How I eat anythng I want/ dawn Phenom

OK here it goes, you all know that I have been a type 1 for over 64 years, my A1C is 6.8 to 7.3 and I eat pretty much anything I want. Here is how 1 unit of insulin will lower your BS approx. 50 points and 1 unit of insulin per every 10 grams of Carbs. That’s it. If I am going out to dinner, birthday and I know there is going to be cake I don’t say no I check my list on my PDM for the amount of carbs in that cake and increase my insulin accordingly, if I want a Beer, same process, I do not limit my carbs because of the Diabetes, I may for other reasons but not for the diabetes. I do the same thing as my body would do if I wasn’t a diabetic. I realize back when I was diagnosed, carbs were very limited, that was then, this is now. I have no diabetes in my eyes, heart , kidneys just in my blood. I live like everyone else does, the choice is MINE. For those on injections you may have to make the decision whether you want to take another injection or not but make it your choice. Sugar is not the problem, it’s the lack of insulin, but don’t deprive yourself just do it correctly., and don’t feel guilty if you do it correctly and don’t let anyone tell you “You can’t have that” we can have anything we want if we plan for it, it will become easy after a while. I will warn you , your Dr. may not approve but if your A1C is good there won’t be any complaints… To deprive yourself leads to depravity. Anyone having a problem with Dawn Phenom. this is when your BS is very high in the AM and you don’t understand why, here is why. If you haven’t eaten in a long time your liver assumes that you are starving and will put sugar into your blood stream, taking more insulin in the AM makes it worse. Eat a little something before you go to bed like a few crackers with p-nut butter and your liver will behave, easy fix Hope this helps anyone that is feeling deprived. Contact me if you want, I have been doing this a long time and now my Doctors ask me “what am I going to teach them now” Have a great day, bye Jan

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Thanks for sharing. Just what this mother needed to hear!

Cheryl, glad it helped. You know where I am if you have any questions. Have a great day bye jan

Just what i needed to hear. I am T1 for 2 years and am 71…i fear carbs and this is just what i needed. Thank you so very much!

Tomlinn, you are quite welcome. Enjoy everything you eat, I do. If you need help, let me know or if you just want to talk. I am here to help. Bye Jan

This is honestly some very scary advice. Everyone should take great notice of how long you have had T1D. It took me only one year to understand this concept, but I only applied the thoughts after I had mastered dosing and carb control. My ultimate suggestion is to lower the carb intake as much as possible (I lowered my breakfast to 22g) so that you can find your true insulin dosing. Once you have how many units per grams is perfect for a small amount, the larger amount of carbs will just flow in. I now take 100g at every meal with an A1C of 5.7.

hi @byrnethom you must realize everyone is different yea? what works for some may be disastrous for others. as per my particular chemistry… what works at 18g does not work at all for 100g. and again, for me - the 2 huge daily factors are activity and stress making any kind of reapeatability…well…not repeatable.

anyway, everyone has advice - mine is: Take what you like and leave the rest.

We all have to find out what works for us. This works for me. Remember carbs are not the culprit, I bet that non-D people sugar level is the same as ours, it’s just that we have no insulin to off set. As I said my 64th anniversary was last Feb, and I have no indication of Diabetes in any part of my body, just in my blood…If carb intake was the only thing that influenced blood sugar I might agree but it isn’t, consequently I dose according to my BS and carb intake. I might lower my carb intake for other reasons. Back when I was diagnosed bs didn’t enter into the picture, and carb control per insulin ratio was a little different, but I had a doctor 64 years ago that told me "I could have anything I wanted and do anything I wanted as long as I did it the right way. This plan works for me and others also, you do what feels right for you. Have a great day, bye jan

