A wee bit worried !

Allan59

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Hi there - just found this forum last night and thought I would join.
I have diabetes 2 and last night, after dinner and took my ( Metformin tablet ) I checked my blood sugar level and it was 11.2 - I was really surprised and sad, as it's never usually that high- then this morning checked it again - it was 10.6 ( still to eat my breakfast and take my tablet - then I will check my sugar level in 90 mins time- plus I will also go for a walk with my dog.
I take one tablet in the morning and one at night time around 8 pm with dinner ( 500mg ).
Maybe I need to take 3 tablets a day ? I will try and phone my doctor and ask him, would should I do.
I am 60 years of age - still working as a tiler over here in Sweden and I miss all the sweeties and ice cream- and my coco pops !!!
Anyway, Glad I found this forum - as it's good to hear from other members who have diabetes 2 who are struggling with this every day and has changed our lives- know what I mean ?
 

mouseee

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It's far more likely the spike was caused by whatever you were eating.
Can you let us know what you are when you found you had thoss readings?
 
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catinahat

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Welcome to the forum @Allan59
Metformin works by reducing the amount of glucose your liver releases in to your blood stream it will do nothing to combat the carbohydrates in your diet.
Here's a link to a blog by one of our members, it's an account of all the things she wishes someone had told her when she was first diagnosed. It's very informative and I think you will find it helpful.
https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html
 

Allan59

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For dinner last night - I had fish & chips and 2 rolls, with HP sauce - along with Pepsi max.
I have just been for a small walk - I will take my sugar level in 30 mins time
 

DavidGrahamJones

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fish & chips and 2 rolls, with HP sauce

The answer is in there. Fish, is that in batter? Chips how many? Rolls how big? HP Sauce. All of those contain carbohydrate which the body will happily convert to sugar, in fact you might as well eat sugar.

Metformin, although the standard first line of response to Type II diabetes, doesn't behave the way you might think. It doesn't work by making insulin like Gliclazide or Januvia for example.

Government guidelines are to eat about 250gms of carbohydrate a day which would be fine, so long as your pancreas produces enough insulin and if your body used the insulin properly. A lot of forum members adhere to a low carb diet and finds that this helps a lot. My own experience after giving up rice, potato, pasta and bread is that I was able to throw away the Gliclazide, Januvia and Atorvastatin as both my BG and total cholesterol dropped significantly.
 

Daibell

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Hi and welcome. Do reduce the carbs a bit more if you can. Metformin although a good, safe drug never has that much effect so don't rely on it too much. Test 2 hours after a meal and just before as well if you want to check the effect of that meal.
 

catinahat

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I had fish & chips and 2 rolls, with HP sauce

If you had taken a glucose reading just before your meal and again 2hrs later you would have seen just how poor that meal was for a t2
 

Allan59

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Great Advice above - thank you every one.
Just took my sugar level now - it was 8.6 - it has went down a bit
 

Allan59

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Too many to mention:
The answer is in there. Fish, is that in batter? Chips how many? Rolls how big? HP Sauce. All of those contain carbohydrate which the body will happily convert to sugar, in fact you might as well eat sugar.

Metformin, although the standard first line of response to Type II diabetes, doesn't behave the way you might think. It doesn't work by making insulin like Gliclazide or Januvia for example.

Government guidelines are to eat about 250gms of carbohydrate a day which would be fine, so long as your pancreas produces enough insulin and if your body used the insulin properly. A lot of forum members adhere to a low carb diet and finds that this helps a lot. My own experience after giving up rice, potato, pasta and bread is that I was able to throw away the Gliclazide, Januvia and Atorvastatin as both my BG and total cholesterol dropped significantly.

The fish was with bread crumbs, the rolls were cheese rolls and the chips were done in a fryer without oil.....
 

