Hello, My name is "Estragon" and I'm a Diabetic....

HSSS

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It worked, looking at those times though I’m wondering at how much useful information you are getting. Most of us test before and after a meal. This way we can see where we’re at before we make out choices about what we eat and also see what effect that specific meal had for future reference.

We look for no more than a 2mmol rise after two hours (some will do further testing looking for later rises as that can happen with some foods). Less of a rise is even better. If it’s more than that you haven’t processed efficiently and need to swap or reduce the carbs more. It’s ideal if that 2 hr figure stays below or as close as you can currently get to 7.8mmol.
 

Estragon

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Too many to list here . . .
It worked, looking at those times though I’m wondering at how much useful information you are getting. Most of us test before and after a meal.

Being a newbie to all this, and not being able to process just what the numbers could mean with respect to my food intake AND the variation of my Metformin, I’ve gone for the mild ”Shotgun“ approach of pre- pre- and further post- post-. Remember, I did have a HbAc1 of 89 and I’m anxious to see just what the interim fluctuations I'm getting set against the strict diet I’ve enforced on myself could bring about. That’s both useful for determining what IS happening and secondly getting my emotions in check. So, the information for me is how great the rate of change over a prolonged test range. Sure, I’ll aim for the 3 tests a day once I can tell just what foods give me swings. Again, please note I’m a newbie to all this.

Also, I can easily Filter-Out the more interim testing to get Pre- Post- and Evening. Yes 7.8 would be great, I did get there on two occasions, but felt wobbly! Can you see that gradual slop downwards?
 

HSSS

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7,465
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Being a newbie to all this, and not being able to process just what the numbers could mean with respect to my food intake AND the variation of my Metformin, I’ve gone for the mild ”Shotgun“ approach of pre- pre- and further post- post-. Remember, I did have a HbAc1 of 89 and I’m anxious to see just what the interim fluctuations I'm getting set against the strict diet I’ve enforced on myself could bring about. That’s both useful for determining what IS happening and secondly getting my emotions in check. So, the information for me is how great the rate of change over a prolonged test range. Sure, I’ll aim for the 3 tests a day once I can tell just what foods give me swings. Again, please note I’m a newbie to all this.

Also, I can easily Filter-Out the more interim testing to get Pre- Post- and Evening. Yes 7.8 would be great, I did get there on two occasions, but felt wobbly! Can you see that gradual slop downwards?
Yes there is some improvement. Well done on your efforts. Im just trying to help you focus those efforts in the most productive direction. I’m sorry but you’ve confused me a bit. I haven’t specified just 3 tests a day.

Randomly taken numbers don’t show a great deal in isolation. You need to understand what causes them, good and not so good.

So the starting point is the fasting morning test. This typically is the last number to get where you want it. It can be higher due to dawn phenomenon (something else to investigate later maybe. Basically it’s the liver feeding you glucose to help you start the day. We all get it to some degree but in normal circumstances would only have the right amount for the right amount of time. It goes wrong for some of us). Metformin has most of its usefulness here as it limits the amount of glucose the liver dumps, but it does next to nothing for the glucose you eat.

Next is the before a meal reading. (Or even before exercise). Simple. Knowing your starting point is important so you know how much an event changes your levels.

Then after meals (or exercise as an example of another event that can affect readings). This shows how you responded. A lot of foods will reach their peak around 45 to 60 mins and then hopefully drop somewhere closer to the baseline within 2 hrs. This is the goal. Some foods, especially fattier meals and for some people grains can take longer to rise and longer to fall and if we only look for the 2 hour reading we can miss the late spikes. This is where the apparently random readings mid way between meals might be useful, so long as you have done the others to put it into context. If you don’t come back down it’s likely because there are too many carbs so adjust accordingly next time you have the meal.

When your body has been much higher for a while it gets used to it. Then when you drop levels down it behaves like a toddler and has a tantrum about you taking the sugar away. It’s known as a false hypo. False because the numbers are not actually a hypo (usually seen as below 4 for insulin users) even though the symptoms feel pretty much identical. It’s only danger, other than feeling horrible, is the risk of accidents or falls due to dizziness etc. The blood levels themselves won’t hurt you.
 
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VashtiB

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I second HSSS advice. Having other random readings may be useful but to start I also recommend before food and 2 hours after. If the increase is less than 2 then that meal is okay. If the increase is more than 2 then at least part of the meal is too high in carbs for your body.

