Daily blood glucose readings

[PussInBoots71]

Hi,

I wish to pose a question to both the diabetic forum members and reactive hypoglycemic posters alike, particularly those that are on LCHF. If you are monitoring your blood sugar, what are your typical post-prandial readings (I would be extremely grateful if you could give all your readings PP)? To those specifically with RH: have you managed to go an entire day without dropping to 3mmol or under. All feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,

PIB

 

[bulkbiker]

I try (and usually succeed) to stay between 4.5 and 6 pre and post prandial. Those are the readings from my SD Codefree which current research seems to suggests runs a little high. The only times I get sub 4's are when on an extended fast and usually on the third day.
Sorry no experience of RH.

 

[Brunneria]

I have had RH for most of my life (started in childhood and am now 51).
But I haven't a clue what the readings were for almost all that time, because I didn't have access to a meter.
By the time I could measure bg, I was a long time low carber, and was only experiencing hypos under unusual circumstances.

So the best I can offer you is that when I obey the rules that my body dictates (gluten free, very low carb/keto eating) then my blood glucose stays in the 5-7 mmol/l range all day with a single daily dip into the 4s at around 2.30 every morning while I am asleep.
I only know this because of my time wearing the Freestyle Libre.

On the other hand, if I have gluten 'on board' or if I have eating too many carbs, then my blood glucose can swing merrily between 15 and the high 1s mmol/l within a shockingly short time. One drop from 15 to 1.6 was timed at 45 mins.

So really, giving you specific numbers is far less useful than me saying that it ALL depends on what and when I eat, with other factors like exertion and stress added to the mix.

As for how often I experience RH.
At different times in my life I have experienced it regularly, several times a day.
Nowadays, because of tight dietary control (keto), I probably only have a hypo every 4-5 months.
If I ate the diet the medical profession suggests for RHers, I would be having 2 hypos a day, minimum. So I don't do that!

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hi,

I wish to pose a question to both the diabetic forum members and reactive hypoglycemic posters alike, particularly those that are on LCHF. If you are monitoring your blood sugar, what are your typical post-prandial readings (I would be extremely grateful if you could give all your readings PP)? To those specifically with RH: have you managed to go an entire day without dropping to 3mmol or under. All feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,

PIB

I love Grumpy Cat! He's on my pyjama's!
Oh, sorry, got distracted. Uh, yeah... I'm a T2 who did LCHF for a while and switched to keto this summer. My numbers are usually somewhere in the 4's before eating, upper fives afterwards. I only hit 6's when I botch it. (Before Keto, when i was LCHF, I hovered between 5.5 and 7. If I messed up, 8.) From what I understand of RH, if you don't have spikes in bloodglucose, you don't get belated spikes in insulin levels either (so less or no hypo's). Hope it helps.

 

[Lamont D]

Hi,

I wish to pose a question to both the diabetic forum members and reactive hypoglycemic posters alike, particularly those that are on LCHF. If you are monitoring your blood sugar, what are your typical post-prandial readings (I would be extremely grateful if you could give all your readings PP)? To those specifically with RH: have you managed to go an entire day without dropping to 3mmol or under. All feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,

PIB

Hi @PussInBoots71 and welcome to our forum.
I have been eating very low carb since 2014, because I found that I could control my BS very easily if I didn't eat the food that caused my BS to rise out of normal levels.
If I didn't eat very low carb, my typical post prandial readings would spike to above double figures within an hour. Then steadily drop as the overshoot of insulin took effect and carried on dropping into hypoglycaemic levels or I ate again!
My fasting levels never differentiate between 4-6 mmols. My post prandial readings after LCHF, would of course spike a little above normal, but would not go above that as the intended intention is not to cause the spike, thus no overshoot of insulin.
I don't go below normal levels even if I fast, I have discovered my body is healthiest when continually in normal levels range.
Your particular question about not going hypo, is the reason I have started this forum, medical knowledge even from my specialist endocrinologist, who diagnosed my RH, could not sanction my dietary intake until he saw my results from my food diary. And my health improved, no hypos and losing weight.
My insulin levels dropped, my insulin resistance continued to drop and the symptoms started to go, as I became healthier, fitter and hypo free. No hypos except one in four years!
I spent a period of time, experimenting, testing and more importantly recorded everything in my food diary.
The results from this, was discovering which foods I was intolerant to. I have had dairy intolerance since childhood. But I never could imagine that wheat, maize, all grains, rice, pasta, anything that has sugar, and particularly starchy vegetables, spuds are my worst enemy. These intolerant foods extended to vegetable oils and other ingredients in manufactured food.
So I made the decision to avoid them altogether, then I discussed this with my endocrinologist, and he reluctantly agreed, because of my health.
This dietary lifestyle is mine, and I would not advise anyone to blindly go into my lifestyle unless they have experienced the testing and experimentation. Your intolerance will be different to mine.
Good question, I take it your are having episodes of Hypoglycaemia and cannot understand why or how low carbing can help you.

