Continuous glucose monitor??

[Qwaszx]

Anyone used one, that can recommend?

I'm T2, and just cannot get my levels below 9. I've always eaten healthily, so the advice I was given at dx, to cut out pizza and takeaways, really didn't apply. I'm thinking if I try one I can see what food doesn't agree with me, and I can try to sort myself out.

Any experiences you want to share?

Thanks.

It's the type of carbs that matter not amount of carbs so much. I need carbs because i am on insulin and switched to wholegrains and making sure lots of fibre etc which has worked for me. I also cut out added sugar and try to keep under 25gm a day and nothing with more than 4 or 5gm of sugar. The diabetes course i have just done says about 170gm of carbs a day.
Apparently my HA1bc was over 130 last April, next reading was 39 and got told i was being too good , it is now 42 and my insulin has reduced from 32 to 16 units.

I'm a type 1 who uses the Libre. A few tips...

1. Try to keep well-hydrated. If the Libre reading is very different to how you feel or a finger prick blood test, that may be why.
2. It will never be 100% accurate. Look at trends rather than individual readings.
3. If sustained pressure is put on the sensor (e.g. lying on it during sleep) you can get what looks like a low blood glucose event on the reader, but is actually a compression error, where the tissues are squashed and it can't get an accurate reading.
4. Have some protein, fat or fibre with your carbs to slow down their release into blood glucose. E.g. a bit of peanut butter or Greek yoghurt with your apple.

Also the first 24 hours of readings are not reliable

Yes. You can put it on a day or so before starting it, that seems to improve accuracy a little.

@NewBootsAndRanty Oooh! Please tell me what's the wrong way and which is the correct way. I need to know as I can't get things under control either.

Yes, this is a great tip. I always put in my new one in 24 hours before the current one runs out, so the tissue has time to get over the trauma before I activate it.

A few years ago I was diagnosed type 2 with a hba1c of 88 . I was on metformin.
I followed the advice on https://www.diabetes.co.uk/controlling-type2-diabetes.html

I went low carb diet , as it works for me, others find Mediterranean . As a consequence I lost weight, became more active and after a few months my hba1c was 32 and I came off metformin. I have been classed as in remission for a few years but know if I changed my diet that would change rapidly.

I eat no fruit apart from berries and occasional melon, no sugar, no rice, no oats, no bread (I bake my own low carb bread), no pastries/cakes/pies, no pasta , no potato or root vegetables , no alcohol apart from very occasional sprit or low carb suitable. This still means I can eat out but have salad or green veg with mains and I eat ALOT of cauliflower as a potato and rice substitute . I have a cheese plate instead of dessert but occasionally will have something like a chocolate mousse as the fat slows/negates the sugar spike.

Dark chocolate, nuts , berries and full fat Greek yoghurt are you nibble friends.

Every 3 months or so I get a Libre 2 , to see how I'm going and to test new foods to see what spikes my glucose.

It's sounds a lot but quite a few years in it's a regime I find easy to follow . Eating out is no problem, even in an Indian I get my curry with a salad rather than rice . I carry squares of chocolate and nuts with me because the only places low carb is a problem is going out for a coffee , cakes and granola/oat bars are not low carb friendly!

My DH has T2 and uses a Libre. He's found it incredibly helpful for understanding the impact of different food choices and exercise on his blood glucose control. For example, he's learnt that greek yogurt with berries works better for him than cereal for breakfast.

He started off with the free trial and then self-funded for a bit. However, because he's under the secondary care diabetes team (he has a couple of serious comorbid conditions that affect his diabetes treatment options) and could provide evidence that using the Libre enhanced his glycaemic control, he now gets his monitor free on the NHS.

Diabetes.co.uk is a commercial company that sells low carb diets. Diabetes.org is lthe organisation for research and campaigning

@bruffin I'm not sure why you quoted me in your post? I didn't mention either of the websites you mention.

Sorry meant to quote @Lollygaggle

Didn't sign up to the diet but found the advice and forums very useful , particularly advice on low carb.
Much of the traditional diabetes diet advice eg
eat more fruit
eat wholegrains
substitute porridge for cereal
is not particularly helpful for controlling diabetes through diet