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Blood Glucose lower 2 hours after eating.

bluecurlylegend

Well-Known Member
Can anybody explain this for me. For a few months now I've noticed a peculiar trend. I test just before eating and 2 hours after but now my 2 hours after figure is either the same or lower.

e.g. 6.1mmol/L before eating and 5.5mmol/L 2 hours later.

It used to be the other way round ?

My diet has not changed, still max of 20gm Carbs with sufficient protein and filling up with fat.
The other thing I've noticed is that after dropping 25 kilos 3 years ago and stabilising at 85kilos I've gained another 2 kilos almost overnight and this happened at the same time as my unusual blood glucose readings.

Any thoughts ?
 
Don't know about the weight gain, but with your rather large weight loss and diet, you'll have improved insulin sensitivity... That would explain why you respond better to the same foods. Your diet didn't change, your body did. That's my guess, anyway.
 
bluecurlylegend said:
I test just before eating and 2 hours after but now my 2 hours after figure is either the same or lower.
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Have you tried also testing 2.5 and or 3 hours after eating, or even later? I often see a very delayed rise. I think that in my case it is due to gastroparesis (delayed stomach emptying - said to be a quite common result of a period of raised bgs). The rise can also be slower in the case of a very large or fatty meal.
 
No, I haven't tried that, but for curiosity I will...
 
copilost said:
is this your usual normal before eating or has this changed, not entirely clear from your post. ie were you previously at 5.5mmol/L fasting and have gone up to 6.1 mmol/L?
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I agree, the post could be clearer ! For the last couple of years my waking BG level averages out at 6.3 mmol/L going from probably the lowest at 5.3mmol/L to the highest at 7.1mmol/L
I'll test again before my evening meal ( I don't always do lunch...) and on average my BG is usually about 5.8 to 6.2 mmol/L . After eating my BG was usually about 0.5mmolL higher, sometimes a bit higher depending on what I'd eaten. But for the last three months my before and after readings average out at 6.0 mmol/L and for the last month 5.9 before and 5.8 after.
Is this a good thing or should I be concerned ?
 
If yo're seeing such minor differences,it might be just be slight variations in meter accuracy. But it's often an indication that you're simply getting the correct balance of (low) carbs in those particular meals, I generally see similar or often lower levels after eating - unless I'm eating a more carby meal in which case I will get a post prandial rise. My preference is to see as little change as possible between pre and post meal figures - there's no "law" which says the latter must be higher! Combinations of highish carbs plus fats sometimes result in a slower/delayed rise, so I agree it's worth checking if this is what you ate. (And if you can afford to, use a Liibre sensor for a while, and you'll be able to see exactly how carbs and fats in various combinations affect your glucose levels over time.)

However, if you ever see much larger dips, then it may be worth having a look at the information in our Reactive Hypoglycemia section of the forum. @Lamont D, @Brunneria
 
Which meals are you seeing dips after? Is it breakfast, but not evening meal?

I have, for years, seen higher levels before breakfast than after - provided my brekkie has no carbs.

my assumption is simply that my fasting bg was raised due to dawn phenomenon and the meal allows my bg to revert to where it should be without the dawn phenomenon mucking it up.

another possibility for slight raised pre meal bgs is hunger > a slight liver dump

hope that helps
 
bluecurlylegend said:
6.1mmol/L before eating and 5.5mmol/L 2 hours later
Click to expand...

With an accuracy of +/- 15% if your meter gives a reading of 6 for example the actual glucose levels can be anywhere between 5.1 and 7.6 with such a small difference of 0.6 it's entirely possible that your second reading was in fact higher than the first. The meters are just not accurate enough to draw any meaningful conclusions from reading's as close as these.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/blood-glucose-meters/blood-glucose-meter-accuracy.html
 
That's quite reassuring. Unfortunately there's not much chance of me getting a Libre Sensor, I'm what you would refer to as a "Decayed Gentleman" I do intend to follow Alexandra's advice and do additional checks. I'll post my findings....
 
Breakfast is nearly always just coffee with 20gms of butter and 20gms of coconut oil, nothing else until dinner usually around 17.30. Very occasionally I'll take a bit of cheese or a bit of pate for lunch, but not often. So my testing regime is first thing on waking, then just before I have my evening meal, and finally 2 hours after that.
I'm aware of the dawn phenomenon and thought that as my breakfast was purely fat it wasn't worth while testing 2 hours later. For curiosity, I'll maybe try that....
 
