and I agree with you that type 1 and 2s' have their different situations. I think type 1s' have much varied differences from other type 1s'. When I post, I am always just posting with type 2s' in mind as that is what I am, but then I'm not sure if I'm a classic type 2. I might have gotten diabetes by being predisposed through chemical exposure many years ago to the chemical "doxin", also known as "Agent Orange", which has been proven to lead to diabetes and many other diseases.......

don't apologize for a hijack, that is just my sick humor, I didn't mean anything by it other than trying to make a pun with the word brittle... I think it is such a funny word to describe diabetes...

Peanut brittle... Brittle as in something old and decrepid. Brittle a something that is very fragile.... I don't know, but it seems there could be a better descriptive word for a type 1 that has swinging numbers from carbs...

Also.... I don't remember for sure if it was you or in what thread I read it, but if you check your BG with a meter and it says "LO", it doesn't mean your blood glucose is low, it means your blood sample was too low to get a reading, so use another stick and try again...

lcU - I also did not realize that type 1s could be/were seriously insulin resistant. I don't think Bernstein mentioned that.

I note you write your diet is "Bernstein-ish". I have noticed over the years that Type 1s who don't follow his recommendations closely always report that his plan doesn't work, but when the details come out they aren't eating his plan at all.

Read his book carefully and do exactly what he recommends. I.e. no eating between meals, dosing for protein, correcting with glucose, don''t do another shot until the insulin is over (i.e. after 3 hours with Humalog 5 for R) and most importantly, try eating Very Low Carb with R insulin injected 45 minutes before eating, which is MUCH less likely to produce hypos.

I think that the R insulin is a feature of his plan that is often neglected but because of its much slower activity curve it gives you more time to react to an approaching low. Plus, when you eat a low carb/sufficient protein diet, the slower speed of R matches the protein much better.

Another suggestion if you can afford it is to get a CGMS (Dexcom seems to have a lot of fans) because I'm seeing a lot of Type 1s reporting on diabetes boards that seeing their bgs in real time is showing them the impact and timing of their protein intake, which many ignore in calculating doses. It also gives you warning of the approaching low long before it gets dangerous.

Type 1s with CGMS are getting 5% A1cs NOT caused by hypos. Worth a try if you can afford it!

Only in the presence of an infection such as a cold or bacterial infection. He does talk about increased insulin requirements during illness.

I generally have very good BG levels on the plan. I don't have delayed stomach-emptying any longer and have no complications. There are some things about the plan I don't care for. I do a lot of cardio (simply because it makes me feel wonderful) and that probably contributes to the lows. Bernstein focuses more on resistance training. I also use more bread facsimile products containing flaxseed and soy flours. Those Wasa fiber crackers are just nasty.

I really hate the 6, 12, 12 routine with no variation. I'm usually more like 0, 12, 6 to 12. I don't eat as much protein as many people on the plan. I'm not a big fan of meat (ugh!) so it is more difficult to devise a WOE that will give me a quality of life that is acceptable.

I'm working on more resistance training (but not before bed!). The "lo" on my meter reflected reality and it was one of the worst hypos I've ever experienced and I know it was from the resistance workout.

To me, it is all about quality of life. I would be miserable if I followed Bernstein's plan to the letter. I wouldn't be able to make deep dives on scuba since I have to run 140+ BG levels to be safe. I would totally lose interest in eating and not enjoy my life as much. Unlike type 2s, I've never had a food problem and it is so easy to become detached from and disinterested in food. That's when I veer way off plan.

OMG ! You are a heretic and I bet you die one day... and what does quality of life have to do with anything?

I gave up deep diving when I went on LC... well, I didn't actually deep dive before LC either but I do consider myself somewhat of an expert on SCUBA since I know what all the letters mean.

JK all, just a bit bored this morning... and going into non-post withdrawel.

As a type 2 here though, I often find that I have to make myself eat... this works for my weight loss purposes but not always for my bg normalization and health, etc. It is an entirely new phenomena for me.

I wish you all the best regardless of your programs or non-programs...

Have a nice day,
/smile

Thanks, Korban! You too.

Canjunboy, most of my lows are due to increased activity which lowers my BG levels at night, even if I do it in the morning. May have to go back to the bedtime snack, despite what Dr. B. says.

Actually I think about all of us who follow Bernstein adapt it to what works, what gives us our quality of life. Exercise - it is odd, your's causes lows, mine causes highs! (unless it is intense and for hours). And when I had to drop Metformin my pre-ex shot had to go from 4 1/2 to 8 1/2 units to stay below 100, and even that doesn't always work. Damn liver!

Rob, mine can go high too. When I'm diving and start out at 140 or so I usually end up at 180, but if i see something really exciting like a whale shark, it can over 200!

Some Type 1s do become insulin resistant as they get older, just like everyone else. Advancing age seems to ramp up insulin resistance. In addition, people may develop antibodies to the insulins they use and that will cause them to need a lot more insulin.

Just looking at the doses that Type 1s report using on some of the diabetes boards makes it very clear what a wide range if IR they have.

Don't understand why people are so hung up what Bernstein says.He does not give a lot of backup of his views.
Find out what what works for you and do it.
Apologize to the Dr. B worship society.
Eddie

Well, it is his forum, Eddie.

I have to admire the man in the way he controls his diabetes, even though I do find it robotic.

Has anyone read "Think Like a Pancreas"?

Not sure that I qualify for the worship society... However, I believe (don't absolutely know) that his premise of normalization of blood glucose will prevent or mitigate long term complications from diabetes. Further, he has given me a reasonable basis for accomplishing that. I know there are other approaches, but thus far, his has worked for me and I am a big believer in results.

As to his qualifications as an MD, I am not sure that I hold him in the highest regard as I think he is prone to mis-state things... in a recent tape he suggested that if one has low ferritin that they should take a tablespoon of iron filings... I assume I heard it correctly and that is a blatantly ludicrous comment.

In his book he says to eat 1 - 1.2 g/kg of protein per "lean body mass" but in his tape he makes no reference to "lean body mass"... Lean body mass is very different from present weight and weight goal. The calculator on Jenny's site agrees more with his tape, not the book.

On the whole I found his book very informative for me, a newbie at LC and would feel no hesitance to recommend it to any diabetic. For me, his method has worked, but worshipper?... I don't think so. I believe it will work for others and I accept his basic premise... he is in his 70's and appears to be in pretty damn good health.

/smile

Now, Jessica Alba, I worship...

/smile

I read TLAP and thought he did a barely adequate job. Most of what he says is OK. It is what he does not say.

He never discusses the controversey of whether or not we should aim for normal blood sugars

He never discusses the usefulness of eating low carb

He does not discuss or refer to Dr Bernstein's most important points. The carbs (and protein) you eat are going to become glucose with about a 30% variability. The insulin you inject will likewise get into your blood stream with a 30% variability. Hence his law of low numbers. (actually an engineering 'law').

You CANNOT think like a pancreas if you do not take these two variabilities into consideration. Your pancreas when properly functioning almost perfectly maintains your BGs near the mid 80s. How can you be thinking like a pancreas when you tolerate HUGE deviations from normal blood sugars. Hahaha - you are thinking like a bad pancreas.

Eddie - you know most of us do not follow Bernstein all that closely. But he gives all the information he know, and makes it easy for us to figure out how we want to deviate. The author of TLAP leaves his readers in ignorance about some of the most important controversies and facts of diabetes.