T1 Improving Vagus Nerve function

A chiropractor said to sing every day and that helps strengthen the vagus nerve. I’m not yet doing that but when i go back to driving to work I plan to make it a daily habit with favorite songs and hymns!

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Terry4, thanks so much for focusing on ideas for improvement to the nerve. My health has been worsened during my work from home time over the last year and initial restrictions on workouts at gym and pool. But I am able to do more now. Someone asked about my symptoms (doctors are little help with this) so I will list them for consideration. I am 67 and diabetic for 31 years. My doctor physicals are fine and I am using Dexcom and Omnipod with Humalog successfully. I do have arthritis in my backbone and hands.
My BG stays low or high for significantly longer than in past years. Nothing I do can bring it down (or up) quickly as before. As a result, My SD is not where it should be. Yet my HgA1C has most often been 5.9 and I am working to lower it for next physical in August.
Grain foods escalate my BG uncontrollably. As Terry said, I can no longer eat any grains successfully.
I have some incontinence at night, sadly.
I have some absence of pain; i’m seeing some cuts and bruises that I did not feel happen.
Just a year ago March, I was swimming a mile very efficiently; now I cannot get back to that distance.
This is all I can think of at this time.
Still looking for best practices and techniques to use with OmniPod and dexcom as well as food substitutes for grains.

[quote=“Marie20, post:20, topic:87772”]
Marie20, can you explain more about this and define the acronyms for us newbies?
“I am at a TIR of 90% of between 70-140, 22 SD and 20% CV. I like to aim for above 96% TIR of between 65-160 myself. I am at 98% TIR of that.”
As Terri said I am able to handle some 100% whole grains in smaller quantities. I also eat primarily fresh vegetables and meats.

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Marie, I hope you don’t mind my jumping in here.

TIR - time in range. This statistic is associated with continuous glucose monitor (CGM) use. The “range is self-selected” unless the standard 70-180 mg/dL is used. For example, I measure TIR using 65-130 mg/dL.

SD - standard deviation. A statistical measure derived from a given data set (in our case, glucose data points). The lower the SD, the tighter the glucose variability. SD uses the mean or average as its central point. For example, if a person’s average blood sugar is 120 mg/dL with a SD of 20 mg/dL then it can be concluded that about 67% of all the data points fall within +/- 1 SD of the mean, in this case from 100-140 mg/dL.

CV- coefficient of variation. Another statistical measure of the data set’s variabilty. Lower is better. CV = SD/average.

Both SD and CV are calculated and defined within the Dexcom Clarity program. A SD of 22 mg/dL and an a CV of 20% are both excellent from a glucose management perspective in diabetes.

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Very helpful, I will start paying close attention to those in Clarity software. Thanks!

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Maria, I’d love to hear more about what brought you to vegan. Diabetes? I just bought a book that is about managing diabetes and it’s complications via low fat vegan….

Hi @Kimball1

I turned vegetarian at the age of 11 because of ethical reasons. And then I became a vegan 36 years ago because of a dislike of the treatment of any animals in the farming business.

When I developed diabetes I was not going to change my view of how to eat. I already knew being a vegetarian had great health benefits and that was reinforced with owning a health food store for 27 years. Vegetarians and especially vegans generally lived longer and stayed healthier. More and more has come out about the health benefits of being a vegan.

I think the most famous low fat vegan program to help with insulin resistance for diabetics is Mastering Diabetes, but it’s not free. But there are others that delve into the health benefits of being a vegan. I personally have always liked Dr McDougall and Dr Neal Bernard. Dr Neal Barnard is now connected with PCRM/Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine. PCRM has a lot of information about the health benefits of vegan diets and has a free KickStart program.

The KickStart program was very popular with our customers at my store. It gives you recipes, meal planner and shopping list. All free. The other thing I used to tell my customers that wanted to eat better but weren’t ready to completely give up meat was to eat 2 vegan days a week. That changes a third of your diet and gives people a chance to start trying new things without feeling like they have to give up everything at once. Then they could add a third and 4th day etc as they got used to eating a new way.

All, could we move these extraneous discussions to another topic grouping?
This one is about methods of healing our vagus nerve disruptions in long-term diabetes.
With heartfelt thanks, Robert

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Robert, so sorry. I pulled this up because I was interested in topics healing Vagus Nerve disruptions. I thought the diet was related.

