why does this happen?

[sunzzofman]

in reference to my last posted pasted below.iv been recording my sugar levels for nearly 2 days.the last time was 2 hours after my lunch which my suagr level was 5.0 . well i started feeling a bit dizzy/sick so i thought id randomly check my sugar level.this was after around 2 hours after i did my lunch level and it was 8.5 . then 5 mins l8er i did it again when i felt i a tiny bit better and it was 6.5 . and i def read it right.anyone got a idea why this mite of happened? im confuuuused lol

"Well iv been to see a doctor as iv had bad dizziness for the last year which doctors thought was because of my anxiety.now nearly a year l8er my anxiety is so much better yet im still dizzi all the time.had ecgs,ear test,eyes checked,blood tests for iron etc,but one thing i aint been checked for is my sugar level.so this doctor told me to buy a glucose metre and write down the values but she didnt really say at what times etc.she said i mite be fasting glucose if that makes any sense? cos i dunno wot it means lol.i feel ill quite alot,mostly before meals but i feel a bit better after them.i allso get verrrry thirsty if im feeling dizzi/sick but no matter how much i drink the thirst still stays.what chart should i use to record my blood sugar levels? and does any of these symptoms point to diabeties? :S thanks in advance"

 

[sugarless sue]

What did you eat for lunch that day ? This may have some bearing on the rise 2 hours after your after lunch 2 hour test.

As to the difference in the readings 5 minutes between, they often differ but this does seem rather a discrepancy. Check your meter with the control solution. Make sure both test strips and control solution are in date.

If there are still discrepancies then you should contact the makers of the meter for advice.

 

[sunzzofman]

i had peanut butter on toast and a cup of tea.that was it,havent even had any coke today! lol.i dont have a control solution atm as im not diabetic iv just been asked to follow my blood suagar because of my symptoms

 

[sugarless sue]

Peanut butter is very high in fat so that takes the carbs in your meal longer to absorb. That would explain the rise 4 hours after your meal. The only other thing I can think of is comtamination on your fingers that may have caused the 8.5 reading.

 

[sunzzofman]

well my hands were washed before and i had peanut butter on toast yesterday as well and my readings were fine.and i felt fine yesterday as well.was only today when i felt ill and then done a random check

 

[k9kitty]

Hi there,

Just two little thoughts on your query.

What kind of bread do you use for your toast? Some breads have higher carbs than others, so perhaps a change to something like Burgen, (available in your supermarket), which is around 11gm of carbs per slice and nice toasted might help. Peanut butter can have palm oil added which is high in saturated fat, (as is coconut). You can get palm oil free, sugar free peanut butters in most health shops.

Did you get a good drop of blood on the second test strip, sometimes if you don't fill the test strip as full as needed you can get a lower reading.

 

[Sid Bonkers]

Hi sunzzofman, your pre lunch reading of 5 is brilliant and the 2 hour after reading is OK too, the 4 hour readings as Sue has suggested may well be due to the fat in the peanut butter slowing down your digestion, and after two days I dont think these readings are anything to worry about. In fact lots of diabetics would love to have readings like yours

Another couple of points to bear in mind is firstly that the 8.5 and 6.5 five mins later show your levels coming down, thats good .
Also there will always be a small difference in readings even if taken 5 seconds apart as the bg meters have an accuracy tolerance of around 10% so a reading of 7.0 could in fact be 6.3 or 7.7.

You should not be concerned after two days readings, in fact if anything you should be pleased with your control, try the same lunch again and see if the readings are similar, if they are then you will know that peanut butter peaks your bg at 4 hours, then perhaps try Burgen bread as suggested by k9kitty and test agian, you may find that although the peak comes at around 4 hours it will be a little lower

 

[sunzzofman]

well on that night were i had 8.5 and then 6.5 10 mins l8er was when i started to feel better.l8er on that night i started feeling rubish again just before i was gona hit the hay and did a reading of 8.0.i had 8.5 and then 6.5,then i had beans on toast and then 2 hours l8er i did a suagr check and it was 5.7.that was at 8 o clock and then at 11 i did another test and it was 8.0 . even tho i didnt eat or drink anything . just like to say thank you all so much for helping me so far. remember tho so far i havent been diagnoised with diabeties or anything like dat,i was told by a nurse to check myself.

 

[sunzzofman]

just had pasta for dinner and now i feel like s**t,but iv ran out of strips to test myself with till wednesday lol

 

[sugarless sue]

Have a look at this link and then discuss your symptoms more fully with your GP. This could be one of the many things that are causing your symptoms, some of which are not diabetes related.

http://www.reactivehypoglycaemia.com/in ... hp#whatrhg

 

[sunzzofman]

dunno what to say to my doc tho,hes quite stuborn and iv seen him bout 5 times over the year about this and he keeps saying its anxiety.sure one of the only things i aint been checked is my sugar level.should i ask for a type of test or sumin? like a certain time of glucose test that tests everything? like hypoglemia,hyperglemia diabeties etc etc if theres one out there?

