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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU as a Type 1 Diabetic, to be baffled the seemingly sudden influx of non diabetics using CGM's...?

277 replies

OSAP · 24/02/2024 19:17

If your pancreas works, you don't need one.

Blood glucose isn't exclusively influenced by the food you eat so 'personalised nutrition plans' 'metabolic trackers' etc etc are a, usually expensive, gimmick.

Nobody seemed too fussed about their 'blood glucose' when it involved finger pricks, but the Freestyle Libre now seems to have become a must have accessory for the 'worried well' who now seem to need to know what their blood sugar is doing, all while not really understanding what most of it means.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
7
irishapple · 04/03/2024 13:23

Blood sugar fluctuations can make you feel terrible as you know. So seeing it as a direct result of the food I was eating was really helpful for me to properly understand why I felt so bad at the same time each day.

bruffin · 04/03/2024 13:57

Its so much more than food,its to with the exercise that you take after eating, the tempetature outside.
This is just another fad for the hypochondriacs, if you feel bad after food youve eaten too much and need to go for a walk , not use a medical device for people whose body is genuinely not able to handle food correctly.

irishapple · 04/03/2024 14:22

I don't over eat and I exercise regularly. But on a weekday after my usually breakfast I crash and feel terrible. I thought it was just something that happened to me - but turns out I was able to see the reason why which means so much more to me.

I'm not disregarding what it's like to be T1D - I can never imagine. But to say that others categorically can not and should not find a use for a CGM is just untrue!

For what it's worth, I'm a medic and got a free sample from a rep. I used it for two weeks. And found it really insightful.

thing47 · 04/03/2024 14:56

Blood sugar fluctuations are normal, though, that's the point. Everyone has blood sugar fluctuations. The difference is that non-diabetics will find their body naturally adjusting their levels over the next couple of hours; diabetics can't do that so they have to take steps to do it artificially.

It's commonsense to make changes to your diet if your current one is making you feel bad, no one is knocking you for that. You do not need a Libre to tell you to do that.

Original poster
OSAP · 04/03/2024 16:01

What @thing47 said! Particularly the last bit.

OP posts:
irishapple · 04/03/2024 16:07

I actually did need the libre to tell me that - hence why I'm saying I found it so useful! I didn't make the link between what I was eating for breakfast and me feeling rubbish an hour or so later, as my breakfast was "healthy".

shearwater2 · 04/03/2024 16:13

Even as a non-diabetic, can't you just tell what foods are giving you a sugar rush just by feeling how your body reacts? I can.

Also so what if a banana makes your blood sugar go up? Bloody useful if you need some energy.

irishapple · 04/03/2024 16:18

Yes - I can tell when I've had too much sugar or when a banana is giving me energy. That's fine. I was explaining previously how I had a two week free trial of a libre from a rep and I found it really insightful - why do people have a problem with that?!

I didn't make any reference to other users of Libres, I didn't say anything out of line re my own interpretation of what the sensor told me, I didn't say non-diabetics should wear them - I just said I found it useful!

thing47 · 04/03/2024 16:21

I can't comment on your specific diet @irishapple without knowing what you had for breakfast previously and what you have now.

But as a general point, if you were always eating the same thing for breakfast and always feeling the same (bad) way the same amount of time later, but you couldn't make the connection between those two… not sure what to say to that, frankly.

irishapple · 04/03/2024 16:36

Why so rude?! I'm explaining why I found it useful so you can perhaps see another point of view.

drspouse · 04/03/2024 16:58

irishapple · 04/03/2024 16:36

Why so rude?! I'm explaining why I found it useful so you can perhaps see another point of view.

And we, as T1 and family members of T1s, are explaining why you are a) being extremely irritating and deluded and b) possibly damaging your mental health by getting worried about things your body is designed to do.

thing47 · 04/03/2024 17:10

From @OSAP : Nobody seemed too fussed about their 'blood glucose' when it involved finger pricks, but the Freestyle Libre now seems to have become a must have accessory for the 'worried well' who now seem to need to know what their blood sugar is doing, all while not really understanding what most of it means.

You could have monitored your blood sugars years ago if you'd have really wanted to or were genuinely concerned about the possibility of diabetes. Oh but wait, in those days it involved the rather more tiresome and painful process of finger prick tests many times a day, plus remembering to carry said tester with you at all hours of the day and night and setting alarms/waking your DCs up in the middle of the night so you could track what their blood sugars were doing over the course of a 24-hour period or whatever.

Now there is a new way of doing it via a faddy, easy piece of stick-on tech and suddenly it's vitally important to people's health that they monitor their blood sugars? Well, no it bloody well isn't important if they're not diabetic, because their bodies will sort it out for them.

x2boys · 04/03/2024 17:22

irishapple · 04/03/2024 16:07

I actually did need the libre to tell me that - hence why I'm saying I found it so useful! I didn't make the link between what I was eating for breakfast and me feeling rubbish an hour or so later, as my breakfast was "healthy".

