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Testing Bg

Kamili

Kamili

Member
Messages
23
Location
Mombasa. Kenya
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I have recently been testing just twice a day. Once first thing in the morning before breakfast and again last thing at night. The morning readings range between lowest 4.9 highest 6.0 the evening readings 4.7 highest of 6.8 My question is is this about right. I am following a low carb no sugar diet .

Any views would be helpful
 
Kamili said:
I have recently been testing just twice a day. Once first thing in the morning before breakfast and again last thing at night. The morning readings range between lowest 4.9 highest 6.0 the evening readings 4.7 highest of 6.8 My question is is this about right. I am following a low carb no sugar diet .

Any views would be helpful
Click to expand...
The morning BG is really good. For the evening, 6.0 is good but when it is under 5.0 you should have a low carb snack like a boiled egg or a piece of chicken, or some berries and cream, just whatever suits you really. Hypos are very rare in T2s, but they can happen occasionally when someone is on metformin and low carbing. A hypo is anything under 4.0 and they can happen while you are asleep.

If you want to see what effect a new food has on your blood sugar, then test before eating it and 2 hours after. Most people use a target range of 4 - 7.8 at all times, with an increase of under 2 points 2 hours after eating.

Dropping to 4 during the day is not usually a big deal, because if you dropped to 3.5 you would probably feel weak and want to eat something, but if you are asleep you might miss this sign.
 
CatLadyNZ said:
The morning BG is really good. For the evening, 6.0 is good but when it is under 5.0 you should have a low carb snack like a boiled egg or a piece of chicken, or some berries and cream, just whatever suits you really. Hypos are very rare in T2s, but they can happen occasionally when someone is on metformin and low carbing. A hypo is anything under 4.0 and they can happen while you are asleep.

If you want to see what effect a new food has on your blood sugar, then test before eating it and 2 hours after. Most people use a target range of 4 - 7.8 at all times, with an increase of under 2 points 2 hours after eating.

Dropping to 4 during the day is not usually a big deal, because if you dropped to 3.5 you would probably feel weak and want to eat something, but if you are asleep you might miss this sign.
Click to expand...


I tested before breakfast this morning and it was 5.9 probably because I ate 3 small sweet biscuits last night after a low test result of 5.3. In the past few weeks I have had two fainting episodes. It was after those I bought the meter. Keeping the levels higher seems to be my problem. I do not take medication relying solely on diet. My readings in the past have been 5 - 5.8 during the day. What to do!
 
Kamili said:
I tested before breakfast this morning and it was 5.9 probably because I ate 3 small sweet biscuits last night after a low test result of 5.3. In the past few weeks I have had two fainting episodes. It was after those I bought the meter. Keeping the levels higher seems to be my problem. I do not take medication relying solely on diet. My readings in the past have been 5 - 5.8 during the day. What to do!
Click to expand...
It's tricky because I don't think we can be sure the fainting episodes were caused by low BG... unless you had gone a long time without eating? As long as your BG is over 4, as far as I know you should not faint. But maybe you should discuss this with your doctor if you are concerned about it.

A fasting BG of 5.9 is very good. As long as you stay below 7.8 at all times then to my knowledge that is good. What are your levels like when you test before food and 2 hours after? Do they go up or down?
 
I'm curious, @Kamili, what was your latest HbA1c blood test result? It sounds like your day to day BGs are at a good level.
 
I am perplexed. Why are you suggesting that the OP eats because his BG levels are normal! He is T2 on Metformin and his liver will maintain his BG at normal levels throughout the night. @Kamili your 3.5 could just have been either a meter inaccuracy or your liver was about to raise your levels for you. Did you retest? For your info I can push my levels down that low purposefully by either targeted exercise to do it and stopping at the right time or sitting very still and doing nothing. However, I get always around that level and then I get a warm flush through my body and my levels are immediately afterwards at 5. That for me is my liver dumping glucose either from its stores or by converting other nutrients. BTW when active I find this down and up behaviour is very much more shallower.

The liver is a single threaded organ and will do one thing at a time and takes a little while to change its role. So if you are being sedentary it will not focus on glucose production until your levels become lower as it "knows" it has time. If you are active it "knows" it is having to react to falling and rising BG levels constantly and so therefore it delays other tasks for energy control. BTW Metformin can/does interfere with this natural release threshold (it alters your ratio of ATP:AMP in favour of AMP and these two chemicals are used in glucogen to glucose and glucose to glucogen transport in cells) so it may be that you need to discuss your prescription with your doctor

I would suggest you test and watch your levels next time and understand your body instead of just taking a glucose tablet.
 
