2 hours after meals; surprising result

Geordie_P

Well-Known Member
Messages
849
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi friends,
I've been low-carbing for a couple of months, but today I tried eating sushi: 10 pieces, so quite a lot of rice.
I took a blood test BEFORE the meal and registered as 4.2.
2 hours after the sushi meal, I took another test and got 7.3.

I understand I shouldn't get too excited about it, and that there may he higher spikes at different times etc, but if I am getting results in the non-diabetic range after eating more carbs than I am used to, might it be worth doing something like the OGTT to check if I could be pre-diabetic or suchlike? I'm not on any diabetes medication, and every bg self-test I do puts me well under diabetic levels, but this is the first time I've tried with starch.
 

chalup

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,745
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
At 2 hours your levels were probably well on the way back down. To catch the spike, particularily on a high carb and quite low fat meal, you need to test at 1 hour and then at 2 hours.
 

AndBreathe

Master
Retired Moderator
Messages
11,320
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi friends,
I've been low-carbing for a couple of months, but today I tried eating sushi: 10 pieces, so quite a lot of rice.
I took a blood test BEFORE the meal and registered as 4.2.
2 hours after the sushi meal, I took another test and got 7.3.

I understand I shouldn't get too excited about it, and that there may he higher spikes at different times etc, but if I am getting results in the non-diabetic range after eating more carbs than I am used to, might it be worth doing something like the OGTT to check if I could be pre-diabetic or suchlike? I'm not on any diabetes medication, and every bg self-test I do puts me well under diabetic levels, but this is the first time I've tried with starch.

Geordie - Rice can be a sneaky substance. Certainly some folks report multiple peaks, over several hours, and depending what else was in the sushi it isn't inconceivable to consider you could actually have been rising at 2 hours.

My tactic, when I do any such Scientific research (Ahem), is to test more regularly - probably half hourly for at least 3 hours (longer if I'm not back to starting number at 3 hours), to try to get a clearer picture.

To be honest, in recent times, I have been spoilt by part-time using Libre sensors which proved a 24/7 trace, for two weeks with scores every 15 minutes plus any any scans (of the reader) or fingerprick tests the I might do. Using those has given me massive confidence that I understand what gives these days with my glucose metabolism. On the basis of cost and how my body generally performs, I can't justify using the Libre full-time, but a sensor once in a while is invaluable.

In your shoes, I could be tempted to repeat the experiment and test a bit more. I know it's probably a pain (pardon the pun) to do the more intensive testing, especially if you are in company, but it'll give you a clearer picture.

To be honest an OGTT is completely up to you, but personally I'd want to be very clear about what I wanted to achieve from it and be sure that would be achievable, bearing in mind you do need to prepare for it by carbing up, so that your body isn't shocked by the intake to such simple glucose. I doubt the shock would be medically worrying, but it can skew results because your body might not perform so well, if it's not used to so many carbs in one hit.

If you want to get a bit of context on that, you could read upon "the last meal effect".
 

Kristin251

Expert
Messages
5,334
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
The last two times I ate sashimi, as I don't eat rice, my spike was definately within one hour or sooner.
 

Geordie_P

Well-Known Member
Messages
849
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Thanks, I'll check out that 'last meal effect'. To be honest, I don't know that much about the OGTT in general, so I'll read up on it. In any event, think I'll leave off the experiments for a bit and just focus on low-carbing, self-testing and weight loss until my levels (blood, weight, triglycerides, liver damage, everything) are a bit more settled.
 

AndBreathe

Master
Retired Moderator
Messages
11,320
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Thanks, I'll check out that 'last meal effect'. To be honest, I don't know that much about the OGTT in general, so I'll read up on it. In any event, think I'll leave off the experiments for a bit and just focus on low-carbing, self-testing and weight loss until my levels (blood, weight, triglycerides, liver damage, everything) are a bit more settled.
To be honest, the urge to push the envelope a little when you start to get the immediate feedback testing gives.

The OGTT is quite a brutal test, in my view. My GP wasn't all that interested in it, and told me if I wanted to do it, I'd be able to do it for myself.