Cgm

(Germaine M Schweibinz) #1

I started wearing a CGM – continuous glucose monitor on 6/23/2021. I have learned so much about what effects “my” body. Things I never could have known if I didn’t have one.
Let me go back, in May, I had my yearly physical. When I got my test results, I thought she gave me the wrong results. It said I was prediabetic!!! How could that be I was Ketogenic. Based on those results I was able to get a CGM to monitor my glucose and boy was that eye opening. At that time, I was fasting 18 – 20 hours a day and eating 2 KETO meals in my eating window. Things I was eating everyday were spiking my glucose

  1. my 4 carb tortillas
  2. erythritol (I now use Allulose)
  3. Any fruit (I was just eating berries)

I stopped eating anything that spiked my glucose. I am back to eating breakfast, it is so crazy, if I eat breakfast my glucose will stay level all day, if I fast and eat the same food it reacts differently. Of course, I am eating less than 20 carbs a day and am losing weight and feeling so much better.

I finally got to the point where my glucose never went above 120 for a few weeks. (one amazing thing I learned was hiking does not drop my glucose like a rock like swimming does.) I have been going to my pool in the morning I have been doing laps each morning and my glucose drops to 70. I have amazing energy the rest of the day.

Then last Tuesday I got stung by a wasp, my whole arm swelled up and it was getting hard to breathe. Long story short, I had to go on steroids to stop the poison in my system. I swore I would not go back on steroids but, this was really scary and life threating. I have been on them for 3 days now and I finally am getting my voice back to normal. My glucose soared to 240. It is so amazing to be able to see and understand what the steroids I took for 2 years did to my body, why I have so much atherosclerosis. When you get glucose spikes your liver either puts the glucose into your adipose tissues (fat) or into your arteries. My body splits mine. I am so glad I got the CGM, it is such a fantastic way to get information about my body and its relationship to food that I could never get any other way. I think these will be the future of medicine and weight loss. If any of you have the chance to get one (you need a prescription) get it!!!

(Laurie) #2

That is very interesting! Thank you for posting.

(Ohio ) #3

Swimming uses upper body. So that makes sense. Pre diabetic makes sense too because the docs I chat with estimate it’s 50% of the population.

What costs are involved? These are the future.

(Germaine M Schweibinz) #4

Hello Hippie Ohio, my insurance covered it so it is $35.00 for 3 months. For what I learned it is priceless. Out of pocket it would have been around $435. I use the Dexcom 6. There is a less expensive one (Libre) but they make you buy a reader that you will never use because you can use your cell phone for the readings.

#5

@Gms Do you eat dairy? Wondering what —if any —effect it had.

Also, what are you eating for breakfast?
Thanks!

(Germaine M Schweibinz) #6

Hello Wendy198, I restarted with bacon and eggs, now I have been eating deviled eggs, making up new versions each week. :slight_smile: Germaine

(Bob M) #7

Interesting about the erythritol. I do eat that sometimes. Allulose unfortunately causes me issues if I eat too much.

Why did they think you were prediabetic? Make sure it’s not because of higher morning blood sugar, which is common. Like this:

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I have over a year’s worth of data that look exactly like this.

As for exercise, my blood sugar usually goes up, but I either do HIIT and/or body weight training to failure.

#8

Been wondering, where does the blood sugar come from if you are eating close to zero carb? Is it GNG from dietary protein? If you’re fasting (even just overnight), does it come from fatty acid metabolism or autophagy or glycogen stores from somewhere? Do we understand scientifically why and how blood glucose rises without eating carbs?

(Bob M) #9

I believe multiple things happen. Your cells become more “insulin resistant”, meaning they don’t take in blood sugar. Your cortisol rises, causing your blood sugar to go up via the liver. This is a pretty good article:

(Germaine M Schweibinz) #10

Hello ctviggen, they made me do two fasting blood tests, one at 9:00 and one at 11:00 6 weeks apart, and my glucose came back at 101 both times. Over 100 is prediabetic.

(Germaine M Schweibinz) #11

Wendy198, your body always makes glucose for your brain, so you always have some. I can’t find the amount you should have being ketogenic. It must be so individualized that there are not many charts on it.

(Germaine M Schweibinz) #12

Hello Bob, I also found that article when trying to find information as to blood sugar levels.

(Bob M) #13

That’s for people who eat high carb (and it’s not a great measure for them, either). I have blood sugar over 100 every morning…for years. Yet my HbA1c ranges between 4.9-5.1 (last time I checked; these are “official” blood draws, not estimates as shown above).

For low carb/keto, you need a different measure. HbA1c is good, fasting (12+ hour) insulin and glucose is good.

I would not freak out about blood sugar > 100 in the morning while on low carb. Let them take it at 4pm.

(GINA ) #14

I wore a CGM for two weeks and it was very interesting. I tested foods I don’t usually eat, just to see what would happen. A banana didn’t even cause a blip- I went from 85 to 88 (which happens anyway). An apple made me go from 85 to 114. Usual low carb foods didn’t move my BG at all.

