Why wear a CGM for a non-diabetic?
In my case it was because I’d been having migraines and panic attack symptoms, especially during or after exercise. It’s rough to be enjoying activity, like pickleball or a run, and then have to lie down and do nothing until frustrating symptoms pass. I wanted to see if glucose spikes had any correlation to these episodes.
I also wanted to be able to test different foods and see if they caused a blood sugar spike. I have read, and heard on podcasts that different foods can perform completely differently from person to person. A potato might send my blood sugar through the roof, and be only a blip for someone else.
Comparison, selection
What I used- at the time of this writing, I found only 2 non-Rx over the counter CGMs. Pricing was about the same at $49 for one, or $89-99 for two monitors, which last roughly 2 weeks. I chose the Dexcom Stelo because I liked the monitoring and the app best. The app is free and tracks with a nice graph and allows you to enter events such as meals and activity. The Freestyle Libre looked good too, but I’m happy with my choice. They shipped fast and the tracking is easy and intuitive.
Installation- painless and easy with the provided applicator. Once you’ve installed it onto your upper arm, it takes a few minutes for tracking to start.
Findings
Almost immediately I was able to correlate the physically challenging episodes with glucose spikes, often above the recommended normal top end of 140/ mgDl. The range was erratic, and my periods of feeling low energy, brain foggy, anxious, and even having tachycardia correlated with the upper peaks
It’s funny, because before I got the CGM, I was expecting to find hypoglycemia as a cause, not hyperglycemia. I’ve also learned that there is such a thing as reactive hypoglycemia- If your blood sugar spikes, your body’s reaction in attempting to correct it may cause a subsequent dip.
Discovery- is keto the answer?
I tended to be on the low carb side in general, eating a paleo diet with few processed carbs. One morning, I had not eaten any carbs up til noon, and I noticed that I was feeling great- good energy, mental focus, and mood. I started to research Keto for normalizing blood sugar and regulating anxiety for ADD brains like mine and found that this can be a successful strategy. I had done keto previously for 2-3 years, so I decided to experiment and go into ketosis in an attempt to even out my mood and eliminate really frustrating experiences where I had no or low energy, poor focus, or even tough physical symptoms that put me on my back.
As soon as I went keto, my blood sugar went from being in a dangerous, pre-diabetic range, to consistently in the normal range, with much lower fluctuation. Mind you, I wasn’t eating crazy carbs like donuts or candy or anything. My diet was pretty impeccable by most standards; no alcohol, caffeine, sugar, fried foods. My carbs came from sweet potatoes, apples, bananas, chickpea pasta and pizza crust, a bit of honey here and there, but minimal- all very healthy carb sources. Either my body needed a reset, or my makeup- being ADD and slim and highly active (1000+ calories burned on an average day) required something more strenuous.
This evening out of my blood glucose range has led to more calm, mental focus, and consistent energy with fewer dips and peaks. That’s what I was going for, but I hadn’t expected that I would end up on keto. The episodes are still a work in progress. There are other factors involved for me, mainly stress and anxiety, which I can write about in other posts. Eliminating the high end of the glucose spikes and putting myself consistently in a range of 70-99 mg/dL is a great start, and removes one thing from the equation.
What if I don’t want to do keto?
If keto is not your thing, I’d say just eat healthy and log your meals, and use the CGM to figure out what is spiking your blood sugar, and then manage your diet to get it into the range you want. It could be specific foods that need to be moderated or eliminated, it could be quantity (I had a big spike after I ate a whole 9″ chickpea crust pizza, which didn’t seem like a big deal to me after a 2 hour exercise session), or it could even be timing- time of day, relationship between exercise and food intake timing.
Conclusion:
I’m very grateful for how easy it was to get a CGM without prescrition and to be able to monitor my blood glucose in real time and identify trends and patterns. It was an excellent opportunity to improve my health and well being, and to boost my overall mental clarity and energy. I recommend it to anyone who wants to optimize health and well being. For $49 or $89, you can get 2-4 weeks of really valuable data.