35 yo male question about blood sugar

You're right to discuss this with your doctor, who may decide take your HBa1c (3-month average blood sugar) just to be on the safe side. I also intermittent fast and it's common for my blood sugars to be high in the morning and even get higher before normalising at around 3 pm. But my readings are in the diabetic range > 126 mg/dL while fasting, while yours are in a normal person's fasting range. Dr Jason Fung writes about slightly elevated sugars and fasting as nothing to be concerned about.

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood-sugar-level-ranges.html



NICE recommended target blood glucose level ranges
Target Levels


by Type Upon waking Before meals
(pre prandial) At least 90 minutes after meals
(post prandial)

Non-diabetic* 4.0 to 5.9 mmol/L under 7.8 mmol/L

Type 2 diabetes 4 to 7 mmol/L under 8.5 mmol/L

Type 1 diabetes 5 to 7 mmol/L 4 to 7 mmol/L 5 to 9 mmol/L

Children w/ type 1 diabetes 4 to 7 mmol/L 4 to 7 mmol/L 5 to 9 mmol/L



in the Scheme below ; the green area is the normal levels in between meals

your number 221 ... 221 of what ....?

what letters do you put on the end of that number ?

Newuser0022 said:

Thank you for the response.

I just had a green juice and then ran for 30 minutes. When I got home I checked it and it was 73. The juice is kale,apples, celery, and something else can't remember.

It was about 35 minutes after drinking a mason jar full of the juice it was 73. I have not eating anything yet and just tested again it's been about an hour and a half after drinking the home made juice it's up to 92.

Thanks so much for the info!

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I read on the diet doctor website that OPTIMAL blood glucose is between 4 (72) and low 5s (100) with no more than a 2mmol rise after eating, then back down to 5 mmol (90) or below between meals and when fasting. While 6s (106 - 125) are still classed as normal, it's up to you whether you are happy knowing a lower number is optimal. Higher fasting while eating low carb is common but probably because those of us with a certain level of insulin resistance and livers a little fuller with sugars have more to let go of during fasting. As long as your other post meal daytime numbers are stable, then I believe higher fasting levels are nothing to worry about. If I spiked to 220 after any meal though, I would rethink that combination of food and opt for a lower amount of carbs, or very limited carbs to avoid those kind of numbers.

This might interest you too https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-n...el-glucose-spikes-seen-in-healthy-people.html
By the way, I just re-read your post about the 221 being 2 hours later (I thought it was the 1 hour spike). That's not great if you're still up there at the 2 hour mark... I would lay off the carbs and eat steak instead until you can see someone about it so you're not putting any more pressure on your body in the meantime. And ask for an insulin level test at the same time as a glucose tolerance test. It can give a better picture of what's really going on.

Freema said:

your number 221 ... 221 of what ....?

what letters do you put on the end of that number ?

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221 is about 12.3 mmol

Newuser0022 said:

Hello everyone hope I can post this here.

For about two weeks I had been feeling light headed and just off when doing things. About 3 days ago I bought a finger test contour I think.

Back story , have checked blood before always normal over last 5 years.

So I checked it 3 days ago after a fast and exercise for maybe 12 hours or so... First test was 48 while fasting. As well as a pretty low calorie diet for a week or so prior.

I ate a handful of cookies that you dip in icing, along with a couple handfuls of Cheetos then a chicken burger with 2 flour tortillas as the bread and some grape juice at 10pm last night checked blood sugar at 12pm and it was 221.

Woke up and checked and it was 94, about an hour later without eating anything since 10pm last night it was up to 105 then 112.

Have woke up a few times in last two weeks with dry mouth and bad taste which have never had before.

Going to the doctor today, still haven't ate since about 15 to 16 hours... Should I eat so they can have a normal test or stay fasting?.

Also does this sound like diabetes etc.

Have been worried since the 221 reading non stop all advice and insight is greatly appreciated thank you!!

