[Diabetes] General Chat and Support Thread

gctest50

https://diabetessociety.com.au/documents/HbA1cConversionTable.pdf

Alanstrainor

Got my hba1c yesterday and I'm quite happy with a 7.2. I was also told that I've been below 7.5 for the last 3 years running, which I'm proud of. I do wonder what it would take for me to get down to 6.5, I'm thinking a low carb diet to have any chance. However I'm very physically active and feel I need carbs to keep my sugars in check!

cocker5

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Got my hba1c yesterday and I'm quite happy with a 7.2. I was also told that I've been below 7.5 for the last 3 years running, which I'm proud of. I do wonder what it would take for me to get down to 6.5, I'm thinking a low carb diet to have any chance. However I'm very physically active and feel I need carbs to keep my sugars in check!

My husband is 6.1 - he puts its ll down to using the pump and CGM... 7.2 is still excellent!!

calfmuscle

My hba1c is always about 7.5-8.2. I'v had it for twenty years. My retina screen has come back with retinopathy and it's depressing the hell out of me. Really being diabetes at the min.

Aeternum

Got my HBa1C down from just over 10% at the start of March to 7.7% two weeks ago. Delighted and thought I was heading in the right direction but yesterday the endo has asked me to run my bloods a bit on the high side (fasting BS of 8-9 and post meal of 9-10) for 8 weeks to try and re establish hypo awareness as I've stopped being able to recognise when I'm having one. A bit gutted as I know it's going to cause the hba1c to rise again after all the hard work I've put in. Has anyone else ever been asked to do this? I haven't come across it before but doctors must know best!:)

Also found out my hospital has started running the DAFNE course so I'm doing it in July!

gctest50

might be a bit of info here :

http://hypoglycemia.uk

CathyMoran

Aeternum wrote: »

Got my HBa1C down from just over 10% at the start of March to 7.7% two weeks ago. Delighted and thought I was heading in the right direction but yesterday the endo has asked me to run my bloods a bit on the high side (fasting BS of 8-9 and post meal of 9-10) for 8 weeks to try and re establish hypo awareness as I've stopped being able to recognise when I'm having one. A bit gutted as I know it's going to cause the hba1c to rise again after all the hard work I've put in. Has anyone else ever been asked to do this? I haven't come across it before but doctors must know best!:)

Also found out my hospital has started running the DAFNE course so I'm doing it in July!

Mine was 5.2 in old money and my consultant wants me to run it at 6.0 - I have a few hypos a day, not helped by gastrointestinal cancer surgery over 9 years ago. I also have variations due to the fact that I may be per-menopausal and am under a lot of stress at the moment.

uli84

calfmuscle wrote: »

My hba1c is always about 7.5-8.2. I'v had it for twenty years. My retina screen has come back with retinopathy and it's depressing the hell out of me. Really being diabetes at the min.

Yeh, it does seem to be kicking in after 20 years...got my 20 "anniversary" myself this year and my retina got the initial stages of damage too /

uli84

I think freestyle libre will be better/more reliable than CGM pumps but lets see

CathyMoran

uli84 wrote: »

I think freestyle libre will be better/more reliable than CGM pumps but lets see

My fear is of being allergic to it - I was allergic to porcine insulin and have been taking antihistamines for various allergies ever since.

Alanstrainor

uli84 wrote: »

I think freestyle libre will be better/more reliable than CGM pumps but lets see

I'm looking forward to this becoming available through the HSE. Vincents private say that they are looking into it at present, but as yet haven't gotten approval for it. My consultant reckons that it would be a cost saving device in the long term. Fingers crossed it becomes available at some point this year!

CathyMoran

Alanstrainor wrote: »

I'm looking forward to this becoming available through the HSE. Vincents private say that they are looking into it at present, but as yet haven't gotten approval for it. My consultant reckons that it would be a cost saving device in the long term. Fingers crossed it becomes available at some point this year!

We probably go to the same consultant...I do have worries about being allergic to it - I am on some forums getting used to how other users are getting used to it in the UK. It would be great for night time as it would mean not having to wake up my spouse if I need to check my blood sugars and would be great for exercise as well but I wish that it had an alarm for low blood sugars...will see in any case - I have a One Touch Ultrasmart meter that I have used for years that has been great for me.

cocker5

uli84 wrote: »

I think freestyle libre will be better/more reliable than CGM pumps but lets see

Dunno about that..... i've done a good bit a research on both and with the Libre it only reads your bloods when you "scan" over the little pod thing..

it doesn't read them continuously (unless i read it wrong) whereas the Dexcom send signals every few minutes plus has alarms for when going high / low... they both read / test the exact same fluid so cant see it being more reliable. My OH finds the Dexcom excellent and very accurate.

