Advice please-High Blood Glucose and no clue why?

daisy1 said:

@irish-colt

Hello Colum and welcome to the forum As mentioned above, here is the basic information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. It contains advice on carbs and levels etc. and contains a link to the Low Carb Program which you could join. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 220,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

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Bluetit1802 said:

Hi folks. Started my diet after New Year's Day. Down 6kg from 102kg Got my monitor last week and started taking my fasting blood sugars, normally before 9:00am with nothing to eat from 7:00pm. First reading was 13.4 mmol. Over the week it has averaged 12 mmol's. Am I doing something wrong ? I know it's only been a week but thought with dieting (14 days) I thought it might be around the 8 - 9 level. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Are you only testing your fasting levels? These won't help you that much, at least not at the beginning. Fasting levels are notoriously unpredictable and subject to various issues we have little control over, sleepless nights, stress, what you do between leaving your bed and testing, and your liver. Our livers like to look after us and when they think we need extra energy to help us start the day they push glucose in our blood stream. They can do this at other times as well as mornings.

If I were you I would test before and 2 hours after eating to sort out a suitable and sustainable way of eating, and pay more attention to your pre-evening meal level as that is the best indicator of how well you are doing. You could also test at bedtime so you can see how much you rise over night.

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irish-colt said:

Thanks for the advice Blue. I have done as you, and several others have advised. Took readings 2 hours after my lunch and dinner and got 9.9 and 9.1 respectively. Looks like I shouldn't worry so much about my fasting bloods in the morning until I get things properly under control.
Colum

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Liam1955 said:

@irish-colt - Hello and Welcome to the Forum .
A lot of Forum Members follow the LCHF Diet (Low Carb High Fat) this helps them to loose weight and lower their Blood Glucose and also their HBA1C. Take a look at the:
http://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/60-seconds
http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

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Bluetit1802 said:

If you are short of strips or only want to test a few times, personally I would leave the fasting morning test alone for now and concentrate on meal times. Also, in addition to testing 2 hours after eating, you can't learn much unless you also test immediately before eating. So 2 tests for each meal you decide to test, and the best test to reveal how you are doing in general is the one before evening meal.

I also see your doctor had no idea why your bowels were so bad ...... he really should have known it was the Metformin! It is a very common side effect and listed as one in the leaflets.

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