Bolusing, Foods and their effects on BG...and yes I am a chicken and may be over reacting to my lows

Yes, I need to do the same for grains or pasta. I use Loop so maybe not directly applicable to you. The first 2 hours may be in range but I will almost always require additional boluses throughout the full 5 hours after initial bolus.

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Why donā€™t doctors or healthcare providers tell us this, or about pre bolus? I recall one instruction from a CDE: You must eat within 15 minutes of injection.

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I really am sorry that you havenā€™t been educated about this. My sonā€™s first endo office had 6 courses he had to complete within 12 months of diagnosis, it covered many things included advanced bolusing techniques, carb counting, sick day management, pumps, CGM usage, effects of drinking and drugs on diabetes, really all the classes were basic but ensured everyone had the bare bones knowledge required to excel at learning to manage this disease. Those classes plus our friends on FUD, made the transition so much easier than it would have been learning everything on our own.

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Thank goodness for this group!

I have learned a lot - and hope to continue to learn and be able to give back to the group :blush:.

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Exactly the same for me. I never heard about pre bolus and then, when I asked after learning of it online, my CDE told me absolutely do not prebolus. It is only after reading comments from other T1Ds that I decided to follow suit. What a difference. My a1c was in the 8s now Iā€™m in the 4s and quality of life is without comparison. It does take a lot of effort, but the point is, there really is a better way to management than just following the standard advice from a CDE.

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I have found that raisins or dates will initially bring up my BG to a ā€œsafeā€ level, but bc of the fiber, they will digest much more slowly and then spike me hours later.

I have bought stock in Glucose Tablets (I get mine at CVSā€¦their own brand tastes the best to me than any other pharmacyā€™s brand). I find that they work fast and efficiently and that within 1/2 hour I am fully restored to normal BG levels. (if I am trending downwards fast, I will need more than if I am just bending downwards) But I find that each 4gm tablet raises my BG by 20 points, so for each tablet, I kind of know what to expect (YDMV).

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Wow! A1 c in the 4s - thatā€™s amazing!! At my recent doctorā€™s visit, end of 2019, the doctor was concerned that my a1c of 6 was too low.

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I think it depends on age, I think there was a publication that in older folks a higher A1c is probably better. Could it be that publication that your doctor was referencing. Otherwise, I can not imagine someone saying a 6 was too low, unless you got to the 6 by having a large number of treated lows every day.

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I canā€™t either, but both my CDE and doctor have said A1c in 4s is too low! Not recently, thank goodness, as they can see my Loop results.

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CVS brand also make a brand WITHOUT color dyes. I get these.

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Whatā€™s loop? is it related to using a pump and CGM? I donā€™t use a pump or CGM and maybe therefore I am unfamiliar with the term loop. And congrats on an incredible A1C!
Okā€¦nevermind - I looked up the loop thread.

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Pretty simply/complicated really. Pump + CGM + loop algorithm (usually on a phone)

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Yes, Loop does require a pump and CGM, and phone, as @Chris mentioned. Loop is the algorithm that calculates the required insulin needs every 5 minutes based on the userā€™s entered settings (ISF, I:C, basal, etc.), and CGM BGs, and interfaces with the pump to manage insulin injections for both bolus and basal. It is quite remarkable. Iā€™ve been using it close to a year with OmniPod and Dexcom G6 on my iPhone SE and would hate to be without it now.

Here is the link to Loop Documentation if you want more info! LoopDocs

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@Trying thanks! How many carbs is your lunch or dinner meal? My BGā€™s would be very good, near 100, if my carbs for the meal is around 20. More than 20, the BG numbers can vary by a lot. I am curious if anyone else also experiences this. Eating a variety of food, I believe is healthy so I donā€™t want to go strictly keto or LCHF. ITā€™S about finding the suitable balance, and currently, I havenā€™t found the perfect balance of having BGā€™s near 100, ease and comfort of eating. If you or others have suggestions or recommendations, I would greatly appreciate it

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I often eat very little at lunch just because I usually go running around that time. But during a run I will have 20-40g carbs. Running really complicates the BG control, a whole other topic, see @Ericā€™s expert advice in the Wiki Exercise resources!

For dinner I will have anywhere from 30g to over 60g. When I was on MDI I had a terrible time with dinner. I would have to constantly give corrections and monitor with many finger sticks. Very difficult to get it right if you eat carbs! On Loop, Iā€™m much more flexible using the auto-bolus algorithm. For example, I will enter 45g carb for my dinner and if it is carby, I will enter absorption time of 5 hours. The auto bolus algorithm will know to distribute the estimated bolus over 5 hours. It works pretty well for me. I still monitor pretty much non-stop but it is easy with a CGM. I really recommend if you could, get a CGM and pump! I also agree with you that food variety is important, and would not want to go keto or LCHF. On MDI, I think you can use extended boluses for carbs over 20g but it is still tricky. I was never able to figure it out to my satisfaction. I instead just did lots of correction boluses.

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What is ETA?

My first question is : if you were not trending down, would you correct in the 60ā€™s, or 70ā€™s?
My second one:
Can you find cake or donut for 10 to 15 g? Iā€™m truly awful at the game: whatā€™s-the-carb-content of xxx? My guess for a donut, 30 g carbs; a slice of cake- maybe 40 g? 10-15 g carbs may be about a quarter of a 100g size bar of Valrhona dark chocolate that I buy at Trader Joeā€™s.

You know that Iā€™m much too chicken to have a large number of treated lows. The doctor made the remark around the time that I was eating reduced carbs - about 20 g carbs for lunch and dinner. The doctor wanted me to reduce my basal and wanted me to aim for an A1C of 7. Needless to say, my basal seems fine. I am contemplating increasing it only a little bit, depending on whether I want to have a small snack that I donā€™t really want to bolus.

Where do you find Beef Jerky without lots of sugar? It seems like the ones at Costco and Trader Joe have quite a bit of sugar. Sugar is listed as the first or second ingredient :-1: ; Iā€™m not crazy about that.

I live on the west coast, we have a brand here called Tillamook, they make a zero sugar version of their Beef Jerky. We also have some good luck with no sugar jerky from one of our independent meat markets.

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