Struggling to get bloods down

lt1v14

Member
Messages
18
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Please can someone help me. I'm not overweight/obese but diagnosed with Type 2 about 2 years ago? Diabetic clinic says I must now go on meds (have reached 66 mml or whatever it is) but I've read so much about reversing this. I've cut back on alcohol and have been doing the low carb thing quite religiously for 2 months but the bloods don't seem to have changed. Does anyone have any advice. How long does it take before they come down? Should I take the metformin. Can you come off that eventually? I was told today that I'll probably have to stay on it for ever.
thank you
Lesley
 

Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi and welcome,

The 66mmol/mol is your HbA1c result.
Under 42 is non-diabetic
42 to 47 is pre-diabetic
48 and over is diabetic.

Have you got your own blood glucose meter? If so, what sort of levels do you see before and after meals? If not, it would be a good idea to buy one so you can monitor yourself rather than relying on your HbA1c results. You can then see at a glance what is happening when you eat, and this will help you to understand which your danger foods are and give you the opportunity to tweak your diet if that is the problem. If it turns out diet isn't your problem, it may be you need some additional tests to see if your pancreas is producing enough insulin.
 

Guzzler

Master
Messages
10,577
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Poor grammar, bullying and drunks.
Hello and welcome. People do reverse Type 2 and people can come off Metformin. When you say you've been doing low carb could you tell us what you eat in a typical day please?
Are you using a meter to test at home?
 

lt1v14

Member
Messages
18
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi
typical day tea + milk, porridge and water, lunch - salad and mackerel, snack pm carrot batons and humous, evening, chicken casserole and veg or fish again sometimes spag bol - not much pasta. snacks nuts and yoghurt - low fat and as low sugar as possible. Have drastically reduced wine but still drinking few glasses a week. Not sure what else I can do! Help!
 

lt1v14

Member
Messages
18
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Re the glucose meter, I bought one but the diabetic nurse said not to pay attention to that. That it was just a moment in time and the Hba1C was the one to watch. What do you mean, extra tests on the pancreas?
 

Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Re the glucose meter, I bought one but the diabetic nurse said not to pay attention to that. That it was just a moment in time and the Hba1C was the one to watch. What do you mean, extra tests on the pancreas?

Your nurse is wrong. Yes, a home monitor gives you a snapshot of what it is at the time, but that is exactly what you want to know. By testing before you eat (to get a base line) and again 2 hours after your first bite, you can see how much that food has raised your levels. If you also keep a food diary including portion sizes, you can soon see patterns emerging. The aim is to keep any rise from before to after under 2mmol/l and preferably less. If it is more than this there are too many carbs in that meal for your body to cope with. You may well find porridge isn't suitable for you for example. It isn't for most of us, although some can manage smaller portions.

Is there a reason you are eating low fat? Fats do not increase blood sugar levels. Carbs certainly do. If you are using low fat products you need to read the nutrition labels to see how many carbs there are in it. There is often a surprising amount of sugar in them compared with the full fat versions.

The extra tests I am talking about are the c-peptide and GAD tests. The c-peptide test (an ordinary blood test) will help show if your pancreas is producing enough insulin. Most T2s produce too much insulin. However, you really need more data from your home meter before you ask if you can go down this route.
 

Dexterdobe

Well-Known Member
Messages
305
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Being unwell and seeing BG levels soar
Re the glucose meter, I bought one but the diabetic nurse said not to pay attention to that. That it was just a moment in time and the Hba1C was the one to watch. What do you mean, extra tests on the pancreas?
Hi and welcome. Firstly, stop worrying. Stress just pushes up your blood sugar. An HBa1c of 66 is quite high, but there is lots you can do to get it down. It will take time and a lot of hard work so be prepared to play the long game if you want to get your blood glucose into the normal level (below 42).
The Hba1c is an average measure of the glucose in your blood over a 2-3 month period. It's an important figure, because it gives you an average, but it does nothing to tell you how your body is reacting to your diet and lifestyle.
The blood meter is a great tool for measuring how you react to different foods. If you test before and then two hours after a meal you can see exactly what that meal has done to your BG level. If it goes up by more than 2 mm/ol then there is probably too much sugar and carbs in it, so try different foods, test often and moderate your diet according to the results. It's not the actual BG level, but the change in level that is important when adjusting your diet. It doesn't stop there though. Exercise is free and most people find it reduces Bg in the short and long term. Try to do at least half an hour of BRISK walking every day. 4 mph is a great speed to aim for.
If you monitor and adjust your diet and increase exercise you should find that the next HBa1c test comes back a lot lower. I'm 63. I eat very few carbs and do an hour of fairly vigorous exercise every day and I have got my HBa1c down from 53 to 42 in three months.
 

Guzzler

Master
Messages
10,577
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Poor grammar, bullying and drunks.
Hi
typical day tea + milk, porridge and water, lunch - salad and mackerel, snack pm carrot batons and humous, evening, chicken casserole and veg or fish again sometimes spag bol - not much pasta. snacks nuts and yoghurt - low fat and as low sugar as possible. Have drastically reduced wine but still drinking few glasses a week. Not sure what else I can do! Help!

I would suggest you get yourself a carbs and cals app or book and learn to read food labels. This will enable you to go low carb with confidence. For example, a lot of people with T2 cannot tolerate porridge, for them it is just too high in carbs. The only way to see if you can tolerate it is to test with a glucometer, the same goes for pasta, potatoes, rice, breads and anything made from white flour.
Keep asking questions, we are here to help. Good luck.
 

