I am fairly new to injecting and have a G6. My concerns are going to low and so when I get to @110 even with a straight arrow I have a little orange juice. I have found it takes a good 30 minutes plus to start going up. Then it goes too high . But even when arrow is even it could go down to 80s. I have a 7.2 A1c . I could get it lower if I wasn’t so neurotic about going too low. (When should I be concerned)
What have you found to be the quickest way to bring glucose up so I can let it go and address the low at say 75-80
Also any type of physical activity can move my glucose 20-80 pts ie walking, spinning for 10 minutes.
I prefer not to get down to 70 or 80 myself. Even using Control IQ with my pump (is designed to adjust to minimize lows and highs die those who use a pump) I like to have a bit of a cushion for unexpected activity. Juices do cause a quick rise that typically results in a drop later as they have no “staying power” so it’s good to have something like cheese & crackers or peanut butter & crackers for staying power. You could use that in lieu of juice to help keep your numbers steady. Your nutritionist can give you some other suggestions.
Glucose tablets and gels are good to use. I found Clif Bloks energy chews work well too (and I prefer the texture to that of the glucose tabs).
Since you’re new, speak with your doctor about your goal range: some people are fine and functioning well at 80, but I’m not comfortable and don’t feel I function well at that level. Since you’re new, toy might be in the notorious honeymoon period, where your body will unexpectedly produce some insulin on its own. I’m not a medical professional but would suggest determining a range that is safe, and not simply shooting for numbers in the 80s if it’s not.
if I can offer advice: Dexcom accuracy is the best i’ve used in all 40+ years with Diabetes. Still… it’s a CGM. All CGM measure interstitial fluid… not blood glucose. why does it matter? it matters because if you chew up a glucose tab, it starts to work immediately. it does not require digestion. it gets absorbed directly into your blood. if you are staring at your G6 receiver… well you may not see a change in up to 20 minutes while your blood sugar rises, and then finally your interstitial rises and then finally your cgm notices it.
please continue to use your finger stick blood glucose meter to occasionally verify the G6 (mine reads too low for the first 48 hours.) when correcting, use the finger stick until you are satisfied how fast your blood sugar comes up… knowing your G6 is fairly slow to respond
1 glucose tab raises my blood suagr by 20 mg/dl… so its technically “easy” to figure out what I need… please be aware that treating diabetes is not an exact science.
One last thought, orange juice is, unfortunately, the go-to for a lot of people but because of fructose (the sugar in orange juice) and because of the fiber… OJ is not the fastest to raise blood sugar. I find sucrose (the sugar in candies such as sweet tarts, “smarties” PEZ, and “Skittles”) faster then OJ… and I find those horrible chalky glucose tabs to be the number 1 fastest way to do it.
You’re new - in time you will learn how your body adjusts. It’s still not perfect but you’ll have a better idea about how things balance. I suggest you keep detailed records about what you eat, exercise, insulin, etc. There are ones you can buy in bookstores and there are apps available, many of them free. MuSugr and SugarMate are popular.