Levels

Di Adams

Active Member
Messages
41
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
My BGF this morning was 7.6mmol/L. i had an urge to eat some shortcake fruit biscuits about half hour later.
I have had 1 cup of tea so far, and just tested my blood sugars before lunch and my sugar levels have dropped to 4.9mmol/L
Anybody know why this has happened
 

4ratbags

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,334
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
How long was it after you ate the biscuits that you tested.
 

copey399

Well-Known Member
Messages
366
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I think you probably spiked quite high after eating the biscuits which you would have registered if you'd tested 2 hours after and I have found that after a steep rise my BS drops lower than my normal average.

We went out for a meal yesterday and although I've normally just had the meat and allowed veg I was bad and ate everything including the roast potatoes, stuffing, carrots and peas and then while the others were tucking into banoffee pie and cream or sticky toffee pudding I rebelled and had a scoop of sorbet :( My BS before the meal was 5.6. Two hours after it shot up to 12.6 but four hours after it was 4.5. I don't very often get readings in the 4s even when I'm being strict so I think it's the body reacting with a surge of insulin to deal with the "high". I'm no expert so if that's wrong I'm sure somebody will correct me.
 
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Daphne917

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,320
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
I did an experiment the other day to see how soon my levels would return to normal and had 30g of Frosties with whole milk and a cup of tea - my readings were quite unexpected and were - before eating 5.7, after 1/2 hour - 6.3, after an hour - 8.4, after 2 hours - 5.3, after 3 hours - 4.8 and after 4 hours - 4.4! Gave up testing after that because the carbs in my breakfast made me hungry so I had a cup of coffee and a rice cake!!
 
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Mep

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,461
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
I find food affects us differently. It could've been the biscuits metabolised in your body quickly spiking your sugar and then you got a sudden drop. The type of carbs you eat will matter when it comes to maintaining stable sugar levels. I find vegetable carbs like corn for example make me hypo in an hour and half after eating usually. So I am cautious if there is just vegetable carbs as the option because I seem to fair better with grain carbs as far as stable sugar levels go. But you learn these things as you go. We're all different. Also I noticed the carbs you've mentioned are highly processed ones. I tend to get better results with whole foods like oats, brown rice, muesli bars or nuts if I need a snack, etc.
 
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Brunneria

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
21,889
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
The process you describe is called Reactive Hypoglycaemia.
(bg rises sharply after carbs, then drops to below the starting level giving feelings of hunger, carb cravings and sometimes hypo feelings)

Some people get it all the time and live in an endless hypo hell - and they don't have to be diabetics, either. A reactive hypoglycaemic can drop down to 2mmol/l on occasion and feel very ill. Most people just dip into the 3s and 4s and think 'goodness, I am suddenly hungry - I should eat soon!'

It is very common to get it mildly, occasionally, sometimes with bad eating, sometimes if we are tired, sometimes with hormonal cycles.

Generally, it is triggered by carb intake, so avoiding carbs on their own, or big doses of carbs is best.

People who get RH seriously tend to find that going very low carb is the best form of control. We have a RH board on the forum for people who experience it regularly.
 
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Daphne917

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,320
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
The process you describe is called Reactive Hypoglycaemia.
(bg rises sharply after carbs, then drops to below the starting level giving feelings of hunger, carb cravings and sometimes hypo feelings)

Some people get it all the time and live in an endless hypo hell - and they don't have to be diabetics, either. A reactive hypoglycaemic can drop down to 2mmol/l on occasion and feel very ill. Most people just dip into the 3s and 4s and think 'goodness, I am suddenly hungry - I should eat soon!'

It is very common to get it mildly, occasionally, sometimes with bad eating, sometimes if we are tired, sometimes with hormonal cycles.

Generally, it is triggered by carb intake, so avoiding carbs on their own, or big doses of carbs is best.

People who get RH seriously tend to find that going very low carb is the best form of control. We have a RH board on the forum for people who experience it regularly.
When I did my Frosties experiment (they are very sweet and sickly so will not be repeating it in a hurry) I knew I was going to be home for the next 4-5 hours because in the past a breakfast as carb laden as that would have left me feeling quite ill after a couple of hours - as it was I was beginning to feel 'shaky' hence why I had something to eat.
 
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Di Adams

Active Member
Messages
41
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Thank you all.
I have just come back from my diabetic Nurse, who told me i would be going on meds today, but I now have to wait another week, as they have taken more more bloods to test again my HbA1c.
was upset as i have been feeling very drained.. On speaking to the Nurse, told her I was testing my bloods and what the levels have been. who then in turn told me not to test my bloods, as this could have an effect on my levels if i stress. But i dont stress.
can someone please tell me if i am right to test or wrong. She also said that i have to make sure i eat three meals a day, which i find very hard to do. Hhhhhhheeeeellllllppppp
I feel as though im going forward then, after today taking 10 steps back
 

Brunneria

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
21,889
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Thank you all.
I have just come back from my diabetic Nurse, who told me i would be going on meds today, but I now have to wait another week, as they have taken more more bloods to test again my HbA1c.
was upset as i have been feeling very drained.. On speaking to the Nurse, told her I was testing my bloods and what the levels have been. who then in turn told me not to test my bloods, as this could have an effect on my levels if i stress. But i dont stress.
can someone please tell me if i am right to test or wrong. She also said that i have to make sure i eat three meals a day, which i find very hard to do. Hhhhhhheeeeellllllppppp
I feel as though im going forward then, after today taking 10 steps back

Have a read of this thread:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/have-you-been-told-not-to-test-your-blood-sugars.66574/

As you will see, you are not the only person to have been confuddled and mislead by NHS staff.
 

Daphne917

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,320
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Thank you all.
I have just come back from my diabetic Nurse, who told me i would be going on meds today, but I now have to wait another week, as they have taken more more bloods to test again my HbA1c.
was upset as i have been feeling very drained.. On speaking to the Nurse, told her I was testing my bloods and what the levels have been. who then in turn told me not to test my bloods, as this could have an effect on my levels if i stress. But i dont stress.
can someone please tell me if i am right to test or wrong. She also said that i have to make sure i eat three meals a day, which i find very hard to do. Hhhhhhheeeeellllllppppp
I feel as though im going forward then, after today taking 10 steps back
The only way that you can see how foods affect you is by testing as we are all different and what suits one of us may have acdetrimental affect on somebody else. For some reason a lot of DRs and DNs object to their patients self testing - why I don't know because it stands to reason that if a patient knows what affect each food has on their BS they can make an informed decision as to whether they eat it or not and in what quantities. It is the people who don't test and eat what they have been advised is 'healthy' that concerns me as they may be unnecessarily causing their BS to rise. At my last review I was asked "why did I want to make my fingers sore" - my response "so that I have good control of my BS" which, with a hba1c of 36, she could not dispute! Ultimately the decision is yours however I know what I would continue to do!!
 

Di Adams

Active Member
Messages
41
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Thanks Daphne917 for advice, much appreciated, it feels sometimes as though on a roller-coaster, up down and around.
I will keep on testing,cos if it wasnt for the testing then i would not know why i feel so rough