1st week BG numbers and likelihood/benefits of medication

[Yorksman]

Re: 1st week BG numbers and likelihood/benefits of medicatio

LOL Binge Carbing. Will the government introduce a carbohydrate tax to solve the problem?

An hour after my last post my BG subsided and came out at 5.7 so the wholegrain pasta does it's job, it releases over a longer period of time without the big spike. Your diet of near pure sugar goes straight into the bloodstream, so a little moderation is necessary. Any two of those four would have probably kept you under 11, not normally a cause for concern when you know why. It's when you are hitting 11 a lot and have no idea why you should be hitting those levels that is a worry.

It would be nice to know what the BG level of a non diabetic who ate a mars bar, two wispas and drank a bottle of beer would be.

 

[Valerie_london]

Re: 1st week BG numbers and likelihood/benefits of medicatio

It would be nice to know what the BG level of a non diabetic who ate a mars bar, two wispas and drank a bottle of beer would be.

Hey, I'm at my mother's place next weekend - she has the testing kit, so maybe I could experiment for you. Only trouble is, I'm not a beer drinker so will have to swap it for wine or maybe brandy and normal cola.

 

[Yorksman]

Re: 1st week BG numbers and likelihood/benefits of medicatio

Thanks for your offer of self sacrifice

Actually, my understanding, albeit I have only read a little, is that the non diabetic would get the same amount of blood glucose. The insulin response in a non diabetic is swift though and the spikes are quickly brought under control. I get the same spike but it lingers longer in the blood. It still comes down but it takes hours not minutes. Most of the HBA1c count is determined by the levels during the 3 hours after meals. Hence, because these are higher in diabetics than non diabetics, elevated HBA1c is an indication that the insulin isn't doing its proper job.

I did more testing today, pizza in a real pizza for lunch. True to form, the refined white flour in the pizza base is just the same as white bread and banged on 2 full points to my BG, from 6.8 to 8.8. It seems to be a formula, refined white 2 points, unrefined wholegrain 0.5 points.

I'm looking forward to experimenting with alcohol.

 

[DaveNN]

Re: 1st week BG numbers and likelihood/benefits of medicatio

Absolut raspberri vodka!
Bloody lovely!
But it gave me a 8.3 this morning.
The said, I did little in the way of real exercise yesterday.
Weights not dropping- but my shape is.


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[Yorksman]

Re: 1st week BG numbers and likelihood/benefits of medicatio

I'm testing one hour after food now because after 2 hours I am back at my pre meal reading.

I ate some chocolate and fruit tonight which gave me a 9.0 and after 15 min I was down to 7.9; after 30 mins, 7.2 and after 50 mins 6.4. It's all very strange because last night I was out with the Blood Sciences Dept from the hospital having a belated Christmas dinner. I thought I had pushed it having a pizza at lunch and was careful, until it came to the pudding. I went for the christmas pud and rum sauce. This, I was sure, was going to be a big spike but, when I got home and tested by luck 2 hours after the meal, I was 6.8 and this morning I was 5.9. I've lost another couple of Kg, about 12 - 13 in total, so this weight loss does seem to be helping. I'm also doing 4 x 5 min sessions on a rowing machine at a fairly hard rate.

I'd seen the following statement in a study, "While weight loss via diet-only or a diet + exercise program clearly improves insulin sensitivity, the precise mechanisms modulating this improvement are not completely understood."* so I presume this is why my BG levels are going down more quickly now.

* Improved insulin sensitivity after weight loss and exercise training is mediated by a reduction in plasma fatty acid mobilization, not enhanced oxidative capacity (Journal of physiology) http://jp.physoc.org/content/587/20/4949.full

 

[DaveNN]

Re: 1st week BG numbers and likelihood/benefits of medicatio

Looks like the anaerobic work is paying dividends YM!
I'm looking to zero carb this week... Fully zero carb that is.
Hopefully, it will help to rid a few more lb and drop down my BS.
The weight loss is still in its plateau stage- so I'm going to try 1/2 weights followed by 1 hours walking a day.
I do wonder if a little pill is a small price to pay though... Will see what the doc says on Friday.



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[Yorksman]

Re: 1st week BG numbers and likelihood/benefits of medicatio

I often get a weight loss plateau, my last one lasted a week and then it was one week of losing weight, about 2Kg in total. I am now entering another still stage. The fact that it takes time doesn't worry me because I'm not trying to look good on a beach in summer. It'll take as long as it takes.

