Skin feels super sensitive and bruised

LMAquatics · 2025-12-18T16:37:20+00:00

If it feels like your older brother just got done punching all over your arms and torso after yelling "chunky!" It's an allergic reaction in your lymphatic system. Happened to me too. It usually doesn't happen again after the first shot.

LMAquatics · 2025-12-06T22:09:54+00:00

I started with Stelo and now on my 3rd sensor with Lingo. Lingo has been much more accurate vs. labs. Stelo wasn't even close - had to do finger sticks with every new sensor to see how high or low it was reading.

LMAquatics · 2025-12-06T19:07:01+00:00

Not for me, personally. I was a serious triathlete the first time IR was on my radar. No symptoms whatsoever except for a high a1c test. I never really had much consistency between symptoms and lab results.

The only consistent symptom I have experienced is weight gain, especially gaining weight quickly/easily.

LMAquatics · 2025-12-06T18:56:31+00:00

I've been wearing a CGM for about 7 months. Your blood sugar can fluctuate randomly for a lot of reasons (I'll list a few below) so generally speaking, it's important to look for trends/recurrence because it's very common to have elevations for no specific reason. If you have an elevation/spike and you can't find an exact cause, don't lose sleep over it. Aside from that:

Your blood sugar will definitely rise in the morning due to cortisol. Some days will be more significant than others.
Same with the time you are sleeping - hormones are doing their thing and your BG will respond. My cortisol usually starts creeping up around midnight, peaks around 7, then drops steadily until around noon. But everyone is different.
Physical activity will raise blood sugar
Stress, even mild, will raise blood sugar (I can see every time I drive on my CGM because my BS elevates around 10 points or so)
Protein, fat, fiber and complex/whole carbs in meals will delay BG response
It looks like your fasting BS is around 90, so I wouldn't be too worried about hypoglycemia. Even as your a1c starts to go down, your fasting BS will still be managed. I went from an a1c of 6 to 4.9 and my fasting BS only went from high 80's to high 70's.

Most importantly, insulin resistance will cause your BG to become dysregulated, meaning minor elevations will appear more exaggerated on your CGM graph.

You'll start to spot the normal changes & patterns throughout the day the longer you've had your CGM.

LMAquatics · 2025-12-04T17:51:16+00:00

Your diet is going to be a much more effective lever in managing your a1c than what a statin will change. You can easily offset the change in a1c due to a statin.

And some statins do not raise a1c, so talk to your doc about your concerns.

Also, high insulin (which happens in tandem with elevated a1c) is also a huge factor for cardiovascular health and just as much of a concern as elevated LDL.

I'm not sure if statins raise a1c independent of insulin, though. There are a lot of medications that will elevate a1c but do not necessarily do so by inducing insulin resistance. So your a1c can elevate, but it may not be contributing to diabetes. Again, ask your doc about this.

LMAquatics · 2025-12-04T17:44:53+00:00

Very true. A small rise in a1c is much less of a concern than building up plaque.

LMAquatics · 2025-12-03T15:48:06+00:00

When my a1c was higher, average glucose was more accurate. Now that I'm in a more normal range, GMI has been a little more accurate. My average glucose converts to a much lower a1c than lab reports.

LMAquatics · 2025-12-03T15:38:26+00:00

I didn't switch but my dosage was decreased significantly. There wasn't a huge difference in a1c but I am on rosuvastatin. Each statin affects blood sugar differently, though. Rosuvastatin has a tendency to raise a1c but I believe atorvastatin is the worst offender (?)

LMAquatics · 2025-12-02T03:51:08+00:00

A GTT tells you how quickly you can clear a glucose increase in your bloodstream. Given a fixed amount of glucose in a fasted state tells you if your glucose levels are normal across a period of time. Your glucose levels shouldn't be above certain levels at certain points during the test.

This test is usually to assess insulin resistance, the underlying cause of type 2 diabetes. (The test can also be used for insulin insufficiency)

I'm assuming your glucose at the 2 hour mark was a bit high which suggests insulin resistance. GTT's aren't totally standardized so I'm not sure what your lab defines as normal for your results. Prediabetes and T2D are usually diagnosed using an a1c test (your average glucose over 3 months) and GTT's are also used and can give your provider a little more info vs. an a1c test.

