Guest guest Posted January 14, 2006 Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 You are doing well, learning to listen to your body. I am glad to hear you are using glucose tablets to counter the low blood sugar reaction. Just keep counting those carbs and experimenting with various levels of carb consumption and a two hour post prandial bs reading. Post here to let us know how it goes. You can be our poster boy for how a person on oral medications handles his blood sugar levels. I'm Back, revisited > Having been very diligent this week in getting used to my new FreeStyle > glucometer and my new med regimen of Metformin twice three times a day and > Glyburide in the morning and evening, it's definitely been interesting. On > the whole, I'm getting much better control of my sugars, but I have found > that a couple of times this week I probably controlled the sugars a little > too well with evening THREE to FOUR hour post prandials of 66. Perhaps my > ultimate control will be with just the one Glyburide in the morning and > not > in the evening, or could it be the Metformin that I should scale back? I > don't know which would be more likely to be the culprit, other than for > the > fact that the Metformin by itself didn't seem to lower my BS that much in > the beginning. > > One thing that does concern me though is that if I take a reading at say > 1-1/2 hours rather than 2, my reading might be 148 to 165, but, say by > 2-1/2 > hours, it's anywhere between 100 and 85. I know that it's the 2-hour PP > that > is important, and I also know that it's important to NOT have a > roller-coaster effect in sugars, but how high should I accept a BS if I > even > take a reading too early? Or should it be fluctuating like the above? > > One thing I do know is I can definitely tell when I get a low BS like 66 > or > last night's 61, I can really feel it and a half piece of a glucose tablet > pulls me out of that within 15 minutes to where I'm up to 85. So at least > I'm able to listen to my body when it tells me something's wrong. And if > my > sugar is too high I can really feel that, too. I get very dragged out if > that happens. > > Your thoughts? > > Best regards, > > Bill > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 14, 2006 Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 You are doing well, learning to listen to your body. I am glad to hear you are using glucose tablets to counter the low blood sugar reaction. Just keep counting those carbs and experimenting with various levels of carb consumption and a two hour post prandial bs reading. Post here to let us know how it goes. You can be our poster boy for how a person on oral medications handles his blood sugar levels. I'm Back, revisited > Having been very diligent this week in getting used to my new FreeStyle > glucometer and my new med regimen of Metformin twice three times a day and > Glyburide in the morning and evening, it's definitely been interesting. On > the whole, I'm getting much better control of my sugars, but I have found > that a couple of times this week I probably controlled the sugars a little > too well with evening THREE to FOUR hour post prandials of 66. Perhaps my > ultimate control will be with just the one Glyburide in the morning and > not > in the evening, or could it be the Metformin that I should scale back? I > don't know which would be more likely to be the culprit, other than for > the > fact that the Metformin by itself didn't seem to lower my BS that much in > the beginning. > > One thing that does concern me though is that if I take a reading at say > 1-1/2 hours rather than 2, my reading might be 148 to 165, but, say by > 2-1/2 > hours, it's anywhere between 100 and 85. I know that it's the 2-hour PP > that > is important, and I also know that it's important to NOT have a > roller-coaster effect in sugars, but how high should I accept a BS if I > even > take a reading too early? Or should it be fluctuating like the above? > > One thing I do know is I can definitely tell when I get a low BS like 66 > or > last night's 61, I can really feel it and a half piece of a glucose tablet > pulls me out of that within 15 minutes to where I'm up to 85. So at least > I'm able to listen to my body when it tells me something's wrong. And if > my > sugar is too high I can really feel that, too. I get very dragged out if > that happens. > > Your thoughts? > > Best regards, > > Bill > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 14, 2006 Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 You are doing well, learning to listen to your body. I am glad to hear you are using glucose tablets to counter the low blood sugar reaction. Just keep counting those carbs and experimenting with various levels of carb consumption and a two hour post prandial bs reading. Post here to let us know how it goes. You can be our poster boy for how a person on oral medications