Dear Gary:
Forget about exact numbers and concentate on other beautiful things in your life. Two weeks back I was very sick with cervical neuritis and migraine,but when my new born grandchild was sick,I concentated to help her.My own disease got better.
When we get out of ourselves and concentate on loved one or beautiful hobbies,we do get better.
Best wishes.
April,
The peanut butter crackers were also recommended to me as a snack, but just 2 crackers at a time and not the whole pack. She recommended the pb crackers because the protien will hold over and hopefully stop the lows I’m having right before lunch and right before dinner every day. I’m like you, I can’t imagine eating a whole package of 4 or 6 twice a day.
I’m glad to hear you are feeling better Sohair. I work with children and it is really hard to stay down when they are around.
I certainly have my thoughts as to the “why”.
Gary, I know it must feel so bad ( emotionally) to feel SO BAD (physically)…I do thiik you are probably running low all the time. I personally feel depressed, or loopy ( silly) or, unable to process information accurately when I am in the 50’s… I do not pass out and can rationally treat lows down to the 40’s,but the low feelings are STILL creepy and tiring…It must feel wretched to feel like that 24-7.
Some questions :Now how are your highs affecting you? Over 180 or so I feel tired…but I am not immobilized and listeless unless I am over 285 or so.How do you feel when you are over 90? Can you get to a university treatment program where they may loan out a CGMS so that you can see a possible pattern to your blood glucose levels… Please forgive me for asking if you have mentioned this before, or in prior postings…Please do not give up on feeling well.
God bless,
Brunetta
Gary is not trolling. He’s expressing distress over a real issue. Take a break & relax is much easier said than done. If only we could do that with the things that upset us.
I agree here with Ron. As a long term type 1 myself (56 years now) and as an RN (not a CDE though) I feel you need to get that A1c up to between 6.0 to 6.5 or so. And give it some time there for your body to get acclimated to this level. For me personally, when my sugars get that low (as you’ve mentioned you walk around with 40’s and 50’s) I start to “tunnel vision” and get agitated real easily, just ask my support person (we affectionately call them type 3’s).
@ Ron–Have you looked into the study that the Joslin Clinic is doing for type 1’s with over 50 years of living with diabetes? I’m a Medalist and am involved with it. Contact me directly if you’d like more info…
Your friend got the same faulty advice I did when I was first diagnosed T2. They wanted me to eat more carbs than I did before I was diagnosed. I had to do my own investigating to find out this wasn’t going to work. Now I get bitched at, even though my last A1C was 5.1 on diet alone, because I refuse to follow their diet. Maybe someday low carb alone won’t work for me, but you’d think the proof is in the pudding. Or, more accurately, NOT in the pudding.
I think the final answer is ALWAYS do what works for you. Medical professionals read studies, and they tend to be conflicting anyway, and meanwhile, you are not a statistic, you are an individual, with your own unique metabolism. It takes some experimentation to figure out what works, but when you’ve got it going right, then keep it there.
I encourage you in your intelligent approach and work in managing your diabetes – who could ask for more? 
Each human being is an individual and we all react differently.
I suspect that Gary’s body reacts differently than yours does. He has been very clear in this discussion that his body feels best within a very narrow range of BG and “getting his A1C higher than 6” may well put him out of the range where his body feels comfortable. For example…an A1C of 6.1 means your AVERAGE glucose is 140. I think he said he felt best beween 80 and 120…
We are all different…I am very, very senstive to changes in my thyroid levels. My doctors call me an “outlier.” A number of doctors DENIED I could even be having symptoms due to thyroid issues.
I truly empathize with those who are “outside the norm.” Hang in there Gary and keep searching for science based answers for your symptoms.