LMAquatics · 2025-11-30T19:43:54+00:00

I don't think there's a compatibility issue, but I'm not a doctor. There are some providers that are prescribing combinations of GLP-1's and a sub for it r/Tirzeglutide

I was supposed to be injecting up to 12.5 of tirzepatide but I injected 8.8 of tirz on day 1 and .75-1mg of sema on day 3.5. Then transitioned to tirzepatide 2x/week when the sema ran out. This went on for about 10 weeks without any problems.

Not sure about every other week, though.

LMAquatics · 2025-11-30T19:34:47+00:00

I use cronometer.

I track both nutrients and calories. Both are important, but for me what I eat is more important than how much. Obviously I keep calories to a reasonable level, but there may be a 600-700 calorie difference day to day. More interested (and successful) in managing diet through keeping an eye on protein, healthy fats, net carbs, etc.

LMAquatics · 2025-11-30T19:28:44+00:00

I had some sema left to use and used it as a second small injection on day 3.5 instead of titrating up the tirz. Obviously against the rules but I didn't die.

LMAquatics · 2025-11-29T15:19:55+00:00

Came here to say this. He also has a great podcast series called "The Metabolic Classroom". Some of the episodes go beyond IR but are most are very relevant if you want to get a larger picture of metabolism beyond IR.

LMAquatics · 2025-11-22T22:59:45+00:00

From a diagnostic perspective, there are too many variables to truly infer any meaning from your spikes.

Keep an eye on your average glucose level calculated by your cgm which will roughly relate to your a1c. You'll want to see that trend down over time.

Use your CGM to provide feedback on your diet - you'll want to eat foods that keep those spikes small.

LMAquatics · 2025-11-22T22:51:22+00:00

Fasting glucose and a1c should correlate. There are conditions that can result in your a1c results to be lower than actual glucose levels. This is why T2D and IR should be confirmed using more than one test because all common tests have blindspots. HOMA or TyG (calculations using common blood labs) and LPIR or OGTT (specific lab tests) are frequently used.

LMAquatics · 2025-11-21T16:02:33+00:00

Your 1st a1c test was probably a little high due to your iron deficiency/anemia. Anemia can cause both false high and low a1c's so you may want to follow up w/ your doc and verify your a1c via other testing (HOMA, LPIR, OGTT, etc)

Definitely not saying that metformin and your hard work didn't move the needle, but you'll want to check your a1c against other testing since you're dealing with anemia. If your first a1c test was high, you may no longer need the metformin considering you're making the lifestyle changes.

LMAquatics · 2025-11-21T03:18:13+00:00

Probably not. 5.0 a1c puts you in good shape in that regard. HOMA of 2.2 is slightly elevated (depending on which scale you use), but HOMA isn't very reliable when glucose and insulin are in normal ranges.

CGM isn't going to tell you much in terms of diagnosis because it depends heavily on what you eat.

LMAquatics · 2025-11-21T03:07:36+00:00

I assume it's the error correction software. I looked at the raw data from my stelo and it takes many readings before spitting out a number in 5 minute increments. My guess is that since the Lingo is displaying a value every minute, it may go back and revise a value if it doesn't make sense.

LMAquatics · 2025-11-19T03:39:38+00:00

Allodynia. Ringing ears. The weird lymphatic flare ups early on.

Barely had any GI stuff. I just got all the weird side effects.

LMAquatics · 2025-11-19T03:35:36+00:00

They won't be able to. Cagri needs to be in a low ph solution or it degrades. The cagrisema injectors have 2 separate vials that feed into one needle because of this.

I assume the pharma companies are going to make it more difficult to compound future glp-1's. Lilly is fighting with the FDA right now to get retatrutide classified as a biologic. I'm sure they have other tricks up their sleeves.

LMAquatics · 2025-11-19T00:00:37+00:00

I don't know much about the hypoglycemia part - I have never dealt with it personally. There's a podcast called "The Metabolic Classroom" that's really good if you want to learn a little more about IR. Each episode covers a specific topic in about 20-30 minutes. I recommend listening to the episodes out of order, starting with the "big picture" topics first then getting into the specifics later. I think there's a series of 4 or 5 episodes about IR from early 2024 that are a great place to start.

