less wacky.
But it isn’t fun. And things are a bit harder now that I’m off of the diet.
Think it would be hard to control BG eating five times a day, even with low carb.