Still Getting My Head Around It

[Jawl]

Last Friday I started 500mg of Metformin per day. My diet over the last 4 weeks has completely changed for the better. I got a Contour testing machine and started testing last night for the first time. Sugars were high enough, but hopefully my diet, exercise and metformin will help bring them down. This morning when I woke, my sugar levels were 9.4. From my blood tests a month ago they were 14.9 and that was fasting too. So an improvement even if it's still high?

It's very daunting. I'm doing all of this on my own. I'm still waiting to be referred and I'm in Ireland, things don't move very fast here.

 

[Terrytiddy]

Hi @Jawl welcome to the group. You will soon get the hang of things with testing etc. Remember one thing, you don't have to do it on your own, we are here to help you anyway we can. So any questions just ask away

 

[Alexandra100]

Sugars were high enough, but hopefully my diet, exercise and metformin will help bring them down

This sounds like an excellent recipe for success. You have listed your strategies in order of probable efficacy. As regards Metformin, it often has no effect at the low dose you are on. If it is not causing you undue digestive upset, you could ask your doctor to very gradually increase your dose. I found that it worked much better for me when I reached the maximum dose of 1g x twice daily extended release. Good luck!

 

[Dexterdobe]

Sounds like you are already half way towards beating T2 Jawl. Most T2 diabetics do little or nothing to improve their lot. This forum is living proof that those like you, who set out to improve their health generally succeed. Use this forum as your inspiration and you will get your BS under control.

 

[Jawl]

Thanks guys. I've never been healthier in my life. Gave up smoking a year ago, been exercising 5 days a week for the past 2 years, but my diet wasn't as good as it could have been, but I'm taking this as the kick up the **** that was required to fix that. All of a sudden a will power and discipline has kicked in, something I never had before when it came to food.

Edited by moderator for language.

 

[Prem51]

This morning when I woke, my sugar levels were 9.4. From my blood tests a month ago they were 14.9 and that was fasting too. So an improvement even if it's still high?

Welcome to the forum @Jawl. Yes that is a good fbg reduction in just a month. Keep up the good work and your bgs should come down further. And well done on getting a bg meter!

 

[Jawl]

I'm not sure if i should be testing other times in the day?

 

[JoKalsbeek]

I'm not sure if i should be testing other times in the day?

If you want to test regularly, do it right when you wake, just before eating, and 2 hours after first bite. Random testing doesn't tell you all that much.

 

[Jawl]

Okay I'm about to go to lunch now, so will test about 3.15 and see what it says.

 

[Element137]

welcome, and well done for your progress so far - great step in the right direction - reference testing - important to test before you eat, then 2 hours after - its the difference between the two numbers that will provide you an insight into the impact of the food you have eaten on your BG levels - in the early days I also found it useful to keep a food diary so I could review against test results - I try and keep my increases to under 2 ( difference between before/after meal) - and in the main rarely exceed this. Consider it a process of elimination on the food that move your levels the most, and then try and limit /remove the worse offenders - also - testing can be a very powerful motivator - when faced with temptation, the fact you see the effect in cold hard numbers within two hours I have found is a big motivation for not giving in ! tagging @daisy1 for info for new members.

 

[Jawl]

You are right, the testing is a great challenge to my will power! I have a Fit Bit so I'm tracking my food through that. Lots of tweaking goes on every day to get it right, not go over 100g carbs and make sure I'm getting enough fiber. I'm definitely thinking more and making better choices. I had a day out on Saturday to the beach, I stuck to a healthy diet. In the past, I'd have had fish n chips or pizza from the takeaway when I got home for tea. I had roast chicken and salad. It's not even so much that it was a healthy meal, but it wasn't the convenient option.

 

[Smallbrit]

The new member information that @daisy1 will provide when she posts on this thread is invaluable, and explain things a lot better than me, though there's lots of good advice above already.

Just wanted to say - absolutely, that's a great improvement and things will continue to improve and numbers will go down, especially if you test, pre and 2 hr after a meal, and then you can figure out what is working/not working for you. Some of us have different reactions to different types of carbs too, so carb counting is good, but food-tracking hones it in even further. And timing also sometimes has an effect.

I know I can tolerate a bag of crisps or a small apple. Just one slice of whole wheat bread is my limit on bread though. And not in the morning ;(

Guess which one of those three things I'd prefer in the morning...? Eggs and bacon is fine for me for breakfast, whereas before it'd just be a Sunday treat. I'd still like toast with it though!

 

[Jawl]

Oooooh I’ve just tested. It was 9.4 this morning as soon as I woke up. I’ve had breakfast, a mid morning snack and ate lunch two hours ago, and just tested now and it says 7.6. Surely that’s inaccurate??

 

[Daibell]

If you want to test regularly, do it right when you wake, just before eating, and 2 hours after first bite. Random testing doesn't tell you all that much.

Be aware that an early morning test can be influenced by overnight liver dumps of glucose so take more account of checks during the rest of the day

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Be aware that an early morning test can be influenced by overnight liver dumps of glucose so take more account of checks during the rest of the day

Quite right. But doctors usually seem to want to know fasting bloodsugars for some reason.

 

[Element137]

Oooooh I’ve just tested. It was 9.4 this morning as soon as I woke up. I’ve had breakfast, a mid morning snack and ate lunch two hours ago, and just tested now and it says 7.6. Surely that’s inaccurate??

Depends on a lot of things - your activity during the day could affect your BG, as will loads of other factors- the starting point before you had lunch would have provided a comparison so you could see the impact of what you have eaten ?- you will find that lots of things will move your levels, and we are all different - so you may be more or less affected than someone else - testing before/after will provide you with more useful comparison - random testing, as you are seeing, will not actually tell you much. You could be at 7.6 on the way down, or 7.6 on the way up - who knows ?

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Oooooh I’ve just tested. It was 9.4 this morning as soon as I woke up. I’ve had breakfast, a mid morning snack and ate lunch two hours ago, and just tested now and it says 7.6. Surely that’s inaccurate??

It's probably accurate. In the morning your liver dumps glucose into your bloodstream to give you energy to start the day. It usually tapers off after that. The rest of the day depends on what you eat, but the mornings depend on what your liver's been up to.

 

[Jawl]

Okay I don't really have enough strips to test that often. I have to get them through my clinic, who I haven't been referred to yet.

 

[Jawl]

I've walked 5.5km before work today, and another 1.5 over lunch.

 

[Element137]

Quite right. But doctors usually seem to want to know fasting bloodsugars for some reason.

a fasting level usually should eliminate the effect of any food consumed so provides a baseline comparator without having to second guess what someone may have eaten affecting the result - however - loads of variables in play reference liver dump etc.