I use an SD Codefree meter and I'm aware of the tolerances. So it wasn't until I noticed an actual trend in my readings that I started to wonder ? Before my escape I was used to taking precise measurements and readings on a daily basis and now being in my fourth year of measuring my Blood Glucose I usually have a fair idea what to expect. If I get a reading that's somewhat out of step I'll do two more as a double and triple check.
I think there's a word for people like me...... ?
 


It's often the same for me.
 
bluecurlylegend said:
That's quite reassuring. Unfortunately there's not much chance of me getting a Libre Sensor, I'm what you would refer to as a "Decayed Gentleman" I do intend to follow Alexandra's advice and do additional checks. I'll post my findings....
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I do look forward to seeing how you get on. Are you aware that a Libre sensor can be used with an app on a compatible smartphone or tablet, so no need to buy a Reader? (You can experiment by trying to download the app.) I believe a sensor lasts about 3+ weeks and costs around £50. Others will have more up to date information. Just 3 weeks tracking 24 hour blood sugars can be most informative. Should you decide to invest in a sensor, do shop around. Prices vary widely. Good luck!
 
bluecurlylegend said:
If I get a reading that's somewhat out of step I'll do two more as a double and triple check.
Click to expand...
Me too! I also sometimes cross check between my Navii (newish version of Codefree) and my TEE2. I have seen wild variations, crashing in seconds from 4.8 (unusually good for me) to 6.2 (unusually bad) which at least have given me a healthy scepticism about most bg testing. There is also a mismatch between what I see on my meters and my A1c numbers.

According to Dr Bernstein, the only reliable meter and strip tests are from Abbott, but they are too expensive for me to use regularly. Since I alreaady have an Abbott Reader I am considering ordering a batch as a one off to check against my other meters.

NB Dr B says all CGMs are less accurate than strips. He considers that it is vital to continue to test with strips even when wearing a CGM. However, I think everyone is agreeed that seeeing trends is valuable, as is all testing, however regrettable the inaccuracies.
 
Well that's interesting ! £50 ? I wonder how much I could get for a kidney ? Not mine of course ....
Actually that does make sense, I will pursue it.... not right now , but I will.
 
When my current batch of strips run out I'm going to get a new version of the Codefree. We got a pair of them a few years ago but my wife just gave up on hers. She didn't have any problems with her blood Glucose levels. So I occasionally double check using her meter and so far, the results have always been very close.
My A1c which is done at our local laboratoire is always 0.7 lower than my Codefree tests done immediately before and after my armful of blood is sucked out. And has been for the past three years.
 
bluecurlylegend said:
When my current batch of strips run out I'm going to get a new version of the Codefree
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Here is an offer I got from Home Health:

"We have a special promotion for switching Codefree customers to the GlucoNavii, whereby if you buy a meter with 2 or more packs of strips from the below link and add the discount code "dcuk" at checkout, we will subtract the price of the meter.

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-produ...ose-meter-test-strips-choose-mmol-l-or-mg-dl/

There are also discount codes for when you come to buy more strips - "navii5" and "navii10" will give you 20% off purchases of 5 packs of strips and 25% off 10 packs of strips respectively (these are printed on a business card supplied with the meter like with the Codefree).

Please note that the 20% discount off 5 packs of strips has already been applied to the meter plus 5 strips price if you buy from the above link."

This was on 16th April but I think it very probable they would extend the offer to you if you contacted them. I have found the Navii very similar to the Codefree, except that its readings tend to be a bit lower, though not consistently.
 
bluecurlylegend said:
For the last couple of years my waking BG level averages out at 6.3 mmol/L going from probably the lowest at 5.3mmol/L to the highest at 7.1mmol/L
Click to expand...
As you probably know, one of the 3 WHO criteria for a diagnosis of pre-diabetes is a fasting bg of 5.6 or higher. Since you already eating an impeccably low carb diet, I'm wondering if you could lower your fasting bg simply by shifting the bulk of your eating to earlier in the day. If you want to, of course.
 
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