Type 2, diet controlled - what should readings be after eating?

[Pamzy2]

Hello

I am Type 2, diet controlled only, no meds and my HbA1C is 6.2 Can anyone tell me if it matters how high my sugar level goes to (within reason) as long as it comes back to below 8.2 within 2 hours after eating? Many thanks for your help. Pamzy2

 

[poohtiggy]

Hello

I am Type 2, diet controlled only, no meds and my HbA1C is 6.2 Can anyone tell me if it matters how high my sugar level goes to (within reason) as long as it comes back to below 8.2 within 2 hours after eating? Many thanks for your help. Pamzy2

Yes it matters, the idea of diet control is to keep your level as low as possible between 4.5 and 8.5 which are the Nice guideline figures.

 

[Pamzy2]

Yes it matters, the idea of diet control is to keep your level as low as possible between 4.5 and 8.5 which are the Nice guideline figures.

Many thanks indeed for your reply, I had a feeling it might do. I suppose I need to test myself straight after I've eaten to get an idea of how the food affects me rather than take the reading after 2 hours when a lot of the time it is back to around 8. I know that I can't eat too many carbs and of course no sugar itself or sweet things, but I'm guessing that to achieve low readings straight after eating I'll need to concentrate on proteins?

 

[Scimama]

Hi @Pamzy2

II am diet controlled too, yes it does matter, ideally you should keep your BG levels under 7 at all time to avoid diabetes related complications. But we are humans living in the real world! For new foods I test before eating and then 1 hr, 1.5hr, 2hr, 2.5 hr and 3hr. Some foods or combinations of foods have a slower spike than others. I test each new food at least twice on different days/weeks. i pay for my own test strips and use SD code free as they are the cheapest I have found.

There are lots of other reasons you might get an increase in BG levels, exercise levels, (de)hydration, illness, hormones - if you plot your early morning fasting BG levels with respect to monthly cycles you will see a grand emerging.

HTH

 

[4ratbags]

I aim to keep my BS under 5.5 at all times. My highest readin is always FBG but the rest are usually low.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I'm diet controlled and personally do not like to see any reading in the 7's, although it does happen occasionally. It is up to you what targets you set yourself, and once you reach and maintain those targets, you can lower them. A reasonable target is to aim for the non-diabetic guidelines. (under 6 before meals and under 7.8 at least 90 minutes later), although some people believe these are too generous. However, it's a good target to begin with.

 

[Chook]

I aim for between 4.5 and 6.9 depending on the time of day. I do prefer a FBG of 5.5 or under but that is fairly unusual for me at present due to dawn phenomenon.

Someone, somewhere could make a fortune by devising a way to solve dawn phenomenon. All the fest of the day I feel in control but that first test result in the morning always feels like a lucky draw.

 

[Pamzy2]

Many thanks everyone, although my HbA1C is fairly ok at 6.2 I think the things I'm eating are spiking my BS too high during the immediate hour after eatng. I am going to have to look and test as suggested. Thank you for your help, it's invaluable as the Diabetic Nurse told me that it's fine as long as I'm back to under 8 after two hours.

 

[Bluetit1802]

6.2% is fine, in fact it is the same as mine so I am biased. It is the peak and how long it takes to return to where you started that is important. The higher the level and the longer it lasts is what we must be aware of as these are what cause the potential complications further down the road. Are you also aware that peaks occur at different times depending on the combination of foods eaten? A fast acting carb such as potato will peak quite quickly, but if eaten with a lot of fat will take longer to reach a lower peak, and will also take longer to return to base.

 

[dbr10]

the Diabetic Nurse told me that it's fine as long as I'm back to under 8 after two hours.

It isn't. The risk of complications rises with Hba1c level.

 

[Pamzy2]

Thank you all. So if I eat something that takes me up to 12 say in the hour after eating, but it has returned to 8 by 2 hours, is that alright (well, as alright as it can be, I mean!)? I'm just a bit confused as to whether I should be avoiding the high readings completely (which isn't always possible) in the 2 hours after eating, or if they go high but come back down to 8 by the end of 2 hours this is OK in the circumstances because it's very hard to find anything to eat that doesn't put them up to at least 9 in the hour after eating, and 12 or 14 for something like potato gnocchi with cheese. I know what I shouldn't eat, but have difficulty finding things I should eat!

 

[Scimama]

Its the BG control you have on a daily basis that is important; for me personally I would be very unhappy with a daily/frequent reading of 12, on a rare occurrence (christmas day, my birthday) it would be OK as the other 360 odd days would be with good control.
From my understanding the longer your BG levels are raised the more damage it done to your blood vessels/nerves etc and the higher the risk of complications from your diabetes.

For me carbohydrates raise my BG levels, so I minimise the amount of carbs I eat, the amount I can eat is very specific just to me, we are all different so the only way to find out your tolerance level to carbohydrates is to test after each meal.