Again as HSSS says exercise can also increase your bs levels. I initially became really paranoid about this and limited my exercise- don't follow my example. I have seen some suggestions to eat something with a few carbs (not many) before exercise to limit the rise.

As long as the teen is heading downwards you are doing great. Don't expect your body to appreciate it straightaway. The body is used to running at higher bs levels and will resist going down. As HSSS said a real hypo is less than 4 so don't worry too much about symptoms when the level is higher then that- the body will adjust again.

You are doing great!
 

Estragon

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Too many to list here . . .
Yes there is some improvement. Well done on your efforts.
Thank you.
Im just trying to help you focus those efforts in the most productive direction.
Good! I like that.
I’m sorry but you’ve confused me a bit. I haven’t specified just 3 tests a day.
Not my intention. My intention has and will be to get myself, with the support of you good people, an understanding of this whole Control thing. Remember, I did have a Hb of 89 and a GP who had a fairly severe countenance, as she took up her pen and urgently gave me written instructions of WHAT to do - panic!! I had interpretted this as being 3x a day: 1] Pre Brekfast 2] 2 hours after and when I felt unwell and 3] pre Bed. I now see that from what you say and her handwritten instructions after MEALS! I'd interpreted this as the 3 I explained - easily done. But with your feedback and with what I was and am doing im getting close to monitoring after meals. I just did this from uneducated mindset. I've also made notes of WHAT I've eaten and already I can see what food stuffs creep in with their Carbo wreking crew - yuck!
 

Estragon

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Too many to list here . . .
You are doing great!

Thank you! - Here's my latest:

Testing.png

Don't expect your body to appreciate it straightaway.
Of course I do!! I want it, and I want it NOW! - yeah yeah yeah . . I'm getting it, gradually.

Having other random readings may be useful but to start I also recommend before food and 2 hours after.
OK, got it. The GP also said to take readings when I felt "unwell".
The body is used to running at higher bs levels and will resist going down.
Now THAT, right there should be written in 12 metre high letters on Parliament Square (London). You know, VashtiB, you've taught me to engage my MATH brain around Variables and to acknowledge in a more evidenced based result analysis about this.

What do you think of this list? Please add or critique if you think there are more or less, if you think they are irrelevant:

vCI = Carb Intake. Biggest No1 Wrecker.
vS = Sleeping or lack of.
vEx = Excercise.
vMetL = Metformin reducing sugar release from Liver.
vMetCS = Metformin Cell Sensitivity increase.
vHbAc1 = Effectiveness of all of the above variables in change making. After all this is our combined objective - Low and sustained Hb leads to less organ and nerve failure.

For me, this is only a start in my understanding of this complex Endocrine Panjandrum.
 

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VashtiB

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Trending downwards in blood sugar levels is great.

How are you going with reducing your carbs? I found it easier at first to stick to foods with no carbs as much as possible- I still do that most of the time as I keep my carbs under 20 grams a day. You need to check everything- I was surprised by the carbs in cucumber- who would have thought.
 

Estragon

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How are you going with reducing your carbs?
How am I "going" or RATHER what am I missing? Spaghetti Bolognese, Lasgane, roast and mashed spuds, Risotto, Pizza, rice curries, chapatis, nans, CROISSANTS and then the mightyest of them all CHIPS!!! I haven't had a beer for nearly 3 weeks now.

You need to check everything
Yeah, I've Fully Rigged the House with an iAPP that warns me of Carb-Intruders. It now Pings me when the ZombieCarbosteins are within 20 metres. It flashes through my APPLE TV over "Strickly" and "Tipping Point" I was wondering if I could get a Doggie-Carbo-Sniffer? Like the Dogs on patrol at Airports? Cute.

I was surprised by the carbs in cucumber- who would have thought.
Honestly? You were? I'm not. These ZombieCarbosteins will try anything, anything to insinuate and seep into our blood streams. Yeah, well what about those Blood Strips? Does anybody know? See, no mention, right? How about this message I'm typing? How do I know that they aren't plotting to get into my fingertips? Well I don't!

<Humourous interlude OFF> (Normal Service has been resumed)

OK, I have a nasty feeling that I could level-down somewhere between 8.5 and 7.5 . Early days, early days . . . My plan is to get to no Medication within, what, six months?

