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A question on spikes after remission

V

vaulterrise

Active Member
Messages
25
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi all,

Diagnosed this May with Type 2, 99mmol. Went back to docs for three month test a couple of weeks ago and it was 31mmol, so remission.

I’m still using the Libre 2 sensors to keep me on track but I had a question about spikes. I follow the advice of making sure I’m at 7.8 or lower 2 hours after eating, or I reduce that food or cut it out. There are days it goes higher, whether I can help it or not, and this has been the case on my journey from 99mmol to 31mmol.

I know spikes can cause damage, and I also know non-diabetics get them too.

My question is, now that I’m in remission, do spikes still cause damage? I’m not going back to how I was and I know if I slip I’m back where I started.

I’m just curious whether spikes above 7.8 at two hours have the same effect if my HbA1c is within the non-diabetic range. I don’t know what spikes are for ‘normal’ people and whether they cause damage for them too.

Cheers!
 
Everyone gets spikes over 7,8, non-diabetics too, as you know. The important part is, do they go back to the normal range relatively quickly, or are your blood sugars continuously high? If you're high all the time, glucose gets into everything and does damage, because it never abates. If it drops back down, it doesn't get much of a chance to do anything you want to avoid. So no worries, especially if you're doing as exceedingly well as you are right now!
 
Thanks @JoKalsbeek

I don't think I spike enough (or will spike enough) to get me back into the diabetic range, I'm just trying to work out if a prolonged spike still has the same effect given I'm now in the non-diabetic range.

For example, even when I was bringing my levels down to the non-diabetic range over the last 3-4 months, I'd have at least two or three spikes a week that didn't come back down under 7.8 for around 3-4 hours. Sometimes that was me pushing it with a drink too many or too big a portion of something, other times it was dawn phenomenon and I couldn't help it. I never really went above 11mmol even at the height of spikes.

If that happens now, with my Hba1c at 31mmol, are the spikes still as damaging or less so because my overall glucose level is down?

As I say, I don't want to go back to where I was but I know I'm human too and I'll get these prolonged spikes a couple of times a week.
 
With a HbA1c of 31, I think it's pretty safe to say it really is not something to worry about. You really, really are doing well. Breathe.
 
Hi and well done.

Yes, rises and falls in BG are normal and to be expected. I wouldn't describe a smallish and expected rise as a spike.

Damage caused by BG seems to be associated with sustained high levels of blood glucose over long periods of time - I mean weeks and months.

By definition, if you're non-diabetic, it means that your insulin system deals with carb and glucose effectively. So there will be BG rises as carbs are digested, but equally rapid BG falls to normal levels around the two-hour point. Your 31 A1c puts your BG well beneath almost all non-diabetic people - graph attached.

Those of us with insulin resistance seem to need to avoid over-taxing the system. After near;ly 4 years on 20g/day I think I have regained a bit of insulin sesnitivity but it sees reasonable to expect that sensitivity to be eroded if I upped my carb intake significantly. I'm not that bothered about a higher level for 20 or 30 minutes - I normally see an increased BG during strenuous exercise as well.
 

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Really well done on your hba1c result, that's a massive achievement.

For context, in terms of blood glucose levels for non-diabetics, up to 11.1 on a randomly sampled test is considered acceptable, so it's definitely the case that everyone can potentially spike well above what is generally considered acceptable levels for a diabetic.


Normal and Diabetic Blood Sugar Level Ranges

Normal blood sugar ranges and blood sugar ranges for adults and children with type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and blood sugar ranges to determine diabetes.
www.diabetes.co.uk

As others have said though, the key takeaway is the duration of high blood glucose levels and spikes, plus the more meaningful non-random results for fasting, pre-meal, and 2hrs post-meal. T2 diabetics, even those in remission, may be more prone to longer and sustained spikes due to insulin resistance, as I understand it.
 
Hi, I'm trying to aim for remission. Congrats on your success. Can I ask what were the factors that led to your reduction in HBA1c?
Thanks
 
Hi, I'm trying to aim for remission. Congrats on your success. Can I ask what were the factors that led to your reduction in HBA1c?
Thanks
 
Really helpful, thank you all.

I'm still getting the annual blood test, as well as eye and foot check ups so it's not like there isn't a safety net either. I think because I'm so young (within the context of diabetes, otherwise I feel old AF at 38!) I'm just wary of the long game.

I've found a lifestyle I'm happy with and can still have decent levels of carbs - both sandwiches and cake don't spike me above 2 hours (though pasta, noodles and rice destroy me so they're gone). And if I'm up at 9mmol after a couple of hours but back down within the next hour or so, I'm not gonna sweat it.

I said it in another post, but I was in total denial when I was diagnosed and couldn't accept at first that reducing carbs would be the way to go. If I hadn't found communities like this one I'd never have got a Libre 2 sensor and would be following the otherwise great NHS's advice on just eating healthy with way too many carbs.

@elliotsdad - one hundred percent the sensor as I mention above. I could quickly see what food worked for me, what didn't, and what I could only eat occasionally (or at least know it would deliver a longer spike and accept that). I'm surprised at how different we all are, and what I can get away with may not be the same for you and vice versa. I don't know whether it was Metformin or just eating 'better', but after reducing my carbs I lost somewhere between 1 and 2 stones without really doing anything different and that has probably had an impact on improving my insulin production.
 
It's a club with a lot of members, you're absolutely not alone on this!

Really well done again. I was diagnosed in July, so with massive changes to lifestyle and diet, I'm hoping I can emulate your success for my next hba1c.
 
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