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Your carb intake is higher than mine…For us older Diabetics, the general consensus is that a higher A1C is safer, and I no longer have any symptomology of highs and lows, none what so ever… You realize that the only fuel for your brain is glucose and sometimes neuropathy is caused by your brain needing more fuel and it steals it from your nerves as they are covered in glucose and by striping the glucose from your nerves they hurt… 1/2 glass of grape juice or apple juice works well and usually stops the pain. You don’t have to have a low BS for this to happen, it just depends how much fuel you brain requires…Juice is safer than the meds. But as I said do what works for you. I do not function with an A1c as low as yours. If it works for you Great. Bye have a great day. jan PS: true insulin dosing? even a non D person insulin dosing is based on the need at the time. so I don’t understand “True insulin dosing”

I agree, thank you…I am glad we are all different, I never was satisfied being like everyone else. Have a great day, Joe… Bye jan

That is so kind of you. It is a learning experience but with folks like you much easier. Thanks again, Tom

I have found that an exact ratio works for me. Lots of people say that “different food affect you differently” which I can get behind… but I dont think the difference is that drastic. I eat whatever I want and, as long as I dose the same, my BS is always affected the same way. Sure… you are going to be high or low and need a different dose… but the ratio you use for carb intake should be the same.

Hear me out. I made a post a little bit ago talking about why I cant take enough carbs that a person should have. Someone commented on my post basically… “well… why the f*** not?”. I found that as long as you wait to notice a BS change after dosing (dexcom cgm is very helpful) the amount of carb intake will always match the ratio (at least for me). I suggest you give it a try… just wait for the insulin to kick in before eating.

I am so glad it works for you, and I loved my Dexcom CGM, but things have changed, I am now extremely allergic to insulin, all insulin, my insulin antibody test results were 15, scale is below 5, besides all the damage from injections after all these years, insulin doesn’t always reach the blood stream. My whole point is that we as Diabetics have the freedom to make our own decisions and we can have what we want as long as we do it correctly. My control is in my hands not a doctors, hospital or any other expert, I am the only one that knows how ;my body reacts, I am only suggesting that people take their own control back and not give it to someone else… Does that make sense? bye Jan

Jan, Thanks for that tip on snacking before bed. My pump counselors are telling me I don’t need a snack before sleep, but instinctually I know you are right.

If you suffer from Dawn Phenom, this seems to be the only way to stop it. A lot of doctors and others are unaware of Dawn Phenomenon, even those that should don’t know. You don’t have to be a diabetic for this to happen, it’s just that non diabetic don’t test their blood so they don’t know. I am going to assume that this is a survival tactic probably goes back to the beginning of time. Your liver stores sugar so if it thinks you are starving it will deposit sugar in the blood stream. Ask your counselors if they know about Dawn Phenomenon. it usually hits about 4 am and continues until you eat. Actually I’ve had it happen at other times during the day, and taking insulin and not eating makes it worse. My liver specialist didn’t even know about it and he should have… Contact me if you have any questions, have a great day and Happy 4th. Bye Jan

30 year T1D, I eat (almost) anything I want. A1C usually comes in 6.7 to 7.1. I do not pump - do not want another device stuck in my body. I use ‘Calorie King’ app but it can often be difficult or impossible to find the correct food that approximates meals I cook - I avoid most restaurants and fast foods.
Any suggestions of a better Carb app?
Dawn Phenom - Only way I can eat breakfast within 2 hours of injection is if I over-inject my rapid insulin (Apidra), then requires lunch much earlier than I want. Maybe I need to increase my breakfast carbs.

Thank you so much. My daughter has had type 1 since she was 5years old. She is now 17. As a mother I needed to here this.

Glad I could help, you know where I am if you need anything else. Have a great day, bye Jan

I went from 4+ injections a day to 1 every 3 days, I love my Omni Pod… RE: Dawn Phenom., eat first to stop the liver from dumping more sugar into he blood stream, then inject your insulin. You don’t have to eat much, piece of toast, crackers some little thing just to show the liver that you aren’t starving. My pump controller (PDM) has a library in it that gives me all the info I need re" carbs" besides you can find any carb listing on the web and a lot of restaurants have info listed on their menus. once you know the carb listing for the foods you like, you’ll remember them, it’ll be easy or just make a note to take with you…Hope this helps. Bye Jan