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After Meal Spikes?

james122

Well-Known Member
Messages
63
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
HIGH blood sugars!
So I have been testing my blood sugars about 1 hour after I eat to see how high I spike and sometimes it goes shockingly high up to 13.9 once!

I wanted to ask how any of you manage to control the after meal spike. I personally have found that injecting about 30 minutes before I eat gives merge at results and I bearly spike above 8.5.
Is there any other method I could use to control the after meal spike that you know of?

And something else, Why is it that after breakfast I always spike the highest?
 
It depends on the foods you eat, its not just the carb content that you need to look at but how the body breaks it down. Protein is another one which I find gives me a second wave. Fries are something I never have (before and after D diagnosis). But on the odd occasion I do, they are a slow burner, mainly due to the fat they are fried in.

Just keep trying and testing!
 
Bolusing in advance is the best method I've found. I also make a point to be active after a meal where I'm expecting my BS to be on the higher side. I don't necessarily mean exercising at all, just not staying sitting down. I find if I get up and do a few chores then my BS can be a few mmol lower than if I'd just sat on the sofa after eating.

The higher spike after breakfast isn't uncommon. I have that too. Many people are more insulin resistant in the morning and/or are fighting off the Dawn Phenomenon and waking rise. I bolus more in advance for my breakfast than any other meal and that deals with it.
 
Pre-bolusing is an excellent tool in reducing postprandial bg levels, it just gives the insulin a head start before the food begins to digest.

You could also look at the gi content of the food and look for ones that are low to medium which again will reduce the spike, also adding some fat (not a lot) to a meal can help slow down the digestion, also a walk after eating is effective too but do be careful as there's a possibility of hypo's if you don't adjust your bolus dose accordingly

As for being higher after breakfast, some type 1's bolus well in advance of their breakfast as opposed to their other meals which seems to help reduce the spike somewhat.
 
Pre blousing is the way to go and also worth looking at your carb ratios for different times of the day as well.
 
I always try and go for a bit of a wander after a meal. Up and down a couple of flights of stairs, pop to the shops, do some manual handling at work or some hoovering at home. This seems to do a good job of getting the glucose out of my blood and into my cells ASAP and I aim not to rise above 7.5 mmol/L and succeed most days.

I also pre-bolus. By how much depends on the food, if it's something slow-digesting like salad and oatcakes then I'll inject 10-15 min beforehand, if it's something more "spikeful" like white bread or potato then it might be as much as 40 mins in advance depending on what level my sugars are at to begin with.
 
I'm working out my pre boluses. 8-10 min for lunch and dinner but BF is still work in progress. How do you bolus 40 min without going down first? So far I'm at 15 min BF but there are no carbs and little protein. Either some avocado slices or a small lettuce wrap with a small piece of deli turkey and mayo and mustard. I still spike around 2-3 hours. If I do go down first the spike is worse. Help lol
 
In the morning, if I'm above 5 it can take 40 mins for my body to even notice the insulin. I usually wake up at 6:20, bolus for breakfast, snooze till 6:40, get dressed and then have breakfast at 7:00. If it's above 7 mmol/L it can be even longer before breakfast!

I'd say my average per bolus time works out at around 20 mins but sometimes this is too long and I end up having a single glucose tablet before my meal and sometimes it's not long enough and I sit watching my Libre screen "waiting for the bend" eating the carb free bits if my food first.

It's not an exact science by any stretch, you need lots of trial and error and having a cgm of some description is a HUGE help
 
Also, if your breakfast has no carbs, maybe you should be looking to bolus after the food rather than before. If you spike 2-3 hours after breakfast you may need to split your breakfast bolus so you have half with breakfast and the other half 90 minutes later or something.... the hardest thing is everyone is different and most people have their own variables too so what works for me one day might not work the next.
 
I tested today at 15 min then 10 more and I just started coming down so in eating. I will test every half hour to see if and when I go up.
I do occasionally have to bolus again at around 2 hours. I'm just trying to avoid those extra sticks.

If I miss the spike I won't come back down so bolusing after doesn't work. All food raises me, fat or not.

Work in progress. Thanks for the help
I did read strike the spike which is what I'm working on now. Lunch and dinner are fine, it's this darn BF thing. Always has been and everyday is different with The same food. Hello diabetes!!!!
 
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