Thanks for the data. That's incredible.
Certainly the resources available to us today make it possible -- never "easy" but at least possible -- to set goals that would have been pure fantasy not very long ago. And every case varies, and our best efforts will always yield results that are imperfect; sometimes by a little, often by a lot. However, IMHOP, those goals are worth having. As the poet said, "A man's reach should exceed his grasp . . ."
No disagreement about having goals or even having goals that are a little out of reach. But I think we should also remember that the perfect can be the enemy of the good and that an individual setting a too ambitious goal can end up burning out.
I know that you aren't advocating that everyone adopt your goals but I want to state publicly that somewhat looser goals are not necessarily loose or lazy. See Zoe's thread on Quality of Life.
My time in target range (80 to 130) is currently only about 30% (Dexcom data). My BG oscillates dramatically around a mean of 100. So, if I get on a pump and the numbers become any more chaotic or variable, then I'm doomed. But, if I am able to start by setting two or three reliable basals (Say, where I identify some trending due to DP or my overnight basal), maybe I can decrease some of the variability in the numbers.
I didn't like old medT sensors and I didn't use them. If I re-started on a pump, I would used my Dexcom, which I got after being back on manual injections for a year. So, I think that I would be in a much better position to monitor the behavior of 'the system'.
A big concern of mine is hardware failure. Since you all have virtually eliminated all the 'noisy' background variables, I feel like you might have a better idea of how frequently your hardware fails, if ever. I became really panicky about hardware failure on a pump. I had two devastating equipment failures in three or four years. One instance was my fault because I water damaged my pump. In the second instance, I had a pump fail while at work, when the screen just went blank. I have determined that, without a doubt, my infusion set occasionally freezes solid when I am working, for extended periods, outside. I can't say for certain how often this happens, but I now know enough to keep an eye on it and change it out more frequently. I am terrified of hardware failures because I find them difficult to diagnose with any certainty, due to the high variability in my BG. If I take correction and then wait for 3 hours for confirmation that it is effectively lowering my BG, and I use correction conservatively (to avoid falling into the arms of our handsome fire department), then it could take me 6 to 9 hours to diagnose equipment failure, for certain. I take correction bolus 4u - 12u one to three times, daily. Are you all taking many more, tiny little corrections?
I guess, what I'm trying to understand is, my bg is always raising or falling. I had completely abandoned the idea that the system could be even controlled. I had sorta developed the perspective that, when I was on a pump, I was micro-managing the system and trying to impose control limits that just weren't possible, thus throwing the system even farther out of control, or OCD, 'over-controlled diabetes.' LOL David. You guy are really making me question the foundations of my current paradigm of diabetes. Thanks for the perspective. I'm getting the sense, that you all make many more, smaller adjustments effectively, than I ever did. I don't know if I could manage a lot of tiny adjustments. On the other hand, I'm guessing that if you guys stack many, smaller doses, those correction boluses might not be as dangerous as me, when I stack a couple of 6 unit boluses. IDK. You all are strange and beautiful animals with your flat line data. I will have to study you, running wild and free, in your natural habitat of the diabetes chat rooms. I'm going on a flat-line data safari.
Has anybody ever turned crappy data that looks like this into something that looks like Terrys? I don't know if I believe that it is possible. Terry, I'm going to resist the urge to bicker with you, even though you have the same name as my husband. Appreciate the photographic evidence of the data. I really didn't believe such a thing was possible, for anyone. 
ROFL. Don't give too much credit. My BG plays the same screw-with-your-head games as everyone else's. I can be accused of many things, but flatlining isn't one of them. Not yet, anyway. [cackles maniacally]
That said, though, yes, I do find myself making quite a few small adjustments. I can't make constant moment-to-moment adjustments the way an intact pancreas does, but I do the best I can. I use syringes that have half-unit markings, so it's pretty simple to do 1/4 unit adjustments with just a little practice. And I've been known to. Good ol' OCD... ;-)
Eating a low carb diet helps too, thanks to the laws of small numbers. Smaller swings mean smaller dosages and less volatility. Not recommending that for everyone, you gotta do what you can make work for you. Just saying.
Yea, I am a gold medalist. As hard as I try, as much anguish and energy I expend, I can only flatline RARELY.
