9.1 Sugar half an hour after eating, is that bad?

[Es_1a]

I didn't eat anything for breakfast yesterday but had:

- ~1-2pm: half a cheese sandwhich: (1 slice of brown bread, 1 slice cheese, bit of mayo)
- ~4-5:30pm: Chip sandwhich: Large wholemeal roll, chips, bit of lurpak spreadable butter, mayo, kethcup + Large handful of chips, 1 tbsp mixed beans, half pack quorn deli slices, 1 carton of pure orange juice (200ml)
-~ 9:30-10pm: Two quorn (ate two packs of quorn deli by end of the day in total) and mixed bean sandwhiches on large wholemeal rolls, plenty of lurpak spreadable butte ron both, mayo, mixed beans. And also a carton of pure juice (200ml)

After this, I started getitng weird tingly sensations in fingers and toes, so got my dad to check my sugar levels and it was at 9.1. I don't have a history of diabetes and it's the first itme I got my levels checked in about 6 months. Highest i've ever sene it before this was 8.1. Otherwise it usually fluctuates between 6-7.5 after carb heavy meals from what I remember. But never was such a high figure 9, ever witnessed.

I am extremely worried and don't know whether medically, this is considered high. Just keep getting conflicting info. Please can someone advise.

 

[Resurgam]

No one can diagnose you from the information you gave - it isn't done using blood glucose levels but by testing to get some idea of how you have been dealing with carbohydrate over the last 3 months. That test, for Hba1c level is used pretty universally.
I would say you were really hammering in the carbohydrates for someone concerned they might be diabetic.

 

[lovinglife]

Hi @Es_1a

One random reading half an hour after eating is pretty meaningless, to see if you have a trend of numbers you need to test right before eating and 2hrs after, even someone without diabetes eating all those carbs could have a reading even higher than 9.1.

If you are at all worried about how you felt then you need to make an appointment with your GP, how you felt could be for any number of reasons not just diabetes.

If once you’ve seen your GP and you do get a diagnosis of diabetes then please come back to the forum, we have a lot of experienced helpful members who will be happy to help but not until you have an official diagnosis

 

[Es_1a]

Thanks for the advice. I will keep an eye on things, try again today and do things properly - pre-meal and two hours post meal

 

[GracieH]

I didn't eat anything for breakfast yesterday but had:

- ~1-2pm: half a cheese sandwhich: (1 slice of brown bread, 1 slice cheese, bit of mayo)
- ~4-5:30pm: Chip sandwhich: Large wholemeal roll, chips, bit of lurpak spreadable butter, mayo, kethcup + Large handful of chips, 1 tbsp mixed beans, half pack quorn deli slices, 1 carton of pure orange juice (200ml)
-~ 9:30-10pm: Two quorn (ate two packs of quorn deli by end of the day in total) and mixed bean sandwhiches on large wholemeal rolls, plenty of lurpak spreadable butte ron both, mayo, mixed beans. And also a carton of pure juice (200ml)

After this, I started getitng weird tingly sensations in fingers and toes, so got my dad to check my sugar levels and it was at 9.1. I don't have a history of diabetes and it's the first itme I got my levels checked in about 6 months. Highest i've ever sene it before this was 8.1. Otherwise it usually fluctuates between 6-7.5 after carb heavy meals from what I remember. But never was such a high figure 9, ever witnessed.

I am extremely worried and don't know whether medically, this is considered high. Just keep getting conflicting info. Please can someone advise.

Up to 10 is considered in normal range. Doubt if you’re diabetic after all those carbs.

 

[Angela64]

Eating all those carbs will raise your glucose levels, but to get a true picture of how your body is dealing with them you need to test 2hrs before eating and 2 hrs after. Ideally you don’t want regular high peaks. As it has been said, you should go to GP and get an HBa1C test.

 

[Case_]

Worrying about whether it's high or low is likely worse for you than anything you might or might not have happening in regards of blood sugar (not to mention that stress itself can also raise your blood sugar, and sometimes not insignificantly). As mentioned, 9.1 is generally within normal range and certainly quite far from you being in any *immediate* danger. Follow up with your GP, as others have suggested, to make sure, randomly measuring BSG at home is largely pointless (within your context is what I mean).

 

[JGLondon]

Never mind Diabetes, that amount of Carbs in a day cannot possibly be good for you. The chip butty alone was probably well over 100gm of Carbohydrate, given that bread is 75% carb and a portion of chips can easily be anything between 50 - 100gms of carb. If you want to control your weight (which you don't mention) control your carb intake.

