I’m happy I have the g6 now it makes me more cautious about what I eat.
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I’m 66, diagnosed T2 Apr 2011. My oral meds stopped working gradually last summer and my PCM said something about Type 1.5 LADA and referred to an Endo. In Nov, Endo listened, ran tests, and immediately put me on insulin (Lantus), low C-peptide and positive GAD proved T1 and a dead/soon to be dead pancreas. BG kept going over 200 after meals and staying there, so Endo added Novolog for mealtimes. Got put on Dexcom G6 in December and its both a godsend and a curse. Great to stop the continual finger sticks (6-7 times a day), but seems all I do is check the thing. Have been “going off” because there’s absolutely no logic between what I do/eat and the result, frustration…and ending up right back in the same place. Thank God for an understanding and patient wife for putting up with me the first month and a half. Read “Bright Spots & Landmines” (still reading) and a couple of others; got me to think a bit differently (it’s just a number, what can I do to improve, can’t go to sleep and wake up to different circumstances). Still have my times. Have reduced my carb intake greatly, so minimal mealtime insulin required…for now. In reality, I’ve got it pretty good comparatively: I’m retired, have a decent pension and savings, have pretty decent insurance at minimal cost. Am concerned whether I passed this on to my daughter and grandson, time will tell, but better to have them than not. Have tried to find an all in one iPhone app that carb counts food inputs, calc’s bonus needs based on meal and current CGM, gives data to the G6, etc.; seems to require two or three apps to get things done. Any recommendations on mindset and apps are welcome.
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Welcome @TomH. Since you only got the G6 in December, I will say that using a CGM daily for years has changed my son and our view on how to use the data. With finger sticks, you check and then deal with the result by doing something. With the CGM you can try and use the trends to figure out what did your correctly and what you can improve on. By dealing with the causes, you can get better pretty quickly. If you constantly chase the trend lines, it doesn’t work so well.
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Hi, I just joined and am looking for encouragement and pointers to share as a insulin pump user.
I’ve been on the pump many years now and have seen some good improvements with the technology.
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3 posts were split to a new topic: Medtronic 670G and CGM - Looking for pump pointers
Hi Tom - I’m an occasional visitor here and am a 60 y.o. male that was diagnosed with T1 about 10 years ago. Now I use Dexcom hooked up to a Tandem pump with something called “Control-IQ” - it’s a semi automatic setup where the algorithm will provide dosing to help manage your glucose.
You sound like someone who takes an active role in managing your diabetes, which is similar to me. Like @chris, I value the trends that Dexcom gives me. I also don’t like being given too many alarms, and you can adjust those in the app if you want to get rid of some.
I’ve played around in the past with some of the apps out there, but the cost / benefit doesn’t usually work out for me. I stick with the Dexcom and Tandem apps, which I have to use to use their devices. I no longer count carbs but do adjust my insulin based on what I’m eating - just not too precisely.
To me, the thing I would find most frustrating if I were in your position is this part:
It is an incredibly complex system, and I recognize that it’s sometimes difficult to connect the inputs with blood sugar level.
A couple of things that are important that I didn’t hear in your posting that you might want to consider when you are thinking about how best to manage your insulin:
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Exercise - If you think of Diabetes management as having three tools - medicine, diet, and exercise, I feel that many times exercise is the most important. I think (without much evidence) that exercise can turbocharge the effects of fast-acting insulins like Novolog or Humalog. It also gives you more control. If you want, it is very easy these days to track your exercise calories using Fitbit or Apple Watch. I do do that and try to hit a certain amount of calories each day.
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Do you have trouble with lows as well as variability? Didn’t hear too much about those.
One of the goals of training in diabetes management is to give you some intuition for how you can manage the disease. So I can understand how frustrating it might be to not have that work. And of course if you don’t have a reliable model it’s hard to manage your blood sugar.
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3 posts were split to a new topic: Dexcom and Exercise Questions
Hi, I’m Sami. I grew up in central indiana but currently live in Los Angeles. I was diagnosed at age 12 and, I’ll admit, have always had a dismissive attitude towards diabetes. It seemed to me everyone who had diabetes made it a whole personality trait, and I didn’t want people to see me as the diabetic girl, I wanted them to see Sami. Because of that, I’ve spent years battling mental illness that has affected my blood sugars and overall health. I’ve only recently come to accept my diagnoses and know that it’s not all of who I am, but it is a part of my life. I started using an insulin pump about three years ago and am currently transitioning to an omniPod, which has been harder than I thought it would be.
