Your A1C and the like...

[ScottWagner]

Hi everyone. It has been great looking at these forums these past few weeks, and to read what everyone has to say. Being a pumper and having only a handful of friends with diabetes close by, I am curious mostly to hear about other people's control with the pump, specifically your A1C and how hard you work for that.

I recently have become a lot more serious and tight with my control, having only oneor two A1Cs under 7. With my MUCH tighter control and hard work, my 14 day average (which is about when my effort changed...) on my meter is now down to 134.

My last A1C was 7.1 one month ago. My goal is to get to, and stick around the low-mid 6. I would appreciate hearing anything about your A1C and control being on the pump. THANKS!

Scott

[Belinda]

Mine fluctuates between 6.2 and 7.1 so i guess that is pretty good. Sometimes I don't bolus correctly but when i know that i could be off. I recheck my bs about 2 hours after the meal and do a correction bolus. My 14 day totals aren't good like your because of the extra checking i do for the correction bolus. Chinese and Mexican foods just really mess me up. I have been on the pump for a little over 5 years and have learned a few things by trial and error. Sounds like your well on your way to getting your down into the 6's. Keep up the great work

[ScottWagner]

Thanks Belinda! I have the same problem with Mexican and Chinese, especially chinese! I have been trying to test 2 hours post also, which fluctuates because counting exact carbs can sometimes be hard if I am not at home or don't make my lunch. I actually am on the CGMS for 3 days right now, to get a more accuarte picture between tests and whatnot.

[dpav]

Well I have to agree the Chinese and Mexican foods raise my sugar levels really high. So I have them rarely. I have tried to bolus with the carb calculation prior to eating and have made mistakes. I mostly can not eat all I have planned. So I have over bolused too much. So I simply take a test one hour after I start eating and Bolus to correct that amount on the meter. This has worked out well for me a lot. I have had an average of 5.9 for an A1C for a couple of years and since my latest setup of staying low but not going into hypos I have gotten my latest A1C reading at 5.7 The pump has made a lot of help for me. The best place for my infusion sets has been in my abdomen. I placed them in the back side and it absorbs well but I get the best control in the tummy always. Oh by the way a change to 6mm cannula from the 9mm ones I had used for the past 3 years. These have helped me a great deal in absorption.
I think we will have to not eat Mexican or Chinese to stay under tight control. What a sad decision.
Don

[Shalyndria]

Wow Scott, good for you that 14 day average is great :thumbsup:
Sounds to me like you're working hard to get your future A1c's in target!

My last result was 6.7 (if I remember correctly), which is a slight raise from the days of MDI's. I'd like to see my next A1c below 6.5.

As for Chinese, I always use my dual wave and haven't encountered any problems. Now if we're talking bagels...

Keep up the great work Scott!
Shy

[turtlegirl]

We usually tend to stay away from foods that we aren't sure what the carb counts are since it is all a guess. We just stick with the foods that we know and trust. Going out to eat is a pain since not all places have their information public and even when you ask them they may not know or think you are on the Adkins diet and counting carbs (since that is the latest craze). But from what I have seem, the blood is staying in the 80s-90s all the time...may be a bit raised dut to stress or whatnot but usually then it's in the 90s/100s and not totally out of whack.

[Belinda]

The kicker with the Chinese and Mexican is the rice. A serving is 1/3 of a cup...have you seen how small that is??/ YOu usually get about 6-8 servings of rice when you go and don't realize how much you ate.

Don't give up going out to eat...there are several books out that give you carb counts for every thing including restaurants. The one i use is.
The Doctor's Pocket guide to Calorie, Fatt and Carbohydrates
ISBN1-930448-07-4 ( if you want to look on amazon.com)
email sales@calorieking.org
Family health publications
1001 West 17th St.
Costa Mesa, CA 92627

It only cost me 5.00 at the doctor's office. This is the guide that the nutritionist are using with all the new diabetics for pumps and insulin therapy and they are converting us old ones.

[vgray77]

Check out this link on tight control. http://www.healthandage.com/Home/gid2=2776

[ScottWagner]

It sometimes does surprise me how fast certain portions of food add up, such as rice, pasta, or french fries. I am sure that sometimes plays a good part of my problem with certain foods.

I use the software from calorieking.com on my PDA. It has a phenominal database of foods (including fast food and much more.)

I did treat myself to my favorite starbucks drink today (which doesnt happen often!!!) Their nutrition guide said it contained 58g of carb (I bolus 1U/10g). I bolused 7 units to be safe, and ended up 335 two hours later!!!!! I was at a conference all day and had to bolus to correct (hoping it was not a pump/site problem) and eventually came down! My point???? I don't know. I guess they either 1. LIE or 2. Have no consistency in the preperation of their drinks!

Live and Learn... Will think really hard about next time I want that type of treat!