 

[BumfuzzledRose]

Personally, I would invest in a Libre sensor (1 or 2 irrelevant as same price) - you can then activate it on your phone and actually see what is your blood sugar doing.
It is normal for blood sugar to go steeply high around 30 mins after a meal, it’s how it comes down that sets people apart.
Diabetics take a long time, whereas someone without diabetes and no insulin resistance their blood sugar will drop sharply as insulin starts acting.

I’d do that, have my GP test you hba1c and show them your Libre report for evaluation.

 

[KennyA]

I didn't eat anything for breakfast yesterday but had:

- ~1-2pm: half a cheese sandwhich: (1 slice of brown bread, 1 slice cheese, bit of mayo)
- ~4-5:30pm: Chip sandwhich: Large wholemeal roll, chips, bit of lurpak spreadable butter, mayo, kethcup + Large handful of chips, 1 tbsp mixed beans, half pack quorn deli slices, 1 carton of pure orange juice (200ml)
-~ 9:30-10pm: Two quorn (ate two packs of quorn deli by end of the day in total) and mixed bean sandwhiches on large wholemeal rolls, plenty of lurpak spreadable butte ron both, mayo, mixed beans. And also a carton of pure juice (200ml)

After this, I started getitng weird tingly sensations in fingers and toes, so got my dad to check my sugar levels and it was at 9.1. I don't have a history of diabetes and it's the first itme I got my levels checked in about 6 months. Highest i've ever sene it before this was 8.1. Otherwise it usually fluctuates between 6-7.5 after carb heavy meals from what I remember. But never was such a high figure 9, ever witnessed.

I am extremely worried and don't know whether medically, this is considered high. Just keep getting conflicting info. Please can someone advise.

Hi, and welcome. You say you don't have diabetes. I'm guessing though that there's some history in your family, which is why you might be worried. Tingling (as you describe) can be diabetes related but it can also be a lot of other things, and nobody here is going to attempt a diagnosis.

The standard blood glucose food testing regime is to test immediately before eating (which gives you a baseline) and then two hours after finishing (which tells you how well your body coped with whatever carbs were in what you ate).

Everyone's (non-diabetic and diabetic) blood glucose levels will rise after eating carb, as they're digested to glucose and pass into the bloodstream. This should trigger an insulin response, which should shift the glucose out of the blood and into muscle cells for use as energy. If you have insulin resistance, however, the insulin isn't as effective and therefore the glucose takes longer to be moved out of the blood. Go on with this long enough and raised blood glucose levels will lead to a diagnosis of diabetes, as well as possibly unwanted symptoms.

You ate quite a lot of carbohydrate and sugar. Chips, bread, beans, and orange juice are all high-carb and/or high sugar items. After 30 minutes I would expect a high reading (one latte will take me to 8s and 9s after 30 mins) and probably a lot higher than your 9.1. The two bits of information you don't have is where you were at the beginning and after two hours. If after two hours you were still at 9.1 (or similar), that points one way, if the 2 hr reading was 6.0 that points another - providing it's close enough to the baseline reading.

It might be worth repeating the process with a carby meal and doing the baseline and +2hr testing. That should give you some more information.

 

[Es_1a]

Hi, everyone, thanks for the advice.

I did the test yesterday. I was so put off by the readings that I literally didn't eat anything all day (just lots of black coffee) until 6:50pm when I had: a cup of Itsu chilli miso instant Rice noodles (281 cals, 41g carbs) and added 3 tsps of chilli oil to it. 2 handful of dry roasted nuts and a handful of fried haloumi cheese. Reading before meal was 5.2, reading after exactly two hours was 5.7. However, tingling sensation in fingers and toes was still there throughout day. It looks like it might be something other than sugar levels but I understand that probably means it's beyond the scope of what anyone maybe able to advise on here?

That being said, it was still quiet a wake-up call. I researched and short listed some supplements that help with blood sugar reduction and/or nutrient partitioning:
- All essential Vitamins
- Chromium and Vanadium
- Berberine
All seem to be quiet promising from what I have gathered so far.

I am glad I found this forum though for the plethora of information about diet and nutrition as i'm overweight and planning on starting a diet soon

 

[Munkki]

Hi, everyone, thanks for the advice.

I did the test yesterday. I was so put off by the readings that I literally didn't eat anything all day (just lots of black coffee) until 6:50pm when I had: a cup of Itsu chilli miso instant Rice noodles (281 cals, 41g carbs) and added 3 tsps of chilli oil to it. 2 handful of dry roasted nuts and a handful of fried haloumi cheese. Reading before meal was 5.2, reading after exactly two hours was 5.7. However, tingling sensation in fingers and toes was still there throughout day. It looks like it might be something other than sugar levels but I understand that probably means it's beyond the scope of what anyone maybe able to advise on here?