I’ve come here seeking understanding, tips and tricks, and help managing this disease without judgment.
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Welcome to the site! Definitely no judgement here. We all have our trials and tribulations with this disease. I received so much help from others on this site whether from readings others’ questions or postings of my own. I hope you are able to get OmniPod to work for you but everyone has their own tricks nd some may work for you, too.
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Welcome @samihunter95, we don’t judge but if you are game we do poke fun at each other from time to time. Life is too short to always be serious, but, diabetes is certainly not the only thing we want to know about you. It is just something to be managed so you can post seriously awesome pics on our threads. On a side note, my son is now living in central Indiana (West Lafayette) trying to become an engineer.
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Welcome…I am new her and also to Omnipod…be patient with it and I think you will love it. Took me a bit but it is very freeing not to have the tubes. I too was not the best at managing my sugars but now
I consider it a game and it has helped. Check out Sugar Surfing, I found it very helpful.
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Haha I’m definitely don’t mind sarcasm and jokes! Judgement more like being able to express having high blood sugars without feeling shame. My latest endocrinologist specifically told me she will never judge me for a blood sugar and knows I’m a good person, which I really, really appreciated.
But as far as jokes go, I’m completely okay with that 
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No judgement here. Many of our members have been told they are bad diabetics at times. This is truly unacceptable. But we do make fun now and again. Here is a good thread to show that:
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Hi Sami.
i hear you and handled my diabetes as tho it wasn’t an issue. I was made to feel inferior, my mom raging at my dad it was his fault as the gene came from his side of the family… and then she being a squeamish person couldn’t handle what it takes to be a parent of a diabetic child. I was 14. I think the T1D had been with me for a while and they just didn’t do anything about it for a long time. So, yeah I learned that to be seen as normal to hide or handle it myself. The first little while getting used to insulin, the lows were terrifying and that was the only time I ever asked for help… but even that I learned to handle, by myself. So what I mainly want to ask if I may are these mental health issues that came into play for you. What sort of issues are you having and are you in therapy/does it help bc the things I was helped to realize during a yoga teacher training in which we also did psychological interaction, I saw the issues that had played a part in how I developed mentally. Hiding my feelings is still a normal thing for me. Having been told for decades now that I Am too sensitive it seems the only option. Peace and Light to you in your journey.
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Hello Folks, I am happy to have found this site and look forward to learning and contributing .
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Welcome @Diabrues, we are happy you are hear and would love to know more about you and your journey.
hi everyone, Ive just found this site. My name is Deborah and Ive been diabetic for13 years, diagnosed during first pregnancy aged 33. Now have 3 children and have found managing diabetes really difficult for a good part of this time. . . . Ive been using the medtronic 780g for one week and I know it’s very early days but I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Seeing my sugars in range is the best feeling! I am looking forward to connecting and being able to share experiences with people who understand.
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Well Deborah you certainly found the right place. Also glad that the Medtronic system and sensors are working for you. As you will find shortly, the Medtronic system isn’t a favorite one by most of our members, if it is working for you, Fantastic! That is all that matters. Welcome to FUD! If you ever get to the point where the work of keeping those sensors going gets to you, there are systems out there that require much less fiddling and can still take that weight off your shoulders. Anything is better than staying uncontrolled or really struggling to manage things. With all that being said, we do have members that are using the 780g and others that used the prior version. Almost all of the frustration revolves around sensor issues that throw you out of Auto mode.
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I think the latest sensors from Medtronics are getting close to dexcom, but many folks like me only know how bad the older Medtronics ones were (sof-sensors in 1990s, and early guardians ). Its good we have choices and competition.
Years ago diabetics were discouraged from having kids, and great to hear you were able to do so after diagnosis.
Welcome!!
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Thanks Chris. I’ve used medtronic pumps before and have definitely experienced sensor issues previously. But mainly I have struggled with anxiety over going low whilst taking care of my children, which led me to purposely stay too high to avoid this situation. Then when I try to take more control, I end up on a low/high rollercoaster which completely wears me out mentally. Ive really struggled to make diabetes fit in my life/my life fit around diabetes, bascially find a balance. Anyway! so far, I’m feeling more positive than I have for a very long time so I’m hoping to build on this and hopefully find some advice on managing this 780g.
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