[David]

Hi Scott, welcome! I've been pumping almost 4 years. Pre-pump, my a1c was usually in the low 7s with one in the 6s. I had many highs and lows with those 7s. I'm now running in the low to mid 6s with much steadier BGs.
I have to agree about the Chinese food, but I have little trouble with Mexican food even tho I eat a lot of it. Maybe I'm just used to it. Remember those sauces in both of these foods along with the rice.
I see you're in Novi. Have you been to any Detroit area pumper meetings yet? Maybe you'll find another handful there. I need to go to another meeting one of these days.

>Subject: August 1 - pump group meeting
>Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2004 05:29:04 -0700 (PDT)
>
>Hi Everyone! Just a friendly reminder that there will be a pump group
>meeting next weekend:
>
>Sunday, August 1, 2004
>
>1:30 PM
>Steamer's Cafe (located inside the Troy Library)
>510 W. Big Beaver Road Troy, Michigan 48084

Also a list of SE MI groups:

http://www.diabetesinmichigan.org/SGdisp.asp?Don=SEMDON

[am1977]

Hi.

I was on the Paradigm 511 Pump for awhile, but am currently on injections of Lantus and Humalog. I was doing alright w/ the pump for some time, but my last one wasn't that good...in fact, it was bad.:( But it was understandable considering all the trouble I had with problems with the pump (infusion set problems leading to highs, problems with not receiving alarms, etc.). I posted my last A1c in anothere section( i think the monitering section), and would not care to repeat it again...just the thought of it bothers me, it's the highest number I have had since diagnosis. :eek: I guess it just means that my work is cut out for me, and I need to really work on bringing it down. So far, my numbers on injections have been a lot better so that is a relief. Hopefully, the next A1c will be a BIG improvement.

Good luck with your goal. I'm sure that if you continue to work this hard, you will be able to achieve it. :)

[ScottWagner]

David,

I have not really thought about group meetings since I was a kid. I know just being on these forums for a few weeks has been helpful, so it couldn't hurt! Thanks for the link too!

Am1977,

I know what you mean about the thought of an a1c bothering you. I think that is what made me tighten up... I was tired of always hearing the same thing from the Dr. every time, and I knew it wasn't by any means good for me to run in the high 100s. Sounds like you are trying to work real hard to bring it down! Good luck!

[Belinda]

I am trying to bring mine down from 7.0 and by doing this I have just caught myself checking bs more often so I know it wouldn't be running high over a long period of time. So far I have figured out how to bolus those "odd" foods and rely more on checking with in the 2 hours after meals if I think screwed up the bolus for the meal and it is working. Sometimes I get in the high 100's but not too much which to me means it is working but only that Monday in October will tell. Wow that is still a while off!!!!

[Dewey]

Hi Scott,

Prior to pump therapy, my A1C was in the 8's to 9's and there about...After pump therapy, I saw a decrease start to happen.

The doctor I now have, thinks I run too tight of a ship...the last two A1C's were (if I remember correctly...lol):

September - 5.9 and
February - 5.1

Although I really enjoy foods like Chinese, Japanese and sometimes pastas, I've really had to curb them to lose some weight and keep blood sugars lower. I guess the real key is anything in moderation, though for each individual results may vary. :)
Good luck with your next A1C...we're rooting for you, and know you can achieve it! :D

[TonyAlmeida]

One word of caution when using the carbs and calories listed by
calorieking.org's books and software ..... I've found that quite a few of their carb #s listed are way off the mark - especially for restaurant listings and brand name food products. I use their PDA software to calculate carbs/cals ..... for the most part it's a good reference point. But don't be surprised that you under or over bolus using their numbers.

My diabetes educator warned me against Chinese, Mexican, and Pizza. I tend to just stay away from those dishes anymore because they are too hard to control (that and both our local Chinese and Mexican restaurants got closed down by the health department and the US INS - but that's another story). Most dieticians are telling patients to stay away from rice all together now at training classes - lots of carbs but little nutrition. So you pump a lot of insulin to cover it and get very little in return.

[ScottWagner]

Well... the time has come. It has actually only been 2 months since my last A1C of 7.1. I went to my endo yesterday to look over the results of using the Minimed CGMS for 3 days (which by the way was awesome!) and I asked if I could get an A1C done just to see that I am showing some improvement. Anyway, after only 2 months, the magic number was....... 5.9!!!! Can't wait to see in a few more months to get an even more accurate number!!! 5.9, I was/am so geeked!! :) :D Thank you all for your posts and encouragement!

[am1977]

Scott,

That's excellent news! :) You must be thrilled...I would be. Keep up the good work and let us know about your progress!

Good job :D

[Shalyndria]

Wow Scott, that is fantastic!!! Good for you! :thumbsup:

Shy