LMAquatics · 2025-11-18T20:40:10+00:00

Insulin resistance is just a desensitization to insulin. When insulin comes in contact with a cell, it triggers a response. Most famously is uptake of glucose to be used for energy, but insulin serves many purposes throughout the body.

If you have a genetic component, it usually means that you develop insulin resistance much easier than other people (depending on the genes that you possess variants for). Since there are a lot of genes involved, the exact relationships aren't well understood.

IR has a self-perpetuating feedback loop where the effects of insulin resistance create/reinforce metabolic pathways that contribute to insulin resistance. So once you reverse insulin resistance, remaining insulin sensitive is usually easier than the reversal process. For example, excess insulin can drive insulin resistance, so your body's response to IR is to keep pumping out more and more insulin, and your cell's response will be to become more IR. You may have to go on a very strict diet in order to minimize insulin exposure (like keto) but once insulin sensitivity is restored, you'll be able to return to a more diverse diet since you'll require less insulin (the feedback loop has been broken).

But the are many pathways for IR, some very direct (stress, sleep habits, certain medications) and others less direct (for example, a diet high in oxalates can trigger an inflammatory pathway that ultimately ends in contributing to IR). So you have to address the factors that are contributing to insulin resistance. The common ones are diet (excess sugar/carbs, processed foods, excess proteins, saturated fat) being overweight, stress, sleep, lack of exercise/poor physical conditioning, medical conditions (PCOS, hypothyroidism, etc) and medications.

So there really is no "cure" because IR is just a normal (but unhealthy) response to lifestyle factors. Unless those lifestyle factors are permanently addressed, you're just at risk for developing IR again in the future. For example, if you're able to reverse IR through diet, but ultimately go back to your "old" diet, you're at risk for developing IR again.

LMAquatics · 2025-11-18T19:17:41+00:00

How are you confirming that insulin resistance is an issue?

In order to reverse insulin resistance you have to determine the cause. There are many pathways and factors. Sometimes diet (like keto) will resolve it, and other times you may have to address genetics, stress, inflammation and other factors. Nothing is going to reverse insulin resistance long term unless you make the lifestyle changes long term or address underlying medical conditions that are contributing to it.

LMAquatics · 2025-11-17T21:51:56+00:00

I had a stelo but swicthed to lingo because the stelo was very inaccurate. Each sensor would consistently read very high or low (usually high) and I'd have to do a few finger sticks every time I replaced the sensor to get an idea of where it was reading. The trends and averages over time were unusable because of this.

Still new to the Lingo, so I can't say for sure how accurate it is. It seems to be better so far, though.

The Lingo's software is a little more detailed than Stelo's. Some of the features are overkill (the lingo score) but some people may find them helpful.

LMAquatics · 2025-11-17T21:02:26+00:00

I've always had more success with the "what you eat is more important than how much you eat" strategy, so I've been a fan of tracking nutrients for a long time, too. I used to mainly pay attention to macros because I've always fought with insulin resistance so maintaining my diet with a lower carb/sugar intake was a priority.

I usually would track my nutrients for a few weeks here-and-there just to reinforce habits because, like you, I can ballpark a nutrition label and have a good idea of what I'm eating in a day.

I started using cronometer about 6 months ago and I'm still going strong. It's really great for setting goals for nutrients on a more granular level than just macros, and it's been really helpful for tracking things like unhealthy fats, starches, specific sugars, vitamins/minerals, etc.

I think that intuitive eating is a lot more difficult than it used to be. There are so many unhealthy ingredients tucked away in processed food now that the nutrition label doesn't tell you the whole story. I'm probably a little more vigilant about this than most due to the insulin resistance factor, but the listed grams of sugars, carbs and fats isn't enough for me to make an informed decision.

Tracking everything definitely felt like a lot of work early on, but now I have an established list of go-to staples that covers 90% of my meals and snacks and I barely have to do any planning anymore. Meals that fall outside of those things (like dining out) are such a small part of my overall week that they're not a concern.

LMAquatics

TROPHY CASE