Freestyle libre reading vs lab result

I don't see where you are getting the blood sugar at 6.1 on your libre. The in range/out of range percentage is misleading to me. The high numbers are frightening because it can lead to more serious and lasting damage to your eyes, hearing, and even your brain health. I wouldn't want to be out of range at all with the high numbers you are quoting, in fact I have never experienced numbers like that and I would never eat enough carbs to cause numbers like that.
The only time I ever had insulin shots was in the hospital when my pain medication caused a spike and I couldn't do without the pain medication.
If you would rather stay on insulin shots than decrease the carbs in your diet, that is your choice, I guess. The insulin shot is probably causing you to be "in target" for part of the time but the blood sugar numbers show that your diet is causing serious problems. Sorry I can't be more helpful and supportive.
The insulin shot for type 2 diabetes is to be used for crisis treatment and that is the program you are choosing to use. I don't recommend it at all. Dorisena

If your lab tests show such high numbers on an empty stomach before lunch, then your scanner is not giving you numbers that are accurate. You have not shown us this number from your scanner so I do not know what you are interpreting. I understand the range score now and know that it is not telling you what you need to know about your health. The lab tests tell you that you have a serious eating problem that needs to be addressed. Being in range for a fourth of the time tells you that you need an insulin shot the other three fourths of the time. The high numbers tell you that your blood sugar is not stable or healthy and that you most certainly are headed for trouble. See your doctor for more help. Dorisena

The numbers do not seem to match up to your A1c, which is very high. However the fasting reading equates to an A1c of approximately 7.3, so if you’ve made any changes it appears you’re going in the right direction.

I believe your unit is out of calibration. You can usually purchase a test solution at most pharmacies, but I myself would suggest you purchase a regular testing kit. Abbott makes a Freestyle lite test kit that sells for around $20, and comes with a week or two supply of test strips.

I assume you’ve discussed the high A1c results with your doctor; if not, this should be your top priority. Dorisena is correct, this high of an A1c can result in many severe long-term problems and should not be taken lightly.

Have you started to put any lower-volume, lower-carb plans into action? Have you started a regular exercise routine? What changes have you made in your eating patterns?

As I understand it, from what you described you always will have the tendency for higher blood sugar. Just as certain other diseases, you may be in remission, but it will always be there.

That said, it seems your doing very good in this regard. I would advise you to keep doing what you are now doing in regards to testing and food selection. Be careful not to “splurge” in your food selection and to always add some type of exercise daily, even just walking, and you can hopefully keep it in remission.

And consider yourself very fortunate that you don’t need a mountain of drugs to control diabetes and keep side effects in check!

@howardm The reason I sometimes wonder if I really am still diabetic is that I do eat more of the forbidden foods than I should, but my A1c is always good, and when I test my blood sugar it is within range also. One thing I do is when I have oatmeal breakfast, which is about 5 mornings a week, I add Ceylon cinnamon to it. Ceylon is referred to as "true cinnamon" and is different from the Cassia/Saigon/Vietnamese cinnamon. It is much milder tasting and has much less coumarin which can be harmful to your health if used in large quantities. I realize the evidence on whether or not cinnamon is helpful is weak but it makes the oatmeal taste better too so there's no loss there.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/side-effects-of-cinnamon
I generally exercise about an hour a day, half of that walking fast or other cardio, and the other half strengthening. Having a watch that's an activity tracker helps to keep me on goal.

I am very thankful that I am not on any drugs for diabetes since I am on a number of other drugs for other things.

You have certainly gained a wide breadth of knowledge from your personal experience, that's great. I try to research my various health problems but for some reason, medical information just does not stick with me. My daughter is quite the opposite, she is knowledgeable about medical things that she has never had any reason to seek information.
JK

When I started on the Libre, I would would double check with my regular meter also. There was a 20-30 point difference. That bothered me until I put both numbers into my insulin pump and saw that it made very little difference in the amount of insulin I received. The number of carbs in the meal made much more difference than my blood glucose level.

I remember in my physiology class the professor saying you can burn a bad functioning insulin system out and then you have type 1 diabetes and then it is too late to get the insulin to work better. Before I started changing my diet with type 2, i noticed that my insulin pump, which would run like crazy if I smelled food, would make me sick on an empty stomach, so I would eat and stop the pain. I had fought a sick stomach for years and blamed it on stress. With the diabetes I noticed that my insulin wasn't really doing the job well anymore, so when I cut the carbs, it seemed to work a little better so long as I didn't go more than four hours without eating, and I limited the carbs. What I am saying is that I think my insulin system isn't dead, but works on a limited basis. That makes me think that if I can get the fat off my waist, it may work better, so that is where i am right now. The professor said that doctors wait until you are sick and then they know how to treat diabetes with insulin, They don't understand prevention very well, but scientists have made some inroads on pancreas transplants of some kind that may help make the body do its job efficiently again. I understand having a body that is old and partly worn out so I pamper my condition and try to keep the blood sugar reasonable for a few more years. I believe a repair and cure for diabetes is in the future but only with better diet.
Dorisena

From what I’ve seen, I believe that cinnamon is helpful with type 2 diabetes. The evidence is simply because there is no monetary value in testing it; most of the drug testing that is done has a financial incentive to the drug companies, and cinnamon offers none.

However, there are side effects to eating too much cinnamon, even ceylon cinnamon; that would be something to discuss with your endocrinologist. It can also effect medications that you may be taking.

@howardm I have read side-effects and I believe that they occur in very large doses, but I have an upcoming appointment with my endocrinologist so I will ask him about that then.

That's a great point, that it hasn't really been tested due to not having monetary value for the drug companies.
JK

Dorisena

New to this forum. Great words of encouragement. Thank you.