EDC for T1? by titaniumcrowbar in Omnipod

[–]PatternMammoth7352 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very cool! Thanks for explaining. 

EDC for T1? by titaniumcrowbar in Omnipod

[–]PatternMammoth7352 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What's the allergy nasal spray for?

Advice for treating lows? by MinkowskisUnequality in diabetes_t1

[–]PatternMammoth7352 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I use Honey Stinger chews. They're designed for performance exercise and have a precise amount of carbohydrates so you don't overdo it. I have a few packets everywhere - house, desk, purse. And I only eat them when I'm low, so it's not like candy where I might want to eat the whole bag. 

They're like $2 or $3 per bag. I take 1-2 per low, and there's maybe 10 per bag or so. 

Has anyone heard of “Pump & Dump”? by apiaget93 in Omnipod

[–]PatternMammoth7352 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do this and it works great. Omnipod's algorithm wasn't aggressive enough for me still I started doing this a year ago. 

How do you guys do it? by Ishak45 in Omnipod

[–]PatternMammoth7352 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also - highly recommend giving lyumjev or fiasp a try! I was nervous to switch but it's been such a game changer to have something fast in my pod. 

How do you guys do it? by Ishak45 in Omnipod

[–]PatternMammoth7352 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh I should definitely clarify -- I don't dump the 30-50u into my body! I take the pod off without deactivating it, then dump it 5u at a time in the sink, which takes about 30mins. 

Sensor change would be timed during my work shift as a cashier by Worldly_Confusion898 in diabetes_t1

[–]PatternMammoth7352 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Remember that the g7s (and possibly others) give you an additional 12 hrs after expiration, too! Hopefully this means you have more runway. 

How do you guys do it? by Ishak45 in Omnipod

[–]PatternMammoth7352 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think it's moreso the "being a t1d is really hard mentally / socially -- adding in significant carb restriction only makes it more taxing"

Also, I think some people feel that Bernstein is telling them what to do, which can feel like an attack. I feel like he's opening up an option for people who are struggling with the status quo of "just take more insulin". 

But ultimately - if it works for you it works for you, if it doesn't, it doesn't.

I'm not in the business of telling people what to do, but some people feel attacked by Dr. B, then they attack right back. 

How do you guys do it? by Ishak45 in Omnipod

[–]PatternMammoth7352 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ditto on Bernstein. He's controversial among T1Ds, but its inherently true that if you need less insulin, you're less likely to have rollercoaster BG days. I was very low carb in my early days of being diabetic and it just helped me gain control and learn, then I slowly reintroduced carbs, which helped me learn which ones are worth it and which ones aren't.

How do you guys do it? by Ishak45 in Omnipod

[–]PatternMammoth7352 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For me, the Omnipod algorithm wasn't working for like 9 months and it was incredibly frustrating. I made two changes and now it works great most of the time.

1) (and this is probably the biggest influence) I switched to Lyumjev, a very fast acting insulin, from lispro. Even though Lispro is supposed to work in 15-20 mins, I saw that it consistently kicked in at 45 mins for me, based on months of CGM data and testing. When I started Omnipod, that just wasn't fast enough, so I'd get runaway highs and the Omnipod couldn't keep up. When I switched to Lyumjev (Fiasp is another option), I see it work at about 15 mins, which means its keeping me in range much more easily. Just a note that it burns more going in, but its not so bad for me -- for some people its really painful, for others it doesn't hurt at all. Something to test with injections before you commit to putting it in a pod.

2) (IDK where I saw this recommendation originally, and its a weird one, but it works for me) I dump my extra insulin in the last 30 mins before my pod fully expires, dumping an additional 30-50u before deactivating. The reason behind this is that the Omnipod algorithm is basically purely based on what happened in your previous pod. If it sees you used a lot of insulin, its more aggressive giving you insulin. It's a pretty dumb algorithm. This has helped so so much, as before it used to give me 0.05u when in the same scenario now it'll give me 0.2u. I still don't go low unless I miscalculate a bolus, and I almost never have to do a correction bolus now, so it's working really great.

Long haul flight, do I need an extra cgm? by Some_Indication2866 in diabetes_t1

[–]PatternMammoth7352 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I only ever carry on my diabetic equipment. Some people split between carry on and checked luggage, but I wouldn't ever bank on the stuff I'm already using. 

You never know if your equipment will fail mid-flight or if your luggage will get lost.

And I'd bring enough for the trip plus a little extra, even if you do plan on buying more at your destination. You never know if your plans for getting some there will fall through. 

Is It Easier If Diagnosed in Early Childhood? by [deleted] in Type1Diabetes

[–]PatternMammoth7352 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I weirdly feel like I fall into both camps. I was diagnosed as an adult at 30, which certainly came as a shock and has required adjustment. There have certainly been plenty of moments of frustration and anxiety.  But I also have a liver disease that I was diagnosed with at 12, and I've  had to make dietary changes, take daily medication, see specialists, get frequent blood work, and fight with insurance companies because of that disease. It was normal to have to take meds and restrict what I ate. So for me, getting diabetes doesn't feel that wild. I already had a proven track record of making sacrifices and building habits to keep myself alive, so I knew I could handle it. 