Smallbrit

Well-Known Member
Messages
284
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I agree with above comments - using a meter as above is invaluable in knowing what your body can and can't cope with.

On the metformin, I believe there's been people on this forum who have come off it when blood sugars have been well controlled, but I'm sure more knowledgeable people than me can answer that. It wasn't mentioned to me at all when my bloods skyrocketed to 89, but maybe that was because I had proven I knew how to keep them down in the 40s on a low carb diet - I just specifically chose not to do that last year and almost inhale biscuits instead.

Have a look into what carbs are in what - some answers may be surprising! This is a useful starting guide.

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/foods#foodlist
 

AFM

Member
Messages
13
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
I think I will go out and shoot myself for after looking at the diet doctor all the things I enjoy eating are bad for me O deary me
 

lt1v14

Member
Messages
18
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
thank you everyone
do I have to go to my doctor's/hospital to get the HAb1C or can I get this done somewhere else?
 

Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
thank you everyone
do I have to go to my doctor's/hospital to get the HAb1C or can I get this done somewhere else?

You have already had an HbA1c according to your initial post. It was 66mmol/mol
 

lt1v14

Member
Messages
18
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
yes, I meant for future measurements?

also, can anyone advise me when you are looking at the nutritional value of a product and you look at the carbohydrate number, what should I be wary of? over what level per 100gs?
 

Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
yes, I meant for future measurements?

also, can anyone advise me when you are looking at the nutritional value of a product and you look at the carbohydrate number, what should I be wary of? over what level per 100gs?

You should be on either 6 monthly or 12 monthly blood tests as part of your diabetes care plan at your surgery. Your doctor or nurse usually order these. How often have you been called in up to now? Do you get annual retinal eye screening and an annual foot check for sensation? These are all part of the diabetes care plan.

As for nutrition labels, you need to look at Total Carbohydrate and then make a judgement according to how much of that food you intend to eat in one meal. A very general rule that many follow is nothing over 10g per 100g. Some say nothing over 5g carbs per 100g. But if you are only going to eat a teaspoonful it probably doesn't matter. If the packet contains 400g of product and you are going to eat half of it, you will be eating 200g, so the amount per 100g needs to be doubled.
 

Smallbrit

Well-Known Member
Messages
284
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I'm tagging @daisy1 who can post all kinds of useful welcome info for you which will hopefully help with your questions, seeing as I think this was your first post?
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@It1v14

Hello Lesley and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions you like and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 235,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why

  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 

derry60

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,196
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Rudeness,people being unkind
Hi
typical day tea + milk, porridge and water, lunch - salad and mackerel, snack pm carrot batons and humous, evening, chicken casserole and veg or fish again sometimes spag bol - not much pasta. snacks nuts and yoghurt - low fat and as low sugar as possible. Have drastically reduced wine but still drinking few glasses a week. Not sure what else I can do! Help!
You are eating quite a few foods here that can raise your blood glucose. Houmous in some people, low-fat yoghurt because the low-fat variety has quite a bit of sugar in, porridge, Even a small amount of pasta can raise your BG levels. People here will help you. Also take a good look around the site, it is full of knowledge for people with diabetes
 

Phoenix55

Well-Known Member
Messages
577
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Welcome @lt1v14 I would endorse what the others have said about getting yourself a monitor and using it. You can not control without knowing what is going on and what is affecting your body. The HbA1c gives an overall picture but you need to know on a daily basis what is contributing to that result. The food diary and the tests are a bind initially but soon settle into a pattern and you can start adapting your diet. Do look at the food contents labels carefully, it can be a eyeopener to realise how much sugar is in some products, including some smoked foods. Also be aware of portion size with ready foods. Some foods will have to be reserved for occasional 'treats' but others that have been pushed out due to low fat diet can return - bacon, eggs, cheese, cream, all in moderation of course.;)

Try to increase your exercise, a few extra steps, a brisk walk for 10 minutes at lunchtime all make a difference. If you want to avoid Metformin try asking if you can have 3 months to try some life style changes often the prescriber will allow you this leeway then tell you all about the 'Eatwell' plate, which you have already been doing and which has landed you in this position.

Good luck
 

ixi1429

Well-Known Member
Messages
173
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I am to eat 75 g f carbs per day - 15 per meal, with a spar 15 so I can have milk in tea, snacks etc. My average since the beginning of the year is 76g but that is because it is a target and sometimes I eat a little more - birthdays, celebrations etc. and I have a few of those recently BUT anything under 130g is Low carb as that is approx less than half of the carbs we would need to eat if we were not in the diabetes club. Soem people et 20g or less. you need to do what is comfortable for you and more importantly sustainable as you need to keep this going.
I started on 100 and then relaised I could go lower.

Good news is that Cream and Strawbeeries is defo low carb (as long as you don't eat by the buckekful.

Some people tolerate some carbs better than others and can eat pasta, rice etc (in small amounts) where others can eat fruits. As the others have said, get a meter (theres posts bout those elsewhere on this site) and measure so you know which foods you can eat and avoid.

Genreal rules - I try to avoid foods with 10g of carbs per 100 but this is a general rule. For exmaples I love and eat Pickled herring which come in between 11 - 16g but they are an oily fish so are great of omega 3 etc. I can't eat weetabix (about 65-70g per 100) as this pushes up my blood glucose but others can.

Foods grown above the ground tend to be lower in carbs than below.
Try to stay away from exotic foods - those not grown in urope - e.g. Bananas
Unfortunatley (for me) doughnuts are classified as high carb.