Up for a little experiment?

[David76]

Is anyone interested in collecting a little data about the forum? Specifically, I'm curious how many people do various regimens and whether those different strategies have any consistent implications for A1c's and cholesterol levels.

For example, my most recent stats would be:

Type 1, Pump, Moderate carb diet (~160/day??), test around 7x/day, exercise 5 days/week: HbA1c 5.2, Blood Pressure (BP) 110/80, HDL 62, LDL 101, Triglycerides 38, LP(a) 76.

Should we add any categories (e.g. years with diabetes?)? Does anyone else share my interest in looking for patterns like Lower carbs => higher HDL. I know a lot of this information is probably in scientific studies, but I thought a Forums survey would be kind of cool. Maybe we could even look at changes over time if people find this sort of thing interesting/informative.

Thanks,
David

[David76]

To those who responded to this survey request in the Carbohydrates Poll section, THANK YOU!

For those who have viewed this thread, is it a lack of interest that has kept you from responding, or is something else holding you back?

Maybe the potential benefits are not clear. One hope in doing this is that we could keep a history of people's routines and their progress over time so that if certain dietary changes occur and then later better blood sugars occur, we can see that history.

If we could do this anonymously to a secure online database where we could keep track of our own information but no one knew whose was whose but they could still do searches on it or look at group level statistics if interested, would that interest anyone?

I think there is still a lot to be learned about diabetes, such as what the effects of frequent mild to moderate lows are (if any), and whether low carb + high fat consistently produces better lipid profiles and more stable blood sugars or whether there are consistent exceptions to these general patterns.

Anyway, any feedback about these ideas would be greatly appreciated. Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

[KLD]

I was extremely interested in your idea, David and, in fact, I think it would be very valuable. I did respond to the poll, but I haven't replied to this thread, although I wanted to. My reasons are a little complex. First, I guess I was waiting for someone else to start and nobody did. Second, I have been accused of being overly zealous on the subject of managing diabetes with a low carb diet, and I wasn't sure whether my contribution would be welcomed. If you decide to go ahead with it, I would be delighted to take part.

It doesn't matter to me in the least whether it's anonymous or not, but I think it might be a good idea to develop a questionnaire for us to respond to. That would ensure that our responses are in a similar format, making it easier to compare. We could still add our own comments if we wanted to.

Still on this subject, I am amazed that there have been so few formal studies comparing the long-term effects of different ways of controlling diabetes. There have been several very small studies which show that low carb is most effective, but those that disagree are able to argue that, because they are so small and so short-term, they are insignificant. Some of them also didn't use a full range of possibilities, e.g. one I recall compared a lower carb/low fat diet to a high carb/low fat diet. But my diet is low, not lower carb (under 50 g/day) and high fat. I would like to see a comprehensive study over a few years, including keeping track of the complications that develop among the participants over that time.

Karen

[HeatherP]

Honestly? Somedays there's just only so much detail I can assimilate and then my eyes start spinning in different directions. Sorry!

HeatherP

[stooge4444]

I definitely would.........I'm going to be having my bloodwork done soon so that I will post then............

[mg_2204]

Was thinking the same! Having all the bloodwork done soon.

[webpundit]

Well, lemme go first!

Type 1, Humalog Pen, Lantus syringe, Carb diet - none followed, test around 4x/day, exercise 0 days/week: HbA1c 8.5, Blood Pressure (BP) 100/75, HDL 60, LDL 85, Triglycerides 47.


Lemme know your research results!

P.S. Diabetic for 10 years.

[KLD]

Here are my latest numbers. We use mmol/L in Canada rather than the mg/dL used in the US, so I'll list both:

Total cholesterol: 4.7 (182)
LDL: 2.8 (108)
HDL: 1.6 (62)
Triglycerides: 0.6 (53)

HbA1C: 5.0%
Blood pressure: 113/75

Diet: low carb (fewer than 50 g per day) for over two years
Exercise: no formal exercise
Type 2 for 7 years

Karen

[David76]

Thanks all for your replies!!! I'll plan on sending out periodic summaries as information comes in, and if people think of any other data they want to include (e.g. some have added how long they've had diabetes--thanks!) that is great.
Looking forward to getting to make and share some graphs,
David

[KLD]

David, I forgot to mention that I control my blood sugar with diet only. Could you add that, please.

Karen

[Harold]

Hope your really good at doing something like this and already set up to do it, and/or have a lot of time on your hands.

Should you be adding more catagories, you bet and you have not even started. Without them what you come will not really mean anything. What other catagories? Well let's start with exercise as an example do you, don't you, aerobic, resistant, or a combination of. Probably need to add how much which may mean for how long, far, and to what intensity. Add to that BMI, AGE, LIFESTYLE(ACTIVE OR SEDENTARY), MEDICATIONS(INCLUDING DOSAGES), other DESEASES AND CONDITIONS. I'm sure there are others, but this would be a good start.

As for your CARB POLL I did not partake in it for the reason that you lumped everyone into the same amount of carbs in complete disregard to what their caloric requirements are. In short a person is restricted to the same amount of carbs if they burn a 1000 calories or 3000 calories a day.

[David76]

KLD, yep, I can add that :)

Harold, thanks for the constructive criticism and suggestions. If people could add that sort of information to their posts, that would be great. I also appreciate your point about the Carb Poll and tried to put in approximations, but I agree that those data are not as reliable as your suggestion. Percentages of carbs, protein, and fat, along with total calories will hopefully work better for this survey.

Does anyone know how to put a Microsoft Access database on the web? I've recently come across terms like .asp, but know next to nothing about this sort of thing. Anyway, any suggested resources for publishing Access databases to the web would be greatly appreciated, especially if they're geared to complete novices.

Thanks,
David