Newly diagnosed and worried

[Willow83]

Hey all I'm 33 year old thought I was active and healthy but have a serious sweet tooth.. I have been told I'm pretty diabetic with fasting readings around 6.2 has anyone managed to reduce their fasting readings ? I used to think I needed food every two hours like my blood sugar must be low but now I can read it I'm thinking I'm just not used to normal

 

[Art Of Flowers]

Eating high carb food raises your blood sugar very quickly. This sharp rise is followed by a drop in blood sugars about 2 hours later, which is why if you eat a lot of carbs you never feel full and need to constantly eat. If you cut out a lot of the carbs and eat more fat (cheese, full fat yoghurt, nuts, avocados etc) then you will feel full for longer and wont need to be constantly snacking.

A blood sugar reading of 6.2 is not that bad. You just need to be careful of how much carbs you eat, so cut back on the breakfast cereals, bread, potatoes, rice and pasta.

 

[Willow83]

Eating high carb food raises your blood sugar very quickly. This sharp rise is followed by a drop in blood sugars about 2 hours later, which is why if you eat a lot of carbs you never feel full and need to constantly eat. If you cut out a lot of the carbs and eat more fat (cheese, full fat yoghurt, nuts, avocados etc) then you will feel full for longer and wont need to be constantly snacking.

A blood sugar reading of 6.2 is not that bad. You just need to be careful of how much carbs you eat, so cut back on the breakfast cereals, potatoes, rice and pasta.

Thank you , I have been doing slimming world which encourages the potatoes pasta etc I'm back on weighing and measuring now , thank you for your reply

 

[Bluetit1802]

Fasting readings are very unreliable as many factors come in play, not just food. Diabetes is no longer diagnosed on fasting readings. The diagnostic test is called the HbA1c which measures average 24/7 blood sugar levels over the previous 2 to 3 months. If you haven't had this test, and if you are concerned, then it would be a good idea to ask for the test.

 

[Willow83]

Fasting readings are very unreliable as many factors come in play, not just food. Diabetes is no longer diagnosed on fasting readings. The diagnostic test is called the HbA1c which measures average 24/7 blood sugar levels over the previous 2 to 3 months. If you haven't had this test, and if you are concerned, then it would be a good idea to ask for the test.

Hi yes I had this done , was told it was borderline and to monitor readings and keep a food diary etc
Thanks for your reply

 

[Bluetit1802]

Hi yes I had this done , was told it was borderline and to monitor readings and keep a food diary etc
Thanks for your reply

Testing readings and keeping a food diary is excellent advice, providing you test before and after eating, not just fasting.

 

[Willow83]

Testing readings and keeping a food diary is excellent advice, providing you test before and after eating, not just fasting.

Yes that's where I'm at now, so test 2 hours after breakfast etc and see if there's some kind of pattern maybe.. going to try and quit the chocolate and sweets tho forever feel jittery like I need sugar it's horrible
Thanks

 

[Resurgam]

When you start to lower blood glucose you can get various unpleasant reactions - eating fewer carbs is, after all, the removal of an addictive substance.

 

[ringi]

@Willow83

Try doing a one off test when you eat a meal with lots of carbs and testing your BG every 15 minutes for 5 hrs after the meal (while not doing any acitivty), if you see that your BG drops to below what it was before the meal after being high, then posts all the numbers here and someone will explain to you what is going on.

 

[Willow83]

When you start to lower blood glucose you can get various unpleasant reactions - eating fewer carbs is, after all, the removal of an addictive substance.

Thank you

 

[Willow83]

@Willow83

Try doing a one off test when you eat a meal with lots of carbs and testing your BG every 15 minutes for 5 hrs after the meal (while not doing any acitivty), if you see that your BG drops to below what it was before the meal after being high, then posts all the numbers here and someone will explain to you what is going on.

