Carb spikes

docphi

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Did you maybe try too many? I use two strawberries cut into pieces, and if I'm having Raspberries for a change then I have six and halve them :)

A small handful of blueberries. Two or three strawberries. Maybe too much for my system.
 
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coby

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I was wondering what everyone snacks on "on-the-go" if you can't have carbs? For example, shopping, work, movie, etc. There's sugar/carbs in just about everything out there. Someone suggested protein bars, but, most have some carbs/sugar alcohols. And what do you eat before working out (sans carbs)?
I have one square of either 85% or 90% Lindt chocolate, broken into about 7 or 8 pieces which I allow to melt separately in my mouth. Sometimes I'll have two or three walnuts, or almonds, or a chunk of cheese (yummy) and I even like a bag of Spinach which I eat as you would a bag of crisps! Maybe I'm weird?
 
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coby

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A small handful of blueberries. Two or three strawberries. Maybe too much for my system.
Sometimes just working up from one or two might do it?
 
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coby

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I have one square of either 85% or 90% Lindt chocolate, broken into about 7 or 8 pieces which I allow to melt separately in my mouth. Sometimes I'll have two or three walnuts, or almonds, or a chunk of cheese (yummy) and I even like a bag of Spinach which I eat as you would a bag of crisps! Maybe I'm weird?
But why would you eat while shopping? My mind wouldn't be on food but again perhaps that's just me!
 
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docphi

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But why would you eat while shopping? My mind wouldn't be on food but again perhaps that's just me!
Lol! I'm just trying to figure out how to get back to life with this. I've been stuck in the house with these horrible sugar fluctuations. I'm probably overthinking it. Just want to be prepared for different scenarios. Life just changed to a new normal.
 
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coby

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Lol! I'm just trying to figure out how to get back to life with this. I'm probably overthinking it. Just want to be prepared for different scenarios. Life just changed to a new normal.
I completely understand! :) xx
 
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xfieldok

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I can give you the most fabulous dessert. A bunch of us went to a Jamie Oliver resteraunt, no suitable desserts. The staff were fabulous behind the scenes.

In a ramekin dish, melt 2 squares of chocolate 85 per cent. Add berries of your choice (strawberries), top with double (heavy cream) and top with toasted almond flakes. BEST dessert ever had.
 

coby

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If I have a (proper) hypo, I have some sweets (jelly babies) which bring my glucose up quickly. I folllow it up with a biscuit, a slower acting carb to stop the crash.

I would ditch thee rice and bread. Mayo,if you can find a decent one, mashed into a coupled of boiled eggs makes a delicious snack.

Before dx I drank fruit juice by the litre. I now wouldn't touch a banana with a ten foot pole.
Me too! LOVED OJ and bananas but keep well away from both now! Mind you, that eggs Mayo sounds gorgeous! Guess what I'm trying tomorrow :D
 
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xfieldok

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@docphi off to bed now, I will check up on you in the morning. Don't worry too much, it's a marathon, not a sprint.......
 

Resurgam

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I was wondering what everyone snacks on "on-the-go" if you can't have carbs? For example, shopping, work, movie, etc. There's sugar/carbs in just about everything out there. Someone suggested protein bars, but, most have some carbs/sugar alcohols. And what do you eat before working out (sans carbs)?
I eat first thing in the morning, with just a few carbs - maybe equivalent to 10 gm, I drink coffee with cream, and then I eat again 12 hours later, more carbs and a dessert a couple of times a week as I am less insulin resistant in the evenings - another coffee and that's it.
As you have found out, eating too often can become all that you do.
 
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docphi

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I eat first thing in the morning, with just a few carbs - maybe equivalent to 10 gm, I drink coffee with cream, and then I eat again 12 hours later, more carbs and a dessert a couple of times a week as I am less insulin resistant in the evenings - another coffee and that's it.
As you have found out, eating too often can become all that you do.

Wow! I can only dream of eating like you do. I think the dysautonomia relapse is making things more complicated than they should be. It amplifies the false hypos to an intolerable level.
 

docphi

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Tried Metformin XR at the suggestion of my endo. It was horrible. Abdominal pain, nausea, bloating, loss of appetite. Six days was enough. I stopped it and felt better this week. I will say, it does lower your blood sugar due to its mechanisms of action. However, I'm confident I can control my blood glucose with diet and exercise. Just minimizing carbs has made a significant difference although what I wouldn't give for a proper piece of pizza. Lol!

I'm still dreadfully frightened about hypos although everyone says it can't really happen to a T2 especially if you're not on medication. I was working on something today and forgot about my sugar for a bit. Then I realized I felt lightheaded. Blood sugar was 118 and dropping. I'm still digging myself out of that hole right now with multiple small meals (protein, fat, complex carb).

They say you don't need to treat it with fast-acting carbs as it's probably a false hypo. But, then again, I've had it drop into the 70's once.