JoKalsbeek

Expert
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The fish was with bread crumbs, the rolls were cheese rolls and the chips were done in a fryer without oil.....
Bread crumbs, rolls and chips are all carb heavy. And it's the carbs you can't process effectively, those all turn to glucose once ingested. Metformin isn't doing anything about that, only about what your liver churns out, not about what you ingest. You can take 20 of those and your blood glucose would still spike after a meal like that. You might want to re-think your diet. @catinahat already shared the link to my Nutritional Thingy, so I'm hoping that'll help... If you have questions, throw them out there!
Jo
 

Allan59

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Bread crumbs, rolls and chips are all carb heavy. And it's the carbs you can't process effectively, those all turn to glucose once ingested. Metformin isn't doing anything about that, only about what your liver churns out, not about what you ingest. You can take 20 of those and your blood glucose would still spike after a meal like that. You might want to re-think your diet. @catinahat already shared the link to my Nutritional Thingy, so I'm hoping that'll help... If you have questions, throw them out there!
Jo
Thank you - I am so glad I found this forum- so much to learn from all of you -
Being a Brit - I just love my chips and my HP sauce - some times my wife says " you can not see the food because of the HP sauce " I have to do better and try and cut down on the chips and no more HP sauce.
Tonight I will do better- and see how it goes - and make a list of what I can eat.
 

JoKalsbeek

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Thank you - I am so glad I found this forum- so much to learn from all of you -
Being a Brit - I just love my chips and my HP sauce - some times my wife says " you can not see the food because of the HP sauce " I have to do better and try and cut down on the chips and no more HP sauce.
Tonight I will do better- and see how it goes - and make a list of what I can eat.
While it would be better to ditch the potatoes all together, rather than "cut back", you might have an alternative for the HP sauce... Provided you don't drown whatever's on your plate with it! :) : https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/264028287
I know it's a lot of adjustments to make. But there's alternatives out there. https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/dr-will-s-bbq-sauce-60018145?skuid=018145 for instance. It's BBQ sauce, but it's brown. :) (Sorry, I'm Dutch and HP wasn't spooned into me as a child, unlike you British folk. :))
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/fats-sauces might offer some ideas. I use a lot of mayo myself and a low sugar version from Heinz for my ketchup. Moderately mind you, but still. Mustard is excellent, if you find a good one without a load of sugar in. As for spuds, celeriac appears to be a good replacement for that...? (I stick with my cauliflower rice, usually.) Maybe that'd work for you?
 
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Allan59

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Too many to mention:
A little up date: Before I eat my lunch 7.2
Lunch: Omelette, made with 3 eggs, onions and 2 slices of bacon ( no chips and hp sauce today )
2 hours later: blood sugar was 6.6
No tablet took - as I took one this morning.
I am a wee bit happier with this result and I am going to continue with better eating habits.
 

JoKalsbeek

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I reversed my Type 2
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A little up date: Before I eat my lunch 7.2
Lunch: Omelette, made with 3 eggs, onions and 2 slices of bacon ( no chips and hp sauce today )
2 hours later: blood sugar was 6.6
No tablet took - as I took one this morning.
I am a wee bit happier with this result and I am going to continue with better eating habits.
A wee bit happier? That's excellent! Or is this British modesty at work? ;)
 
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Allan59

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Too many to mention:
Okay - Round 2
Before dinner: 6.7
Dinner - was only a oven pizza bought from the shops ..
2 hours later: blood sugar was 12.1
I also, took one tablet .

Wow ! no more of these pizza,s - blood sugar level nearly doubled
 

Hotpepper20000

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Okay - Round 2
Before dinner: 6.7
Dinner - was only a oven pizza bought from the shops ..
2 hours later: blood sugar was 12.1
I also, took one tablet .

Wow ! no more of these pizza,s - blood sugar level nearly doubled
The cheese, meat and a small amount of the sauce would have been ok. The crust is what makes your BG spike.
 

Allan59

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Too many to mention:
The cheese, meat and a small amount of the sauce would have been ok. The crust is what makes your BG spike.
I thought so- I said to the wife - that the pastry will probably be the kicker !!!!