Hi
@Maddyiow and welcome to the forum. The first thing I'm going to do is tag in
@daisy1 who has a welcome pack filled with loads of super-useful advice and information.
Can I ask some basic questions so that people can get more of a feel for your situation?
How often - and when - are you testing? What does a typical day's food look like for you? What medications are you taking? What was your last Hba1C?
Pain and stress will
certainly increase your BG levels, but (not being an expert, just speaking from experience) nowhere near that high. For example, my BG through the day is generally a stable 5.4 - 5.8, but on days when I'm in a lot of pain or there's something serious going on, it'll "spike" to, maybe, 6.5 - 7.0.
Your BG level suggests that your body is
flooded with sugars that it just can't cope with. While I appreciate there's a lot of advice out there and you've taken steps that you probably thought were going to help you, the important thing is to know that "Low GI"
is not the same thing as "Low Carb".
Low GI is, generally speaking, the same amount of starch and sugars, but they just get digested over a longer period of time. Low carb is exactly that - a much lower total amount of starch for your body to cope with at all. We T2Ds need to worry less about the speed our bodies deal with carbs, but that we're making them deal with them at all.
Of course, I have no real idea what you're eating yet, but right out of the gate, I'd guess it's stuff like wholegrain bread, brown rice and wholemeal pasta, jacket potatoes (skin on),and fruits like bananas, apples and so on. All of these are considered, by modern standards, to be "healthy" foods. But, to a T2, they're all potentially lethal.
I'm aware that my last paragraph could well have you staring at the screen now and tearfully demanding what on Earth you CAN eat. But don't despair. Every single one of us here arrived on these boards in need of answers, support and better control over our diabetes. You're at the start of a journey, and those BG levels you're hoping for really are within reach.
My immediate advice to you is to keep posting, reading, asking questions here. Have a look around - we've all kinds of good stuff going on, from recipes to people posting their success stories. Also, consider starting a food diary where you eat normally, but log everything you eat and drink for a week along with the total carbs it contained (regardless of GI) and what your BG levels were upon waking, before eating and 2 hours after eating.
When you've got a better picture of your testing routine and what and when you eat, you'll be in a far more powerful position to understand what you need to change. My guess is that, like everyone else in the country, you have a "healthy" breakfast of cereal or toast and juice, a mid-morning cuppa, an early lunch of a homemade pasta salad or sandwich followed by fruit, another cuppa and a snack in the afternoon and then a big evening meal. Which is all we're told to eat to stay healthy. The trouble is, if you like a biscuit and a spoonful of sugar in your tea and fruit between meals, you're literally loading your body with carbs non-stop, all day, never giving it the chance to clear them before the next lot arrives.
Of course, I could (and often am!) be wildly off the mark. Which means a food diary will help even more. (But they only work if you're honest - you don't have to show anyone, though).
Do try not to panic, though - deep breaths, literally concentrating on making your body relax part by part and telling yourself that you've taken a really strong, positive step in coming here and asking for support will all help. Stress is dangerous to a T2D, but you'll be really surprised how quickly you'll be seeing results once you've given yourself time to breathe, look around and consider your relationship with food and the type of foods you eat.
Much love to you - keep posting!
Sock xx
Edited: Typos