Wow! @RichardR seriously, now to call a whole bunch of us here that work so hard 24/7—on top of our daily jobs and other life responsibilities, on maintaining good blood glucose levels “genetic freaks” is absolutely infuriating.
After 30+ years with type 1, my pancreas does not produce any insulin and yet I’ve been maintaining an A1c of 5% and under for over a year now. For you to just come in here and belittle all our great efforts and literally blood, sweat and tears, that go into maintaining such tight control, and just chuck it to genetics… You got some nerves there, is all I’m going to say.
I would start by saying that we are all different. I can also say, that I know plenty of diabetics who CHOOSE to manage their diabetes in different ways - some do carb counting, some do plenty of exercise, third don’t do anything, forth do LHCF etc. Then you have the therapy differences - pump/pen, fast insulins/not so fast insulins, cgm/finger pricking etc.
I’ve belonged to the exercise and don’t do anything group for the last 26 years still managing to be at 6.5% +/- 0.3, but then thanks to Freestyle Libre and lately Dex G5 giving me a trend at any moment, I managed to come to 6. Now, because of the APS, I’ve had to start counting carbs, even though I still find it complicated and time consuming BUT it actually does work and does help and I’m hoping to be >6% on my next blood test next week.
If you would like to call that “genetic freak”, then I’m happy to sign up on that one.
If it’s not valid for her to assume she knows what thousands of strangers are really doing and thinking and trying, how is it valid for anyone else to?
I didn’t come anywhere near saying anything of the sort.
There are lots of great comments here replying to your statement that we, or in my case, my son, are genetic freaks. My son is not. I agree with those who are saying that tight control can be achieved through effort. That does not imply anything about anyone else. It’s quite a leap for you to make that inference.
When I try harder than I’m currently able to I can bring my A1C below 5.0
I don’t like the assumptions you make. If it’s fair for you to assume that @MayaK, @Terry4 and I are just “genetic freaks” and “outliers” then by the same logic it’s fair for us to assume that we’re just better able to maintain lower A1Cs than you because we’re a lot smarter than you. See, that’s not fair either. How about we stop making assumptions about each other and have a real conversation instead. If you’d like to learn more about HOW we maintain such low A1Cs instead of just trying to make the silly point that we are somehow gifted and blessed, I think we’d all be happy to have that conversation.
ALSO… I forgot to mention… The Lowest HbA1C is not always the best thing. Keep in mind … diabetics with such a low HbA1C around 5.0% are most likely hovering their blood sugars border line low for a prolonged period of time. That actually KILLS BRAIN CELLS! Your brain is deprived and killing cells when hovering borderline low for a long time. So you can be sacrificing brain cells for a lower HbA1c. That’s one reason I would never pursue to get my HbA1C that low. I would purposely not want it lower than 6.0% for that reason.
Yikes, this seems to have escalated into something sort of nasty. I think part of the misunderstanding seems to be the implication that anyone can achieve an A1C under X% if they just try hard enough. I don’t think many on here think that is true. Or at least, that’s not the impression I get?
I think it’s both true that people who have achieved a low A1C on here do so through Herculean efforts AND that some people could resort to the same exact Herculean efforts and still not achieve the same tight control. Genetics, stomach issues, glycation status, biochemistry of insulin traveling through the subcutaneous tissue, life situation and stage, level of residual beta cell function – those all do impact things, sure, so there’s no way for an individual on the outside to judge if someone has a higher A1C. By the same token, I think it’s silly to suggest that effort and life choices don’t have some say in it.
I also don’t agree that the “better” choice is always one that lowers average BG. For instance, through what I consider Herculean efforts I’ve gotten my son’s a1c down to 6.9… but I am pretty sure that I could quickly get it down to a 6.5 if I took him out of daycare, quit my job, fed him the same exact foods at the same exact times every day, dramatically reduced his carb intake, had him do the exact same exercise every day, never took him to birthday parties, isolated him from his brother who comes home with all manner of childhood diseases, and spent all day doing microboluses, nudges, and other sugar surfing techniques.
I don’t think that’s practical for our life and I think at that point his other developmental, emotional and even physical needs would suffer at the expense of good BG control. So, the point being that the reasons people have different A1Cs are complex and multifactorial, and we can’t really judge a person’s effort level from the outside based on one number alone. Personally I’m of the camp that if someone says they’ve taken tremendous effort to achieve their A1C, give them the benefit of the doubt…whether that’s a 9 or a 5.
SAM19… you clearly don’t get it. You keep saying WE. Where is WE??? Take a look at the Survey I posted. People are posting their HbA1C’s. So far there is NO WE. It’s only you and MayaK and Lorraine with the lowest ones. The rest have much higher HbA1C’s. I agree… let’s stop debating on this thread. Read the Survey !!!
I’m referring to “we” collectively as the “genetic freaks” on this forum who are able to keep a1c under 6 or even under 5. I’ve been active on this forum for years and don’t need a survey to know that there are hundreds of them.
And just to submit an alternative set of facts, Bernstein, a board-certified endo who has been seeing patients for 30 years, says (empirically) that his nondiabetic patients’ A1cs typically run in the 4.5 to 5.0 range. Imagine the brain cells those poor nondiabetic people must be losing from failing to keep their A1cs high enough.
Thank you for the valuable info.
