I was feeling really unwell and went to GP last week, Hc1 level is 68 was in June 46, blood glucose level was 17.7 last week, blood sugars higher after exercise and really good diet followed. Diabetic nurse has said just get your levels to 10 !! What else can I do if I’m eating correctly and exercising?? I’m frustrated and need some advice please. It’s all been stable for over 2 years and have not changed anything. Thank you
Help/Advice on high blood glucose levels
- Thread starter Ellabella1
- Start Date
- Messages
- 3,884
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Hi and welcome to the forums. Many of us have been in your situation and the good news is there are things you can do that could make a difference very quickly. I assume youre type 2.
When you say "really good diet" what does that mean in practice? "Eating correctly" means different things to different people. Also, BGs are affected by many things other than food.
I followed what the NHS still advises us to eat for years, and ended up diabetic. I cut carbs from my diet and was back at normal BG levels in six months. I also find that my BG still goes up after strenuous exercise, without eating - in my case this is the liver converting stored fat for energy, and for me it's a good sign.
Have a read of the various experiences that people on here have had, and especially have a look at the "Success Stories" threads.
Best of luck.
Hi thanks for reply I’ve felt poorly the last month then realised it must be my diabetes ( I didn’t have a blood glucose monitor) so went to GP. Still feel as bad so don’t think I’m coming down with anything. It’s so frustrating as I’m doing all the same things. X
Hi thank you for reply, yes type 2. And what I eat is usually Avocado on wholemeal , fish and veg, bulgar mixed with beans and fresh chilli, roast dinner, chilli and bulgar things like that I don’t eat cake biscuits choc and never have done. I don’t eat fruit apart from blueberries and strawberries. I only drink water, chai tea and red wine. I do eat potatoes but not pasta or rice. What else do you think I should do as I’m worried . Thanks.
Yes I have now but the readings make no sense as they go sky high after exercise and a healthy meal. In the morning they are 14 then rise back up to 17.7 ?
My levels are always a bit high after I have exercised but perhaps its the meals. Wholemeal, strawberries , red wine, potatoes and Bulgar products would send my levels sky high.
- Messages
- 3,884
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Well....I would strongly suggest getting a glucose meter and testing your BGs before a meal and two hours after. You want to see a rise of no more than 2 mmol after eating, resulting in a reading not above 7.0 . That way you'll see what impact particular foods have. It seems that we may react slightly differently to foods, and what happens to me or you might not hold true for anyone else.
That said - there are a LOT of carbs in your list above. I would not (these days) eat wholemeal bread, bulgur wheat, or potatoes. Hot milk is out because it also produces a big BG spike, probably because of the lactose. All of those foods have carbs which produce a large rise in my BG to unacceptable levels., therefore they are unhealthy for me.
I can eat things like cannelini beans or chickpeas in moderation, although there is a BG rise it's not very great (ie under +2) and goes away quickly. Found this out through reular testing.
If you test - and write down what you ate, and the associated test reults - you can quickly build up a complete picture of what you can and cannot eat as far as your BGs are concerned.
Best of luck. This forum is a really good source of advice and support.
catinahat
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 3,446
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
- Dislikes
- Reality tv
As @KennyA said what is normally considered a good diet is not particularly suitable for people with T2.
Carbohydrates are our problem, our bodies can't see what the carbs are so white, brown wholemeal, sourdough will all raise our blood sugar.
Bulgar is a grain and has much the same amount of carbs as rice, potatoes are off limits for most of us as well.
The good news is though, you have lots of scope for cutting down the carbohydrates and getting your numbers down shouldn't be too hard.
Thank you all for advice. I’ve always eaten that sort of thing and has never been a problem for over 2 years so don’t understand why it’s gone up in the last 3 months? Doctor said it could be my thyroid ( I had thyroid cancer and it’s removed) but I will now cut down on those carbs but there is so many conflicting advice re carbs with healthy foods such as carrots and parsnips and beans and peppers. GP has told me to take gliclazide 40mg now and I’ve read that it can mess up your pancreas forever. It’s a minefield and really overwhelming. Thanks again for replys.
The conflicting advice is so stressful, isn't it? People we should be able to trust prove over and over that they don't know as much as we'd like them to know.