Oh yeah, want another laugh? I've had my tester set at Middle setting for depth of the Lancet. Eh, experimented with ones below that and now I don't whince so much. Idiot.
 

HSSS

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7,465
Type of diabetes
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How am I "going" or RATHER what am I missing? Spaghetti Bolognese, Lasgane, roast and mashed spuds, Risotto, Pizza, rice curries, chapatis, nans, CROISSANTS and then the mightyest of them all CHIPS!!! I haven't had a beer for nearly 3 weeks now.
Bolognaise can be made still, just put it over green beans or courgette spaghetti instead, or just have more emat and no side.
Lasagne replace the pasta with sheets of a veg eg squash, courgette, aubergine (like a moussaka) or even turnip
Try turnips or radishes instead of roast spuds. Some people like mashed cauliflower (add some flavouring maybe)
Look up fathead dough for pizza, m&s sell a pizza with a meat base instead of dough, there are recipes for cauliflower bases
Cauliflower rice?
Quite a lot of quick naan like alternative recipes.
Make chips from other veg?
Dry wine or spirits with suitable mixers?

Google “low carb” or “keto” followed by the desired meal.

They won’t all suit, some definitely are different to the original but just as nice or even nicer despite sounding odd and weird to begin with. Experiment.
 
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VashtiB

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Hi- just wondering how you are going. It is very overwhelming at the beginning but does get a bit easier
 

Resurgam

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My Hba1c was 91 at diagnosis, no longer diabetic at the next test and normal at six months. I did under 50 gm of carbs per day
 

Estragon

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Too many to list here . . .
Hi- just wondering how you are going.

A large dollop of Fearfulness covered with a generous sprinkling of trepidation, coated in an inch-deep layer of sadness. Thanks for asking, seriously, you’ve offered me a platform to express myself. Honestly? I hadn’t realised just what a hole I’d dug myself.

It is very overwhelming at the beginning but does get a bit easier
”Overwhelming”, yeah, that about sums it up. I use humour to help me get through. However, looking at some of our colleagues positions I really mustn't grumble.

Here’s some evidenced-based results that rocked me back over the last 24 hours:
View recent photos.png

I thought I’d experiment with a half portion of low Carb rice, if there is such a thing, just to add some absorption to the curry I’d made. Boing! Up went the readings. I won’t be being that again anytime soon. Hence my sadness. Weird huh?

Whilst I’m sad I’m also reflective on the possibilities. I want to locate a NO SUGAR NO CARB Stir fry sauce. Now THAT’S a Dragons Den idea, don’t you think?
 

VashtiB

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You could try cauliflower rice- that works for me. I've also seen cauliflower and broccoli rice in the shops. I also quite like cauliflower (& broccoli) mash with cheese. I'm going to try adding a little spring onion too it next time to mix it up a little.

with stir fry sauce- I have no ideas. You probably won't find a ready made one. I'm not really a big fan of stir fry so not yet missing them.

Some health food shops sell 'pasta' that is really really low carb- not that tasty but with a sauce. Some suggestions are a bolagnsaise type sauce or with tuna and cheese.

I can understand the sadness- I feel it too. This is a good and safe place to vent. I certainly use it so my husband doesn't just hear how sad I am. He is wonderful and supportive but not a diabetic and doesn't have my restrictions so can't really 'get it' if you know what I mean.

Have you found some safe meals- that's my suggestion. get a few safe things you can eat so there's a little less thinking/obsessing over what you can eat. There are some great ideas on this site. For me a go to meal is the mash and some meat or fish. We freeze the mash so we usually have some that can just be defrosted and then microwaved for a quick easy meal.

Any way take. care- keep reading and posting. This is a marathon nd we are all here to support each other.
 

