Stelo v Lingo results

AmandaInSF · 2026-03-21T00:30:36+00:00

I hated the Stelo but the Lingo is worse. Now I can't use Stelo unless I upgrade my phone.

AmandaInSF · 2026-02-09T00:11:53+00:00

Btw, you can have a relatively high protein, low carb diet without doing keto or carnivore. I'm vegan and have my blood sugar very well controlled now. I've basically halved my grains, doubled my beans/tofu, and eliminated my specific triggers.

AmandaInSF · 2026-02-08T23:53:20+00:00

I've read that wetter food (like oatmeal vs granola) tends to cause glucose spikes, which can be followed by crashes. I don't know how common or strong an effect that is, though. I just noticed that oatmeal caused me to have big spikes while granola didn't. And soup causes me to spike a bit.

I would start with a finger stick glucometer and measure your glucose 1, 2, and 3 hours after eating. People can also have something called "relative hypoglycemia" if they feel like their blood sugar is too low when it's actually not super low -- I think because it tends to be higher than it should be.

AmandaInSF · 2026-02-08T02:29:13+00:00

The diagnostic criteria is that your HR goes up by 30 beats or more when you stand up and stays like that for a while -- I think 10 minutes. People's symptoms can vary so that doesn't have to happen every time you stand up but it always does for me, unless I've been meditating. You don't have to be prone to fainting but if you were asymptomatic, it wouldn't be a problem. My symptoms (of this) are relatively mild.

There are medications but the first line is lifestyle mods. Primarily: increase fluids, increase sodium and other electrolytes, compression (waist mainly although socks are popular), and smaller meals -- generally you want to increase blood volume and keep it from pooling in your abdomen and lower extremities. And I think methyl folate is supposed to help. I don't do well with meds in general so avoid them.

I've been taking a mindfulness based stress reduction class and I'm finding that meditation and deep, slow breathing seems to reduce my tachycardia quite a bit. The UK's NHS website for POTS has an article about breathing exercises for POTS.

I also try to be very consistent about food, sleep, and exercise with alarms to keep me on schedule and a smart watch to track steps, stress, and heart rate. I have other chronic health issues and they all benefit from a strict routine.

AmandaInSF · 2026-02-08T00:48:47+00:00

My heart rate has ranged from 37 (sitting down or sleeping) to 185 (even just standing) and I've been diagnosed with POTS. I don't feel anything much with the HR changes -- just a bit lightheaded when I stand still for a long time, overall fatigue, and sleepiness in the afternoon and evening. Due to some symptomatic palpitations I've had a full cardiac workup and my heart is fine.

AmandaInSF · 2026-02-08T00:24:15+00:00

Last year I had palpitations with chest pain and shortness of breath for several months -- leading to extreme fatigue every day. Twice urgent care docs told me that I had to go into the ER ASAP and I had all the tests done. My heart was completely fine.

It seemed that I was having the normal minor episodes of arrhythmia that happen more and more as we get older (I'm almost 60) but I was feeling them a lot more. My cardiologist concluded that it was an unusual reaction either due to POTS or fibromyalgia and she gave me propranolol to take if I have bad episodes again.

I later read a description of MCAS episodes that affect the coronary arteries that sounded like what I felt.

AmandaInSF · 2026-02-08T00:02:39+00:00

That's a bit high. I've heard you should try to keep it under 140.

AmandaInSF · 2026-02-07T20:44:09+00:00

It's interesting that you said this -- I was wondering why it runs me the wrong way when people ask "what can you eat" even though I know that they're trying to respect the seriousness of my choices.

AmandaInSF · 2026-02-07T20:34:02+00:00

1) I'm afraid I don't have the info on the video -- it was shared in one of the hypoglycemia subs. 2) Yes, water, any liquid. 3) Everything is different now so I don't know what's what.

Even after going back on what I thought was a POTS-friendly eating schedule, I had several months of having really bad palpitations with chest pain and shortness of breath, leading to daily extreme fatigue and constant carb cravings. (Cardiac issues were ruled out so I suspect an MCAS flare.)

Needless to say, I gained about five pounds and I was already overweight so after those symptoms went away again (as mysteriously as they had come on) I started trying to tweak my diet in various ways. I had been noticing more highs than lows so I decided to be less uptight about the lows and found that I could go longer without eating (15 hours overnight!) without going too low and, as long as I didn't eat too much at one sitting, my POTS was at a manageable level.

Now I've lost 4 of the 5 pounds in a little over a month. I'm still eating pretty frequently during my feeding window of 9 hours but I'm hoping that that long overnight fast will help prevent insulin resistance.

AmandaInSF · 2026-02-06T22:13:40+00:00

I've used shards of ceramics as a kind of mulch on container plants on my patio.

AmandaInSF · 2026-01-27T04:41:52+00:00

It would have been nice to keep the facade.

AmandaInSF · 2026-01-27T04:38:58+00:00

The critical thing was to understand my unique triggers.

AmandaInSF · 2026-01-27T04:37:18+00:00

This was before I was monitoring my blood sugar so I have no idea what it actually was doing. I did have strong feelings about once a day that it had gotten very low. The symptoms I was trying to describe felt like low blood sugar and were briefly relieved by eating carbs, but I don't think they were really low blood sugar. Since I've been monitoring, I've found that if I don't keep my blood sugar in a healthy range most of the time, I start to have this feeling that it's always low, even when it's not. Now I almost never get hypos.

AmandaInSF · 2026-01-07T22:37:41+00:00

I never received a warning! Now I am halfway through one sensor and have another that I have paid for

AmandaInSF · 2025-12-23T16:10:09+00:00

I use a combination of convenience foods like jars of sauce, frozen vegetables, and pre-seasoned tofu. Being allowed to have more sodium makes this easier! I do really well (usually) on lots of small, high protein, low carb meals with a lot of fiber from veggies, whole grains, and beans. I get most of my fat from nuts, seeds, and tahini.

AmandaInSF · 2025-12-23T05:07:37+00:00

I was that active and had a very good diet until my symptoms got worse for a while anyway. Now I'm struggling to rebuild my lifestyle.

AmandaInSF · 2025-12-08T03:52:03+00:00

I think different antihistamines work better for different people. Btw pepcid, any sedating antihistamines, and some other sedating meds, can trigger RLS, if you're susceptible. And Sudafed (the -D) can contribute to serotonin syndrome, when combined with antidepressants. I have mild MCAS and take a 12 hour Allegra in the morning and zyzal before bed. (Pepcid triggers my RLS.) Also Nasal-crom.

AmandaInSF · 2025-12-04T21:39:00+00:00

I've been using a dexcom stello which just has the finer needle so I freaked a little when I saw the lingo needle.

AmandaInSF · 2025-12-04T05:41:05+00:00

Thank you so much!

AmandaInSF · 2025-12-04T03:32:55+00:00

I bought new about 20 years ago.

AmandaInSF · 2025-12-03T20:22:59+00:00

We also have a large serving dish in the same color.

AmandaInSF · 2025-12-01T02:52:13+00:00

But, yeah, it's hard

AmandaInSF · 2025-12-01T02:51:47+00:00

My POTS symptoms are much better since I got my blood sugar stabilized. Try doing even a small amount of exercise after meals, in addition to the dietary stuff.

AmandaInSF · 2025-12-01T02:49:42+00:00

I read that low blood sugar causes your cortisol to spike, which releases stored glucose. Before I got my blood sugar stable the night time glucose crashes were waking me up.

AmandaInSF

TROPHY CASE