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

[OSAP]

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.

Thank you both for replying to that last post.

I was slightly concerned it might be read as a dig, which despite my personal views, it wasn’t meant as one!

Obviously Zoe isn’t the only thing around, there is also Lingo and Nutrisense and Prolonggevity for starters.

It was a general health improvement thing. I'd put the fatigue down to age (the doctor wasn't able to find a cause, but of course they weren't checking for sugar spikes) I think you get less tolerant of sugar as you get older, and need to adjust your diet. I'm not leaping about spring-chicken fashion, but I'm loads better than I was.

I'm interested to know what you're classing as a spike though, what did the number go up and down to? Everything you've said is a normal insulin response to the food you were eating, fat slows down the glucose absorption, high GI foods eaten alone will cause a fast upwards trend.

Don't always trust the number when BG is changing rapidly either, the libre is less reliable at either end of the spectrum and will often read as hypo/hyper then correct itself and show as having levelled out.

@Hellogoodbyehello4321 I do live with someone with diabetes. We work to find out what cause's spikes in blood sugar together to try to A) reduce relying on insulin and B) reduce the burden on the NHS. Type 2 is as real as Type 1. Please educate yourself.
Any illness is as “special” as any other and all tools to help mitigate illness are as valid for one person as another!
Get over yourself!

@OSAP have you considered switching to the Dexcom G7 rather than the Libre if you’re having problems with it? We tried DS with the Libre and G6 on opposite arms after he was first diagnosed T1 and the G6 was much more accurate and easier to use than the Libre. We upgraded to the G7 as soon as it came out last year and that’s even better - 30 mins to initialise and calibration is rarely needed as reading is normally correct straightaway. Signal loss is extremely rare as well. TBH I don’t understand why anyone would use the Libre over the Dexcom unless it’s necessary for the pump they’re using.

I think DS as a T1 child is extremely special actually @Anyotherdude . A 12-13 year old having to give himself up to 10 injections a day. Can’t eat anything without carb counting. Can’t raid the fridge after school without weighing stuff. Constantly fighting lows and highs all day while going through puberty. The effect on mental health of constantly checking his readings staying just to stay alive.

I don’t think many T2s have to deal with that do they? Can’t T2 be massively improved and even reversed through lifestyle changes? T1 can’t and DS would much rather take a tablet than do injections!

@RamblingAroundTheInternet I have libre 2 as it’s all I can get funded on the NHS. Can’t afford to self fund anything. I do however use third party apps so I can calibrate and have continuous readings linked to my watch etc. I think prefer it to dexcom as it lasts longer and I hate the dexcom alarms. If I couldn’t calibrate and use the xdrip4ios algorithm though I would def want dexcom.

I'm Type 2 - in remission for the last 2 years - and my son is type 1. There is no comparison on a day to day basis. I have had to work hard but it is very different to what my son goes through. You're right, the effects of type 2 can be just as devastating as type 1 and that is sometimes lost in discussion and played down with the blame game.

I heard it mentioned on a podcast with Dr Chaterjee, where they were saying that it can be very helpful to understand which foods spike your blood sugar. The point being that everyone is different so different foods will react differently in each person. They suggested that if you’re insulin resistant and need to manage ther for weight loss/to mitigate the onset of type 2 diabetes, a CGM could give you a better understanding of which foods have the biggest impact on you and can help you understand your choices and manage blood glucose/lose weight.

I don’t have one myself, sharing this as a possible reason why people might get one.

@RamblingAroundTheInternet I had a Dexcom 1, the only Dexcom available on the NHS where I live at the moment, last year. I went on holiday, got stopped at Korea and they refused to let me through. I had a copy of my prescription but they wanted a Dr's letter too.

I have travelled, and lived abroad, extensively most of my life and have NEVER needed a Dr's letter! Anyway, they then would not let me through without going through the XRay and then it didn't work. It wouldn't calibrate, kept freezing at 18 mins to go.

When I got back, I told my DSN this and she suggested I go back to the Libre anyway as the Dexcom 1 isn't as good.

I thought Dexcom were meant to be better too but maybe it's the later versions...?

Should have added, I assume that was why the Dexcom didn't work but I have also had lots of experience of things not being remotely as reliable as claimed so...!

I had a pump with pregnancy - one got through batteries every 3/4 days, one kept getting occlusions and one just died overnight and I ended up in A&E with BG too high to register and refusing to come down. The Echo pens don't seem to last long either, the screen part telling you what you had and when, and the Libre isn't brilliant and the Dexcom didn't even start to work. I've not had a lot of luck!

Your first paragraph is utter nonsense. There is no benefit to keeping BG within narrower parameters than a non-diabetic automatically has.

As for the Type 1 and Type 2 differences, I think Type 1 is far more full on but Type 2 can actually be more restrictive diet wise, particularly if they are diet controlled. I can also imagine that it's very tedious trying to stay off medication and the general consensus, which isn't strictly accurate, about it being self inflicted must piss Type 2's off no end.

As I said in a previous post, I wish the two didn't have the same name as it causes confusion even with HCP's. While both involve blood sugar, they often have waaaay different levels of both medical treatment and severity.

@OSAP

Do you normally go through the scanner at the airport with Freestyle Libre?

Yes, but I had the Dexcom and transmitter in my hand luggage (as the Libre had a few days left on it.)

I can’t remember if I went through the scanner or was scanned myself. It was a bit chaotic!

My SIL has just been using a Zoe. She is (and always has been) very slim and fit.

She was regaling us all at dinner with the wild revelation that when she had a piece of cake her blood sugar went up! I mean, I don't need a fancy device to tell me that!

I’m happy to tell people that as many times as they want for £200+ a month!

I have just had a look at the Zoe threads on MN and it’s reenforcing my ‘more money than sense’ opinion. It’s fuelling health anxiety.

My son has a,Dexcom G6 it works really well for him and it,a really reassuring for me to he was only diagnosed a year ago in severe DKA
And I'm still traumatized by it
Its quite bulky though

I have heard the later Dexcom’s make the first one look like a Nokia 3310!

Not sure but the G6 is quite bulky and quite noticeable

I meant in terms of how complicated they are, I’m not sure what the differences in size might be.

Ah right sorry !

I never made any comment or disparaging remarks about any other illness - T2 diabetes or otherwise. My comment about T1 was directly in response to yours saying ppl with T1 diabetes aren't special.

Maybe you should do some work on your reading comprehension also.