Andrew Colvin said:
I am perplexed. Why are you suggesting that the OP eats because his BG levels are normal! He is T2 on Metformin and his liver will maintain his BG at normal levels throughout the night. @Kamili your 3.5 could just have been either a meter inaccuracy or your liver was about to raise your levels for you. Did you retest? For your info I can push my levels down that low purposefully by either targeted exercise to do it and stopping at the right time or sitting very still and doing nothing. However, I get always around that level and then I get a warm flush through my body and my levels are immediately afterwards at 5. That for me is my liver dumping glucose either from its stores or by converting other nutrients. BTW when active I find this down and up behaviour is very much more shallower.

The liver is a single threaded organ and will do one thing at a time and takes a little while to change its role. So if you are being sedentary it will not focus on glucose production until your levels become lower as it "knows" it has time. If you are active it "knows" it is having to react to falling and rising BG levels constantly and so therefore it delays other tasks for energy control. BTW Metformin can/does interfere with this natural release threshold (it alters your ratio of ATP:AMP in favour of AMP and these two chemicals are used in glucogen to glucose and glucose to glucogen transport in cells) so it may be that you need to discuss your prescription with your doctor

I would suggest you test and watch your levels next time and understand your body instead of just taking a glucose tablet.
Click to expand...
She's not on metformin and I only suggested a low carb snack before bed if under 5.0 so she doesn't have to worry about going too low while asleep. She did have two fainting episodes earlier which are as yet unexplained.
 
I agree with @Andrew Colvin

There is absolutely nothing wrong with 4.7s or even 3s, for a T2 unless they have a history of hypos and medication like insulin or gliclazide.

Very few T2s ever hypo.
Those that do, know about it, and very quickly learn what to do.

Please @Kamili do not be alarmed at your readings. Celebrate them. The more 'normal' they are, the better.

If your bg dips a bit overnight, your liver will notice and sort things out, without you even knowing.
 
It is possible for T2s to hypo, and we don't necessarily have enough information to be definitive about it in Kamili's case. I think things will become clearer for her over time and potentially once she has talked with her doctor about it. Nothing to be alarmed about of course, but also not a good idea to make assumptions without information.
 
Andrew Colvin said:
I am perplexed. Why are you suggesting that the OP eats because his BG levels are normal! He is T2 on Metformin and his liver will maintain his BG at normal levels throughout the night. @Kamili your 3.5 could just have been either a meter inaccuracy or your liver was about to raise your levels for you. Did you retest? For your info I can push my levels down that low purposefully by either targeted exercise to do it and stopping at the right time or sitting very still and doing nothing. However, I get always around that level and then I get a warm flush through my body and my levels are immediately afterwards at 5. That for me is my liver dumping glucose either from its stores or by converting other nutrients. BTW when active I find this down and up behaviour is very much more shallower.

The liver is a single threaded organ and will do one thing at a time and takes a little while to change its role. So if you are being sedentary it will not focus on glucose production until your levels become lower as it "knows" it has time. If you are active it "knows" it is having to react to falling and rising BG levels constantly and so therefore it delays other tasks for energy control. BTW Metformin can/does interfere with this natural release threshold (it alters your ratio of ATP:AMP in favour of AMP and these two chemicals are used in glucogen to glucose and glucose to glucogen transport in cells) so it may be that you need to discuss your prescription with your doctor

I would suggest you test and watch your levels next time and understand your body instead of just taking a glucose tablet.
Click to expand...
An interesting post. You may be right about the liver as I am retired and lead a very sedentary lifestyle. I am still trying to get to grasps with the eating diet so I think this has a lot to do with low readings also. Thanks for your input.
 
Brunneria said:
I agree with @Andrew Colvin

There is absolutely nothing wrong with 4.7s or even 3s, for a T2 unless they have a history of hypos and medication like insulin or gliclazide.

Very few T2s ever hypo.
Those that do, know about it, and very quickly learn what to do.

Please @Kamili do not be alarmed at your readings. Celebrate them. The more 'normal' they are, the better.

If your bg dips a bit overnight, your liver will notice and sort things out, without you even knowing.
Click to expand...


Thank you I will follow up on information.
 
CatLadyNZ said:
She's not on metformin and I only suggested a low carb snack before bed if under 5.0 so she doesn't have to worry about going too low while asleep. She did have two fainting episodes earlier which are as yet unexplained.
Click to expand...

With hindsight I think the episodes of fainting can be linked to low blood pressure which I also suffer from.
 
CatLadyNZ said:
She's not on metformin and I only suggested a low carb snack before bed if under 5.0 so she doesn't have to worry about going too low while asleep. She did have two fainting episodes earlier which are as yet unexplained.
Click to expand...