I think it is physiological. We are all different: bodies, minds, habits, families.. As hard as I try and continue to try to be perfect, it is impossible for me. Christmas was the demarcation for 53 years.
I just don't see any leveling off of the data, except overnight. Its pretty 'flatline' while I am sleeping. I want those numbers during the day, when I'm awake to appreciate them. I don't know if its in the cards, though, even with heavy monitoring. It is a question of what is possible, I suppose. Thanks, guys.
Please define "super bolus." It sounds exciting.
Don't forget to compare diet as well as insulin with these folks. I'm not sure whether you were being facetious earlier about maintaining a high-sugar diet, but there's no way any of these folks would be flatlining, or for that matter avoiding rollercoasters, if they were consuming very large quantities of sugar, or any other carb.
That's not to cast aspersions on whatever diet you choose, but I think it's logically impossible to maintain super tight control on an extremely high carb diet. Heck, even completely healthy people can't keep their BGs in that 80-120 range some folks here are talking about on that sort of diet.
I'm back on a manual injection Lantus basal. I think I finally see patterns indicating where multiple basals from a pump might be beneficial. I never really saw that before I started getting DP, some months ago. Thanks.
What is your TIR if you increase the range a bit, say 70 - 150+? Are you being too hard on yourself?
For me, one of the biggest differences between MDI and pumping is not only time in range, but a significant reduction in the amount of time I spend high or low. On MDI, I always felt like I was heading for a peak (high) or a valley (low), coupled with feeling like I was a zoo animal being fed on a strict schedule.
On the pump, I am rarely concerned about any number even though I frequently still have out of range excursions. I almost always know what to do to correct, although sometimes a high fat/protein meal may require more correction than I initially thought.
I don't eat low carb, and as part of my "quality of life" choices, I find I am frequently eating meals where I have to guess at the carb count. Sometimes I get it right, sometimes I end up high, sometimes I end up low, so I take the appropriate steps to correct. Having the CGM has also helped reduce the height and length of the highs.
I have had equipment failures, but they have been relatively few and to MY mind, manageable. I think it has been maybe 3 or 4 pump failures over the last 16 years. I am on year 3 of my current pump with no failures so far. Of course, I also use the Roche Accu-Chek Spirit Combo, with a Spirit Back-up pump in a drawer in my house. If the primary pump fails, I just place a cartridge in the back-up pump and keep moving on. I once had to wear the back-up for over a week while in the Virgin Islands, when I had a pump failure. My memory is that the most difficult part to deal with was US Customs in St. Thomas, rather than any diabetic problems.
The more frequent issue that I run into is infusion site failure, but again, in the overall scheme of things, that has been manageable.
What is definitely true for me is Terry's recommendation below of getting the basal dosing correct. I know my basal MDI was never correct, but it wasn't until I started pumping that I could really understand how to analyze what my endo was recommending.
I frequently bolus 12 units for 80 grams of carb at meal time. I think thats pretty high. I would think of low sugar, high fiber and protein meals are more in the 45 gram range. I dont know if I could get by on that, but am experimenting with eating nothing but beans, I think that has been decreasing post meal spikes.
Thats a good point, I would count infusion site failure as a hardware failure. I'm sure I have had those, but there's no way to actually prove that those are a cause of an abnormal reading, so I think I tend to file them under 'noisy data.' A lot of events get filed there. TIR between 70 and 160 is about 50%. Mean low = 61. Mean high = 191. About 20% TIR above 190 - those are post meal spikes and DP.
Nothing but beans? You know those are mostly carbs, right? Like with your prior description of your diet as "high sugar, high corn syrup," I sort of feel like I'm being trolled again.
80 grams of carb isn't low carb, but it isn't epic either, and as part of a balanced meal including protein, good fats, and fiber, seems reasonable, even if many D folks find it a bit easier to reduce carbs more than that.
What strikes me about your data is that you don't spend much time in the 131-160 range. Once you're a little high you tend to "go all the way". You can cut down on those post meal spikes by increasing the fat you eat. This works even if you don't eat low carb. If you don't pump, dealing with DP is tough but you might try waking up about 3 or 4 hours after going to bed for the night and correcting if necessary. Even if that doesn't prevent the spike it shortens the time you're sitting with high numbers.
Amen.