Is a FBG level a baseline level?

[carina62]

I would love to lower my FBG levels but they seem to 'stick' in the lower or upper 7's - is this my baseline level and do I accept it? how can I lower it? thanks

 

[carina62]

I'm getting there slowly with a low carb diet so it has reduced quite a bit. I do try and stick to 50g of carbs daily but sometimes I have less and it doesn't seem to be doing me any harm. I can of course discuss this at my next diabetic review. Thanks

 

[JohnEGreen]

There are many people here who have less than 50g of carbs a day. FBG I believe is not particularly indicative of any thing many like to keep it low but is often the last readings to come down. You can be experiencing the dawn phenomenonfor instance. BG levels in the low to mid 7's are pretty much in the normal range and though may be considered slightly on the high side in some circumstances are not disastrous, in my opinion any way.

And you are the only person who can make decisions on your situation or how to best handle it others can give advice but you are the one in control not me or any other poster here not your doctor and not your DN if you have one we are all here to help if we can but you must decide for your self.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I'm getting there slowly with a low carb diet so it has reduced quite a bit. I do try and stick to 50g of carbs daily but sometimes I have less and it doesn't seem to be doing me any harm. I can of course discuss this at my next diabetic review. Thanks

I would love to lower my FBG levels but they seem to 'stick' in the lower or upper 7's - is this my baseline level and do I accept it? how can I lower it? thanks

What are your other readings like, such as before lunch, before evening meal, bedtime? These are more indicative of base line levels than FBG. Also, what are the rises like from before to after eating?

 

[Brunneria]

There are no hard and fast rules where carb intake is concerned. Some people do well on levels over 130g carbs a day, while others need to cut their carbs much lower, even down to 20g carbs for some. It all depends on how our bodies react to them.

I find that my FBG is annoyingly variable (from the high 5s to the 8s) but that it depends much more on sleep level, fatigue level, stress, etc. than it does on diet. For that reason, like @Bluetit1802 I think that other tests such as pre-evening meal are a better gauge of general control.

 

[Daibell]

Hi and welcome. Your FBG is not a useful test as it can be affected by the overnight liver dump effect where the body prepares you for the start of the day and dumps glycogen. More useful is the test 2 hours after typical meals and of course the HBa1c. As long as you are having enough protein and fats, you can in fact go with zero carbs as the body can produce glucose from proteins and fats. Some carbs provide fibre and other nutrients so having some is probably good but make them good ones e.g. veg or non-tropical fruit etc.

 

[carina62]

What are your other readings like, such as before lunch, before evening meal, bedtime? These are more indicative of base line levels than FBG. Also, what are the rises like from before to after eating?

My readings pre-meal are usually in the higher 6's and sometimes lower 7's and post-meals are usually with the recommended range of 8.5 or below (sometimes lower) and my bedtime readings are OK too I think (lower 7's or sometimes upper 6's). I have had about 3 large spikes this month (11.3 or 10.3) but I know why that is, it was what I ate at the time, a bit higher carbs than my body can cope with but normally there isn't a huge rise from pre-meal readings to post-meal readings. I can already see an improvement in my numbers since losing weight and cutting carbs so I'm expecting a lower HBA1C at next review - I would just like to get the numbers lower.

 

[Bluetit1802]

It could be that 50g carbs a day is a little too much for you, or maybe you aren't noticing some hidden carbs in certain foods.
If you think you could reduce your daily carbs, then have a go. Whatever you do must be enjoyable and sustainable for you personally. There are no rules, and you set your own limits, but unless you drop your carbs a bit more you may have to be satisfied with slightly higher levels. Don't worry about the odd high spike at this stage whilst you are experimenting, as long as you know what caused them and what not to repeat. Try to keep any rise from before to after definitely under 2mmol/l and preferably under 1.5mmol/l if you can.