The story of your work before diabetes entered your personal life is amazing. Whenever I hear stories like this I always feel like here must be some force that pulled us toward diabetes even before impacting on such a profound and intimate level… the diabetes connection before the connection.
Thanks @Tia_G for the great community question… I’ve certainly learned a lot about the intricacies of the new system! The heart of the original post was I believe a question of choice. Would you use this particular option to support your/your child’s diabetes. Many of us here have the luxury of choosing certain aspects of our management. Discussions like this help me personally to gain knowledge and insight into options I may be less familiar with or have not yet been made aware of. This one thread alone carries so many options and choice in management, none being superior or inferior… the best option being the one each of us feels most comfortable with in supporting our health at any point on this journey.
We all work, physically, mentally and emotionally every minute of every day to live our best life with diabetes… it stinks. I’m guessing we can all agree on that.
Oh… and that other little piece we all have in common… we come here for connection and support, to be with our people. Sometimes the best therapy!
I feel like we’ve been rescued by the cavalry! Thanks.
I think we as a community sincerely believe in the community ethic that we are at our best when we’re helping. We’re all in this great big diabetes boat together, whether we like it or not. We can choose to help and support each other or we can cast blame and call names. I prefer the former.
As it is in any cross section of the population, some of us are more fortunate than others. While we all struggle with the diabetes card we’ve been dealt, our hand in life varies from person to person. We must remain sensitive to our disadvantages and advantages while we try to live a meaningful life. We can do great things for each other due to our intimate knowledge of what diabetes feels like. Let’s not lose sight of that.
Where in my previous statement have I ever made any assumptions let alone “pointed fingers” at other people with diabetes who’s A1C wasn’t like mine? @RichardR Please show me where. Like, I want the exact quote.
I only spoke on my behalf and maybe some others with a low A1c here. I do not make assumptions, you Sir have been the only one here doing so plus calling people names. I do not care for your term “genetic freaks” neither “genetic advantage”. By saying those things you are belittling all my great efforts in achieving such a low A1c. You don’t even know what I have to do in order to do that, the sacrifice, I know for a fact not many others would be willing to make, how much time I spend analyzing my BG readings every single day, what insulin regime I’m on, how much exercise I get, and most importantly what I eat and DO NOT EAT. Oh, and by the way, I’m MDI and do not have a CGM either due to me having horridly high deductibles.
I can actually point you to a whole other online community of people and parents of kids with type 1 who all achieved similar low A1Cs (under 6%) They frequently post their flatline CGM graphs and A1c and other test results. They are not genetic freaks either, just a group of people working their butts off and maintaining a very strict diet which I recognize not every person would be willing to do.
I can assure you that I do indeed have diabetes and have had 2 DKA that landed my in the hospital in my lifetime. Both almost killed me. The first one was when I was first diagnosed back in 1986. I never even experienced a honeymoon phase. The second was due to contracting swine flu almost 6 years ago.
I do not appreciate your tone and you speaking to me this way either. You have no idea what I’ve gone through in 30 years with my diabetes. You don’t know anything about me, and yet you make so many assumptions, it’s insane. I can tell you that at some point my A1c was close to 14%. I suffered from a horrible burnout in my teen years that had gone into my early 20s. I was depressed and didn’t do much to take care of myself besides just taking my long acting insulin, I omitted most rapid for meals and didn’t bother testing BG more than maybe twice a day. Yet, since then I’ve made a complete 180 in my approach to my health and management so for you to belittle and dismiss all my efforts, it hurts and is hard not to take personally. I really hope you understand this.
I realize that every person with diabetes is different. Both of us could be doing the same things and having different results. I know some other conditions and medications can affect BG and it’s such a matter of constantly fine tuning what we do, knowing one’s body, doing countless of other test and managing all other conditions as well as D. It’s like walking a tightrope. But please do not diminish our efforts just like I would never diminish yours or anybody else in here.
No it’s certainly not the norm for a type 1 diabetic to maintain a healthy level A1C. I consider that unfortunate. I tip my hat to every single one of them who’ve made the tremendous sacrifices to do it. I know how hard it is. I will continue to encourage every person struggling to get there but still working on it-- I’d be happy to help them in any way I can.
Also remember the original reason for this thread.
Majority have an HbA1C Above 6.5%
Majority would benefit from the automated basal Medtronic MiniMed670
You few Outlier Genetic Freaks challenging me on this are the few that won’t benefit.
Medtronic cares to make money of the masses, not the few Outliers like those diabetics with an HbA1C of a non-diabetic at 5.5%
Case Closed! You can’t argue the facts. 5.5% HbA1C is a Non-Diabetic level. Google it! Anyone that low is an Outlier Genetic exception. Maybe some of your insulin beta islets are still working or your body chemistry and genetic make-up handles man-made insulins in an unusual way.
FYI… I think I will get it down to 6.5% with Afrezza + CGM. But with other insulins like Humalog and Apidra… not a chance.
Your Emoji notwithstanding, this post is way out of line. I have no dog in this fight but you’ve done quite enough name calling in this thread to be reported to the moderators. None of us come here for the vitriol–plenty of that on Yahoo political threads.
Emoji notwithstanding, this post is way out of line. I have no dog in this fight but you’ve done quite enough name calling in this thread to be reported to the moderators. None of us come here for the vitriol–plenty of that on Yahoo political threads.