 

[k9kitty]

Hi again,

Most doctors do an Hb1Ac test for diabetics which will show the average for your bg over the last three months. Sometimes this is a fasting blood test. But if you haven't been diagnosed, why not ask him if he could test your blood? If you find him stubborn, is there another doctor in the practice you could see to get another angle on things. You should mention to your doc that you have tested your blood glucose at home and got a few readings around the 8 mml mark, he might decide to run a blood test to put your mind at rest. I get dizzy spells when my blood pressure is low and my readings are often below 87/77, you could ask you doc to check your bp too. Or have it done at your local chemist and take the results to your surgery.
It can seem a hassle, by why not keep a food diary for this coming week and note down what you eat and how you feel if any symptoms develop, the times, how long the symptoms last. It might help you discover if anything you eat regularly is causing the yukky feeling . Are you eating regular meals and snacks? Or are you grazing throughout the day. all day? Are all your meals heavy with carbs? A log of what you are eating over a week,(or longer), would show this. Once you id what is bringing on the symptoms you can leave that item out and see if that improves things. Pasta of any kind and rice are two things that make me go high and I now leave them out of my diet. I can eat 1 0r 2 slices of Burgen bread but not at the same meal. It's trial and error to discover what does and doesn't work.
Readings in a range of 5-8 are good for me, I wouldn't worry if bg is in this range, the only time I would do a second test within an hour is when recovering from a hypo.

Sometimes being very anxious and stressed can raise blood glucose levels.(it does mine). Why not try a simple relaxation technique such a 'think calm', where you breathe in slowly, hold your breath and count to three then breathe out slowly. (You can say the word calm as you breath out if you wish, (as in Caaaaaalmm). After a couple of normal breaths, repeat the slow calm one and do this whole process a few times. It gives a little respite from all the anxiousness you may be feeling when worried about blood glucose test results or other things. It can work for panic attacks and things like that too. I learned it because I was scared of thunderstorms years ago.

Good luck with your GP

 

[sunzzofman]

Hi again,

Most doctors do an Hb1Ac test for diabetics which will show the average for your bg over the last three months. Sometimes this is a fasting blood test. But if you haven't been diagnosed, why not ask him if he could test your blood? If you find him stubborn, is there another doctor in the practice you could see to get another angle on things. You should mention to your doc that you have tested your blood glucose at home and got a few readings around the 8 mml mark, he might decide to run a blood test to put your mind at rest. I get dizzy spells when my blood pressure is low and my readings are often below 87/77, you could ask you doc to check your bp too. Or have it done at your local chemist and take the results to your surgery.
It can seem a hassle, by why not keep a food diary for this coming week and note down what you eat and how you feel if any symptoms develop, the times, how long the symptoms last. It might help you discover if anything you eat regularly is causing the yukky feeling . Are you eating regular meals and snacks? Or are you grazing throughout the day. all day? Are all your meals heavy with carbs? A log of what you are eating over a week,(or longer), would show this. Once you id what is bringing on the symptoms you can leave that item out and see if that improves things. Pasta of any kind and rice are two things that make me go high and I now leave them out of my diet. I can eat 1 0r 2 slices of Burgen bread but not at the same meal. It's trial and error to discover what does and doesn't work.
Readings in a range of 5-8 are good for me, I wouldn't worry if bg is in this range, the only time I would do a second test within an hour is when recovering from a hypo.

Sometimes being very anxious and stressed can raise blood glucose levels.(it does mine). Why not try a simple relaxation technique such a 'think calm', where you breathe in slowly, hold your breath and count to three then breathe out slowly. (You can say the word calm as you breath out if you wish, (as in Caaaaaalmm). After a couple of normal breaths, repeat the slow calm one and do this whole process a few times. It gives a little respite from all the anxiousness you may be feeling when worried about blood glucose test results or other things. It can work for panic attacks and things like that too. I learned it because I was scared of thunderstorms years ago.

Good luck with your GP

Thanks for your comment well im currently seeing the mental health team and doing relaxation,starting CBT in a few weeks and im on anxiety medication,and i think im sooo much better then i was before.even when im ill now it dont really scare me anymore unless i have a bad dizziness rush.its like a adrenaline rush but i could be sitting there playing a hockey game on the ps3,its so random lol.tbh im trying to find something wrong with me so i can fix this problem as its taking over my life.basicly i just want to tick boxes and if it turns out its all anxiety then i no my health is fine yano.dam i hate blood tests tho!

 

[sunzzofman]

will my doc even give me a hb1ac blood test even if im not diabetic? only thing iv seen on google is only diabetics get it

 

[k9kitty]

Hi again,
I am glad you are feeling much better. You are seeing the mental health team, could they do a blood test for glucose level? My flatmate has schizophrenia and has fortnightly blood tests because of the medication he's on, your team may be able to order a test if it would put your mind at rest.

I wasn't sure if you had been dx'd for diabetes hence the mention of Hb1Ac test.(usually for diabetics). There are stages of insulin resistance that a person can experience without going on to full blown diabetes and sometimes infections and stress can make bg levels go high. There are still things you can do for yourself like trying a relaxation technique. Paul Wilson wrote a book on The Calm Technique but there are many others available. You can cut the amount of carb you eat and eat at regular intervals. Look at the advice given to newly diagnosed type 2's on this forum and the home page topics, it will help you with your testing. The thing is to try and make your food diary and blood testing work for you.

Keeping a diary or log of your symptoms, when and where they happen, what you have eaten and if you are testing bg the results will give you a little more control over your daily sufferings and also you can discuss the results with both your mental health team and your Gp.

I hope goes well with the CBT.

 

[sunzzofman]

just had a wimpy and a large chocolate thick shake and now im sooo dizzzzzy. doctors tomoz tho

 

[azion]

This looks nice

just had pasta for dinner and now i feel like s**t,but iv ran out of strips to test myself with till wednesday lol