By the way, I'm an ER doc so I've managed diabetic hyper and hypoglycemic cases over the last 20 years albeit the majority have been T1 patients. I've seen a lot of bad stuff happen in the ER. I think that's why I'm so apprehensive. You know what they say about a little medical knowledge...
 

EllieM

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They say you don't need to treat it with fast-acting carbs as it's probably a false hypo. But, then again, I've had it drop into the 70's once.

70s still aren't really hypo, so I suspect you are just used to higher levels. An interesting study here of non diabetics who wore a dexcom
Continuous Glucose Monitoring Profiles in Healthy Nondiabetic Participants: A Multicenter Prospective Study - PubMed (nih.gov)

However, if you're going that low it sounds like the diet and exercise is working for you.
 
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lucylocket61

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As a general point, I think we in the West have forgotten what normal amounts of food look like, what meals look like, what portion size should be, and how little food we actually need. I now forget about anything except:

1) am I hungry - properly hunger
2) is this a reasonable amount to eat for my individual requirements.
 

Resurgam

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I'm still dreadfully frightened about hypos although everyone says it can't really happen to a T2 especially if you're not on medication. I was working on something today and forgot about my sugar for a bit. Then I realized I felt lightheaded. Blood sugar was 118 and dropping. I'm still digging myself out of that hole right now with multiple small meals (protein, fat, complex carb).
.
But 118 is fine - your meter is one used by type 1s and not giving you the right information for a type 2.
I saw the equivalent of 100 after eating Christmas dinner a year after diagnosis - you are reacting to problems which aren't real or relevant.
Type twos do not need to be eating all the time, and do not need carbohydrates to stop hypos when not taking any medication to cause them.
Perhaps you need to speak with your GP or someone who can advise you on type 2, or get to the bottom of the difficulty you are having in stopping this rollercoaster of BG levels, even if it is just understanding why your meter's messages are not relevant.
 
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docphi

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But 118 is fine - your meter is one used by type 1s and not giving you the right information for a type 2.
I saw the equivalent of 100 after eating Christmas dinner a year after diagnosis - you are reacting to problems which aren't real or relevant.
Type twos do not need to be eating all the time, and do not need carbohydrates to stop hypos when not taking any medication to cause them.
Perhaps you need to speak with your GP or someone who can advise you on type 2, or get to the bottom of the difficulty you are having in stopping this rollercoaster of BG levels, even if it is just understanding why your meter's messages are not relevant.

I agree. However, the dysautonomia relapse is causing an unbearable sympathetic discharge that amplifies all of the symptoms (blurry vision, dizziness, cognitive impairment, etc) of glucose excursions, false hypos, etc.

Believe me, I would love to not eat so often. Stimulating an insulin response every couple of hours and not letting your system rest is not helpful. For one, it increases insulin resistance. I've tried letting it ride and watched the meter go lower and lower (106 at its lowest point before I bailed), but, the false hypos are too much to handle right now.

Why do you say the meter's messages are irrelevant? If it shows you a downward trend, why does it matter if you're T1 or T2? If the meter says you're lowish (confirmed via fingerstick) and dropping fast, why wouldn't you believe it? If I didn't have the Dexcom CGM (and this wonderful forum), I would never have figured out I was carb intolerant and carb crashing. It also showed me dietary control is possible without the need for medications.
 

Resurgam

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The meter is working - from what I understand, to warn a type one of trends which could be dangerous for them.
Surely, for a type 2 a reading of 106 is normal, I mean - it would be an after eating reading for me coming down from the higher levels I'd have reached - yet you react to it by eating again - so your levels go up, and down, and up again - all day.
 
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docphi

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The meter is working - from what I understand, to warn a type one of trends which could be dangerous for them.
Surely, for a type 2 a reading of 106 is normal, I mean - it would be an after eating reading for me coming down from the higher levels I'd have reached - yet you react to it by eating again - so your levels go up, and down, and up again - all day.

But what about the false hypo symptoms that I can't tolerate at this time?
 

lucylocket61

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But what about the false hypo symptoms that I can't tolerate at this time?
In a few mins, maybe 10 minutes the false hypo will pass as your liver responds. It needs time to respond. It will pass. Thats why its called a false hypo. Its unpleasant (I get them) but not harmful. As your numbers stabilise they will become fewer. By leaping in to 'treat' it you are causing a raise and then sudden fall of blood sugar levels, and the cycle of unpleasant feelings keeps going.

Stop, breathe, sit if you can, perhaps have a few sips of water, give it at least 10 mins, see what happens. Your body knows what it is doing. Often false hypos happen after a higher than normal carb amount, and its the rebound low which is happening. It can feel scary, as you can feel like you are having a panic attack, but its ok, it will pass.

106 is not low, not dangerous, wont harm you. I often go down to half of that.
 
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Antje77

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But what about the false hypo symptoms that I can't tolerate at this time?
What about nudging it up just a little with, say, a slice of apple or a single bite of a piece of bread or such so the symptoms go away without spiking high?
If you feel rubbish at 106 bringing it up to 115 might be enough to feel better.
That way you still let your body get used to lower levels.