It depends on what you want from it i suppose.. if its just a pain free way of reading blood then maybe but with regard to monitoring and keeping bloods low / normal level cant see how this will match up to the CGM to be honest etc.

Buford T. Justice XIX

cocker5 wrote: »

Dunno about that..... i've done a good bit a research on both and with the Libre it only reads your bloods when you "scan" over the little pod thing..

it doesn't read them continuously (unless i read it wrong) whereas the Dexcom send signals every few minutes plus has alarms for when going high / low... they both read / test the exact same fluid so cant see it being more reliable. My OH finds the Dexcom excellent and very accurate.

It depends on what you want from it i suppose.. if its just a pain free way of reading blood then maybe but with regard to monitoring and keeping bloods low / normal level cant see how this will match up to the CGM to be honest etc.

I imagine it will be a lower cost and possibly more available than CGMs. The stopping of routing blood testing would suit many, including me, where I can just reach for the scanner and get reading while I'm working or my OH can do a quick scan while I'm driving and see the levels and direction they are going and I can take whatever corrective action is needed.

CGMs are the dogs dangly bits but this could bring a lot of people further along the road of better control. I test 8-10 times a day and my fingers are in bits, tbh.

cocker5

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

I imagine it will be a lower cost and possibly more available than CGMs. The stopping of routing blood testing would suit many, including me, where I can just reach for the scanner and get reading while I'm working or my OH can do a quick scan while I'm driving and see the levels and direction they are going and I can take whatever corrective action is needed.

CGMs are the dogs dangly bits but this could bring a lot of people further along the road of better control. I test 8-10 times a day and my fingers are in bits, tbh.

Ok but this is still NOT testing the blood its in fluid in between the muscle so it will be out by around 10-20% (same for the CGM some of the time) so you will be still testing 10 times a day...

The CGM Dexcom is now available on the LTI card and my OH got it straight away not waiting once it was approved... My OH while uses the Dexcom (and would be lost without it) still ends up testing 8-10 times a day... but with the Dexcom with its alarms etc it gives him excellent control of his bloods and a huge amount of freedom.

As they test the same fluid (not blood) and a T1 will need to to finger prick in order to get an accruate result i just dont see the need for them if im honest.. I would be pushing for the CGM from the HSE etc.. thats just me.

gctest50

Even though they (cgm) is sipping interstitial fluid, tis scary accurate most of the time

The most useful bit is the rate-of-falling alarm and low alarm ( you can catch hypos before they happen )

If you use an iphone as the reciever someone else can watch it on another phone across the internet ( useful for kids etc)

Dick Dastardly

gctest50 wrote: »

Even though they (cgm) is sipping interstitial fluid, tis scary accurate most of the time

The most useful bit is the rate-of-falling alarm and low alarm ( you can catch hypos before they happen )

If you use an iphone as the reciever someone else can watch it on another phone across the internet ( useful for kids etc)

Is there a way to connect a Medtronic cgms to an Iphone pls?

I agree the most useful benefit is the trend detail it gives for highs and lows and allowing early intervention / remediation. Bear in mind with a cgms it still needs to be calibrated to a blood test around 4 times a day so whether cgms or freestyle it's not the end of fingertips that look like teabags....

gctest50

yip

http://www.medtronicdiabetes.com/products/minimed-connect


MiniMed Connect links your MiniMed system to an app on your iPhone® or iPod touch®, making it easy to see your pump and glucose details.

usual horsecrap :

"It’s part of our plan to become a holistic diabetes management company," Annette Brüls, President of the Diabetes Service and Solutions business at Medtronic, told MobiHealthNews.

more like they are sh****g bricks because Bigfoot have bought Asante ( snap pumps) :

http://www.bigfootbiomedical.com/



.

uli84

Hate all those wires that come with the "artificial pancreas" but looking forward to the developments

rm212

cocker5 wrote: »

Ok but this is still NOT testing the blood its in fluid in between the muscle so it will be out by around 10-20% (same for the CGM some of the time) so you will be still testing 10 times a day...

The CGM Dexcom is now available on the LTI card and my OH got it straight away not waiting once it was approved... My OH while uses the Dexcom (and would be lost without it) still ends up testing 8-10 times a day... but with the Dexcom with its alarms etc it gives him excellent control of his bloods and a huge amount of freedom.

As they test the same fluid (not blood) and a T1 will need to to finger prick in order to get an accruate result i just dont see the need for them if im honest.. I would be pushing for the CGM from the HSE etc.. thats just me.