Anni
Oh, yes…I know and convenience is also a factor. I just wish that she had suggest peanut butter and some celery or penut butter and the apple…not peanut butter and crackers out of a machine…
April, I wanted to comment on the best treatment for lows, and that is glucose. From Dr. Bernstein, “unlike other sweets, it is absorbed into the blood directly through the mucous membranes of the mouth stomach and gut”. He also has a lot of info about just how much each gram of glucose will raise bg, depending on your weight. I found this information so valuable and have never used the 15-15 rule since reading this. Each gram of glucose will raise someone Melissa’s weight about 5 points, so she used to almost always treat with one glucose tablet. Since she has been on Metformin though, she needs 2 tablets. The chart that I am looking at says that someone of your weight would have an increase of 7 points with just 1 gram, so you surely don’t want to take 15 grams to treat a slight low. Sweetarts and Smarties and Wacky Wafers also have dextrose (glucose) as the first ingredient. We alternate between glucose tabs and the giant sized Sweetarts which are the exact size of a glucose tablet. The carbs are either 3 or 4 each, depending on which you use. They make keychain holders that hold 4 tabs. Since you are only using basal right now, I think that you may find that you would be more exact in raising your bg just a bit by using these. She does use juice boxes to treat at night, but only since she started wearing a mouth guard at night, so she can’t chew with that on. She only drinks half of it though. A lot of people are convinced that liquids work faster, but that has not been our experience and I do thank Dr. Bernstein for that info. Many people talk about rebound highs, when it is actually what they are using to treat that is causing the rebound. We have been doing it this way for many years now, and never see a rebound high.
Sorry Anni, but a 6.1 A1c is not that high. It’s more like 6.5 equates to 130-135, so your 6.1 would be a bit lower. The Society of Endocrinologists recommends an A1c of 6.5 or less, while the American Heart Assoc. recommends an A1c of 7.0 or less. Recent studies have shown that type 1’s who try for the really lower readings (much below 6.0)are finding themselves in trouble. This is due to the fact that to get that A1c that low, you need to be too low too often.
Well, statistically-minded scientists aside, in real life, the A1c doesn’t correlate to anything, except as it works in the individual. Different people glycate differently, and my 4.8 when I would have been diagnosable by modern criteria with FBGs of 138 and 131 certainly doesn’t correlate with what another person may be getting. And my 10.7, when I was running entirely above 400 for MONTHS doesn’t relate to the “correlation charts’” 258 (or so) at ALL.
The only REASONABLE advice if you’re not a statistic is to aim for the lowest A1c you can get without undue incidence of hypoglycemia. For some people, that’s going to be 6, and for others it’s going to be 8. The A1c is a LOUSY diagnostic tool; its only advantage is that you can use it to compare yourself with yourself in previous times. Everyone should have a personal A1c goal, but it doesn’t mean anything in terms of average BGs.
I don’t think Bernstein is right about it being absorbed through the mucous membranes of the mouth and stomach, but he is right that pure glucose is the fastest way to treat a low. Actually pure glucose in a liquid would be even better. The liquid helps wash it into your intestines which is where it needs to get before being absorbed.
Am I living proof ??? Average A1C’s less than perfect for the years this test has been available …and Natalie , I hold it the way you mentioned : compare yourself to one’s previous times . 28 years plus with d .and NO complications …I have STOPPED comparing myself to many out there …and I want Gary to feel OK too .
I think Dr. B might be right about this because I have gastroparesis & can correct lows fairly quickly. I don’t chomp & swallow. I let it dissolve in my mouth. I’ve heard Dr. B mention that glucose gel is the best way to go, but that is some nasty stuff.
I did some research, and I see where you are getting your A1c of 6.1=140. That is from the older DCCT charts, which are a bit dated now. Mine comes from the eAG charts (plasma calibrated meters) which puts a 6.5 A1c @135. I knew I had the right number when I first replied, but I didn’t know where you got yours. Now I do…
I still don’t think he’s right. You would have to make sure you didn’t swallow saliva (which I assume you’re doing if you let it dissolve in your mouth) to do the test yourself. When did he write that? “Type 1 Diabetes” by Hanas says: “The glucose from food can only be absorbed into the blood after it has passed from the stomach into the intestine. Glucose can not be absorbed from inside of the mouth or the stomach.” He gives two reference for this - for the mouth he cites a paper by Gunning titled “Failure of absorption through oral mucosa”, for the stomach the book by Frayn “Metabolic Regulation: A human perspective”.
Actually this is my major complaint with Bernstein’s book - that he gives almost no references for any of his statements - some of which I think are correct and some of which I think are incorrect. But without references it’s very hard to sort out which is which.
Based on the advice from Hanas, when I want to raise my BG as fast as possible I chew glucose to dissolve it and swallow it with water if water is at hand. Works for me!
Thanks! Appreciate the formula!