why am i still very tired at 8.4 sugars

[scottydog]

Hi All
my sugars are steady at 8.4 and there abouts no medication just diet. I am so tired still i am over weight but have always been and always active even with weight, i am aware tiredness is a sympton of diabetes but i still want to sleep during the day.

As an aside i have given up adding all sugers and salts to anything i eat cut out chocolate but still having limited cabs. I took one sugar in tea and cereal but really overdosed on salt adding it to crisps and anything else i could. I feel proud of myself for achieving this but wonder could this be having this adverse affect of making me very tired i.e like a way of detoxing.
Sorry for rambelling on.

Thanks Andrene

 

[sugarless sue]

Hi Andrene, A level of 8.4 is high! This is why you are tired all the time.I know that you are managing to bring your levels down but really they need to come down even further.
If you can give us some idea of what you eat in an average day maybe we can make suggestions that can help.

 

[scottydog]

Thank you very much for your reply. I nievely thought being below 10 was ok. I just attneded a workshop with DESMONDS (education re diabetes) not sure if its north of the border am based in Scotland. This class may have saved my life. It has raised my awarness of narrowing of arteries, heart attack, stroke combined with diabetes.

I was diagnosed 3 months ago and living my life with gay abandon. Since this class last monday i have changed my diet i want to be around to see my children grow up.

I have attempted for years to lose weight for vanity now i want it for health and as i can see it life and death.

Andrene

 

[graham64]

Hi Andrene,
I agree with Sue 8.4 is high, can you tell us when you tested to get that reading and also a bit more about your diet. You did mention in your post about cereals are you still eating them :?: as they contain a high carb count and can contribute to your high blood glucose.


Regards
Graham

 

[cugila]

Hi Andrene.

What sort of diet advice did they give you on your course ? The other thing is Sue asked what your typical daily diet consists of ? Can you help us out here so we can advise you better ?

Ken.

 

[Spiral]

welcome scottydog

Succesful diabetics significantly reduce the amount of carbohydrate they eat, whatever dietary approach they take.

8.4 is way too high. Is that a fasting glucose test or your HbA1c?

Tell us what you eat and we can advise.

I'd recommend http://www.bloodsugar101.com, even if it is American (figures are given in American numbers :shock: ) When I was trying to get to grips with my recent diagnosis it was that site that helped me to get to grips with managing my condition. It took away the blame, my excess weight and constant hunger were symptoms of my diabetes rather than its cause.

I also found my way here. I think the advice and supoprt here is great. It has helped me to turn my health around and I think I'm now eating better than I have done for years and my readings are falling - I low carb.

Since the numbers fell I am no longer plagued by headaches - I used to take paracetamol for headaches almost every day before my numbers fell. I also have more energy and I'm not fatigued as much during the day. I also don't get heartburn anymore, or the mild the reflux I'd had for the last couple of years.

Look around, especially the fod and diet forums. You need a diet you can stick to for the rest of your life.

 

[scottydog]

I am experimenting at the moment with cereals and checking carbs i am attempting to keep carbs at 50g preday for the moment. The cereals more applies to before i started paying attention to my diet. Iv been eating lots of veg salad , chicken fish i have changed my diet drastically and its early days. That suger reading was taken first thing in the morning no food.

Andrene

 

[scottydog]

DESMONDS said the jury was out re low carb diets as they were still doing tests on the long term effects. Her thoughts on it were if your totally giving up carbs then you are increasing other food stuff i.e like fats proteins. There recommendation was just eat healthy and the rest would take care of its self. My partner is on a no carb diet and i have saw it reducing his sugers drastically.

So are you suggesting my sugers should be the same as a person without diabetes 5.8 is that ahcievable now.


Andrene

 

[graham64]

Hi Andrene
Having been on a Desmonds course, which I found very informative regarding complications, but the dietary advice never touched on carbs only sugar totals. Being newly diagnosed at the time and like you naive I accepted the advice given on diet. As far as I was concerned if it was low fat and low sugar it was OK for a diabetic. Since joining this forum and from the advice received I now look for the total carbs in foods, as that is more meaningful than the sugar content in relation to BG levels.

Just saw your new post as I tried to submit mine, what you are eating now looks fine to me, your Blood Glucose levels should soon start dropping, try testing 1 and 2 hours after meals and let us know the results.
I'm not suggesting your sugars should be the same as a non diabetic, but if you can get them as near as you possibly can this would help. Also a no carb diet is virtually impossible most foods contain carbs albeit some are very low, no one on this forum as far as I'm aware follows such a regime.

Cheers
Graham

 

[Spiral]

Just to clarify some info relating to bloodsugar101

It is an American site and written in American. I have an American friend who is diabetic, we very quickly fail to communicate. This is how to convert American numbers to British numbers.

The US uses plasma calibrated meters which are mg/dl and require a conversion of dividing by 1.12 then dividing by 18 to get the relevant mmol/L UK number. Most of the rest of the world uses blood calibrated meters.

I keep this info by my computer for whenever I read the American websites.

 

[Spiral]

There are some members of this forum who have HbA1c levels below 5% :shock: :shock: :shock:

Normal blood sugars are doable for some people by carefully managing diet and medication, but it also depends on the stage at which your diabetes was diagnosed and how damaged your insulin production was at the time in your own individual diabetic body.

Since I have been lower carbing I have seen all my numbers improve in the routine blood tests my GP runs. I'm probably eating better than I have done for years. Based on my meter averages I'm hoping my next HbA1c will be closer to 6% and I'm not taking any medication at the moment.