Best wishes

 

[Bluetit1802]

I eat low carb with high fat. I have no idea if I reach keto levels or not as I don't measure my ketones. However, I do test my blood sugars several times a day and I am also a part time Libre user. (thinking of switching to the Libre more often). I no longer weigh or measure my food, but most days it is around 30g more on high days and holidays. I am approaching my 5th anniversary of my diagnosis. I have no experience of RH.

My meter tells me I am almost always between high 4's and 7mmol/l . My Libres tell me my averages over 2 weeks and 24 hours a day are mid 5's. My overnight levels are 4's and 5's with the odd dip to the 3's. My post meal levels vary according to the level I started at, and average in the low 6's.

 

[kokhongw]

I was diagnosed as T2D back in 2015 at age 46 with HbA1c at 11%. That diagnosis helped me connect the dots back to hypoglycemic events way back to my teenage years.

During the initial week of diagnosis, glucose levels were perpetually high...in the 20s mol. But once I started low carbing, it quickly dropped to the teens and within a month, started to normalize below 10 mmols. That is when reactive hypoglycemic events become more noticeable. Partial restoration of insulin sensitivity meals reactive hypoglycemic events are more probable. Because T2D still has the capacity to produce large phase 2 insulin response.

With the Freestyle Libre, it is quite clear how we can maintain relatively flatline glucose all day...
https://docs.google.com/presentatio...I11Ks/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000

And what to avoid...

 

[Member496333]

I’m usually flatlined between 4.5-5.5 irrespective of pre or post prandial. In fact I’m often lower after eating. I normally wake up at c.5mmol and it’ll typically be at 5.3-5.4 before lunch, dipping to low-4 mid afternoon. Mostly 4.5 before bed. Rinse, repeat. I will sometimes see a 3.9 if I’m fasting for 36h. Honestly I only test these days just to keep my toe in and remind myself that I probably can’t afford to lapse.

For reference my diet is hardcore primal-keto with only moderate protein of around 20-30g per meal. Brisk walking and plenty of resistance training. My blood ketone reading is often higher than my glucose, although I only test that once per week, fasted on a Sunday morning

 

[DCUKMod]

To be honest, @PussInBoots71 - I'd discourage you from taking too much notice of others' scores. That I or anyone else can easily achieve any given number doesn't mean your system will be capable of that, or even that you would feel well at those levels.

For me, I strove for lower numbers than my diagnostic levels, the decent numbers, in the non-diabetic ranges. I've been fortunate my body was able to recover enough to achieve that, and stay there for a while now.

I personally believe everyone has a running range. I know where my running ranges are for my meals, and whilst I could put my body through more hoops to try to reduce my numbers further, I don't feel inclined to do that.

There is nothing to say that a pre-post-prandial meal reading, or indeed an A1c reading is the holy grail. If it were that simple all that'd be required would be a few information sheets on t'interweb and everyone would do great.

We're all different.

Good luck with your approach, but be the best you can be, within the tolerances you allow yourself and in order to feel well in your day to day life. There's no point in having a micro, but magnificent A1c if you feel dreadful and there's not joy in your life.

 

[steveis36]

Just out of curiosity who is on medication and who is just doing LC?

 

[bulkbiker]

Just out of curiosity who is on medication and who is just doing LC?

Probably would be better for you starting a new thread asking that question?