Finding things to eat that don't spike your BG levels is trail and error, but you could make gnocchi from cauliflower rather that potato.

mashed potato >> mashed cauliflower or celeriac
rice>> blitzed up cauliflower
pasta >> grated or finely sliced, spiralled courgette for spaghetti, aubergine slices instead of lasagne (yummy rolled around spinach and cream cheese )
bread >> low carb alternatives using nut flours (search forum for oopsie bread or low carb bread)

the low carb forum has recipes for biscuits and cakes too

 

[Neohdiver]

My personal goal is to stay below 7.8 at all times. I cringe when I get close to 7.8 (and I rarely actually go above 7.0). 7.8 is considered the ceiling for non-diabetics - so I don't consider my diabetes under control unless my numbers match actual normal numbers (not diabetes-normal).

 

[Bluetit1802]

@Pamzy2 What levels are you starting from when you spike so high? Anyone would spike to 12 if they started at 11, so it does matter.

I am wondering if you are digging your heels in about low carbing and trying to find reasons why you can continue to eat potatoes and so forth? Please forgive me if I am wrong, but it does seem like that to me. It is quite understandable, I did it myself right at the beginning. The only way is to set some lower targets for your 2 hour level, remembering always that your peak will most likely be before this, so you will have been higher than acceptable for at least 2 hours. Have you tried testing half hourly AFTER the 2 hours to see when you return to base?

 

[Pamzy2]

Hi Bluetit1802, I run consistently around 6 before eating, sometimes 5.9 but not lower than that. I admit that the gnocchi was something I don't eat normally, as I tend to favour wholemeal things including pasta, so usually I would be around 9 to 10 after eating and down below 8 after 2 hours, but rarely back to 6 within that time. It worried me because I tested after the gnocchi and it was so high, I have only had a couple of things that have done this. To be honest, I don't know what to eat apart from meat, I don't eat potatoes normally, usually a meat with something like peas and carrots, which will take me up to about 9. I was so surprised to see the 14 which is why I started to question things. I have just been to the low carb section of the site and downloaded a recipe book. I will order some of the special flour, and I have Stevia already, so I will start to make things from that I think. The reason I have had to have the non-wholemeal over the past 2 days is I'm off for a Sigmoidoscopy tomorrow, and I thought I'd better test (I don't habitually test myself every day or even every week) but I suspected that the "white" potato product might raise my bloodsugar (I am always telling hubby that I can't eat white pasta, rice etc, which he likes, and this has proved my point, potatoes are the same!) But that lead to me questioning whether it was the time the BS is up for, or what the reading is during that time - seems from the answers that it is as I suspected, both!!
Thank you for the hints re the food, I shall try these. Half the problem is ... the other half! He doesn't want to eat the same, but I force him to, and every now and again he does the shopping and this is what he comes home with! Gnocchi! (As I was indisposed).
Thank you, I will do readings as suggested and monitor. The Carbs look like a big problem for me.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Keep testing to find out what you can manage, but be aware that wholemeal carbs are still carbs, and will also convert to glucose once inside your system. They may convert a little slower, but nonetheless, they convert. Also peas and carrots are high in carbs. Much better are cauliflour and brocolli. Beans are also high carb too. Stick to veggies that grow above the ground, and be very careful of beans, peas and other pulses. If you want to get your levels down, you really need to reduce all carbs, not just some. Perhaps you could experiment with some much smaller portions, and fill up with veggies?

 

[Pamzy2]

Keep testing to find out what you can manage, but be aware that wholemeal carbs are still carbs, and will also convert to glucose once inside your system. They may convert a little slower, but nonetheless, they convert. Also peas and carrots are high in carbs. Much better are cauliflour and brocolli. Beans are also high carb too. Stick to veggies that grow above the ground, and be very careful of beans, peas and other pulses. If you want to get your levels down, you really need to reduce all carbs, not just some. Perhaps you could experiment with some much smaller portions, and fill up with veggies?

Thank you, that's good advice, unfortunately I can't eat much in the way of cauliflower and broccoli as I have diverticulitis and it irritates this, but I've got to find something to eat, so I'm going to look and other veges to fill up on. I find salad is quite good really, it doesn't irritate my stomach and doesn't seem to put my BSugar up too high. I eat oatmeal porridge (nothing on it apart from skimmed milk) and that is fine, doesn't spike much at all. I eat boiled eggs most lunchtimes, which are fine, but the evening meal causes the problem. I don't snack between meals during the day, but I do find I am hungry after my main meal at night which leads me to want things like cashew nuts or oatcakes with cheese etc to fill up on. I don't ever feel full. During the day \I can go for vast amounts of time if I have to without eating, and it doesn't bother me, but once I've had my dinner at night I seem to want to eat all evening. I'm not at all overweight, have always been thin all my life, and do a lot of exercise. I get quite despondent when I "eat well" or so I think, and then test and find that it's not as good as I expected. Off to the low carb recipes it is then!