Hang on... so, we are able to apply for Dexcom CGMs on the LTI scheme? (is it the Dexcom G4?) I wasn't aware of this, I'll have to ask the consultant in a few weeks if I can apply to get one. I find myself a bit obsessive with glucose checking, I like to have very tight control on my sugars all the time. So, if I only had to test my sugars via my glucose monitor 3-4 times a day and could get a CGM, it would make life much easier. Especially when I'm on the go during the day in college and it is awkward for me to get out my strips and do a test! I really hope I can get one approved

uli84

I had a go with that new Medtronic pump and found the CGM feature and suspend function terrible

C-Shore

cocker5 wrote: »

Ok but this is still NOT testing the blood its in fluid in between the muscle so it will be out by around 10-20% (same for the CGM some of the time) so you will be still testing 10 times a day...

The CGM Dexcom is now available on the LTI card and my OH got it straight away not waiting once it was approved... My OH while uses the Dexcom (and would be lost without it) still ends up testing 8-10 times a day... but with the Dexcom with its alarms etc it gives him excellent control of his bloods and a huge amount of freedom.

As they test the same fluid (not blood) and a T1 will need to to finger prick in order to get an accruate result i just dont see the need for them if im honest.. I would be pushing for the CGM from the HSE etc.. thats just me.

What? When did it become available on LTI?

Does that mean a GP can now add that to my script?

CramCycle

C-Shore wrote: »

What? When did it become available on LTI?

Does that mean a GP can now add that to my script?

I presume the machine itself must still be signed off on by a consultant. I am still going to ask my GP to put it down and see does it slip through the cracks.

Are Libre patches covered by LTI?

Dick Dastardly

uli84 wrote: »

I had a go with that new Medtronic pump and found the CGM feature and suspend function terrible

Add your reply here.
Any particular reasons uli84? I find the cgms is great particularly when exercising or when life's a bit more unexpected. I had trouble with the suspend feature at the start but once I got my head around the delay between insulin delivery and function it worked fine. Horses for courses I guess....

uli84

I suppose it's just the beginnings are tough, my issue was with calibrations and the fact it was quite inaccurate a lot of the time.
As for the suspend-it never prevented from the low happening, I think I was too optimistic thinking it would. Could be it was just set up wrong

rm212

cocker5 wrote: »

Ok but this is still NOT testing the blood its in fluid in between the muscle so it will be out by around 10-20% (same for the CGM some of the time) so you will be still testing 10 times a day...

The CGM Dexcom is now available on the LTI card and my OH got it straight away not waiting once it was approved... My OH while uses the Dexcom (and would be lost without it) still ends up testing 8-10 times a day... but with the Dexcom with its alarms etc it gives him excellent control of his bloods and a huge amount of freedom.

As they test the same fluid (not blood) and a T1 will need to to finger prick in order to get an accruate result i just dont see the need for them if im honest.. I would be pushing for the CGM from the HSE etc.. thats just me.

I asked the nurse while I was getting bloods done this morning and she said it wasn't available on LTI I wish there was a clearer way to find out devices that you can get on LTI.

What process did your OH go through to get it, if you don't mind me asking? How did he start the application and who had to sign off on it?

rm212

rm212 wrote: »

I asked the nurse while I was getting bloods done this morning and she said it wasn't available on LTI I wish there was a clearer way to find out devices that you can get on LTI.

What process did your OH go through to get it, if you don't mind me asking? How did he start the application and who had to sign off on it?

Actually... is it the Dexcom G5 (the one that doesn't actually need a receiver, you need the transmitter that lasts 3 months and packs of sensors)? Then this would probably be considered a prescription medication with no upfront "lump" cost for equipment.

CramCycle

rm212 wrote: »

Actually... is it the Dexcom G5 (the one that doesn't actually need a receiver, you need the transmitter that lasts 3 months and packs of sensors)? Then this would probably be considered a prescription medication with no upfront "lump" cost for equipment.

Still a grand sterling for the starter pack so I would be surprised if it did not require the sign off from a consultant.

rm212

CramCycle wrote: »

Still a grand sterling for the starter pack so I would be surprised if it did not require the sign off from a consultant.

What is the starter pack? Don't you just need the disposable transmitter (every 3 months) and the disposable sensors?

CramCycle

rm212 wrote: »

What is the starter pack? Don't you just need the disposable transmitter (every 3 months) and the disposable sensors?

Prices here: http://www.advancedtherapeuticsuk.com/product-category/dexcom-g5%C2%AE-product-catalogue
hopefully the HSE would have gotten better prices but you never know.