Worried about sugars

[Darbs]

Hi

I first posted on here maybe 18mths ago as was worried few of my numbers were high. I suffer from chronic pancreatitis and my pancreas is getting more and more damaged hence I've been testing sugars every so often. They were never very high but I know from what I posted here last time a few said they thought they were pre diabetes number. Lately I've been testing again and have had a few 7 plus morning fasting numbers.
This week had 7.3, 7.1 and I hadn't eaten in over 24hrs as was vomitting thanks to the pancreatitis. I've now ran out of testing sticks so some coming in post so need to keep testing.

Do you think those numbers are concerning? Couple of weeks ago I tested and it was 6.8 so it's not just this week.

 

[Pinkorchid]

Hi

I first posted on here maybe 18mths ago as was worried few of my numbers were high. I suffer from chronic pancreatitis and my pancreas is getting more and more damaged hence I've been testing sugars every so often. They were never very high but I know from what I posted here last time a few said they thought they were pre diabetes number. Lately I've been testing again and have had a few 7 plus morning fasting numbers.
This week had 7.3, 7.1 and I hadn't eaten in over 24hrs as was vomitting thanks to the pancreatitis. I've now ran out of testing sticks so some coming in post so need to keep testing.

Do you think those numbers are concerning? Couple of weeks ago I tested and it was 6.8 so it's not just this week.

Well mine are always in the 7's first thing in the morning no matter what I do but I don't worry about it as that's not very high some people are much higher. It is what they call the dawn phenomenon or liver dump..your liver dumps glucose because it think the body is starving. Some say if they have something with fat like a piece of cheese or a spoonful of peanut butter before they go to bed that lowers it but it doesn't work for everyone and certainly not me

 

[zand]

@Darbs I agree that your fasting figures are high due to the pancreatitis and liver dump. I hope you soon feel better.

 

[SaraTJ]

don't worry.. eating a lot of sugar can't cause a diabetes!!!!!!!!!

 

[zzcanasta]

don't worry.. eating a lot of sugar can't cause a diabetes!!!!!!!!!

Er..yes it can, I'm sorry to say. Sugar that you consume is carried by the hormone, insulin, to the muscles, where it is converted into the energy needed to perform your daily tasks. Excess sugar (ie more than you require for the efficient working of your system) gets stored in fat cells - hence the more sugar you consume, the more fat increases in certain areas, typically the waist region in men, thighs and buttocks in women. It can also store itself in organs such as the liver and the pancreas, which control our blood sugar and insulin levels. This can eventually block the body's natural production of insulin, which is the point at which Type-2 diabetes is diagnosed.

 

[Amandlaz]

I'm pre diabetic and trying to reverse with diet. Managed to get my levels down to around 4 upon waking up I've been this number for around 8 weeks but it's now shot up to 5s or 6s what would be the cause if I'm only having 50grams of carbs a day and on a sugar free diet?

 

[Pinkorchid]

Er..yes it can, I'm sorry to say. Sugar that you consume is carried by the hormone, insulin, to the muscles, where it is converted into the energy needed to perform your daily tasks. Excess sugar (ie more than you require for the efficient working of your system) gets stored in fat cells - hence the more sugar you consume, the more fat increases in certain areas, typically the waist region in men, thighs and buttocks in women. It can also store itself in organs such as the liver and the pancreas, which control our blood sugar and insulin levels. This can eventually block the body's natural production of insulin, which is the point at which Type-2 diabetes is diagnosed.

I was a child growing up in the 40/50's and after food rationing ended people ate loads of sugar stuff.. Women would have a baking day making cakes tarts and pies enough for the family for a week. The main meal which was generally mid day always had potatoes and nearly always included a pudding with sweet custard, tea time was bread jam and cakes. Bread with was the stable of every ones diet and eaten with every meal it was the fill up food and many kids loved sugar sandwiches... not me but my cousin loved them. For years and years T2 diabetes was hardly ever heard of and if you did know someone with diabetes it was usually T1 and those who were very overweight were in the minority. Now we all know people including ourselves who have T2 but I don't believe eating a lot of sugar causes diabetes but I think there is a lot more to this world wide epidemic than we know more than just sugar, starchy carbs, and being overweight

