janeecee said:
I'm still working it out as my readings and pattern seem to change every few weeks, although it's hard to work out why, and then the past few days there seemed to be promising signs, and then I had an unexpected high that would have typically produced a reading of 1.0 less. So I really cannot fathom it at all. I guess I'm not the typical prediabetic/T2 and that's why I'm having such a struggle convincing my doctors, especially since they have more or less abandoned the OGTT as a diagnostic test.
I cannot work out whether variation or predictability in the diet would be better. Would the body respond better to a degree of unpredictability of carb intake or does the pancreas respond better when it knows what to expect? At the moment I'm taking the 'predictable' approach by having a small amount of carbs in the evening with (so far) no big spikes. However, after a few days it seemed to create slightly higher preprandial readings, and then the preprandial readings seemed to fall slightly, and just when I thought I had a predictable pattern the preprandial figures went up just a bit.
So…what works for you? Do you have your carbs evenly divided and predictable to avoid spiking?
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I did read from yet another incredibly reliable source! that first-phase insulin is based upon previous recent meals. That sounds a bit crude to me because I would have thought that a non-diabetic person's body would be 'tracking' the blood glucose rise and nipping it in the bud, so to speak. (I can feel a diagram coming on!!)

I definitely have a delayed insulin response but, unlike you, recover by +2:00 hrs, whereas with the official definition of pre-diabetics/impaired glucose tolerance, the whole two hours is shifted right. I'm sort of slow on the uptake but quick to finish (story of my life!). It may always have been this way with me, of course. Who can tell?
If predictability means eating when hungry as opposed to a fixed schedule then my eating is predictable as far as my body is concerned, and that seems to be working for me.
I limit myself to roughly 20-40g carbs per 'eat' depending on how hungry I am with a bit more in the evening. I spike up to around 6.3 max with that intake. I would be worried if I didn't spike as that would not be normal. I find that fruit helps a lot which is why I usually eat an apple, pear, orange and banana per day, for variety. Often a piece of fruit is enough for a snack. Fruit gives me a real 'feel good' factor ... I feel 'hooked' on it which I guess is my body saying 'yes, please!'. When I tried a fat/protein diet I felt satiated after food but also rather 'flat' (hard to explain).
Today, before breakfast, my bGs were 4.1 (waking up), 5.2, 5.3, 5.1, 4.9 over 4.5 hours eating nothing and sitting on my butt. So I only had breakfast after the 4.9 which was when I was starting to feel hungry. I felt that, with those readings, I didn't need anything anyway unless I was planning some exercise.
Right now, I am experimenting with the effect of homemade chocolate versus bought stuff ... more later.