handles his blood sugar levels. I'm Back, revisited > Having been very diligent this week in getting used to my new FreeStyle > glucometer and my new med regimen of Metformin twice three times a day and > Glyburide in the morning and evening, it's definitely been interesting. On > the whole, I'm getting much better control of my sugars, but I have found > that a couple of times this week I probably controlled the sugars a little > too well with evening THREE to FOUR hour post prandials of 66. Perhaps my > ultimate control will be with just the one Glyburide in the morning and > not > in the evening, or could it be the Metformin that I should scale back? I > don't know which would be more likely to be the culprit, other than for > the > fact that the Metformin by itself didn't seem to lower my BS that much in > the beginning. > > One thing that does concern me though is that if I take a reading at say > 1-1/2 hours rather than 2, my reading might be 148 to 165, but, say by > 2-1/2 > hours, it's anywhere between 100 and 85. I know that it's the 2-hour PP > that > is important, and I also know that it's important to NOT have a > roller-coaster effect in sugars, but how high should I accept a BS if I > even > take a reading too early? Or should it be fluctuating like the above? > > One thing I do know is I can definitely tell when I get a low BS like 66 > or > last night's 61, I can really feel it and a half piece of a glucose tablet > pulls me out of that within 15 minutes to where I'm up to 85. So at least > I'm able to listen to my body when it tells me something's wrong. And if > my > sugar is too high I can really feel that, too. I get very dragged out if > that happens. > > Your thoughts? > > Best regards, > > Bill > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 Hey Harry, I'd be glad to be the poster kid for oral meds. I'm determined to fight to keep from having to give myself shots as long as possible. And actually with the FreeStyle, the need punctures aren't bad at all, MUCH less painful than when I was using the Accu-Crap Advantage. Bill Powers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 Hey Harry, I'd be glad to be the poster kid for oral meds. I'm determined to fight to keep from having to give myself shots as long as possible. And actually with the FreeStyle, the need punctures aren't bad at all, MUCH less painful than when I was using the Accu-Crap Advantage. Bill Powers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 Hey Harry, I'd be glad to be the poster kid for oral meds. I'm determined to fight to keep from having to give myself shots as long as possible. And actually with the FreeStyle, the need punctures aren't bad at all, MUCH less painful than when I was using the Accu-Crap Advantage. Bill Powers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 How do you use the Freestyle and how could it be less painful? Victor È/ã Re: I'm Back, revisited > Hey Harry, > > I'd be glad to be the poster kid for oral meds. I'm determined to fight to > keep from having to give myself shots as long as possible. And actually with > the FreeStyle, the need punctures aren't bad at all, MUCH less painful than > when I was using the Accu-Crap Advantage. > > Bill Powers > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 How do you use the Freestyle and how could it be less painful? Victor È/ã Re: I'm Back, revisited > Hey Harry, > > I'd be glad to be the poster kid for oral meds. I'm determined to fight to > keep from having to give myself shots as long as possible. And actually with > the FreeStyle, the need punctures aren't bad at all, MUCH less painful than > when I was using the Accu-Crap Advantage. > > Bill Powers > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 How do you use the Freestyle and how could it be less painful? Victor È/ã Re: I'm Back, revisited > Hey Harry, > > I'd be glad to be the poster kid for oral meds. I'm determined to fight to > keep from having to give myself shots as long as possible. And actually with > the FreeStyle, the need punctures aren't bad at all, MUCH less painful than > when I was using the Accu-Crap Advantage. > > Bill Powers > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 The FreeStyle requires very little blood (I believe it requires the smallest blood volume of all the meters). I have a FreeStyle and really like it, the one part I find difficult sometimes is getting the strip in the right place to suck the blood off my finger, especially if I'm testing when I'm low and my motor skills aren't too accurate! I used to use the Ultra which had it's sucking area on the front and that was much easier even though it required a bit more blood. Jen Re: I'm Back, revisited > > >> Hey Harry, >> >> I'd be glad to be the poster kid for oral meds. I'm determined to fight >> to >> keep from having to give myself shots as long as possible. And actually > with >> the FreeStyle, the need