 

[zzcanasta]

I was a child growing up in the 40/50's and after food rationing ended people ate loads of sugar stuff.. Women would have a baking day making cakes tarts and pies enough for the family for a week. The main meal which was generally mid day always had potatoes and nearly always included a pudding with sweet custard, tea time was bread jam and cakes. Bread with was the stable of every ones diet and eaten with every meal it was the fill up food and many kids loved sugar sandwiches... not me but my cousin loved them. For years and years T2 diabetes was hardly ever heard of and if you did know someone with diabetes it was usually T1 and those who were very overweight were in the minority. Now we all know people including ourselves who have T2 but I don't believe eating a lot of sugar causes diabetes but I think there is a lot more to this world wide epidemic than we know more than just sugar, starchy carbs, and being overweight

Yes, you're pretty much describing my own childhood, Pinkorchid (50s and 60s rather than 40s and 50s, though). I think there are a number of factors that have made a big difference since then, though:
a) the gradual decrease in heavy manual work, both in the home and in paid employment, which acted to balance out the effects to some extent. In the days before we had an automatic washing machine, my mum was always exhausted at the end of 'washing day', for instance, which must have used up hundreds of calories!
b) The increasing popularity of low-fat diets which, although they had been around since the late 1950s/early 60s, really took off around the late 70s in the UK, despite no convincing evidence that they worked. Food manufacturers, under pressure, reduced the amount of fat in their products, but replaced it with sugar in order to compensate for the loss of taste.
c) The massive growth in popularity of 'ready cook' meals (with added sugar) and the availability of other convenience foods - eg fast food outlets - added to the problem.
d) The huge increase in the consumption of sugary, fizzy drinks due to extensive global marketing (the most widely recognised brand in the world is Coca-Cola, for instance)

You wouldn't have heard the terms Type-1 and Type-2 diabetes while growing up because that terminology wasn't adopted until the 1970s (previously referred to as insulin resistant and insulin receptive forms), and it took time for the terms to filter through to popular consciousness and become widespread. But diabetes has been around since the beginning of recorded history - there is evidence to suggest that the ancient Egyptians were aware of it, and the Greeks who followed them certainly were. The term diabetes is originally Greek (meaning passing through and used to describe an excessive discharge of urine) and is first recorded in the 2nd century.

 

[Pinkorchid]

Yes, you're pretty much describing my own childhood, Pinkorchid (50s and 60s rather than 40s and 50s, though). I think there are a number of factors that have made a big difference since then, though:
a) the gradual decrease in heavy manual work, both in the home and in paid employment, which acted to balance out the effects to some extent. In the days before we had an automatic washing machine, my mum was always exhausted at the end of 'washing day', for instance, which must have used up hundreds of calories!
b) The increasing popularity of low-fat diets which, although they had been around since the late 1950s/early 60s, really took off around the late 70s in the UK, despite no convincing evidence that they worked. Food manufacturers, under pressure, reduced the amount of fat in their products, but replaced it with sugar in order to compensate for the loss of taste.
c) The massive growth in popularity of 'ready cook' meals (with added sugar) and the availability of other convenience foods - eg fast food outlets - added to the problem.
d) The huge increase in the consumption of sugary, fizzy drinks due to extensive global marketing (the most widely recognised brand in the world is Coca-Cola, for instance)

You wouldn't have heard the terms Type-1 and Type-2 diabetes while growing up because that terminology wasn't adopted until the 1970s (previously referred to as insulin resistant and insulin receptive forms), and it took time for the terms to filter through to popular consciousness and become widespread. But diabetes has been around since the beginning of recorded history - there is evidence to suggest that the ancient Egyptians were aware of it, and the Greeks who followed them certainly were. The term diabetes is originally Greek (meaning passing through and used to describe an excessive discharge of urine) and is first recorded in the 2nd century.

I agree with what you say people did work harder back then and for most women it was certainly hard work to care for their families and I can remember them often saying they needed sugar for energy