1st BG Test

[Jakjo]

Hello there,

My BG meter came through today and I will start testing tomorrow. On diagnose I was 6.4 after fasting and then 12.9. 2 hours after glucose drink.

I will test as soon as I get up tomorrow, have breakfast and then test 2 hours later. I hope this isn't a stupid question but I am asssuming right that as I have recently been diagnosed and just started diet and exercise I shouldn't be seeing great numbers yet but what figure should I be looking at to see if the food i have had for breakfast is OK or good for me. Shouldn't I be expecting high numbers anyway? or ???

Thank you

 

[Jakjo]

I did read this of course

Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

I hope I make myself understood that could I already see the 8.5 figure at the beginning?

 

[Mileana]

The official guidelines say 7.8, I think it is. Less than that is an okay option.

You may find it takes some time for it to get down to that. If you have 10 minutes after breakkie for a quick walk that will help your muscles wake up and smell the proverbial coffee and make use of the blood sugar.

The sugar in your blood comes from starch - grain products, rice, pasta, bread, to some degree from milk and fruit too.

The official advice is to get 50 percent of your calories each day from those products. Many on here with type 2 diabetes find that cutting down on that to half of what you are used to helps a lot. Some try to avoid it all together. When you know where the sugar in your blood comes from, this makes good sense.

Try one morning with what you normally have (cereal, toast?) and then try over the weekend with a couple scrambled eggs and some bacon. You will see a difference, I'm sure.

Don't be entirely alarmed if you get a reading higher than 7.8 - just try lowering the amount of the meal that has carbohydrates in it, like the ones listed above, and of course the other baddies - sugar, cake...

You will learn in time, and if you keep a note along the lines of 2 eggs, bit of bacon, coffee - before bloodsugar, after bloodsugar you will learn to identify the things that send it upwards and the things that don't so much.

Have fun testing and learning.

 

[Jakjo]

OK great, thank you so much for your reply Mileana, really helpful.

Looking forward to a new day tomorrow

 

[Mileana]

Yes, in the beginning, your blood sugar will be likely to be high before meals as well as afterwards. That will be because the blood sugar from the previous meal is still circulating. When you get the hang of above, those should come down nicely too.

It all depends on how much insulin your body is making, and how resistant your muscles are to the insulin you have.

Exercise wakes up those muscles. Losing a bit of weight if you have any spare helps too.

Eating less of the stuff that makes your blood sugar go up helps your insulin cope better with the now smaller amount it has to work on, if that makes sense.

Give it a few weeks and keep keeping track, then see where you're heading. The big clue to diet control does seem to be carb control, though.

Good Luck.

 

[xyzzy]

The rate at which the numbers reduce has varied greatly between person to person in my six months on the forum. In some like me then yes expect to see some high values but don't get alarmed. In others just a few days of low carbing had their numbers back in 4's and 5's. If you are like me and see high values look for a gradual improvement over the next few weeks. While the numbers are high you may have no chance of getting below 8 so don't worry about that just aim to get a number that is no more than two higher two hours later than it was before you started eating. So if you wake up with a 9 get below 11 if you can two hours after breakfast. In the end that 2 difference will be spot on as hopefully as your levels normalise you will begin to get 5's and 6's so +2 will keep you under 8.

Hope that helps

 

[Jakjo]

OK, great thanks. I have already cut out carbs and sugar for the last 2 weeks but understand it takes time. I woke up with a reading of 7.1 and will test again in an hour or so.

Thanks for your replies.

 

[xyzzy]

7.1 on wakeup is pretty good going for just two weeks, well done !

 

[Jakjo]

Hello again,

Just took my reading 2 hours after breakfast and it's 7.0, that's good right? I had a very low carb breakfast. Bacon, Egg and actually 3 small sausages. Lunch will be packed with veggies.

I guess now the trick is to start experimenting with other food and a few carbs?

Thanks

 

[catza]

7.1 to 7.0 is fantastic and just goes to show how restricting your carbs can have a big impact. Keep up the experimenting and I am sure you will bring your baseline readings down in no time. :thumbup:

 

[Defren]

Hello again,

Just took my reading 2 hours after breakfast and it's 7.0, that's good right? I had a very low carb breakfast. Bacon, Egg and actually 3 small sausages. Lunch will be packed with veggies.

I guess now the trick is to start experimenting with other food and a few carbs?

Thanks

7.0 +2 breakfast is excellent - well done. Be careful with sausages as most are packed with fillers, and it would be such a shame to see a really great BG spoiled by ****** sausages. Try to make sure they are at least 90% meat, but the higher the better. Tesco do Debbie and Andrew sausages with 97% meat. Other supermarkets also have good quality versions.

Experimenting is key, try a new food, test before the meal then +2 hours, you want to aim to be under 7.8 with as small a jump between pre and post readings as possible. If your reading is high, either discard that food, or try again, but with a much smaller amount. You may find some foods you can tolerate in small amounts, other foods not at all, Eat to your meter, and test, test, test.

 

[Jakjo]

Thanks for your comments. Yes i have always been a bit fussy with sausages. I got Debbie and andrews. I will keep testing for sure. Thanks so much to everyone for your help!

Having a monitor now makes feel more in control of the situation and is a whole seperate new education in itself. I feel like I have turned a new corner on my journey and that's not only exciting it is a huge relief!

Thanks again all!