Whilst I agree T2s can hypo, for a T2 not on medication, it is highly unlikely that a medically worrying hypo would occur, beyond feeling a bit light headed and spaced out. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, in my view, to sledgehammer something that might, perhaps, if unlucky happen.

On the basis of your and SweetLucie's assessments, I am a walking miracle. I survive chuncks of the day and night in the 3s, and less so, but not uncommonly the 2s. The following are my Libre records from last night.:

09/09/2015 06:00 3.9
09/09/2015 05:40 3.7
09/09/2015 05:25 3.6
09/09/2015 05:10 3.6
09/09/2015 04:55 3.8
09/09/2015 04:40 3.8
09/09/2015 04:52 3.8
09/09/2015 04:24 3.7
09/09/2015 04:09 3.7
09/09/2015 03:54 3.9
09/09/2015 03:39 4.3
09/09/2015 03:24 3.9
09/09/2015 03:35 4.4
09/09/2015 03:09 3.4
09/09/2015 02:54 3.4
09/09/2015 02:39 3.3
09/09/2015 02:24 3.6
09/09/2015 02:09 3.7
09/09/2015 01:54 3
09/09/2015 01:39 2.9
09/09/2015 01:24 3.1
09/09/2015 01:09 3.2
09/09/2015 00:54 3.4
09/09/2015 00:39 3.6
09/09/2015 00:24 3.6
09/09/2015 00:09 3.6
08/09/2015 23:54 3.4
08/09/2015 23:39 3.2
08/09/2015 23:24 3.1
08/09/2015 23:09 3.2
08/09/2015 22:54 3.2
08/09/2015 22:39 3.2
08/09/2015 22:24 3.3
08/09/2015 22:09 3.7

How do I survive?

Not everything is about diabetes.
 
CatLadyNZ said:
I'm curious, @Kamili, what was your latest HbA1c blood test result? It sounds like your day to day BGs are at a good level.
Click to expand...

My last HbA1c test came in at 6.3. I understand this is good! My concern is the levels of Bg have never been higher than 8.9 since I have been testing August 25th 2015. With all the information I have received from members I now feel I am very lucky with my results. I really appreciate all your help.
 
AndBreathe said:
Whilst I agree T2s can hypo, for a T2 not on medication, it is highly unlikely that a medically worrying hypo would occur, beyond feeling a bit light headed and spaced out. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, in my view, to sledgehammer something that might, perhaps, if unlucky happen.

On the basis of your and SweetLucie's assessments, I am a walking miracle. I survive chuncks of the day and night in the 3s, and less so, but not uncommonly the 2s. The following are my Libre records from last night.:

09/09/2015 06:00 3.9
09/09/2015 05:40 3.7
09/09/2015 05:25 3.6
09/09/2015 05:10 3.6
09/09/2015 04:55 3.8
09/09/2015 04:40 3.8
09/09/2015 04:52 3.8
09/09/2015 04:24 3.7
09/09/2015 04:09 3.7
09/09/2015 03:54 3.9
09/09/2015 03:39 4.3
09/09/2015 03:24 3.9
09/09/2015 03:35 4.4
09/09/2015 03:09 3.4
09/09/2015 02:54 3.4
09/09/2015 02:39 3.3
09/09/2015 02:24 3.6
09/09/2015 02:09 3.7
09/09/2015 01:54 3
09/09/2015 01:39 2.9
09/09/2015 01:24 3.1
09/09/2015 01:09 3.2
09/09/2015 00:54 3.4
09/09/2015 00:39 3.6
09/09/2015 00:24 3.6
09/09/2015 00:09 3.6
08/09/2015 23:54 3.4
08/09/2015 23:39 3.2
08/09/2015 23:24 3.1
08/09/2015 23:09 3.2
08/09/2015 22:54 3.2
08/09/2015 22:39 3.2
08/09/2015 22:24 3.3
08/09/2015 22:09 3.7

How do I survive?

Not everything is about diabetes.
Click to expand...


Wow! I'm amazed I would definately feel light headed with constant readings such as this. I am grateful to you for your interest in my posts.
 
AndBreathe said:
Whilst I agree T2s can hypo, for a T2 not on medication, it is highly unlikely that a medically worrying hypo would occur, beyond feeling a bit light headed and spaced out. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, in my view, to sledgehammer something that might, perhaps, if unlucky happen.