I always have had morning fasted BG on lab tests at or near 100, but have an a1c that varies between 4.5 and 4.8. What I found out from the CGM was that mid morning (when I would have had a lab test) is my highest of the day. I spent most of the day (even after eating) in the 70s and 80s. I came back from a run once at 57

Where I am anyway, you can get a Libre without a reader and just use your phone. The doctor just has to write the prescription for just the sensor.

(Bob M) #15

Gina, your experience mirrors mine (though I never tried to eat a banana or an apple). I did find things like popcorn cause zero blood sugar rise I could see, but I ordered “safe” soup and other safe foods (fish, no rice or any other carbs) from an Asian restaurant before eating ice cream pie. This was the day before Thanksgiving, and I knew I would eat dessert, so I was trying to minimize the “hit”.

The shocker was that the soup caused almost as much blood sugar rise as the ice cream!

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Now, the ice cream caused a crash (see red line), whereas the soup did not. But I was shocked that soup could do that. I think it’s the thickener they used (corn starch?). Although maybe the “salad” had sugar in it? It didn’t taste sweet, but maybe that’s possible?

(Germaine M Schweibinz) #16

Great info thanks!

#17

I would love to have that kind of feedback on my food and exercise choices too ! I was inspired by an article on the difference in glycemic responses between different people. 1 person spiked after eating a banana and didn’t spike after a cookie. For another person it was the other way around. Mind blowing. I didn’t read the whole article, because I don’t understand all the lingo. Apparently the microbioma is in charge as well. They did tests with good and bad diets to see if they can predict the results.
So I ordered some test strips for the glucose meter that we had lying around and started poking myself before and after consuming certain foods, and also monitoring if it would throw me out of ketosis. :laughing: Up to now not much unexpected results. Banana gave the absolute worst reaction for me. Didn’t try a cookie yet :face_with_hand_over_mouth:
Here’s the link to the article:


This article lead to the actual study, but I am having trouble copying the link on my mobile.

(Bob M) #18

I’ve read similar articles. The responses are wildly variable. The article I read was trying to test the glycemic index, and what they found was so shocking they said they doubted the glycemic index was valid for many people.

If anyone tries to verify their blood sugar via pin-prick meters, I would just caution to start with taking blood sugar every 15 minutes. Most articles tell you to test 1-2 hours later, but if you look at my data, even if I eat very high carb, my peaks only last about an hour. So, if I tested beforehand then an hour after (finishing) eating, I would have the same blood sugar. I’d completely miss the peak.

I think if you’re type 2 diabetic or close to it, your blood sugar rise may last longer. I did tons of tests where I tested via pin-prick meters 1+ hours after eating. I wonder how many of those tests were valid?

It wasn’t until I got the CGM that I realized how quickly my blood sugar got back to normal. I got my CGM after I’d been low carb/keto for 3-4 years, and was using pin-prick monitors before then.

I’d really love to see these get a lot cheaper. As in, $25/month or so, without insurance. I’d also like to see them become OTC (over the counter). I got mine OTC from Sweden in 2017. If they are OTC in Sweden, why aren’t they in the US?

#19

Did some tests with fruits at the start of my keto journey, because then I would have this info covered before diving into keto ‘for real’. The daily carb allowance was already gone just with a single test. For some fruits I spiked after 30 minutes, others made me spike twice and the highest spike was at 60 minutes. I tried to prick every 15 minutes, (in between home office calls etc. so sometimes it was not exactly 15 min.) At first I thought it was a fluke, glucose going down and back up again, but I did a little dr Google and it seems to be an indication of good metabolic health… me happy. For most fruits it took me 2,5 or 3 hours to get back to baseline levels, much slower than you. But I guess you are super fast. Wow, you are already back at baseline when my peak is just showing up.
I compared the differences from the starting level on an empty stomach, and ate what I considered to be a portion. I think that would be an honest way to make conclusions on which fruits are affordable for me.
I am not a diabetic, just a bit nerdy I guess, and want to find out how my body responds, so I can make the best choices.
I live in Europe, so maybe I should check my options anyway on a CGM. :face_with_monocle: It is all new to me, but very exciting !
Especially during exercise this would be super interesting ! I found out my glucose spikes after 30 minutes of jogging (Also a beginner here, so can’t run much longer yet), but I have no idea about timings there. Running and pricking is not an ideal combination either :roll_eyes:

(Bob M) #20

Here’s an example, Thanksgiving (in the US, a holiday where we eat to excess):

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That 9.7 (=175 in US units) is from bread, stuffing (more bread), mashed potatoes, turkey. It starts a bit before 1pm/13:00. it’s down to normal before 2pm/14:00. The next peak is due to dessert (I think cheesecake plus more). Again, done within an hour, though this time it undershoots a bit then comes up again.

The software I use unfortunately does not allow you to actually go into the data. For me to get a point on there, I have to put a meter up to the sensor and download the date. Then the point appears. When I had people over, I tried to do that away from them, which is why there are so few points.

I also will get higher blood sugar due to exercising. Since I only workout with “harder” exercises, such as interval training or body weight exercises to failure (think pushups until you can’t do more), I might get skewed results. In other words, less intense activities such as biking on flat ground at a leisurely speed might be different.

I think if you can get a CGM and they are reasonably priced, wearing one for even a month is a good idea.