Today is day 6

[AngelSix60008]

Today is day six since I was diagnosed type 2. My level was 25. I didn't know because I had high blood pressure being mistreated and already had glaucoma and was diagnosed with Cataracts also mistreated. You see I work in China and the language barrier makes any medical issue a game of roulette. I am self educating as fast as I can but any pointers would help. Really help.
I am on an injection once a week of Trulicity and I take Metformin500mg before each meal. I also have 3 kinds of drops for high eye blood pressure and two pills for high blood pressure. I changed hospitals and that is when all this was found. The new blood pressure meds are working and I have lost 20kg since covid started.
I have a chart they gave me and a friend made it bilingual. I am to record my levels at 6am and then two hours after every meal. I record bp/ pulse/ weight also. (The site won't let me load a picture) This morning I was 13.4 breakfast 17,3 lunch16.8 dinner 15.4.
So questions
Is this slow drop normal?
I teach and starving won't work so short of starving and insulin any ideas. I am not keen on starting insulin shots if I can avoid them. All my friends (all Type 1) on shots have bad results and I don't want to live on a yo-yo. It is slowly dropping. I think I should wait it out and see when it stops dropping with the pills.

 

[NicoleC1971]

Today is day six since I was diagnosed type 2. My level was 25. I didn't know because I had high blood pressure being mistreated and already had glaucoma and was diagnosed with Cataracts also mistreated. You see I work in China and the language barrier makes any medical issue a game of roulette. I am self educating as fast as I can but any pointers would help. Really help.
I am on an injection once a week of Trulicity and I take Metformin500mg before each meal. I also have 3 kinds of drops for high eye blood pressure and two pills for high blood pressure. I changed hospitals and that is when all this was found. The new blood pressure meds are working and I have lost 20kg since covid started.
I have a chart they gave me and a friend made it bilingual. I am to record my levels at 6am and then two hours after every meal. I record bp/ pulse/ weight also. (The site won't let me load a picture) This morning I was 13.4 breakfast 17,3 lunch16.8 dinner 15.4.
So questions
Is this slow drop normal?
I teach and starving won't work so short of starving and insulin any ideas. I am not keen on starting insulin shots if I can avoid them. All my friends (all Type 1) on shots have bad results and I don't want to live on a yo-yo. It is slowly dropping. I think I should wait it out and see when it stops dropping with the pills.

Hello
Congratulations on your weight drop. That will help you and you've already come down some way but need to get lower still (between 4 & 7 4 hours after a meal).
Your metformin helps your liver release less glucose and your trulicity is prompting your pancreas to release insulin. Both things help your blood sugar but fundamentally you have to change what you eat to reverse your diabetes and high blood pressure. Otherwise your blood sugars will continue to be quie high and you may be offered different medications to lower them and finally insulin.
What you need to do with diet is to reduce both your blood sugars but also your body's insulin resistance (you are likely to be making a lot of insulin but your body can't use it properly). The less insulin you need then the more sensitive you will become to your own bodies supplies. The reverse is also true.
If you can eat more foods that need less insulin (meat, eggs, green vegetables, tofu, nuts, fish, shellfish) and less foods that need insulin (rice, noodles, potatoes, bread, sweets) I think you would see a drop in your blood glucose.
It is great that you've got a glucose meter so at least you will know what effect any changes on your diet are having. If they are making no effect then I'd go back to your team and ask them to check your own insulin levels (a c peptide test).

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi @AngelSix60008 and welcome to the forum.
Although only a few doctors in most countries recognise it, eating in a Low Carb (which mans higher protein and higher fat in order to keep total calories about the same) reduces Blood Glucose more that most medicines do (apart from injecting insulin). It also reduces weight and Blood Pressure (if it's high) without the damaging effect that very low calorie diets have of lowering your Resting Metabolic Rate ( which makes it almost impossible to keep the weight off in the medium to long term).