punctures aren't bad at all, MUCH less painful > than >> when I was using the Accu-Crap Advantage. >> >> Bill Powers >> >> >> >> >> >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 The FreeStyle requires a very very small amount of blood, about the size of a pinhead, so I've found that if I just place the lancet device on a soft part of my finger or forearm and press the button, it'll create a very small puncture that just stings a little bit. Then when I get the drop of blood on my finger, I place the FreeStyle unit with the test strip already inserted, right up to the test area, but at a slight angle so that I'm touching either the left or right side of the test strip, not the center. It absorbs the blood and then reads the results within seconds. I thought it would be a lot more difficult than this but after trying and failing a few times, I got the hang of it. Now it's a lot easier than what I was using before. Bill Powers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 The FreeStyle requires a very very small amount of blood, about the size of a pinhead, so I've found that if I just place the lancet device on a soft part of my finger or forearm and press the button, it'll create a very small puncture that just stings a little bit. Then when I get the drop of blood on my finger, I place the FreeStyle unit with the test strip already inserted, right up to the test area, but at a slight angle so that I'm touching either the left or right side of the test strip, not the center. It absorbs the blood and then reads the results within seconds. I thought it would be a lot more difficult than this but after trying and failing a few times, I got the hang of it. Now it's a lot easier than what I was using before. Bill Powers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 Jen, You are correct, the hardest thing about the FreeStyle is having the motor skill to place the test strip exactly where the blood would be. I personally cannot see how a totally blind person would do this, but then someone would no doubt come up with a solution. When I was using the Accu-Check I had to set the lancet depth to about 4, but on the FreeStyle unit I can get away with 2 most of the time. The only thing that does trouble me a bit is that I thought that if I poked myself with the lancet device, I should be able to get a blood sample without having to squeeze my finger a little to get the blood to finally come out. On the other hand, I don't want it to gush out either. Otherwise, the FreeStyle is a fine way to go for me. Bill Powers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 Jen, You are correct, the hardest thing about the FreeStyle is having the motor skill to place the test strip exactly where the blood would be. I personally cannot see how a totally blind person would do this, but then someone would no doubt come up with a solution. When I was using the Accu-Check I had to set the lancet depth to about 4, but on the FreeStyle unit I can get away with 2 most of the time. The only thing that does trouble me a bit is that I thought that if I poked myself with the lancet device, I should be able to get a blood sample without having to squeeze my finger a little to get the blood to finally come out. On the other hand, I don't want it to gush out either. Otherwise, the FreeStyle is a fine way to go for me. Bill Powers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 Does it talk? Victor ¨@- Re: I'm Back, revisited > > > > > >> Hey Harry, > >> > >> I'd be glad to be the poster kid for oral meds. I'm determined to fight > >> to > >> keep from having to give myself shots as long as possible. And actually > > with > >> the FreeStyle, the need punctures aren't bad at all, MUCH less painful > > than > >> when I was using the Accu-Crap Advantage. > >> > >> Bill Powers > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 Does it talk? Victor ¨@- Re: I'm Back, revisited > > > > > >> Hey Harry, > >> > >> I'd be glad to be the poster kid for oral meds. I'm determined to fight > >> to > >> keep from having to give myself shots as long as possible. And actually > > with > >> the FreeStyle, the need punctures aren't bad at all, MUCH less painful > > than > >> when I was using the Accu-Crap Advantage. > >> > >> Bill Powers > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 Thank goodness for some advancements in technology. I stick my finger at least four times per day, and after two and a half years of finger pricks, I still hate it. Re: I'm Back, revisited > Hey Harry, > > I'd be glad to be the poster kid for oral meds. I'm determined to fight to > keep from having to give myself shots as long as possible. And actually > with > the FreeStyle, the need punctures aren't bad at all, MUCH less painful > than > when I was using the Accu-Crap Advantage. > > Bill Powers > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 Thank goodness for some advancements in