This is my story with vagus Nerve disruptions. I have had this much longer than a diabetes diagnosis. It started when I was about 8. I would pass out faint sporadically with no know apparent cause. My friends would get scared as there were no signs. I was always told to eat more or drink more, One time the doctor came to my house( yes they made house calls back then for 35.00) and tested my blood pressure, standing, getting up, and sitting down. He stated that my blood pressure dropped when I stood up. Do not remember many problems until 40 yrs later. I had been a diabetic for some time now
and I would get dizzy, be forced to lay down preferably on the cold bathroom floor, and have a huge bowel explosion, and sometimes throw up and after 10-15 min I would be fine. I thought it was food poisoning. It happened every couple of months or so, I realized the predictor was high fat. Fresh fried chicken, pistachios, and high-fat frozen food in large amounts as well as McDonald’s as it gave me slight fecal incontinence.
I stopped with the fried foods and the incidents stopped for a while
My last time which was a week ago, I was not a home as I was shopping and I got the slight woozy feeling, I might have been dehydrated. I sat down on an outside bench moments later I had to lay down on the bench then still dizzy, I had had to go into the store again to have a bowel large. I do not have the explosion anymore as I no longer eat much fat, Nothing fried. Maybe an occasional slice of pizza. What scares me about this, is that it is unpredictable. I have laid out on a sidewalk due to dizziness before, just once. My doc says do not get up fast from sitting. I think it is more to it. I always tested blood sugar and it is never very high or low in these situations.

Recently, I set my targets to 70-150. Try not to eat after 9 and about 20-34 carbs per meal. I get tested in a few weeks, I will see if this helps with lowering a1c.

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This sounds so difficult. I have newly recognized drops in bp. Thank you for sharing. We aren’t alone!

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Robert, FYI, my doctor’s assistant has been able to procure sample bottles of Fiasp as my insurance only minimally covered exorbitant cost. I’m on DIY Loop with pod and Dexcom. The Loop and Fiasp for the most part eliminated anything above 180 and 180 is rare. Best.

thanks Kimball1!
I have my annual physical next Friday and will ask about samples of Fiasp!

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What about monitoring your blood pressure? Maybe that would help…

Becky

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Hey! You sound like me, a few years ago! Look into Addison’s Disease., Adrenal Insufficiency. It can be part of Polyendocrine Autoimmune Syndrome, which is two or three organs failing, or lots of trouble with your endocrine system. I’m T1 since ‘68. My thyroid went south on me in ‘91, then over the last decade, my BP kept tanking. So rare, few doctors test for it. But as soon as I convinced my GP to treat me for Addison’s, my life improved 200%. Maybe it’s more common than the literature would suggest?

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Thanks for the reply. My doc put in an order to test Addisons disease. I will get the blood drawn soon. I practically ignored it. Were u less tired ? Did you have to take medication for a long time? Do u have low sodium? Did u gain weight with the steroids?

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For me it came on slowly with random episodes of what felt like wilting. Fast heart rate, wooziness, tight chest, nausea, low bp. I craved and ate tons of salt yet was always below normal on blood tests for sodium and chloride.

My GP did test me for Addison’s at my request and I was within the AMA’s normal range. But I researched and learned that until one’s adrenal cortex has been more than 90% destroyed, Addison’s patients test normal. Finally the wilting got so frequent, daily really, I was spending much of the day prone, feeling sick. I found an endo, and he agreed to treat me for Addison’s, see if it helped. Brother did it!!

I should add, before treatment for Addison’s, my daily dose of insulin was down from about 22 units/day to 13/day (!). Also, after decades of stable thyroxine daily dose, I tested low repeatedly and had to up my dose there.

With treatment (hydrocortisone and fludrocortisone, pill form) I felt better immediately, and over time my dosages of thyroid and insulin moved back into their old range. No, I didn’t gain weight, but will have to take the meds until someone cures it, like T1 and insulin. I still get occasional wilting, especially if my bg goes high, but so much better than before. Like all this autoimmune stuff it’s a pain in the butt and sort of wrecks my life, but I’m grateful to be here awhile longer.

Hope this helps!

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Thanks so much for the detailed answer! Have a Happy New Year!

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Hi there. I am so happy that you found, by researching, what you needed to do to finally feel better. My sodium levels are always low, but by taking a lot of thyroid meds, my FT3 and FT4 are usually close to normal. I am often fatigued though.

Good luck with all of the snow!

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