Testing Blood Glucose just before a meal and then 2hrs after first bite enables you to see which foods your body reacts badly to (any that raise your BG by more than 2.0 mmol at the 2hr mark). Those are the foods that you need to reduce or cut out completely. Eggs for breakfast (at least in the west) is an easy and dramatic fix since most of us eat breakfast cereals which are in fact sugar and carbohydrates from grains (which can start to turn into sugar while still in your mouth. Example : chew a non sweetened biscuit like a 'cream cracker' for several minute and it will start to taste sweet - that's the carbs turning into glucose under the effect of your saliva.
Other meals take a bit more testing, but unless you are either a Type 1 or an unlucky type 2, you should see huge results within 2 weeks.

Here is a link to Jo Kalsbeek's invaluable 'nutritional thingy':
The Nutritional Thingy. | Diabetes Forum • The Global Diabetes Community

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Make sure you reduce the carbs in your diet and have fats and proteins to make up. With most meds it takes time to bring the BS down. Even with insulin if you have excess weight it can take time. Just keep going with a reduced carb diet. BTW insulin if used properly can work very well but not so well if you have insulin resistance thru excess weight.

 

[AngelSix60008]

Thanks guys. I am already trying to change my diet. I have done a lot of reading this week. And years ago I did the South beach diet (my sister was doing Atkins but I was afraid of that much fat) the problem with the diets is the prep time although I lost 89 pounds then but it all came back. Also here in my Chinese school we are supposed to eat with the kids three days of the week and the cafeteria is high on carbs and low on unfried proteins. I am brown bagging lunch and just sitting with them. I miss grocery stores with lots of frozen vegetables. The prep time on whole foods eating is going to be an issue. I tried ordering food online and suppliers said due to covid their warehouses are blocked. Maybe lettuce wraps??? If anyone has a good recipe site....simple stuff, I'd appreciate it. At the point I am less worried about things tasting good as figuring out a liveable habit. I am fine with repetition. Soups? Any good books with recipes?

 

[AngelSix60008]

Is it normal for each finger to have a different blood sugar level. Sometimes they are testing a full point or more apart while other times they are only .2 apart.

 

[ianf0ster]

Is it normal for each finger to have a different blood sugar level. Sometimes they are testing a full point or more apart while other times they are only .2 apart.

Yes, they can be different, though not usually as much as 1 point - mainly due to the accuracy of the BG meters, which allows BG meters to be accurate within a + - range.
However, people who regularly find big discrepancies may have A). trace of fruit juice or other source of sugar on finger, B). out of date test strips, C). faulty BG meter.

 

[AngelSix60008]

I am in China so any of those are possible. The equipment could be outdated. It also could be faked. I have ordered a new meter. I will see if it is better. I bought this one I have in an in person shop so there is a chance it's old and was dumped on the domestic market. I wash my hands with hand sanitizer before each testing but maybe I should switch to water and soap? Could there be sometime thing in the hand sanitizer? It isn't scented. Anyone know ?

 

[AngelSix60008]

Tonight I got 12.3 and 13.3 I am not sure if I should use the higher or lower number on my chart. It is making me a bit obsessive. I have only been doing this a week and I used a whole container of strips..

 

[Sax]

There will be a bit of reading variation, even the best meters have some variation. See here for an example comparison of a number of them, Table 2 of: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5505415/

+/- 6% would give you a range of +/- 0.6, or 1.2 total range, at your most recent readings.

I think just take one reading at a time rather than turn yourself into a pincushion. If you can manage your diet well enough you will eventually get into single digit numbers and the meter range you see between tests will probably drop proportionally.

 

[AngelSix60008]

Day 9ish;
This morning's reading was 11.3 (still dropping from 25). Last night was the second dose of trulicity. It seems to have kick started the insulin drops or it is the nausea and not eating much. Tuesday dinner was miserable. I had to gag down the tiny salad and egg. I had a tiny piece of Cateloup and it went down okay but I literally was nibbling like a mouse trying to make myself eat.I had evening class and I was not in great shape. I normally say I don't skip food when I am sick. I can't say it any more. Any ideas on what I am doing wrong? My friend says I need more water but it is hard to be nauseated, drink something and work as schools frown on teachers spewing. Any thoughts?

 

[AngelSix60008]

I am still taking Metformin 500 my before each meal.