technology. I stick my finger at least four times per day, and after two and a half years of finger pricks, I still hate it. Re: I'm Back, revisited > Hey Harry, > > I'd be glad to be the poster kid for oral meds. I'm determined to fight to > keep from having to give myself shots as long as possible. And actually > with > the FreeStyle, the need punctures aren't bad at all, MUCH less painful > than > when I was using the Accu-Crap Advantage. > > Bill Powers > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 No, dang it. I wish it did, then it would be better suited for a totally blind user. When will these companies give more access for blind people anyway? Bill Powers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 No, dang it. I wish it did, then it would be better suited for a totally blind user. When will these companies give more access for blind people anyway? Bill Powers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 No, dang it. I wish it did, then it would be better suited for a totally blind user. When will these companies give more access for blind people anyway? Bill Powers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 Harry, Oh yeah, I still hate sticking my finger, but at least with the FreeStyle it doesn't hurt as much so my fingers heal up faster. Bill Powers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 Harry, Oh yeah, I still hate sticking my finger, but at least with the FreeStyle it doesn't hurt as much so my fingers heal up faster. Bill Powers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 Bill, Looking back at what you ate when your BG is over 120 2 hours after eating will tell you what you need to do-probably most of the time it is too many carabs at dinner Eating the same number of carbs at a meal and not varying that amount will tell you more what you should eat, rather than what you should do with your pills. I'm Back, revisited Having been very diligent this week in getting used to my new FreeStyle glucometer and my new med regimen of Metformin twice three times a day and Glyburide in the morning and evening, it's definitely been interesting. On the whole, I'm getting much better control of my sugars, but I have found that a couple of times this week I probably controlled the sugars a little too well with evening THREE to FOUR hour post prandials of 66. Perhaps my ultimate control will be with just the one Glyburide in the morning and not in the evening, or could it be the Metformin that I should scale back? I don't know which would be more likely to be the culprit, other than for the fact that the Metformin by itself didn't seem to lower my BS that much in the beginning. One thing that does concern me though is that if I take a reading at say 1-1/2 hours rather than 2, my reading might be 148 to 165, but, say by 2-1/2 hours, it's anywhere between 100 and 85. I know that it's the 2-hour PP that is important, and I also know that it's important to NOT have a roller-coaster effect in sugars, but how high should I accept a BS if I even take a reading too early? Or should it be fluctuating like the above? One thing I do know is I can definitely tell when I get a low BS like 66 or last night's 61, I can really feel it and a half piece of a glucose tablet pulls me out of that within 15 minutes to where I'm up to 85. So at least I'm able to listen to my body when it tells me something's wrong. And if my sugar is too high I can really feel that, too. I get very dragged out if that happens. Your thoughts? Best regards, Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 16, 2006 Report Share Posted January 16, 2006 FreeStyle won't work with Accu-Check as it's a different system. The principle is the same, you prick your finger or your forearm but the pinprick doesn't have to go as deep as with the Accu-Check since the system only requires a very very small amount of blood which absorbs into the side of the test strip. I have been using this now for a couple of weeks and have not developed any purple marks from the pinpricking. In fact, I use a lot less pressure than with the Accu-Chek, I set mine to 2 instead of the usual 3, and it works fine without too much blood coming out of my finger. You don't want a big amount coming out, that would saturate the test strip too much. I got used to it pretty quickly, too. The big caveat is that I don't know how a totally blind person can use the machine, and I don't know if there's a talking version of FreeStyle. Mine's got big numbers on it which helps me. As for taking the sample, you could do that without sight with a little orientation but you really have to know where that little tiny blood sample is and you have to get the test strip right up to it so the blood touches either side, not the middle. It might be tricky but it could probably be done with the right training. Hope this helps. Bill Powers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.