Not seeing any improvement

[elleo]

Hi, I'm newly diagnosed with T2 and have been reading everything I can find on the subject, particularly this forum as I decided to go down the LCHF route.

Everything seemed to be going OK for the first 2 weeks and I lost 5kg and bloods were in the high 5- high 7 range. However about a week ago I was ill during the night (runs & vomiting) and my blood tests have been in the 10-12 range since. This morning after a breakfast of Total Greek yoghurt, 10 raspberries, sprinkling of brazil nuts, sesame seeds and a couple of tbsp of ground flaxseed, plus a brisk 10min walk down for my paper my bloods shot up to 17.5 from 12.5. I am on 1x500gm Metformin and take 1 fish oil capsule

Am I doing something wrong with this diet? I have very disrupted sleep due to arthritic hip pain( and I think sleep apnoea) . Thanks for any advice.

 

[GrantGam]

As you're newly diagnosed - it will take time for your medication dose to be adjusted for optimum effect. It will take time so expect the start to be a little ropey.

The best advice I could give is to exercise as much as you possibly can and limit your carbohydrates. These two things alone can make monumental changes to your BGL.

You mentioned you were unwell, it's very common for BGL's to spiral upwards during periods of illness. Inactivity and possible stress due to feeling unwell doesn't do anything positive to blood sugar.

Stick at it and you'll soon notice improvements.

Good luck!

Grant

 

[JohnEGreen]

The only things I can pick out there are the Flaxseed which has about 28g of carbohydrates per 100g and the Sesame seeds that have 23g of carbohydrates per 100g the best thing to do is to test before breakfast and then have that combination again and test @ 30minutes then 60 minutes and two hours after to see if it spikes you if it does then avoid or reduce the elements with the higher carbs.

Also illness can drive your blood sugars up and it can take a while for them to settle down again.

 

[elleo]

I thought the ground flaxseed had very little carbs? In my daily diary on myfitnessplan it is showing as 0 carb count. The sesame seeds were just a small sprinkling, Ive had both the flaxseed and sesame before without any spike. In fact the first week after flaxseed my bloods went down to 4.4 and I thought I'd got the hang of all this haha.

 

[JohnEGreen]

Trouble is you often get conflicting information from different sources. this is what I found.

Nutrition Facts
Flaxseed
Amount Per 100 grams

Calories 534
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 42 g 64%
Saturated fat 3.7 g 18%
Polyunsaturated fat 29 g
Monounsaturated fat 8 g
Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
Sodium 30 mg 1%
Potassium 813 mg 23%
Total Carbohydrate 29 g 9%
Dietary fiber 27 g 108%
Sugar 1.6 g
Protein 18 g 36%
Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 1%
Calcium 25% Iron 31%
Vitamin D 0% Vitamin B-6 25%
Vitamin B-12 0% Magnesium 98%

Also we all react differently what may spike one person won't another. so it is best to test for your self to find what you can tolerate and what you can't.

 

[AndBreathe]

I think the thing, with stuff like flax or linseed is it's extremely unlikely anyone is going to be eating 100gr at any sitting. That's certainly one of the things I've had to remind myself of with some ingredients or condiments.

I've just got a pack of Golden Linseed out of the cupboard. They aren't ground (I do that myself), but on the back it says, per 100gr:

Energy: 490kcal
Fat: 34gr (of which 31gr saturated)
Carbohydrate: 0.9gr (of which 0.9gr sugars)
Fibre: 34gr
Protein: 28gr
Salt: <0.1gr

Back to the original question; some people find that some exercise raises their blood sugar, temporarily. If exercise hasn't been a big feature in your life until recently, or if you have upped the effort from relaxed stroll to brisk walk, that could be having an impact. It's only your body making sure you have enough energy to do the exercise.

As has been said already, it can take a while for your numbers to come down, so don't panic.

 

[DaveThompson]

Should I be testing myself then ? My doc hasn't mentioned it but how do I know how I am doing. I feel awful fairly often now possibly due to my exercise and lifestyle changes but I have no idea what my levels are at any given time.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Diabetes.co.uk Forum mobile app

 

[plantagenet]

Trouble is you often get conflicting information from different sources. this is what I found.

Nutrition Facts
Flaxseed
Amount Per 100 grams

Calories 534
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 42 g 64%
Saturated fat 3.7 g 18%
Polyunsaturated fat 29 g
Monounsaturated fat 8 g
Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
Sodium 30 mg 1%
Potassium 813 mg 23%
Total Carbohydrate 29 g 9%
Dietary fiber 27 g 108%
Sugar 1.6 g
Protein 18 g 36%
Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 1%
Calcium 25% Iron 31%
Vitamin D 0% Vitamin B-6 25%
Vitamin B-12 0% Magnesium 98%

Also we all react differently what may spike one person won't another. so it is best to test for your self to find what you can tolerate and what you can't.

It's all quite interesting, the different amounts quoted. I have a bag of Linwoods Milled organic flaxseed and the nutritional values quoted are:
Amounts per 100g
kcals: 508
Fat: 40.0g
Satfat: 4.5g
Polyunsatfat: 25.3g
Monounsatfat: 8.5g
Total Carbs: 3.0g
of which Sugar: 1.8g
Fibre: 23.7g
Protein: 22.1g
Salt: <0.1g

I know that the US includes fibre in Carbs, but the UK doesn't, so this would account for the difference as the rest are much of a muchness.

As you say we all react differently, but it can be confusing how different countries regard nutrients, when we are comparing foodstuffs.

 

[britishpub]

Should I be testing myself then ?

Yes, definitely.

You cannot be in control without knowing what you are trying to control.


Sent from my iPhone using DCUK Forum mobile app

 

[AndBreathe]

Should I be testing myself then ? My doc hasn't mentioned it but how do I know how I am doing. I feel awful fairly often now possibly due to my exercise and lifestyle changes but I have no idea what my levels are at any given time.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Diabetes.co.uk Forum mobile app

I'd liken it to trying to get The Times crossword right, without anyone giving you the clues. Without the clues, your chances are a great deal lower?

Self testing enables you to have real-time, immediate feedback on what's happening now, and what you have just done, rather than what you might have done weeks ago.

Adjusting my diet and self testing were the key steps to me achieving the results I have done, since diagnosis. Buying a meter ad a decent quantity of strips is an investment in your future.

Good luck with it all.