Bgs Frustration

[karen]

Yesterday late morning and early afternoon I fought lows due to a correction in the late morning and overbolusing for a salad and bread for lunch that I was not familiar with. So I did a lot of eating to fix my lows and I am also doing a lot of weight gaining with this issue that happens a lot to me.

Right now I am sitting at a 137, feel great, and not hungry. My dilema is I know I should correct a bit, but I know I might get very hungry if I do so.

My AlC last week was 6.5 and I would like it to be a bit better, but I also want to lose weight.

Just venting I guess.

Karen

[seacomp]

Right now I am sitting at a 137, feel great, and not hungry. My dilema is I know I should correct a bit, but I know I might get very hungry if I do so.

Do you know what your insulin sensitivity is? That is, How much does one unit of insulin bring down your BG?
With me, for example, one unit of insulin would bring BG down about 35 points. So if I'd correct, it would be just a single unit. I'd be fine at 100, which is my target anyway.
Things, of course, will be different with you, although most people seem to have insulin sensitivities somewhere between 25 and 50.

[psilocybin]

see for me correcting with a pen was rather difficult considering my correction factor was 1 unit for 4.7mmol...but the pump makes correcting alot easier for me

[Finn]

I know that feeling!! I hate it when I think I've gotten a good carb estimate on a new food and it doesn't work out (end up going too high or too low). When I go low I always over correct. I am trying to stop that and stick with the rule of 15 but it is hard. I can also empathize with the weight gain thing (stupid side effect of better control :mad: though I have lost weight because of cruddy control) With a BS at 137, I'd be happy, but I'd also test a few more time to make sure I wouldn't go back to being low since you were treating a low to begin with. Overall you sound like you are doing great! Your A1C is very good! :) Feel free to vent any time you need.....

[Cyborg]

I hate feeding lows with food. Not good for the waistline and can end up in overtreating the low, ultimately ping-ponging back and forth.

Finn has the right idea. Use the 15/15 rule to treat. Glucose tabs work very well, have very few calories, and are cheap. They come in different flavors. I like orange.

[stella117]

I don't see any reason to correct at 137. I wouldn't even consider correcting unless I was over 200.

How long after eating were you 137? If it was 2-3 hours after a meal, 137 is a great place to be. Before a meal it's a bit high, but nothing to be too concerned about. Keep in mind BG drops naturally between meals a bit.

And Finn is right, 6.5 is a good A1C. Maybe you're being a little too hard on yourself? I know the feeling--I do it too!

[Erin]

I agree with what has already been said... 137 is a great number, I wouldn't dream of correcting it (unless it was before a meal and I'd be taking a bolus anyway) keep in mind that humalog / novolog isn't completely out of your system until 5 hours after injection... if you bolus and you still have insulin working, of course you'll go low!

I also see no reason to want to change a hbA1c of 6.5. The powers that be recommend an A1c of less than 7. 6.5 is certainly less than 7. Keep in mind that having an a1c of 6.5 and having stable blood sugars is MUCH better for your health (not to mention your quality of life) than having an A1c of 6 that you got from bouncing from high to low to high to low again.

[Cyborg]

I've known that I've been diabetic for about 6 years. Just 1 month ago I turned in my best a1c. It was a 6.5.

That was with 1 weeks influence of my new uncalibrated pump. My prior a1c was my best ever till that point. It was 2 months earlier and it was 6.9.

I was very happy to get my 6.9 on MDI and happier to get the 6.5. I don't really think the pump had much influence as I was trying harder to get good control with MDI.

As Bobby McFerrin sings, "Don't Worry, Be Happy"! :) :dancing:

[seacomp]

The consesus here is clearly that you don't correct a 137 with an A1C of 6.5, but I have to disagree, perhaps because I am an insulin dependant T2.
I went on insulin when I could not maintain numbers much better than that without insulin - so I would want to correct from those levels.
But also, I am not in a situation where I'm eating out a lot of meals and don't know the carbs nor do I have disrupting influences that others may have; this make a big difference in what is possible for me.

[Cyborg]

The consesus here is clearly that you don't correct a 137 with an A1C of 6.5, but I have to disagree, perhaps because I am an insulin dependant T2.
I went on insulin when I could not maintain numbers much better than that without insulin - so I would want to correct from those levels.
But also, I am not in a situation where I'm eating out a lot of meals and don't know the carbs nor do I have disrupting influences that others may have; this make a big difference in what is possible for me.

I suppose it depends on when the last bolus was and what type of insulin. I would do a correction too if still on MDI if it was 3 hours past my meal bolus while on Novalog and at about 2 1/2 hours for Humalog, but I had correction values from my endo. The wierd thing is that we never did any testing, but they were pretty accurate. :hmmmm2:

[Tokyo Cate]

If you are unhappy with 137 and want to lower it a wee bit (and avoid weight gain), try going for a brisk twenty minute walk which should lower it a little bit and avoid the problem of potentially having to feed the insulin later.

I am not really one to talk, as my life has a complete lack of exercise, unless running for the train counts, but it seems like a reasonable solution if you have the time and the freedom to dash out when you want to.

[Cyborg]

If you are unhappy with 137 and want to lower it a wee bit (and avoid weight gain), try going for a brisk twenty minute walk which should lower it a little bit and avoid the problem of potentially having to feed the insulin later.

I am not really one to talk, as my life has a complete lack of exercise, unless running for the train counts, but it seems like a reasonable solution if you have the time and the freedom to dash out when you want to.

Now, with me, exercise would raise my bg in the short term, then probably lower it at night. :hmpf:

[stella117]

I find that moderate exercise like walking or yoga lowers my BG while intense has the potential to spike it. This is why I eat breakfast and bolus immediately before a cardio/weight session. I've been having great pre-lunch numbers doing this.

[kgm0612]

Karend..........your A1c was great! I would not correct for a 137. I would either do a little bit of walking or some type of light exercise, or I would just wait until my next meal to see what I test at.