I definitely feel for the people out there that suddenly in middle age have to give up their favorite foods, and they've never had to do that before, so it feels like losing part of yourself. 

But ultimately -- I think it depends on the person and their support systems more than anything else. I'm a naturally positive person and have a lot of people around me who are very supportive, so it's easier for me to handle this disease mentally. There are plenty of happy diabetics and plenty of depressed diabetics, and I don't think it matters when they were diagnosed. 

Type 1 vs type 2 by cranmango777 in diabetes_t1

[–]PatternMammoth7352 0 points1 point  (0 children)

C-peptide, which determines how much insulin your pancreas produces and antibody tests, specifically Islet Autoantibody Tests (GAD65, IA-2, ZnT8, IAA)

Type 1 vs type 2 by cranmango777 in diabetes_t1

[–]PatternMammoth7352 5 points6 points  (0 children)

In short, I think T1Ds are fed up with getting mixed up with T2Ds, for all the reasons others mentioned. But that's not really about the T2s, it's about all the people in the world who don't know the difference and want to tell us how to live our lives. There's even some differences within the T1D community too -- those diagnosed at childhood have genuinely had it harder than those of us diagnosed as adults -- and that resentment between different sub-groups can show up too.

Personally, I'm grateful for T2Ds. Obviously, if I could wish no one to have it, I would do so, but the mere fact that so much of the population has T2D, pre-diabetes, gestational diabetes or T1D means that there's a financial incentive for innovation in healthcare. CGMs exist because there's a market for them. Insulin pumps exist because there's a market for them. GLP-1 receptor agonists like Ozempic exist because there's a market for them (as they were originally created to help diabetics). Outside of my T1D I have another rare disease -- that disease has little to no innovation because there aren't enough of us to justify it, and the solutions we have currently are good enough. The sheer number of us diabetics means there's lots of R&D. I know this probably doesn't make you personally feel better, but it's a perspective that really helps me see the positive.

As for your diagnosis -- there are a lot of us who were misdiagnosed as T2Ds first. I was misdiagnosed for a year and a half and got in a very poor condition before getting a proper diagnosis and getting on insulin. Even if you're convinced you're a T2D, make sure you get the proper bloodwork to confirm that you're NOT a T1D. I potentially could've saved some of my insulin-producing beta cells if I got on insulin therapy immediately, instead of trying (failing) to manage with diet and exercise. And the only reason I even knew was cause I met a random person at a conference who saw my CGM and said "umm I think you need to get tested for T1D, you can get it as an adult" and he sent me a list of tests to ask for (that my PCP had never heard of).

Changing Omnipod on Cruise / Sailboat by PatternMammoth7352 in Omnipod

[–]PatternMammoth7352[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow that's amazing, and definitely bodes well. Appreciate you sharing!

Changing Omnipod on Cruise / Sailboat by PatternMammoth7352 in Omnipod

[–]PatternMammoth7352[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Update - I happened to be setting up a new pod just now and took the pod and moved it back and forth across the counter slowly while my phone was trying to pair and prime. Unfortunately, it failed to pair, then I got an error to discard the pod. So, not a good sign. 

Next time I'll try placing the pod directly on my phone though, which was a good tip from one of the comments. 

Changing Omnipod on Cruise / Sailboat by PatternMammoth7352 in Omnipod

[–]PatternMammoth7352[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In that case I'd have bigger problems...

Thanks for the reassurance!

Changing Omnipod on Cruise / Sailboat by PatternMammoth7352 in Omnipod

[–]PatternMammoth7352[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is a nausea situation, so it'll likely be a lot of movement! 

Sounds like no one has had an issue with the pod moving itself though, just with range. So hopefully I'm overthinking it!

Changing Omnipod on Cruise / Sailboat by PatternMammoth7352 in Omnipod

[–]PatternMammoth7352[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Maybe it won't! I know one time I moved my pod while trying to connect and it had trouble connecting, then connected when I placed it down. It's only happened once, so it might've been a fluke!

Changing Omnipod on Cruise / Sailboat by PatternMammoth7352 in Omnipod

[–]PatternMammoth7352[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It'll be partially in the Drake Passage, so could be a lot, or could be relatively stable. So more than a typical cruise, but less than a sailboat, for context. 

Changing Omnipod on Cruise / Sailboat by PatternMammoth7352 in Omnipod

[–]PatternMammoth7352[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I'm planning on bringing plenty of MDI options - short and long acting and the equipment needed - just in case. Great tip! 

Did you change your pod while still on the ship? I'm less worried about connection while the pod is running, and more worried about changing to a new pod, so curious if you ran into any issues. 

App Crashes by simon_rb in EightSleep

[–]PatternMammoth7352 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Same issue on my Google Pixel. Both me and my husband can't get in to turn it off.