Looks like I'm diabetic, couple of questions ...

[AndyMc]

Hi

I'm a 42-year-old male, 6 foot, 11 stone (was 12.5-13 stone until recently, weight has been steadily dropping over last few months, despite no diet changes). Althought I've never been significantly overweight, my diet has always had a lot of sugar and 'bad' carbs.

I bought a BG meter last week and it confirmed what I'd suspected for a while, that my blood sugar is high. The first reading (shortly after a meal) was 20, which was a shock. Next morning (i.e. fasting) it was 13, still very high. I immediately cut out pretty much all carbs (replaced with meat and eggs, mainly), and by next morning it was down to 11. The three or four mornings since then has been around 7.5 - 8.5, but basically it seems to have bottomed there, despite eating almost zero carbs.

I'm wondering why the level is hovering around 8 after 5 days of near-zero carbs. Where is the sugar coming from? Or am I just being impatient? Is it likely to fall further over the next few weeks?

Also I haven't been to a GP yet. Based on what I've read it's unlikely the GP will be able to offer much assistance. Assuming I can keep my BG down to 8 or lower, is there any benefit to seeing a GP?

Thanks for any advice

Andy

 

[Indy51]

If you have been losing weight without dietary changes, it may be worthwhile getting checked for LADA. Just because you're in your 40s doesn't automatically mean Type 2, especially if you've been low carbing for an extended period of time and still getting higher BG readings. I would opt for seeing a GP and getting an official diagnosis.

 

[Pipp]

Hi


I'm a 42-year-old male, 6 foot, 11 stone (was 12.5-13 stone until recently, weight has been steadily dropping over last few months, despite no diet changes). Althought I've never been significantly overweight, my diet has always had a lot of sugar and 'bad' carbs.

I bought a BG meter last week and it confirmed what I'd suspected for a while, that my blood sugar is high. The first reading (shortly after a meal) was 20, which was a shock. Next morning (i.e. fasting) it was 13, still very high. I immediately cut out pretty much all carbs (replaced with meat and eggs, mainly), and by next morning it was down to 11. The three or four mornings since then has been around 7.5 - 8.5, but basically it seems to have bottomed there, despite eating almost zero carbs.

I'm wondering why the level is hovering around 8 after 5 days of near-zero carbs. Where is the sugar coming from? Or am I just being impatient? Is it likely to fall further over the next few weeks?

Also I haven't been to a GP yet. Based on what I've read it's unlikely the GP will be able to offer much assistance. Assuming I can keep my BG down to 8 or lower, is there any benefit to seeing a GP?

Thanks for any advice

Andy

Welcome to the forum @AndyMc

Yes, see your GP.

You need a proper diagnosis, and if you have T2 regular checks on eyes for retinopathy, and foot checks too in case of loss of sensation, neuropathy.

Also, if you have T2 your can have free NHS eye tests and free prescriptions.

You have already made changes to your diet, and can get lots of advice on forum, but you could need to have medication prescribed to assist in BG control. Especially as you have high levels on 'near-zero carbs'.

 

[dawnmc]

You only get free prescriptions if you are put on diabetic medication.

 

[daisy1]

Hi Andy and welcome to the forum

Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it helpful, in addition to the good advice you have just received and will receive more of. Carry on asking questions.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 100,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

 

[Sancho panza]

As the others have said go see your GP
There are many forms of diabetes and whilst unfortunately with your readings it looks like you are one of us you need a proper diagnosis.
With help you can if you apply yourself get your sugar levels down to where you want them but it does take time.
Welcome to the forum, don't be afraid to ask questions.

 

[Totto]

Hi AndyMc, as the others say, you need to see your GP.

As to higher-than-expected bg when low carbing you need to know that if you eat a lot of protein a certain amount of this will be converted to glucose. This is why I and many other find LCHF works so well. http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

Fat is your friend, it has almost no effect on bg at all but fills you up nicely.

 

[AndyMc]

Thanks for all of the replies. I will make an appointment with the GP.

I hadn't heard of LADA, so thanks for that.

BG has fallen slightly (7.2 this morning). I will try to add a bit more fat with my protein, and also get some exercise (I get very little usually).

Regards

Andy

 

[AndyMc]

Just a quick follow-up. Adjusted diet a little (added some fat), and added a little exercise (10 min brisk walk after dinner). BG was 6.5 yesterday morning and 5.8 this morning. Not sure if the small changes helped bring it down, or whether it would have come down anyway, but I'm much happier now it's below 7. Thanks again for your help.

 

[zand]

Well done, that's good news.

 

[AndyMc]

Just another update - last four days pre-breakfast readings have been under 5, with no further changes to diet or exercise. Starting to test more throughout the day, and generally the reading stays below 7, so I'm pretty happy with that.

So in summary my experience of switching to very-low-carb diet from a fasting level of 13 is:

approx one week to get fasting level below 7
approx two weeks to get fasting level below 5.

 

[andcol]

excellent work

 

[alliebee]

We'll done you. Please see your gp though

 

[Bluetit1802]

Excellent work, but please see your GP. You have no idea how long you have had these high levels, so the quicker you get a retinal eye screening test done, the better. As your fasting levels are down, a fasting glucose test will be a waste of your doctor's time, so please ask for an HbA1c and/or an oral glucose test (where you have a drink of glucose at the surgery, wait a while, then have a test.) Your GP will probably also test for cholesterol, kidney and liver functions. These are important for diabetics.

 

[spaceman]

Hi

I'm a 42-year-old male, 6 foot, 11 stone (was 12.5-13 stone until recently, weight has been steadily dropping over last few months, despite no diet changes). Althought I've never been significantly overweight, my diet has always had a lot of sugar and 'bad' carbs.

I bought a BG meter last week and it confirmed what I'd suspected for a while, that my blood sugar is high. The first reading (shortly after a meal) was 20, which was a shock. Next morning (i.e. fasting) it was 13, still very high. I immediately cut out pretty much all carbs (replaced with meat and eggs, mainly), and by next morning it was down to 11. The three or four mornings since then has been around 7.5 - 8.5, but basically it seems to have bottomed there, despite eating almost zero carbs.

I'm wondering why the level is hovering around 8 after 5 days of near-zero carbs. Where is the sugar coming

Also I haven't been to a GP yet. Based on what I've read it's unlikely the GP will be able to offer much assistance. Assuming I can keep my BG down to 8 or lower, is there any benefit to seeing a GP?

Thanks for any advice

Andy

you havnt stated what type of diabetes you have,im a type 1 on novorapid and Lantus insulin per day,if you went to your doctors for a diabetic blood test he/she would have given you a free BGmeter and free strips on perscription. yes we all lost alot of weight,are your eyes blirred are you urining alot at night all signs of diabetes, your food you can eat anything in small qties i still eat sweets,biscuits,cakes my readings are low in the 4-7 area ive found that excercise like walking really keeps the BGreadings down and your monthly visits to the diabetic nurse keeps her happy.the trouble with diabetes is that when you first get it and the doctor perscribes either pills if its type 2 or insulin if its type 1 the body pancaras still pruduces its own insulin for a while thats called the Honeymoon period. then say after a while it stops completely then you have to inject insulin SO best go to the doctors a simple blood test or LLOYDS chemist