I'm a vegetarian and so already "restrict" my diet. So carb reduction it is a bit of a slower process while I explore what food I can eat without spiking and experimenting with new recipies.

 

[Spiral]

You may have found it already, but there is an excellent tool on this website to see how you are doing.

It converts your meter readings to an HbA1c, and vice versa. I input my 30 day average every now and then and that is why I'm expecting around 6% at the next HbA1c test, and I have been doing a lot more tests 1 hour post meal to catch my bigger spikes.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/hba1c-to-blood-sugar-level-converter.html

 

[phoenix]

The US uses plasma calibrated meters which are mg/dl and require a conversion of dividing by 1.12

Some British ones are plasma, some whole blood.
Recent One touch and Abbot meters are plasma, Accucheck were whole blood. (don't know about the new ones)
This leaflet has been around for a while so doesn't include the newest models
http://www.yorkshirediabetes.com/downloads/Know_your_Systems_leaflet.pdf

 

[scottydog]

Thank you all very much for your feed back it has been most informative, and alerted me to thinking 8.4 is an ok suger level and working towards reducing it following a low carb diet.

My journey continues.

Andrene

 

[Sweet3x]

Good luck, Andrene
Hope it all goes well for you

 

[bmtest]

Daily life is tiring for anybody and 9 times our of 10 it's your state of mind, if you eat well keep you blood levels in a straight line without two many peaks you will be fine.

For example if I were to hit you hard you would feel pain and not tired, if I was to do this randomly throughout the day every day you would be become alert and hyper in fear of been struck never mind your blood glucose levels been 8.4 or 6.2,10.8,11.9 4.6 etc etc.

This should give you some idea of what you need to be doing after all you are in charge of your brain your body has to follow it may not like it but it has to.


Good luck and change the thought pattterns do something different.

 

[Spiral]

I have to disagree with you bmtest, unless I misunderstand what you are saying. You may want to clarify your last post.

Blood sugar is a metabolic/physiological process not a psychological/psychosomatic one. It is related to what your body does with what you eat and not what is going on in your brain.

Before my diagnosis I was almost always tired, had frequent headaches (often taking paracetamol), especially as the day wore on and I was very low in energy and often had heartburn and mild acid reflux.

I was also living with unacceptable levels of unavoidable stress. I have done what I can to take charge of my stressful situation, but it is largely out of my control.

As I have changed my diet my blood sugar is now much more under my control. I have found that I don't get anywhere near as many headaches and I am nowhere near as fatigued, even though my sleeping patterns are still all over the place and I still get very stressed.

If your blood sugars are "even" and high, the levels will be doing damage to your body as they are toxic. The most immediate improvemnt I found from lowering my blood sugar was a reduction in headaches and less fatigue.

Now when I get a headache I reach for my meter before I take a paracetamol, usually I will find that my blood sugar is quite high and I may get up and do something physical rather that take a paracetamol to see if that will shift it. I cannot make my headaches go away by the sheer strength of my will - which is how I have interpreted your statement about your body having to follow your brain.

While I do beleive that a positive approach has a lot to offer (I know there are things I can do to help myself) the improvements in my health as not to do with me changing my thought processes, they are to do with me changing my eating habits and bringing my blood sugar down as a result. Changing my thought processes will not stop high blood sugar from damaging almost every system in my body.

 

[bmtest]

What I am saying is based on the info given i.e a level of 8.4 is not an ideal at it may or may not be a snapshot in time of the highest point

Being a diabetic does not give you an optimum blood glucose reading 24/7 therefore if you are following the guidlines and all else being equal it is a state of mind.

Like I said in the scenario you would not feel tired under that particular test you would evolve to be fitter faster and prepared.

It's the same with paracetemals leave them in the bottle as they are bad for yur liver, learn to live without them it's not difficult you just have to have confidence in the mind & body.

'It maybe blood readings are getting to technical when we are looking at 0.1 increments and have you stpped to check the manufacturers batch tolerances or the meter accuracy at various ambient temperatures.

In summary bllod levels may run high occasionally but the mind can beat tireness, I know from experience I overcome chronic fatigue back in the early 1990's it took 5 long years back to fitness with no pep pills or a single day of work.



7

 

[sugarless sue]

Bm test,when you are in a state of 'fight or flight' in other words stressed ,you produce the hormone Cortisol. It increases blood pressure and blood sugar, and reduces immune responses.Therefore to state that this will make you fitter ,as a diabetic ,is not true.I was diagnosed with diabetes after suffering extreme stress for some time.Only by decreasing my work load and taking control of my diet have I now got my diabetes under control.
As for paracetamol,taken in less than the recommended dosage of 4 gm a day it is a perfectly safe and effective analgesic!
The key area here is to get the blood sugar levels down by changing the diet,I am all for mind over matter ,I use it a lot, but sometimes other methods are much more effective.

 

[bmtest]

Hi Sugarless Sue
Who said anything about flight or flight and anyway if you did choose one of those options the whole process would be void, read up on your zen then get back to me.

I did also say to follow correct blood monitoring guidelines If people want to go off at tangents that's fine. With regards to stress manage it or it will overtake you and never accept stress passed on from others you see it everyday.

The more challenges you take on in this life the more you are able to cope people drop like nine pins today as they are willing to accept stress being passed on and then think tablets are the answer.

Always be thankful for each day the Lord puts in front of you and you wont go far wrong.