Francisco on Controlling Blood Glucose to Improve Health

“Since I took control of my glucose I don’t have cravings and can last 4-5 hours between meals without a problem. I realised I am very sensitive to carbs, it doesn't mean that I completely avoid them now, but if I'm going to eat cake then I just have one portion as that’s what I can handle.”

Tell us a bit about yourself and why you signed up for the Vively CGM program.

Long story short, two years ago I got diagnosed with histamine intolerance, which led me to start consuming a lot of health content. I came across a podcast with Tim Spector and one of the things he mentioned was glucose. I realised everything he described related to me.

I started reading more and decided to get a subscription with Abbott’s in September last year. I was scrolling on social media not long after and I saw Vively on Instagram.

At the time I only had the data from Abbott’s, but I wasn’t sure that I was interpreting the data correctly and found the target range was too big. So I checked your website and saw you could log your food and see the impact — that was what I was after.

How was your experience with the CGM sensor and Vively app?

The cgm sensor has been great. Your cgm patch lasted the entire 14 days. I haven’t had any problems with the sensor. It caught me by surprise when I first used it that it didn’t hurt, it's just a flick in your arm and that’s it.

The Vively interface and the fact that you can put in your food data was very attractive to me. Because I had already used Abbott's app, I got my previous data imported straight away. It was perfect for me.

How has controlling glucose in the blood improved your health?

Since I started controlling blood glucose levels I don’t have cravings and can last 4-5 hours between meals without a problem. I realised I am very sensitive to carbs, it doesn't mean that I completely avoid them now, but if I'm going to eat cake then I just have one portion as that reduced blood sugar is what I can handle.

I used to get really itchy all the time and after checking my graph I found it only happens when I go above 6 and am really tired. I also noticed I sleep much better when I exercise. So I started working out daily, even just a little bit to make sure I fall asleep.

I used to have joint pains and get headaches between my eyes once or twice a week. But after 2 months of monitoring my glucose and keeping it stable I don’t get these issues anymore. I’m surprised and really grateful for that.

And after 3 months of controlling high blood sugar levels, I started to have better erections. I’m 49 and they are the best I’ve ever had in my life, better than when I was a kid.

What is the biggest thing you’ve learnt so far?

Whenever someone gives me a few minutes I tell them to try a CGM sensor and use the Vively app.

sing a CGM sensor is like petrol in a car. If you don’t know how much petrol your car has, you’re just guessing. You just go to the petrol station and it overflows.

That’s what I used to do, but now I know how much “petrol” I need for my body. I was on a glucose rollercoaster.