Hi all, I am new to this site and like having a place where others know what living w/ Diabetes is like. I have been on a minimed for a year now and my a1c has gone down, but is still too high. Please tell me there is a light at the end. I want to be in the 6-7 range and am still a 10. ahhhhhhhh. So frustrated, but so glad I found you all. Thanks for allowing me to vent.
Jessica I just started using Sugar Stats. This has let me see when I am gett high to see what I really need to work on. You might want to try tracking your BS to find patterns to low your A1C.
http://www.diabetes-normalsugars.com/readit.shtml
CARBs make your sugar go up and down so controlling your carbs. Read the link
Good Luck
You may find this technique helpful. It is meant for Type 2s, for whom it achieves miraculous results. I’ve heard from people who have dropped from A1cs of 13% to the 5% range in less than 90 days. But as a Type 1 you can still do it, just a bit more slowly because of the greater risk of hypos.
http://alt-support-diabetes.org/newlydiagnosed.htmI agree Bernstein can be very helpful too, In particular, his technique for sorting out your basal needs before working on the post-prandials may help. Doctors often give people pretty generic basals and if your basal is also covering meals, it can push you hypo if you cut back on carbs. If your basal is right, then you can use the insulin carb ratio and slowly titrate down the carbs in your meal.
Good luck! It can be done.
Jessica–i think the main thing that you have to do is make a true commitment to yourself for 1 month—the commitment should include that you will check you BS alot 6-8 times a day, record what you eat, correct highs according and adjust your basal rates appropriately(with dr help if needed). It is a pain and tiring…it is frustrating and infuriating…but if you do it—and i mean really do it—you will see what foods are impacting you and how much.
Carb counting is key and I learnd recently that my carb counting had been terrible.
Timing of bolus’ is also key and I learned that a bolus for meals 10 minutes b4 is just not enough…turns out, for me, i need to bolus 30 minutes before I eat for anything that rice or a sandwich is involved- and Combo Bolus’ are fantastic.
One big thing that can help a ton is to eat the exact same thing for breakfast same time everyday and get your insulin dosage right for that. Once i started doing that, i guarantee myself that I will be in normal ranges from the time i get up in the morning until lunch.
I know—It sucks writing down everything you eat and becoming even more of a pin cushion, and focusing sooo much sounds dreadful and it seems you dont have time for it…but if you can commit and learn from yourself, it will be come more intuiative—and you can control you diabetes instead of having diabetes control you. Sugarstats is great.
Best of luck,
Mollie
thanks for all the great ideas. your help is greatly appreciated.
Jessica,
I know you can do it. Just don’t give up!!
I have brought my A1C down by checking very frequently-- usually 10 - 12 times a day, and sometimes during the night. That way, I can treat a high bg before it stays high for very long, and I can also fine-tune my basals and boluses. I have noticed that my A1C is directly correlated to the number of times per day that I check. I also now use sugarstats, and find it very helpful.
Good luck to you,
Katie
Jessica
Although I have type 2 there are some basic skills that can help. My A1c went from 13.5% to 6.2% my best ever was 5.7 % for 6 months and I ahve not been over 6.5% in 4 years. Continue to monitor your BS most importantly you FBG that with journaling what you ate and meds you took the night before should be a good start with pattern management
Hi Jessica,
Are you on a CGMS? If not, that could be a really helpful thing for you in identifying patterns so you can use your pump to your best advantage. You may be able to borrow a loaner from your endo or Minimed, even wearing one for a couple weeks might really make a difference. My A1c dropped almost a full % after I borrowed a Dexcom for a couple of weeks!