On the basis of your and SweetLucie's assessments, I am a walking miracle. I survive chuncks of the day and night in the 3s, and less so, but not uncommonly the 2s. The following are my Libre records from last night.:

09/09/2015 06:00 3.9
09/09/2015 05:40 3.7
09/09/2015 05:25 3.6
09/09/2015 05:10 3.6
09/09/2015 04:55 3.8
09/09/2015 04:40 3.8
09/09/2015 04:52 3.8
09/09/2015 04:24 3.7
09/09/2015 04:09 3.7
09/09/2015 03:54 3.9
09/09/2015 03:39 4.3
09/09/2015 03:24 3.9
09/09/2015 03:35 4.4
09/09/2015 03:09 3.4
09/09/2015 02:54 3.4
09/09/2015 02:39 3.3
09/09/2015 02:24 3.6
09/09/2015 02:09 3.7
09/09/2015 01:54 3
09/09/2015 01:39 2.9
09/09/2015 01:24 3.1
09/09/2015 01:09 3.2
09/09/2015 00:54 3.4
09/09/2015 00:39 3.6
09/09/2015 00:24 3.6
09/09/2015 00:09 3.6
08/09/2015 23:54 3.4
08/09/2015 23:39 3.2
08/09/2015 23:24 3.1
08/09/2015 23:09 3.2
08/09/2015 22:54 3.2
08/09/2015 22:39 3.2
08/09/2015 22:24 3.3
08/09/2015 22:09 3.7

How do I survive?

Not everything is about diabetes.
Click to expand...
I never said it was anything other than highly unlikely, so I agree with you :) IIRC, the term I used was "very rare". Hardly alarming. I'm cautious sometimes. If I wasn't, people would find a way to criticise that, too.
 
Kamili said:
Wow! I'm amazed I would definately feel light headed with constant readings such as this. I am grateful to you for your interest in my posts.
Click to expand...
Me too, I'd feel very unwell with BGs at those levels and would want to eat something low carb before they went that low. When I had to fast for surgery and it was delayed I got down to 3.5 and felt so ill. I realise that wasn't a medically significant low BG, but I sure felt sick. We are all different.
 
Kamili said:
With hindsight I think the episodes of fainting can be linked to low blood pressure which I also suffer from.
Click to expand...
That makes sense, I'm glad you figured out what was the likely cause. I've had low BP attacks in the past, they are not nice. Had you been lying down and got up quickly?
 
Kamili said:
My last HbA1c test came in at 6.3. I understand this is good! My concern is the levels of Bg have never been higher than 8.9 since I have been testing August 25th 2015. With all the information I have received from members I now feel I am very lucky with my results. I really appreciate all your help.
Click to expand...
If my converter is correct, that HbA1c places you in the prediabetic range. Well done! I don't think there's any need to be concerned about your BGs not being higher than 8.9. It looks to me like you are doing the right things with your eating.
 
CatLadyNZ said:
I never said it was anything other than highly unlikely, so I agree with you :) IIRC, the term I used was "very rare". Hardly alarming. I'm cautious sometimes. If I wasn't, people would find a way to criticise that, too.
Click to expand...

But, why would anyone looking for normalised blood sugars deliberately push them up just in case something very rarely seen happened?

@Kamili - My levels have settled where they are aver a period of time, notching themselves downwards as my diet, exercise, BP and my health in general improved. They didn't plummet like a stone.

Your scores look like great progress to me, so I would urge you not to take steps to inhibit your body from finding its natural place, based on a great diet and as much moving around as you can do, or are willing to do. I didn't set out to drive my body to these lows, but once I realised which foods etc., were causing me issues, I just got there over months, not days or weeks.

It is my strongly held belief that many non-diabetics run at the levels I do, but they simply have no idea, because they don't test. Why would they? I would love my OH to were my Libre sensor for one two-week cycle, so observe his curves and numbers. he is a slim fit 68 year old, with recently recorded healthy HbA1c and fasting blood levels, from his regular health check.

Unfortunately, there is little research available out there to read, looking into normo-glycaemia, as I guess that's not exciting or ground-breaking research, and the published data would have a limited audience, I'm guessing.

My personal stance, when something odd crops up is to look for a reason it occurred, rather than immediately associate it. I'm undoubtedly very fortunate to be extremely well and fit both before and since diagnosis, so I tend to naturally reject the association of "everything".

The learning curve we go through in the period after diagnosis is undoubtedly a challenge, but many of us feel we end up healthier in the aftermath than beforehand. My OH, who also adopted the same way of eating (mainly!) has also stated, unprompted, that he feels extremely well on it, and lost around 3-4kg from an already trim frame, but he likes to be lean, so he is happy.

Good luck with what you're doing. It seems you're making great progress, but don't be too hasty to tag every odd or unexpected feeling to your diabetes. There's no doubt diabetes is now part of your overall health picture, but it isn't the only component in it.
 
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