Continuous glucose monitor

[Icefire]

Has anyone tried using a continuous glucose monitor? Or been part of the Zoe project? I'm interested to hear of your findings and whether you found it beneficial.

Many thanks.

[Jaxxi]

Yes, I am participating in Zoe and have found it very beneficial indeed.

I thought my diet was excellent before but the CGM was a revelation and I eat quite differently now. Fewer starchy carbs like oats, GF breads, brown rice and brown rice noodles and loads more nuts, seeds, pulses and lots of veggies at every meal - I even eat a big salad at breakfast time!

My gut microbiome results were interesting too. They showed very high levels of Prevotella bacteria, which appear from studies to be linked with inflammatory disorders.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Prevotella copri is observed in 30 percent of the UK population. The average relative abundance in people who have this bug is 4 percent, and my own relative abundance is 35 percent!!! Nearly 9 times the national average!

I came off hydroxychloroquine back in August - a month before I started Zoe - and I was expecting my joint pains to re-emerge as they always used to in the past whenever I tried to come off it. But 3 months on I am still drug-free and still pain-free and am experiencing *fewer* mouth ulcers and bad-stomach days than I did while on the drug. Whether this is down to my change in eating habits or whether it's the talked-about age-related Behçet's calming (I'm 65) it's difficult to tell. But I am drug-free and feeling better than I have for years.

Since starting Zoe I've lost a little bit of weight (BMI back from the brink of obese - phew!) and have more energy for exercise and other fun things. It's certainly not a diet as it's not designed for weight loss - you can eat whatever you like and there is no 'slap on the wrist' if you eat a lot of calories. But it does put you in touch with how you feel after eating the 'low scoring' foods that are not beneficial for you. So I can now connect my habit of snacking on 3 oatcakes with a big glucose peak and tiring slump, and feeling hungry again soon after. I now snack on nuts, seeds, keto crackers and fruit and have much less trouble going from meal to meal.

I don't process fats at all well since I've had my gallbladder out but a Zoe coach has helped me to see how I can spread good fats through the day so I get the benefit of them without ill effects.

So my take on Zoe is that it is a lot of money but for the price of a half-decent telly I've been given some really valuable insights into things I can do to optimise my health and hopefully keep me resilient and independent in my autumn years.

[Icefire in reply to Jaxxi]

Wow this is so good to hear and reflects my experience with continuous glucose monitor so far. Did you get any guidance on what is considered a healthy spike? I was surprised to see mine shooting up into 'diabetic ranges' after veg chilli with no rice. Its made me realise I must of been spiking up many times a day previously.

I found this study... pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/340...

About insulin resistance in non obese Bechets patients. I wonder if a lack of glucose control is common to all of us? The above study didn't use a cgm. I would be considered 'normal' by NHS tests at the mo I think. My numbers go really high and then really low. I feel the slump after a high. I've noticed I've been much more laid back at work since trying to flatten the peaks. I do feel more energetic but I've only been trying for a couple of weeks so it's early days.

I tried to bring this up with Rhuematologist that I sore the other day but unfortunately She was new to the job and I don't think she knew much about Behcets. She looked at me and said 'you don't need to worry about diabetes' because I'm slim I think. I was more just curious as to weather there is a link between high glucose variability and Bechets. It make sense to me high glucose causes vascular damage.

I've read a lot but I don't really have a healthy control to compare my results to.

[Jaxxi in reply to Icefire]

I think the acid test of whether you are insulin resistant/prediabetic or not is the HbA1c test, which the CGM doesn't measure (though mine does have a stab at predicting what it might be.) It's a measure of your body's insulin responses over time. Your GP should readily test this for you, but you can buy a self-test from diabetes.co.uk.

I can't find many examples of normal / pre-diabetic / diabetic CGM traces to compare mine with. I suppose this is because the technology is still so new.

One of the best sources I've found so far on glucose monitoring and control is nutritionist Dr Mario Kratz's YouTube channel

youtu.be/Yg9AS2sfY9Y?si=FAJ...(Not working as expected?)

The Zoe coaches will advise on ways of flattening the peaks I'm sure, but I think they steer clear of giving medical advice per se. If they find your results are possibly indicative of a medical problem, they tell you to seek medical advice. This is what happened with my high triglycerides.

I mentioned my Zoe participation to my rheumatologist at the Birmingham Behcet's CoE and she was very interested as she had recently seen a presentation about it at a conference.

My blood glucose is in the high normal range between 5 and 8 most of the time but it does peak to 9 if I eat something like a big piece of cake. My bg has been much worse in the past when my BD was more active - I used to monitor it every morning and my fasting glucose was prediabetic. I managed to get it under control with exercise and limiting carbs - easier said than done when you are flaring, knackered and barely have the energy to bung a readymeal in the oven!

The CGM really does make monitoring and control so much simpler. When I'm done with Zoe I will buy one every 3 months or so to make sure I'm staying on track.

Did you have any skin reaction to your CGM? I wondered whether mine would cause a pathergy reaction - but it was a little sore for a day then happily it settled down. But I did wonder whether it would be an issue if my Behçet's was more active.

[Icefire in reply to Jaxxi]

Thank you, the videos were really helpful. He has done one on using a cgm as well as the one you linked Mr to.

The first cgm was far less painful that doing a finger prick and felt a little strange for a day but then I forgot about it. The 2nd one was just a tiny bit sore for a bit but almost nothing really. Whilst a scrape in my mouth is instantly a mouth ulcer my skin isn't quite as reactive.

Like you I'll use them occasionally depending on how I'm feeling. 😀

[Icefire]

Sorry about the typos, I'm not a fan of the auto correct on this site 😅

[FrancisB]

gread thread guys, i have been considering getting one and will definately do so after reading your experiences.

[Icefire]

I highly recommend it. I've only used the cgm but still very tempted by the ZOE programme. Bechets has been very quiet since I realised what foods spike my blood glucose levels. (I must be about 6 weeks in, so early days.)

I've had a complete shift in my thinking. I haven't eaten dairy for years but am now eating kefir, live yogurt, butter and organic cheddar regularly. I started gradually and think it's bringing in some useful bacteria for microbiome. Would have given me stomach cramps before but nor so now. I always thought dairy was causing inflamation but I think it might just have been at the scene of the crime.

I'm currently at home with Covid but Bechets is behaving itself so far. (Fingers crossed). I think I would have previously reached for the carbs to fight off infection but that's not how my body works best. I'm sure I used to always flare after illness in the past. Definitely would have medicated with sweets "for energy" in my younger years

Having used the CGM, I now avoid white potatoes, rice and startchy things (as well as sugar). I try to time fruit with exercise and eat a bit less off it.

I think the odd spike is fine, so I had both chips and pizza out socially last week. But otherwise replace startch with extra veg and cheese. Still working out stratergies. I love food by the way!! I still have a tiny portion if I really want it as i still cook startchy carbs for the rest of the family.

I was also doing well and feeling good with couch to 5k to, but just waiting for Covid to pass before I take that up again. I realised I need to up my exercise to help use up any excess glucose. Weight training is supposed to be a good glucose sink to.

Outside of this thread I had a private chat with someone who was told by Rheumatologist to go low on startchy carbs and it does them well. When they stray the joint pain comes back.

Let us know how you get on!!