We can be our own experiment. As a type 2, you have quite a bit of flexibility. How about seeing where very low carb. takes you? You might see a huge improvement the way many of us have done. From that sound base, you could move on to including more carbs - easy enough to stop if the results tell you to - or you might feel so much better and have such good readings that you ditch carbs permanently. Knowledge is power.
We can be our own experiment. As a type 2, you have quite a bit of flexibility. How about seeing where very low carb. takes you? You might see a huge improvement the way many of us have done. From that sound base, you could move on to including more carbs - easy enough to stop if the results tell you to - or you might feel so much better and have such good readings that you ditch carbs permanently. Knowledge is power.
It is so stressful. So I have decided not to take the gliclazide and eating very low carbs to see how my readings go. I’m replacing my loved bulgar wheat and just bought cauliflower to make as rice as well as many other changes. I’ve spent hours and hours reading and yes knowledge is power so for now feel bit more in control. So fingers crossed BG comes down and I can feel better again without taking those drugs. Thank you for reply.
Hi.new here.i did the same thing.Hba1c was71 in july.given glicilizide but told i might pass out.came home and decided the sweet stuff had to go.Fast foreward to october.16 lb lighter and hba1c down to 51! Hope i can keep it up.
Hi so glad you didn’t take them either. I’ve cut my carbs right down in the last 10 days and my BG down to between 5.7 and 6.3 from 17.4 and on top of that lost 8Lb !!! I’m the same as you hoping I can keep it up. I’ve got loads recipes and now a healthy fridge !! So glad I found here as I was so confused and scared. Good luck
Hi, interesting reading and hopefully some pointers to get me back on track. i had a blood test on the 18th Oct after having some joint pains. My HbA1c was 103 mmol/mol I have had a second blood test on the 8th Nov with a result of 100 mmol/mol. Purchased a BG monitor today a did a test this evening and result was 15.8 mmol. So, I think I really have some work to do to get this back under control. I've started on the exercise this last week and now with pointers on the food i hope i can get start to get the numbers down quickly
Hi Andy I truly thought my diet was a good healthy diet ( it was for non diabetics!) by now cutting out the carbs has got BG levels since my first post down to almost the correct levels. I did spend hours planning my meals as I love food and looking for recipes with food I really like and have made carb free snacks in the fridge in case! And lost weight. I was truly scared and worried and didn’t know what I was doing 10 days ago, as information was so confusing, I did what other people on here said take BG before a meal then 2 hours after and I’ve had no spike and in those 10 days, the BG levels daily were coming down by 1 or 2. I wish you well and hopefully in a couple weeks you can update here how you’ve got on. Good luck.
Blood sugar levels could change not only because of diet etc. stress can also cause high levels. Your body could be reacting differently now compared to before. Try checking sugar levels 2 hrs after every meal. It is painful and costly
Stress could cause higher sugar levels. Some food may be reacting differently. Check your levies 2 hrs after every meal. It us painful and expensive - no other way of finding out.
I was diagnosed in Feb 22 with a HbA1C of 82. They put me on metformin and it made me feel terrible. I read Jason Fung 'Diabetes Code', Michael Mosely 'The Fast 800' and Roy Taylor on reversing T2 diabetes. Steep learning curve. I started low carb diet immediately, and also a regime of fasting every other day. My Consultant told me to take the max metformin dose each day, I knew doing that would make me feel dreadful, and after reading Jason Fung I decided not to do it and to stop taking metformin altogether. That was a truly terrifying moment. In June my HbA1C reading was 44 and by October it was 39. If I had taken the metformin then I wouldn't know whether those results were due to meds or diet, but I know it's diet and fasting. Even now, in the face of my BG results, I have a dietitian telling me to eat carbs and stop fasting incase my BG goes too low. There is something very wrong with the advice you get from some professionals and it just leaves people feeling confused. The message I was given about remission was that it was really hard, with an undertone that I might as well not bother and I should just take the tablets and shut up. I have lost about 4 stone since the end of Feb. Fasting is something you could consider Ellabella. I do it by eating nothing all day until my evening meal and that way I achieve a fast of more than 24 hours which has health benefits beyond diabetes management. It's all a learning curve about what works for you and what you can manage and fit into your life.