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The 221 is a bit high, but you did have a bucketload of carbs. (Carbs turn to bloodglucose once ingested, so it's not just sugars, but anything made with grain, like bread or wraps, as well as potatoes, rice, pasta, fruit etc that will make your numbers rise, in diabetics and non-diabetics alike...). It's a good idea to have your tests, and not just a finger prick but a HbA1c too. That's the one that'll tell you where you're at. For now, just read around the forum, check dietdoctor.com, garner some information and go from there. If it is diabetes -not saying that it is, but IF- you're in the right place for advice and help. I'm certainly not the only one here who got her numbers down to non-diabetic levels. I'm still a T2, but no complications, and that's something that may give one hope. You're not automatically doomed when diagnosed with anything. I wish I'd known that when I found out. But you know now, already.

Good luck!
Jo

Newuser0022 said:

Thank you for the reassurance. So I did have the hba1c done just a few days ago in the mean time i have kept checking. So late the other night I decided to check again levels had been great so I checked and it said 198 which freaked me out so I instantly tested again and it was 111.

So last night my results were emailed my hba1c is 5.7 which I have read is prediabetes. My blood glucose at the time was 85 when blood was drawn but I had been fasting.

I have no problem following a diet when it comes to a health complication.

Over the last few years I have been extremely lazy sometimes sitting or laying more than I stand during a day

I'm 5'7 weight is about 203 pounds.

Just last night I drank a Capri sun had several at least 20 or more white chocolate Hershey kisses and a couple popsicles so I tested when leaving the pool party and it was probably an hour or so it was about 112.

My numbers seem good one minute especially when low carb or no carbs

My biggest problem I believe on top of eating fast food is I get up early in the morning but lay around for several hours and just stay on my cell phone.

Recently in the past month have started riding bikes a couple miles but only a few times a week sometimes every other week so not much exercise at all and like I mentioned I sometimes lay around 5 or 6 hours after waking up.

I was awake until 4am last night woke up at 10am and blood sugar was 105 on one tester and 97 on the other.

My thoughts are probably all over the place but just trying to give as much insight to my situation as possible.

I have ran/jogged 3 times this week and about to go for another 30 min run.

The laying around is going to stop, say if I lost 50 pounds which was my weigjt a few years back 153 pounds. Would that alone help my level significantly perhaps?

Thank you all for being here! A relief and a blessing to be able to ask you all questions!

Oh it also said my average glucose levels was 117.

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With prediabetic levels, the time to act is pretty much now. It tells you that you are prone to become a T2 and have problems processing carbs. A couple of things:
Losing weight may reduce some of your insulin-resistance. (You make loads of insulin, but are insensitive to it, so rather than it helping you burn off carbs/glucose for fuel, your body just stores the stuff in fat cells, as it has nowhere else to go.). Excersize would probably help some, but the main thing is the carbs. That's why people who physically cannot move around a lot, can still lose weight once they go low-carb; their metabolism is the problem, the inability to burn off the exces glucose. Fix the amount of glucose/carbs coming in, fix the weight, putting it very, very simply. It's not a temporary fix either, this is a lifetime commitment: You are prone to developing T2, that's not going to change. So it's something to always be vigilant about.
So, bottom line, popsicles, Caprisun's and hershey's are not doing you any favours. That's all sugar, right there. And you know it, or you wouldn't've specifically mentioned those.

What I'm reading here, and do correct me if I'm wrong, is someone who isn't lazy, as you put it, but someone who's downright depressed. Comfort food and not getting out of bed.... Kindof sounds familliar to me. And are you really lazy, or fatigued (Mentally and/or physically)? Or do you just not see a point in getting up anyway? That's something you might want to tackle as well; if your bloodglucose runs higher, it does impact your mood. I know my depression and moodswings got a lot worse before I was diagnosed, and improved a whole lot once I got my bloodsugars under control.

Read this, it might help you make better choices in foods: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog/jokalsbeek.401801/

Fro what I see right now your bloodsugars don't run extremely high yet, but they don't dip as they should anymore either. You can fix this, if you want to. You have a say in this.

Take care of yourself eh,
Jo

Newuser0022 said:

You're right! I'm not really lazy I love doing things and being active, but my energy over the years has plummeted. I can make myself do things. The worst part right now that is keeping me from doing a lot is the fear of something is wrong. Also when I stand up I feel light headed or like a brain fog. The reason I feel like is because I don't eat enough calories now because I'm watching my sugar and afraid to eat.

