Ever felt being in a paradox of controlling your sugar levels too tightly or letting them fly by themselves a bit!! Feel confused when the doc says HbA1C <6 is too risky, you'll end up with Hypos or >6.5 is a bit high!!
Translating HbA1C into sugar levels??
Have you ever done the math??
Here's my bit: HbA1C: 5.7
I test sugar levels twice daily, different times to cover the entire span over a couple of days to know what affects the sugar levels in what way! Now, some mathematics (not to be applied) suggests:
1 Unit of Humalog + 24 Units of Lantus target 25 Units of sugar levels
This relation is not linear, it varies exponentially at levels less than 100 and more than 300 as then you either need a little less of dosage or some added units!
Besides calorie count: 40 KCals translate to 10 Units of sugar! Though not true, but this works fairly!
You can also do this by monitoring sugar levels at different time of the day and establish some relation between what you eat and the dosage you take. Would help in controlling the sugar levels in a better way.
This led to HbA1C of 5.7!! Is it too tight or fanatical??
Lets have your views!
P.S: This is NOT a proven technique or prescribed by any doctor, AND IS NOT TO BE TRIED OR PRESCRIBED TO SELF!
I don't think an A1c of 5.7 is too tight/fanatical. There are a large number of people on TuDiabetes who maintain A1cs <6% without suffering from excessive hypoglycemia. However, I do question the long term safety of trying to maintain such a tight A1c while only testing twice a day. I was taught to test before every bolus and I really don't see how you can safely inject humalog without knowing where you are.
I completely agree, 5.7 is very practical and can be safe if you are testing 10 times a day or wearing a Dexcom, however with two tests a day I don't think that a 5.7 is very safe.
It depends on the person and the circumstances. First, I have NO IDEA how you're achieving that only testing a couple of times/day. I would be very concerned that you're having hypos and not detecting them, and this could lead to hypo unawareness.
Every person is different. If I were to strive for an A1C that low, I would end up with LOTS of lows and a return of my hypo unawareness (which I managed to get rid of by "running high" for almost a year). BUT, I also test upwards of 14x/day to make sure I'm catching any lows (CGMs don't work well for me, but that's a whole other story).
Everyone's T1D is different. What one person is able to do safely, another person is not. I would hope that you'd start testing more often if possible, but if you're feeling good and not passing out every few days, you may be doing something right for your situation.
Make that three of us wondering how you could safely do this testing so little. Test twice a day does not give you a complete view of how you are reacting to your diet and exercise any more than your A1c does. My last A1c was 5.4. I'll find out my next one in a few days and expect it to be in the 5's again. But, I test 6 to 10 times per day. My goal is to keep my BG as close to normal as possible. I have PN and retinopathy. Believe me, complications are real. They will happen with even an A1c of 6. Over the last 12 months of hard work I have managed to see great improvement in all my complications. Still nothing is back to normal. My motivation is to see if I can make that happen.
I'm on a pump so I test 6-8 times per day. Same comps as you Randy, but after 30yrs I expected something to go wrong. Still kicking. A1C 6.1 Dec2011. Stuffing & pumpkin pie? I don't think so. Merry XMAS.
I would think that you might be able to hit it if you were very conservative with activities, doses and diets. I have had some interesting days where I forgot my meter and just winged it and done ok but I am not that comfortable doing it all the time. I need to know.