If you're wanting an ultra meagre diet using the simplest of ingredients, this guy owns a restaurant that sells these dishes at silly prices. But he's written a book which tells you what it is all about.

Faviken by Magnus Nilsson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hV2Gokrxqg

 

[DaveNN]

Re: 1st week BG numbers and likelihood/benefits of medicatio

Well.... Finally down into the low 6's again...after a breakfast of 2 poached eggs ( virtually carb free...)
3 days...3 DAYS to shift that ultra (for me) excess Tate and Lyle from my system!
The interesting thing is that I dropped 2 points from 9am this morning and have eaten.
I did think about going on the weights..but though "sod it"... But it IS the thought that counts!




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[Yorksman]

Re: 1st week BG numbers and likelihood/benefits of medicatio

LOL, you're making good progress Dave. I'm in my 5th or 6th week now. As far as I remember you are 2 or 3 weeks into it.

You won't shift it all because your liver keeps topping it up. Healthy blokes spike just as much but their spikes are short lived. Our blood sugar levels are more loyal and like to hang about with us for longer.

 

[DaveNN]

Re: 1st week BG numbers and likelihood/benefits of medicatio

Cheers YM!
Yeh, I got the meter on the 13th, so it's a shade over 2 weeks, though my new regime started about a week earlier in earnest.
Even the better half is being very supportive...usually any health kicks are treated with utter disdain, so I suspect that she is worried that I may go the same way of a bloke I know.
He's type 2 - but has lost toes due to complications...and is probably 7 stone wet through and always has been ( during his adult life anyway).
She's a bit squeamish when it comes to dead pigeons, dragged in through the cat flap by the little cat- she'd have a fit if she found a big toe in the hallway.
Note to anyone who has suffered with this type of thing, please don't be offended.....


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[DaveNN]

Re: 1st week BG numbers and likelihood/benefits of medicatio

So... My results came in at 5.1 fasting BUT a monster 69 ( ooh) on my hba1c...which is believe is about 8.3 in pounds and miles.
My meter gave me results of 6.2mmolL a hour before the official test and 5.9mmolL about 15 mins after.
So, one if them is wrong..both of them are wrong..or one is right, the other is right or both are right!

Going in next Tues now.....


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[Yorksman]

Re: 1st week BG numbers and likelihood/benefits of medicatio

So, one if them is wrong..both of them are wrong..or one is right, the other is right or both are right!

Nothing wrong Dave, and you have a better result than I did. I was 7.6mmol/L fasting but 8.7% hba1c which is somewhere in the 70s.

They are measuring different things and your hba1c contains much of your past 3 months history, when you weren't cutting back.

The fasting tests measure the level in the blood plasma. Like alcohol it exists in the plasma in a solution form and goes up or down depending on what you eat or drink within a short period of time. Also in blood plasma are red and white blood cells. White blood cells are part of your immune system. Red blood cells carry things like oxygen, or carbon monoxide which is always a giveaway for smokers and, if your glucose remains in your plasma, some of it will bond with your red blood cells too. The hba1c measures how much glycogen has bonded with the haemoglobin in your red cells. Once bonded, it remains bonded for the life of the cell. It doesn't go up and down until the cells are replaced.

Red cells do eventually get replaced. It's a continuous process but the cycle is roughly 10 - 12 weeks so your current hba1c reading probably has about 9 week's worth of red cells that still contain glycogen that bonded before you started dieting. Your 5.1 mmol/L fasting shows that now, your plasma has less glucose so that means less will bond with new cells during the next few weeks. You should therefore, in 3 months time, have new slimline, sugar free cells Well, a lower hba1c anyway.

You have every reason to be encouraged because your home meter readings show that your BG responds to diet and exercise. In 3 months this should be reflected in your hba1c.

 

[DaveNN]

Re: 1st week BG numbers and likelihood/benefits of medicatio

I agree fully, YM.
What with this and a nice 6.5 a good two hours after dinner, I reckon that I may be able to convince the doc to abstain from labelling me diabetic for another 3 months.
However, apart from the gut stuff, metformin does appear to have many positives to consider.

You did say that you may be in a position to convince your doc much the same, when are you in for another check-up or consultation?



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[Yorksman]

Re: 1st week BG numbers and likelihood/benefits of medicatio

Well he's referred me to a couple of schemes, DESMOND, which I think is an educational thing and a nurse they have in the practice, but I haven't heard anything yet. It'll be about ten weeks though before I test though.