Really high BM results!

[Mammabat]

hi, I'm realatively new to all of this although I was told I had T2 a while ago... any time I check my blood sugar it's always sky high. This morning 11.4
Yesterday I checked at 8am before breakfast and BMW was 10.7
An hour after breakfast 13.2
Before lunch 12.2
After lunch 14.9
Before evening meal 13.5
After 17.9
At bedtime 19.5
This happens all the time!
Recently while in hospital for a minor operation my numbers were 25.5 and they put me on an insulin pump during surgery but removed it directly afterwards...
I cannot take metformin, glucophage or byetta as I have no large intestine due to ulcerative colitis and having an ileostomy stoma. When I tried these medications I ended up on a drip in hospital because I had horrendous diarrhoea and was severely dehydrated....
Any advice please??? I'm desperate....
Thanks in advance x
Karen

 

[AndBreathe]

@Mammabat - Have you discussed this with your medical team?

There are actually a whole raft of medications suitable for T2s, but of your your case is somewhat more complex due to your missing colon.

Many of us have done really well on a reduced carb diet, meaning we've cut out or down on the bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and of course the sweet stuff, whilst usually upping the veg (above ground veg mainly), and maybe some additional fat to balance out our calorific needs.

I would have no idea how that might work with a very short digestive system, but just throwing it out there.

From the top of my head, I can't think of any other member who has an illeostomy and is posting at the moment. That doesn't mean there isn't one; it just means either I haven't noticed or they may not have specifically mentioned it.

I'm sure others will comment in due course, but I repeat, please do ensure your medical advisors are engaged with any changes you make. I would hate for you to become unwell whilst trying to make yourself better!

 

[CherryAA]

I agree that you need to be fully engaged with your medical team, having said that, so far I've come across practically no illnesses or disabilities that seem to get better from eating more carbs !


a quick check on the internet revealed this blog - essentially she is describing pretty much the LCHF diet we all try to follow here and a discussion forum where people are trying to deal with your issues as well - the heading says colostomy but many of the references are to illiostomy . Most of them seem to involve cutting down on fibre and carbs

Many of us on LCHF have a hard time eating as much fibre as is recommended normally- I haven't noticed any ill effects from that myself .

http://paleozonenutrition.com/2013/...at-put-her-ulcerative-colitis-into-remission/
https://www.inspire.com/groups/ostomy/discussion/low-carb-with-a-colostomy/

Looking at your numbers, it seems to me that what is happening is that each meal you have probably has too many carbs and your system does not recover from processing them before you eat some more of them. so the effect is that during the day your blood sugars keep spiking up with the food and then not returning to base before spiking again. Overnight you finally give your system a bit of a rest, so you get the chance to get back down again before starting the whole process off again.

when most of us get diagnosed, our blood sugars are sky high, that is because we have been through that process too, gradually ratcheting the numbers higher before our system finally sends warning signals enough to get us to the doctor in the form of extreme tiredness etc.

the same process works in reverse on the way back down - cut out carbs, cut out snacks, increase the window between dinner and breakfast and you should see a gradual reduction in the figures.

I now have a 24/7 monitor - the freestyle libre using that I can see exactly that process in action . the monitor thus encourages you to increase the gaps between meals so give yourself time to recover , it also shows exactly what damage constant snacking can does.

I could easily move my numbers back from the current normal/prediabetic back into the full blown high numbers you are seeing - all it would take is to add back toast, potatoes rice , couscous and the occasional packet of crisps and some choccie biscuits between meals. I saw myself how a few days break at xmas moved the figures back up very quickly and how a few days restraint brought the back down again.

Obviously the libre freestyle is quite an expensive option, however with the range of problems you have, I think if there is any way you could afford it, then just a month spent using one and seeing exactly what foods are causing you to go higher and encouraging you to defer eating as you see the numbers gradually drift down, could be enormously beneficial to getting control of your problems. If you also record everything you eat at the same time, then you will have something concrete to discuss with your medical team. take a look at cronometer for that.

Finding this forum was probably your best medical move in years

good luck

 

[Daibell]

Hi and welcome. Could you tell us more about your diet? Metformin never helps that much so not having it won't make a big difference. Byetta is usually prescribed when someone has excess weight and would no doubt not be good with your condition. A low-carb diet is the way to go and probably essential for you. Have enough fats and protein to make up. If you can reduce weight then insulin resistance will fade and blood sugar will go down.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I agree with the others who have all given excellent advice.

Your blood sugar rises from before eating to after show me that you are eating too many carbs. All carbs convert to glucose once inside the system, and diabetics cannot cope with all this glucose, so it makes sense not to put as much inside our mouths!

Are those after eating tests you did at 2 hours? Two hours after first bite is the best time to test initially.

 

[Resurgam]

The usual advice is to try to keep the rise in BG level to two whole numbers or less, by eating fewer carbs.
I found that it lowered my levels, and then went on lowering them even though I was eating the same, and then slightly more carbs. My numbers have continued to go down so that I now see normal levels both before and after meals. I test at 2 hours, as that seems to be the best indicator of how delayed my glucose reduction is. The amount I eat is fairly small compared with 'normal' eating, but I find no difficulty in sticking with the way of eating.
One thing which might help you is that low carb eating is low residue - some people get concerned about constipation, but it is not that they are stuck, but that there isn't much to get rid of as we absorb a greater percentage of what we eat.