Surely if you had something for breakfast that consistently made you feel rubbish ,you just wouldn't eat it ?
I like curry but recently it's been making me feel bloated and giving me indigestion I don't need a device to tell me that
My diabetic son has a Dexcom as his blood sugars can fluctuate wildly

irishapple · 04/03/2024 17:26

@drspouse I'm not worried in the slightest. I just had the opportunity to wear one, I did, and I found out some interesting things about how certain foods make me feel soon after eating them that is directly related to a blood sugar crash. I don't understand the issue?! My sensor couldn't have gone to anyone in need as it was a sample from a rep and I'm not being disrespectful to anyone by using it and acting upon what I saw.

irishapple · 04/03/2024 17:28

@x2boys convenience... not taking care of myself and listening to my body... stuck in a rut... working too much and just reaching for the same thing each time as it's easy... not making the link between how I was feeling and blood sugar crash...

Allfur · 04/03/2024 17:38

Surely it's a good thing if people are interested in their health over all, if it doesn't affect you, what's the problem ?

bruffin · 04/03/2024 17:54

Allfur · 04/03/2024 17:38

Surely it's a good thing if people are interested in their health over all, if it doesn't affect you, what's the problem ?

Because it leads to misunderstanding of the disease and it makes people think they are ill when they are not.
It will lead to a shortage of the devices , which means diabetics who really need them cant get hold of them. There is already a shortage of drugs like semi glutides because its prescribed for weight loss. I saw a programme on australia where online clinics have opened to solely prescribe ozempic for weight loss

Hellogoodbyehello4321 · 04/03/2024 18:04

@irishapple haha yes we do know that blood sugar fluctuations make us feel terrible. Try going up to 20 and then an hour later coming down to 6, then you ll really know what feeling awful feels like.

I do not for one second think educating yourself about how to eat better is a bad thing nor do I think its a bad thing if that education includes learning more about carbohydrates and how they work in your body.

But none of your posts have explained why you need a CGM to do that. Anyone with half an understanding of carbs could tell you a banana would cause some kind of increase in your blood sugar because it contains carbohydrates. Any book or Internet resource would tell you that pairing it with fat and protein would slow down that increase.

You don't need to waste your money on CGMs nor convince yourself you can't eat certain foods unless you are having serious spikes or finding that your BS doesn't come down after 2 hours.

If you are worried about T2 diabetes then a HBA1C blood test through your GP would be a much better measure as that is how diabetes is diagnosed. Or you could use a finger prick although no one wants to use those as they are not as gimmicky.

If certain foods make you feel shit, then don't eat them - you don't need a CGM to tell you that. The 'spiking' tells you nothing if you have a functioning pancreas. I posted before that my DH has on occasions ended up at 10mmol after a heavy carbohydrate meal (on my finger prick) and yet he is nowhere near diabetic.

What you think you are learning about your body isn't what you think you are learning unless you have the context to understand it. The T1s on this thread have years of experience of blood sugar management, some of their knowledge will be almost expert because we have to be - if you are a diabetic administering insulin you need to be switched on all the time and really understand how bs reacts to everything. And we are telling you that you are wasting your money and have fallen for a gimmick and you could learn far more by reading a book if you genuinely want to learn about blood sugar which is far more complicated than just what you eat.

But it's your money so waste it if you wish. But in your shoes I'd eat sensibly and enjoy my functioning pancreas.

irishapple · 04/03/2024 18:08

@Hellogoodbyehello4321 if you would read my post you'd know I got a free sample from a rep. And I wasn't talking about how high my sugars went - it was the crash and hour or so later to below 3.8.

I shall repeat - I found it insightful and if anything I understand more now how my patients feel when wearing them - the discomfort etc.

Hellogoodbyehello4321 · 04/03/2024 18:24

@irishapple I was talking more a general 'you' but can see you got yours on a free trial yes. In which case of course you're not wrong to try a free trial and I'm glad you found it of benefit but most people using CGMs aren't using them on free trials and also I stand by my point that you shouldn't have needed a CGM to tell you to switch your breakfast.

Your post has also highlighted to me one of my biggest concerns with non diabetics wearing sensors and that's the language non diabetics are using.

We have already talked a lot about spikes not being actual diabetic spikes, but less so about 'crashes'.

I think this language completely minimises what diabetics go through but far worse than that, it could lead to dangerous ramifications for those of us on insulin. You call a crash less than 3.8 however in actual fact you are perfectly safe because a) your body will correct and b) even as a diabetic you wouldn't be in danger at that point - DAFNE teaches you wouldn't need fast acting carbs till 3.5.

So again you may feel like shit but it's nothing compared to what diabetics experience and every time you tell people you 'crashed' and normalise that as a non diabetic, you risk that person not knowing that a diabetics crash may not correct itself and can actually lead to serious consequences.

Oh and as a medical professional if you actually think the discomfort of wearing a sensor is what any insulin dependent person thinks is even in the top 20 of their concerns as a diabetic, you need to be better.

Starting with not telling a thread full of diabetics you never had a concern about your blood sugar to use finger pricks because of convenience. As someone who has finger pricked 10 times a day for years, that is so unbelievably offensive. Oh and I also have to hold down a job as do most diabetics- but we dont decide we are too busy to finger prick. Well not until CGMs were brought in and some of us are quite rightly anxious about this wide spread use causing supply issues or making us feel isolated or our conditions misunderstood.

