So much conflicting information!

Type 2 New to Type 2 diabetes
21

Just goes to show that everyone has their own opinion. My opinion is that any strip is accurate enough for judging BG rises from food. all are within the +/-20%

If anyone want’s to buy more expensive strips they are welcome to do so. Your example has about a 25% increase in cost, for a comparison of 15% error at 99% for contour and 96% for rely-on. which is in practice, an insignificant difference IMO

I don’t think there is anything more I can say, other than if I was on insulin, I would have a meter that assists with bolus.

22

@jack16 –

So, please indulge a little hypothetical scenario…

D-Newbie has an actual blood glucose of 83 before a meal. However, D-Newbie’s El-Cheapo meter reads 100 before the meal.

D-Newbie dutifully follows Dr. Bernstein’s advice and has eaten a very low carb meal. 75 minutes later, D-Newbie’s blood glucose is actually 93. However, D-Newbie’s El-Cheapo meter reads 74.

D-Newbie has stumbled upon a food that magically lowers their blood sugar?

D-Newbie must be very confused…

1 Like
23

I think I addressed this, in the above post

the variability of digestion would be more than this, at a 2hour point in time. You are making an argument for CGM

24

Per “Peak-time determination of post-meal glucose excursions in insulin-treated diabetic patients.” by Daenen et al; 2010 –

CONCLUSION: To best assess peak postprandial glucose levels, the optimal time for blood glucose monitoring is about 1h and 15 min after the start of the meal, albeit with wide interpatient variability. Nevertheless, 80% of post-meal blood glucose peaks were observed at less than 90 min after the start of the meal.

(I check my BG at 75 mins to catch peaks. My goal is to be back at baseline at 2 hrs.)

25

variation of digestion would be more than the 3% difference at 15% error between the 2 strips.
all spikes aren’t completed at the 75 or 120 minute point of time. A spike at 3-4 hours isn’t uncommon. google : diabetes pizza effect.
or even consider this
https://healthonline.washington.edu/document/health_online/pdf/CarbCountingClassALL3_05.pdf

941×785 213 KB

26

@jack16 –

You should consider changing your avatar as pizza, fruit juice, jam, honey, table sugar, bread, rice, potatoes, noodles, etc. are not generally permitted in Dr Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution.

Although Dr. Bernstein prefers dextrose, juice and sugar would be considered acceptable to treat lows. Some of the other foods might be acceptable as exercise carbs. (For example, I enjoy chocolate-covered espresso beans when engaged in vigorous exertion.)

27

My insurance company tells me what meter I should use. BUt,I get to test 4-5 times a day or more… One touch works for me. Nancy

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I think you are just being argumentative, A low carb, high protein and fat meal always doesn’t spike at 75 or back to normal at 120 minutes, In fact a lot would say it is rising at two hours, hence the splt bolus for low carb meals. Protein can digest for up to 6 hours and fats for 8, AKA the pizza effect.

so in summary, you are paying 25% more for the same 20% accuracy and a 3% or 3 strips out of 100 improvement at 15% error. Your example of meal testing at 75 and 120 minute point of time, has a greater variation than the extra 3% or 3 strips out of 100, strip error at 15%.

You have made a very good case for CGM though.

29

@jack16 –

I’d trust the Freestyle here… :wink:

Image used w/ permission of temporarily banned member, @Eric2.

30

A bit off topic, but this is a great idea!

More on topic: 20% “FDA allowable error” sucks. But … if that’s what you have, that’s what you use. When I do cgm calibrations I routinely use 2 or even 3 of my crappy (but insurance-covered) strips in an effort to get a more reliable number going forward on the cgm.

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31

you have dropped the time after food point, so I guess you concede that variable digestion rates at a singular point in time, exceed the 3% or 3 strips in a 100 being above a 15% but within the 20% error rate

as to your photo, you would need to do a lab test to see the true number. If it was 75, both meters fall within the error rate and would be considered ‘correct’.
for fun you can check the same drop of blood with a few strips to see a spread. the correction fluid also has a +/- 20% error range, if you look at the range it gives…

I’m finished now, we are going around in circles.

32

I think there’s a lot of crap on the internet and tend to go with what doctors say first. The chance of hurting your body doesn’t really become significant until you get over 140. My Philosophy has been to eliminate every sugar and every carb I possibly can and that has got me to a point where my blood sugar is equivalent of 114. My suggestion is to come up with equivalents like veggie tots for tater tots riced cauliflower for rice and jicama for potatoes

33

I found the chart interesting,thank you. I eat like south beach . Seldom eat bread, gave up my oatmeal,yogurt for breakfast… eat limited fruit. Nancy

34

i was in identical condition as you. test showed 6.6 A1C. and FBGL at 126. this is somewhere right at the boundary of pre-diabetic and diabetic, DEPENDING ON WHOSE GUIDELINES YOU USE. ADA is 130, others are 126 and i think some European agency recommends 110.

so right out to the chute there is confusion on what constitutes DIABETES. and then there is the question of what will be the consequences of having diabetes. Reason and logic suggest the higher your BGL and the longer u have elevated BGL’s may cause more or more serious problems. Unless of course you simply don’t ever develop many symptoms.

So for me it is simply my risk tolerance. What am i willing to do, or not, to ensure a long life with minimal complications.

I tend to use all the info available as guidelines, as no one will or can give you a definitive answer. just this week Internists published more lenient guidelines and it has simply muddied the issue.

i take NO MEDS . I diet and exercise only.

while not as conscientious as most, I have monitored my BGL with fairly regular testing, for the 1st year. I did FBGL’s taken sometime after I wake up and feel certain the effects of dawn phenomenon have dissipated. Just this week i learn that FBGL is the last symptom to go and I should test after meals. I am starting that now.

I have practiced a modified LCHF diet. Modified in the sense that i modified my own diet. Alot. i don’t think anyone here would have called it LCHF. Especially since I did cardio regularity (of 1 hour, 500 cals and average +135 HRM), I was taking in about 200 to 250 carbs a day. That resulted in NET CARBS of 150 -200 as you get to subtract carbs burned during exercise. (see EXCARBS,com)

so at around 150 NET carbs a day and exercise i kept FBGL around and on average 117 to 126. Rarely did it go over 126.

now here is the interesting part: i cut out exercise for the last 6 weeks and ratcheted down my Net carbs to around 50- 80 carbs a day and i regularly get FBGL readings at 130.

So i have preliminarily concluded that with heavy cardio i can eat alot more carbs, say up to 250/day, if the net carbs remain between 150 to 200. My FBGL is actually lower than with low carbs alone. Is this a scientific study? Well no. But i will play around with the exercise/carb situation to get to the point where i feel confident i can eat more carbs with heavy exercise.

I will tell you , without trying to offend anyone, that in the diabetic blogosphere, there are those hardcore folks who do all kinds of extreme things and get all kinds of exceptional results.

For me, i want to take the minimal action to get the best results. One thing i want to do is have some kind of 'food" quality of life. That means i want to eat CARBS because i think they taste great.

At some point, i may conclude i can eat more carbs with a return to heavy exercise OR starting on medication.

As i said i have done a LCHF diet for a year and get to eat a lot of butter and eggs and cheese and meat. You will lose weight and your BGL will drop. But for me it never got much lower than , on average , 123 FBGL, exercising very regularly. I repeat i take NO meds and stopping exercise increased that average to 130.

Again i am only just beginning testing post meal BGL after reading that FBGL is a lagging indicator of the severity of diabetes.