I will try that thank you although 5 hours is ages without more food at the minute

 

[Bluetit1802]

I will try that thank you although 5 hours is ages without more food at the minute

It may seem a long time, but leaving big gaps between meals is a good thing to do. It gives your pancreas and digestive system a rest, and helps with blood sugars. As we get BS rises after eating, and as our insulin response is impaired in some way, it takes longer for our BS to come back down to where we started. If we eat again while our BS is still elevated, the post meal level will be that much higher, and so on throughout the day. It is worth a try at least. If you feel hungry and crave something to eat, try something with zero or almost zero carbs - a piece of cheese, or an egg, or just a coffee with cream. Maybe even a cup of tea would help. It is trial and error.

 

[Willow83]

It may seem a long time, but leaving big gaps between meals is a good thing to do. It gives your pancreas and digestive system a rest, and helps with blood sugars. As we get BS rises after eating, and as our insulin response is impaired in some way, it takes longer for our BS to come back down to where we started. If we eat again while our BS is still elevated, the post meal level will be that much higher, and so on throughout the day. It is worth a try at least. If you feel hungry and crave something to eat, try something with zero or almost zero carbs - a piece of cheese, or an egg, or just a coffee with cream. Maybe even a cup of tea would help. It is trial and error.

Yes thank you totally makes sense! I'm in a bad habit of eating two hourly constantly believing my sugar was low I'm going to try my very best thanks so much for your help and advice

 

[Bluetit1802]

Yes thank you totally makes sense! I'm in a bad habit of eating two hourly constantly believing my sugar was low I'm going to try my very best thanks so much for your help and advice

I think the word "habit" says it all. It isn't necessary to graze. You can always test if you think your sugars are low. I don't know what your family situation is or whether you live alone or go out to work, but if practically possible, it is an idea to have up to 3 set meal times where you actually set the table and sit down at the table to eat, and try to stick to this with just a few drinks in between.

 

[Willow83]

I think the word "habit" says it all. It isn't necessary to graze. You can always test if you think your sugars are low. I don't know what your family situation is or whether you live alone or go out to work, but if practically possible, it is an idea to have up to 3 set meal times where you actually set the table and sit down at the table to eat, and try to stick to this with just a few drinks in between.

Yes I agree, I work part time on my feet and have 3 young ish children so always moving about but I'm not actually excercising as such always tired tbh! I've just tested two hours after a meal because usually now I'm reaching for the sugar but the reading was 6.6 so obviously I don't need any it's kind of put my mind at rest knowing it's not low I'm not about to faint!! Stupid cycle I'm in

 

[Alison Campbell]

Hi yes I had this done , was told it was borderline and to monitor readings and keep a food diary etc
Thanks for your reply

Did you get the actual number of your Hba1c? If not please ask for this as it is important to know where you are starting from so you can check your progress.

 

[Willow83]

Did you get the actual number of your Hba1c? If not please ask for this as it is important to know where you are starting from so you can check your progress.

Hi I'll chase it up, I cant remember much I was hospitalised when all this come about so all a blur but thanks

 

[Alison Campbell]

I didn't realise you were hospitalised when diagnosed, hope you are recovered.

This may make a difference to a fasting reading if you were ill at the time? That is were the HBA1C comes into play as it covers the previous 3 months and would be more accurate if you were well during that time.

Stress, illness, infections, medication and even a cold can have an impact on blood sugar levels.

 

[Willow83]

I didn't realise you were hospitalised when diagnosed, hope you are recovered.

This may make a difference to a fasting reading if you were ill at the time? That is were the HBA1C comes into play as it covers the previous 3 months and would be more accurate if you were well during that time.

Stress, illness, infections, medication and even a cold can have an impact on blood sugar levels.

Sorry I was hospitalised with something else but whilst in they was running all kinds of tests that being one of them it was mentioned and I was monitored but only 3 times a day? So when I went back to gp from being discharged this is where I'm asked to keep numbers and a food diary
But when I go back I will ask the question
Thanks

 

[luceeloo]

I was the same age as you when I was diagnosed. The advice on here has been really helpful.
It's worth checking out the low carb section of the forum too, because you might find that your blood sugar will reduce if you reduce your carb intake.