coby

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You've been diabetic for a while then... Prediabetes is between 42 and 48, anything above that is diabetic. Not sure why your doc got confused over those numbers, what i'm confused about is why nothing was done sooner...! T2 is, unless treated properly, a progressive condition, and if nothing was done in the meantime... This was kind of waiting to happen. Thing is, carbs turn to glucose. All of them, not just sugar, but potatoes, pasta, rice and the like too. Your body pumps out loads and loads of insulin to deal with that, but... When that happens, some people become insensitive to that insulin. That's a genetic predisposition, and medication like statins, steroids and antidepressants can speed up the process as well, or even cause diabetes. Not something you can actually blame yourself for, right? So anyway, there's loads of insulin floating around, it just isn't helping you burn off the carbs anymore. So that glucose? That gets stored in fat cells, and when the stores are full, they overflow: glucose turns up in your blood, organs, urine, tears, saliva... Then you're classed diabetic, basically. The bit where you blamed yourself earlier: if you'd done the conventional thing, you would've cut back on fats. That's the advice I got too, that's what I religiously did, and that's what got me from obese to morbidly obese and diabetic. It's the carbs we can't handle, and you can't do much about that if you don't know that... And considering a lot of doctors and dieticians haven't gotten with the program yet, if they don't know, how could you? (The NHS has, now, finally gotten in on it.). Like I said, blood glucose comes from what we eat. Exception being what our liver produces in the morning, "helping" us get started, which is called Dawn Phenomenon, and what it puts out when we're stressed, or ill. Metformin practically only tackles what your liver puts out, cutting down the liver dump by about 75%. Though it is an appetite suppressant, it doesn't actually do anything about the carbs/sugar you ingest. That's where you come in. If you change your diet -forget expensive fad diets, don't sign up for 100 pound a month courses!!!- you can get your numbers back down. Probably back into the non-diabetic range. I've seen people come in here with a lot higher than what you're starting from, and they got their bloodsugars under control in no time at all. I was diagnosed little over 3 years ago, and have been in the normal range for 3 years. Once I knew what the problem was (the carbs, oh the carbs!), I could actually tackle it. And did. Diabetes is the only ailment on my long list where I've actually got a say in how it plays out. No progression of the condition here. Which could be the same for you too.

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/ <-- have a read, it's a little quick-start-guide I wrote a while ago. But all in all... There's hope for you yet. ;)
JoKalsbeek you really are amazing! Your description of the trials & tribulations of diabetes Type 2 has almost had me in tears. Truly! I came .. cap in hand .. to the forum 6 months ago following the sudden loss of my son, but sadly got let down by a member who promised to help me. I could not help myself due to my intense grief. I have gained weight (a lot) through not caring about/for myself because my whole world had collapsed and I'm one of the sort who finds great difficulty in asking for support. and guidance. I still struggle so much most days and even stopped testing for many months, since I couldn't focus on myself. Thank you for what you just wrote. I will no doubt read that many times and try to act upon it.
 

VashtiB

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I agree with Mike- JoKalsbeek is an amazing person who is very generous with her advice and support.
 

JoKalsbeek

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JoKalsbeek you really are amazing! Your description of the trials & tribulations of diabetes Type 2 has almost had me in tears. Truly! I came .. cap in hand .. to the forum 6 months ago following the sudden loss of my son, but sadly got let down by a member who promised to help me. I could not help myself due to my intense grief. I have gained weight (a lot) through not caring about/for myself because my whole world had collapsed and I'm one of the sort who finds great difficulty in asking for support. and guidance. I still struggle so much most days and even stopped testing for many months, since I couldn't focus on myself. Thank you for what you just wrote. I will no doubt read that many times and try to act upon it.
Grief'll do that to you... I've dealt with a little too much death in my life, and I know your struggle'll be a continuous one. I wouldn't wish it on any soul, it's just too big a thing, to comprehend the loss of a child. But it will become easier at some point to care for yourself, sometimes just for a few hours, sometimes just for a day, but after a while you start functioning again in spite of yourself. The love'll still be there though, as well as the loss. But the latter kind of becomes part of you, rather than something that's trying to eat you alive. When that happens you'll get better at caring for yourself. Give yourself time, breathe, and don't give up.
*HUGS*
Jo
 
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Bacardizip

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Have you any idea just how difficult it's been for me to acknowledge this, in an almost Public place? And just for this very reason, I'm relieved and grateful that DiabUK exists.

I have much to ask and share of my way or route into Diabs. I'm guessing you've all heard it ALL before, but I will expand later on. Just getting over my stumbling blockage of annoucing this is quite a big step for me.

Best Regards - E

Hi there,
I’m new to this whole thing myself. I’ve only just posted my introduction about an hour ago. Well, welcome and not that I know my way around here but nice to say hi!
Lynn aka Bacardizip
 

VashtiB

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Hi Estragon,

A substitute for chips is pork crackling- it's crunchy and salty

I haven't found a substitute for pasta yet. How are you going?