I sometimes have anxiety especially when i feel like I have new health issues, so it will take a while for me to get a good routine but I do have a gym membership and plan on going a few times a week but trying to run at least 5 times a week. I tracked my sugar many times yesterday. I went to a water park so on the way I had McDonald's 5 chicken nuggets and half a medium fry. It was 97 pre meal and 2 hours after it was 117. After walking and playing with the kids in the kiddie pool it was down to 85 so I had 2 soft chicken tacos and a handful of nachos. 2 hours after it was 105. Haven't checked this morning.

Going to read the link. And try and relax. Thank you for the advice and encouragement!

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You know, by the time I was diagnosed my husband had to help me eat. After cooking, I didn't have the muscular strength anymore to cut my meat, he had to do it for me. I could barely walk in my own home, -my legs would give out and oh man, when you're 100+ kilo's that landing is SO hard on the knees! - let alone any distance. That was all bloodsugar. So don't let it come to that eh. It accumulated over the years, from when I was prediabetic till I was a full-blown T2, and I kept thinking it was my thyroid again. Urgh. What a mistake to make. You can get more energy, it's still in the cards. This weekend I walked 10+ k over hilly terrain with two heavy camera's and 4 lenses, and danced for little over an hour at a concert. Before, I'd collapse under that weight before I even made it out the door, forget walking and dancing.

I'm not surprised you're light headed.... You're cutting down on calories, not the carbs. If you want to get your bloodsugars down, which will also take care of any weight problems, cut carbs. NOT calories. If you cut the carbs you need something to burn, so you up the protein and the fats. Bacon is your new best friend. Forget taco shells, fries, hershey's kisses, nacho's and chicken coated in batter. The chicken's fine, the batter isn't. Go for meat without any coatings, heck, you can walk into any burger joint and order a burger with extra bacon, greens and cheese, as long as you tell them to hold the bun. Fat's fine, better yet, it'll help you keep your bloodsugars under control. Make sure you eat enough, because starving yourself isn't going to help you right now. No need to get woozy, because if you do starve yourself, the moment you do eat you'll binge on carbs, more likely than not. So if you're having trouble there: three meals a day. Bacon and eggs, maybe with cheese, mushrooms and/or high meat content sausages. No toast!!! Have a salad, if you toss in avocado, tuna, olives and/or slightly warmed goat's cheese it'll last you a long time. No croutons! No dressing other than a vinaigrette or mayo. In the evening, above-ground veggies and about as much proper meat, fish or poultry you can stomach. You don't have to go hungry. You can, of course, if you want to... You could fast, but right now i think that may be counter-productive. The little snacks in between are all carb-heavy so far, and not doing you any favours. (If you eat a few carbs, you'll be hungry right after again for more. That's technically speaking a carb-addiction. If you break the addiction, you won't get hungry anymore either.) If you must, go for some cheese, olives, nuts, or extra dark chocolate (If it's too bitter to stomach; add a gulp of double cream or some walnuts or something. Pecans are great too!). Nothing made with oats, batter, corn, fruit, rice, pasta, potatoes... It sound kindof rigorous, but it works for quite a few of us. During the festival this weekend I had a big hunk of juicy ham straight from a medieval BBQ for lunch, and when we went home we stopped by a McDonalds where I had a double whopper and a burger, with sparkling water. (no buns, of course). Before we went to the festival terrain I had bacon, eggs and cheese to fuel me. When you look at what I did that day, and the amount of carbs I had (well under 20 grams), well... You do the math. I didn't go hungry. I was very active. Bloodsugars were perfect and oh man I really loved that ham...! I enjoy food more now. Figure out what would work for you. See what you enjoy eating, and how you can tweak that to suit your needs. I haven't had pizza in three years, but if you switch out the base with an omelet, it doesn't feel like it...! Cheats. Tweaks. Loopholes. Find them.

Anxiety is a powerful thing. It could be a motivator here. That, or maybe getting some control of your life, some energy, so you can do the things that make you happy without crashing. And, bonus, avoiding becoming a T2!

You'll be okay.
Jo