That being said, it was still quiet a wake-up call. I researched and short listed some supplements that help with blood sugar reduction and/or nutrient partitioning:
- All essential Vitamins
- Chromium and Vanadium
- Berberine
All seem to be quiet promising from what I have gathered so far.

I am glad I found this forum though for the plethora of information about diet and nutrition as i'm overweight and planning on starting a diet soon

That's quite a low reading given the relatively large amount of carbs. Your blood glucose could have been higher earlier than at the 2-hours point, which a Libre sensor could help with finding out.

 

[Deleted member 527103]

you need to test 2hrs before eating and 2 hrs after.

test immediately before eating (which gives you a baseline) and then two hours after finishing (which tells you how well your body coped with whatever carbs were in what you ate)

These two responses suggest something different.
I thought the advice was to test immediately before eating not 2 hours before.

not to mention that stress itself can also raise your blood sugar, and sometimes not insignificantly

It is the liver dump from stress which raises our blood sugars.
However, if you have a healthy pancreas (do not have diabetes), it should be able to release enough insulin to minimise the rise.

 

[KennyA]

These two responses suggest something different.
I thought the advice was to test immediately before eating not 2 hours before.


It is the liver dump from stress which raises our blood sugars.
However, if you have a healthy pancreas (do not have diabetes), it should be able to release enough insulin to minimise the rise.

Indeed. Testing should be immediately before eating and then two hours after finishing.

 

[Es_1a]

That's quite a low reading given the relatively large amount of carbs. Your blood glucose could have been higher earlier than at the 2-hours point, which a Libre sensor could help with finding out.

I have been hearing a lot about these sensors on here. Are they ok to use? No dangers, risks from the current they send through your body? I might get one alongside a more ordinary meter just to be on the safe side.

 

[ajbod]

My take on your readings etc, are that you are NOT diabetic, you have a good Insulin response, but it would be advisable to reduce the amount of carbs you are eating. It seems an awful lot, and you should now have a grasp on what they can actually do to you, when over done.
The tingling could be due to many different things, and is the job of your doctor to investigate. I don't think you need any form of Glucose testing, apart from asking the doctor to do an Hba1c test. If that showed prediabetic which i highly doubt, then there would be an argument for home testing. BUT only to educate yourself on which foods to avoid.

 

[KennyA]

I have been hearing a lot about these sensors on here. Are they ok to use? No dangers, risks from the current they send through your body? I might get one alongside a more ordinary meter just to be on the safe side.

Lots of people, me included, use and have used them. I don't think they send a current through your body - that's the machines you see in some places that say they can calculate your body fat proportion.

These CGM sensors don't measure blood, but measure the glucose in interstitial fluid via a microfilament through the skin. They do have a small battery and can send a signal to a phone app, but that's it afaik. The reading can differ from blood glucose, and I used a fingerprick meter alongside it for calibration if nothing else. Often the CGM measures low or high compared to the blood test - mine did, and the best I got was a consistent error.

BTW, I don't rate any "supplements" that claim to reduce blood glucose. Others may have different views.

 

[EllieM]

Hi, everyone, thanks for the advice.

I did the test yesterday. I was so put off by the readings that I literally didn't eat anything all day (just lots of black coffee) until 6:50pm when I had: a cup of Itsu chilli miso instant Rice noodles (281 cals, 41g carbs) and added 3 tsps of chilli oil to it. 2 handful of dry roasted nuts and a handful of fried haloumi cheese. Reading before meal was 5.2, reading after exactly two hours was 5.7. However, tingling sensation in fingers and toes was still there throughout day. It looks like it might be something other than sugar levels but I understand that probably means it's beyond the scope of what anyone maybe able to advise on here?

That being said, it was still quiet a wake-up call. I researched and short listed some supplements that help with blood sugar reduction and/or nutrient partitioning:
- All essential Vitamins
- Chromium and Vanadium
- Berberine
All seem to be quiet promising from what I have gathered so far.

I am glad I found this forum though for the plethora of information about diet and nutrition as i'm overweight and planning on starting a diet soon

Am a little concerned that you are talking about supplements without any sort of diabetes or prediabetes diagnosis. It is possible to overdose on some of them so I wouldn't be random;y taking them unless for a specific purpose.

I believe there are vitamin deficiencies that can cause symptoms such as tingling in my fingers so maybe talk to your doctor about possible causes first?
(eg if you were vegan I'd definitely be suggesting you get your B12 tested)