If you have T1 patients you should understand that. My consultant absolutely does because he sees how hard it is to be T1 despite not being one himself.

banananas1999 · 04/03/2024 18:44

Libre is rubbish,wild numbers , Decxom g7 is pretty much spot on with fingerprixk results

how is people taking interest in their heal tbh a bad thing, great of people find out if there are foods that cause high readings maybe some people even find they have diabetes before they end up in a and e and get diagnosed there

banananas1999 · 04/03/2024 18:49

Hellogoodbyehello4321 · 04/03/2024 18:04

@irishapple haha yes we do know that blood sugar fluctuations make us feel terrible. Try going up to 20 and then an hour later coming down to 6, then you ll really know what feeling awful feels like.

I do not for one second think educating yourself about how to eat better is a bad thing nor do I think its a bad thing if that education includes learning more about carbohydrates and how they work in your body.

But none of your posts have explained why you need a CGM to do that. Anyone with half an understanding of carbs could tell you a banana would cause some kind of increase in your blood sugar because it contains carbohydrates. Any book or Internet resource would tell you that pairing it with fat and protein would slow down that increase.

You don't need to waste your money on CGMs nor convince yourself you can't eat certain foods unless you are having serious spikes or finding that your BS doesn't come down after 2 hours.

If you are worried about T2 diabetes then a HBA1C blood test through your GP would be a much better measure as that is how diabetes is diagnosed. Or you could use a finger prick although no one wants to use those as they are not as gimmicky.

If certain foods make you feel shit, then don't eat them - you don't need a CGM to tell you that. The 'spiking' tells you nothing if you have a functioning pancreas. I posted before that my DH has on occasions ended up at 10mmol after a heavy carbohydrate meal (on my finger prick) and yet he is nowhere near diabetic.

What you think you are learning about your body isn't what you think you are learning unless you have the context to understand it. The T1s on this thread have years of experience of blood sugar management, some of their knowledge will be almost expert because we have to be - if you are a diabetic administering insulin you need to be switched on all the time and really understand how bs reacts to everything. And we are telling you that you are wasting your money and have fallen for a gimmick and you could learn far more by reading a book if you genuinely want to learn about blood sugar which is far more complicated than just what you eat.

But it's your money so waste it if you wish. But in your shoes I'd eat sensibly and enjoy my functioning pancreas.

Hbac1 is pointless in some cases like mine, i was already on strict keto/fasting non processed food diet,hbac1 is great 5.7,no diabetes right? Wrong, got diagnosed by glucose tolerance test and quitting my “diet” for a week

banananas1999 · 04/03/2024 18:51

Hellogoodbyehello4321 · 04/03/2024 18:24

@irishapple I was talking more a general 'you' but can see you got yours on a free trial yes. In which case of course you're not wrong to try a free trial and I'm glad you found it of benefit but most people using CGMs aren't using them on free trials and also I stand by my point that you shouldn't have needed a CGM to tell you to switch your breakfast.

Your post has also highlighted to me one of my biggest concerns with non diabetics wearing sensors and that's the language non diabetics are using.

We have already talked a lot about spikes not being actual diabetic spikes, but less so about 'crashes'.

I think this language completely minimises what diabetics go through but far worse than that, it could lead to dangerous ramifications for those of us on insulin. You call a crash less than 3.8 however in actual fact you are perfectly safe because a) your body will correct and b) even as a diabetic you wouldn't be in danger at that point - DAFNE teaches you wouldn't need fast acting carbs till 3.5.

So again you may feel like shit but it's nothing compared to what diabetics experience and every time you tell people you 'crashed' and normalise that as a non diabetic, you risk that person not knowing that a diabetics crash may not correct itself and can actually lead to serious consequences.

Oh and as a medical professional if you actually think the discomfort of wearing a sensor is what any insulin dependent person thinks is even in the top 20 of their concerns as a diabetic, you need to be better.

Starting with not telling a thread full of diabetics you never had a concern about your blood sugar to use finger pricks because of convenience. As someone who has finger pricked 10 times a day for years, that is so unbelievably offensive. Oh and I also have to hold down a job as do most diabetics- but we dont decide we are too busy to finger prick. Well not until CGMs were brought in and some of us are quite rightly anxious about this wide spread use causing supply issues or making us feel isolated or our conditions misunderstood.

If you have T1 patients you should understand that. My consultant absolutely does because he sees how hard it is to be T1 despite not being one himself.

Edited

I think everyone agrees t1 diabetes sucks,but to rage about people wanting to be healthier and some for sure will find out they are prediabetic or t2/lada eitg the sensors,how this can be a bad thing?

irishapple · 04/03/2024 18:55

@Hellogoodbyehello4321 I'm hoping the rudeness in your post is just your anger at something other than me. Luckily I know not to take any of it to heart, but others may not and you should consider how you speak to people.

irishapple · 04/03/2024 18:56

Also, never once did I mention that I was unsafe when my blood sugar rose and dipped quickly - just that it made me feel shaky. No need to read any more into that.