 

[millie_uk]

Your before and after breakfast readings are great.

I had really high readings early on but once I read people's posts on here and was given very sensible advice through this forum I have had all my readings in single figures for weeks. I was getting high teens even after changing my diet because I was listening to the nurse who was telling me to eat bread, pasta, potatoes and porridge, all of which sent my readings sky high, as did most fruits.

My readings before and after eating are now normally in the low 8's, there is never much fluctuation at all but I am getting readings in the 7's too so I know it's heading in the right direction. The main thing is, I get no high spikes at all because after 7 weeks I know which foods affect me.

I just had mackeral, edam cheese, cucumber, a cherry tomato and a little good quality coleslaw for lunch and I know that won't put my bg up by more than 0.2 - 0.5

I don't miss the starchy carbs at all especially knowing what harm they will do to me.

Keep up the good work

 

[Jakjo]

Wow! Well done Millie,

It's so satisfying when you can see the results isn't it? I was a big carb eater up until 2 weeks ago and after reading comments on here and seeing myself to a certain extent I think I too am too scared to go for the white starchy variety. I think I will stick with no carbs for a couple of weeks because I do have a few *cough* pounds to lose and then will start looking at wholegrain and portions.

How are you finding your energy levels?

I know I have seen alot of advice on the internet (and from the nurse) that have said you must eat the starches but then I think if I was asked about it before I was diagnosed I would have thought it was all about sugar too. Mind you maybe a nurse should know better

Keep up the good work too Millie and thanks for the reply.

 

[CathyN]

Hi Jakjo

Like you I'm newly diagnosed and been testing quite rigorously since the beginning of June. At first my Fasting Glucose ( first thing ) was usually over 7 and very often over 8. It is now usually in the 6s and I have had two in the 5s !! Still trying to understand how those 5s appeared but I think I need more data before I spot any trends!!

Anyway, just thought you may like IanD's Almond porridge recipe which I just discovered this week. I used to love my porridge, but this one is low carb and doesn't spike the glucose .. I can be way under 8 after just an hour. I hope IanD won't mind me telling you the recipe!!

2dessert spoons almond flour ( ground almonds )
2 dessert spoons coconut flour ( I have used natural dessicated coconut - obviously no sugar )
1 dessert spoon oat bran
1 dessert spoon flax/linseeds
125ml soya milk - unsweetened ( I imagine full milk would be fine but would UP the carbs considerably)

Anyway, stir it all up and cook for a few minutes. Ian said he sometimes sweetens it, but I haven't felt the need. It is extremely filling!! It has kept me going all morning till lunch, and I have done my 40 minutes swimming on it too.
Worth a try. I think there are varying opinions on carbs, and it's obvious that they are not great for blood sugar - but I have felt tired if I don't eat some carbs. I have just methodically tested the carbs I eat and tried to draw conclusions. For instance, I can tolerate 1 slice of BURGEN soy and Linseed bread - so that makes a good breakfast with a boiled egg..... It's all trial and error. Just had a really worrying 10.4 after lunch and think it was raisins that did it ....................

Anyway - good luck with your testing !

CathyN

 

[Jakjo]

Thanks for the recipe CathyN! I love porridge too and it looks like a great alternative. Will definitely give it a try. Love Desiccated coconut too!

Ouch with raisins! It seems unreal that those tiny things can do so much damage!

onwards to health good luck

 

[millie_uk]

Hi there (again) lol

This is a great forum. I agree with others about being tired a lot and I am not sleeping all that well right now but I am sticking with the low carbing until I get medication and bp, cholesterol checks and all my tests done.
Once I have my bg's more settled I will try small amounts of different carbs but I know I can NEVER go back to eating the way I had been doing. At present I eat no bread at all, no pasta, no potatoes and have only had a couple of spoons of basmati rice at the Indian a couple of times.
My carbs come from veg like cauliflower, cabbage, pappers, leeks, onions, brocolli, courgettes, mushrooms and salad veg.

Now that my bg's are always in single figures I might try a slice of Burgens bread but last time I tried, it put my levels up from 8 to 11.5
I use soya milk if I am going to use milk for cooking and I use cream if I am having anything in my coffee.

I have a lot of weight to lose and even without counting a calorie and I am consuming lots of calories and using plenty oils, cream, nuts etc I don't skimp on my food, I have just drastically changed my eating habits and I have lost a stone and a half in 7 weeks. I actually lost weight prior to this due to diabetic symptoms.

Good luck with your eating and we'll see how we all progress with getting the bg's down to acceptable levels.

 

[Jakjo]

Wow! tha's an excllent weight loss Millie, Well done.

I am inclined to agree with you with the starchy carbs afterall if it's working right now, why change that. I was diagnosed 2 weeks ago 6.4 after fasting and then 12.9 2 hours after glucose drink.

The first 2 days of metering I just tested wake up and 2 hours after breakfast and now I feel a little more confident with the testing I also tested lunch today and will test before I go to bed tonight.

Day 1 - Wake up - 7.1 2 hours after breakfast 7.0
Day 2 - Wake up - 7.3 2 hours after breakfast 8.8 (I tried a quarter cup of muslei with pouring yoghurt)
Day 3 - Wake up - 6.8 2 hours after breakfast 7.1
Pre Lunch - 6.3 2 hours after lunch 6.3

Seems already the numbers are coming down.