Hi, I have been diagnosed diabetic for a few months now, I am currently taking Gliclazide once a day every morning, I am trying to watch what I eat and eliminating as much carbs as I can. I am eating more protein and fat and hardly snacking unless it’s some sort fruit such as apples. I am struggling to get my blood sugars down, I check every morning and can’t seem to get it down to ideal 4-7 it should be. Currently it fluctuates between 10-12. Odd occasions throughout the day it goes down to 7 or 8. Is there anything more I can do to help get it lowered. I currently do some form of exercise every other day.
Can’t seem to lower my blood sugar
- Thread starter Sharonp89
- Start Date
Yesterday I had 1 piece of whole meal toast
Lunch was 2 boiled eggs with salad
Dinner was chicken wraps (seeded whole meal wrap) with onions sweet corn peppers and mushrooms. I had 1 Apple and a pear and I drink only water through out the day, with 1 cup of tea in the mornings
Lunch was 2 boiled eggs with salad
Dinner was chicken wraps (seeded whole meal wrap) with onions sweet corn peppers and mushrooms. I had 1 Apple and a pear and I drink only water through out the day, with 1 cup of tea in the mornings
HSSS
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I don’t eat any bread, or wraps of any kind. For some onions and sweet corn are a cause of spikes. Fruit is generally not great for type 2. As well as the carbs the fructose contributes to our insulin resistance. Berries are the safest. However I am very low carb and not on glicazide. It sounds like you need to reduce carbs further and increase fats to fill you up instead. But watch your meter very closely to avoid going too low and hypos. If you’re having to dodge hypos then consider asking for a lower dose of glic rather than increase carbs
JoKalsbeek
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Toast, wraps, onions, sweet corn, apple and pear.... I am not surprised your numbers are high in spite of the gliclazide. Practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested, doesn't matter whether they're wholemeal or "healthy" fruits. Sorry.
https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html might help
Toast, wraps, onions, sweet corn, apple and pear.... I am not surprised your numbers are high in spite of the gliclazide. Practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested, doesn't matter whether they're wholemeal or "healthy" fruits. Sorry.
Could you possible give me a idea of what would be a good healthy day for me? I don’t eat pork or beef and have to be veggie on a Sunday and Tuesday so I struggle more on those days.
Hi. Can you let us know whether you have excess weight or are slim? If slim it is always possible you could be a T1 and not T2. Your diet isn't too bad although you could reduce the carbs a bit further. It may be worth asking the GP to move your Gliclazide dose up a bit (320mg/day is the limit which I was on for a while). Testing in the morning isn't the best time due to the overnight liver dump. Better to test 2 hours after a typical meal.
JoKalsbeek
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Eggs with cheese, full fat greek yoghurt with a couple of berries (not massive amounts, no more than a handful), a salad with maybe warmed goat's cheese (to bulk it up and make it more filling), above ground, non-starchy vegetables like spinach, cauliflower rice, broccoli and the like. Maybe vegetarian meat replacements, if not too high in carbs? Tofu etc? If poultry is okay on most days, then chicken with the skin on is excellent (no batter though!).
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto/recipes/vegetarian has a lot more recipes that would possibly be suitable to your needs.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto/recipes/vegetarian has a lot more recipes that would possibly be suitable to your needs.
Hi I am not overly overweight but I do have some excess weight, so I am working out more often then I normally would have, from this week I’ll be working out everyday to help lower my blood sugars. Think I should consider cutting out more carbs as suggested. The GP advised me to test in the mornings so maybe 2 hours after breakfast would be better then straight away?
I do love abit of chicken, tuna, fish and eggs I can easily eat. I find it hard giving up the carbs I think that’s where my probably lies. I could have quorum on my veggie days as that’s what I’ll be having today for dinner quote pieces in a salad. I guess I’ve just got to keep trying to see what works for me. Thank you for your help! Also when is the best time to test sugars as I’ve read not to do it in the mornings as I have been doing.
HSSS
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Ideally a full pattern would be
on waking for a fasting reading (though typically the last one to come under control so expect that)
Before and 2 hrs after all meals (This teaches you what different foods do to you)
On going to bed.
right now I’d focus on the meals. It’s not forever. It can get less frequent once you’re sure what particularly meals do. If strips are very limited personally I’d work out one meal at a time get some good options then try the next meal. But the overall picture will take longer doing it this way.
I can frequently order strips when needed from my GP so strips shouldn’t be a issue. Okay will try this from today and see how I go. Will make a new diary of my bloods and what I have eaten to see what works and doesn’t, hopefully this and daily exercise should help bring it down. Thank you so much for your help. During this pandemic I find it even harder to control though I am staying away from sugary treats and snacks.
@Sharonp89, just as a additional comment, if you're in the UK and drive you should also be testing before you drive, although you don't have to notify the DVLA unless you have hypo's that you can't control (Obviously not a problem atm) the usual advise given by DN's is don't drive below 5 (mmol) I'm not sure why, as non diabetics could be far lower than that and not have a clue
Yes, was told this by my GP but wasn’t told about not driving below 5 so thank you for letting me know!
Resurgam
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Vegetarians have more problems with controlling their intake of carbs, as meat fish eggs and cheese are the basic low carb foods which we can eat freely. When I eliminated the high carb foods my numbers dropped down to normal very quickly and have stayed there.
Hi Sharon! I was diagnosed with Type 2 about 16 years ago. I understand your concern. When I was first diagnosed, even after talking with nutrition educators on more than two occasions, I was still confused on what I could safely eat. Over the years, I have learned that, for me, I have to eat practically zero carbs (which is almost impossible). I started taking insulin last year, and I have an insulin pump shipping to me right now. With insulin, I have now been able to eat a low carb diet and keep my sugars under control much much better than with all the other oral medications I've used over the years. I agree wholeheartedly with what some other commenters have stated. Carbs are carbs. It does not matter if you eat them as candy, refined white bread, or something commonly known as healthy, like apples, pears, and whole wheat bread. To your body... It's carbs and turns into glucose as you digest it. That was very hard to get clear in my head from decades of hearing that sugar and candy is bad, and fruit is good! You will need to learn much more about carbs and glycemic index and how to mix carbs, fat, and protein much more than someone who is not diabetic. Get some good books focused on diabetic nutrition and read... Or just get really good at Google and search for good diabetic eating info. Unfortunately, there is also a ton of quackery out there also by self-styled nutritionists and health-food fanatics that will steer you completely wrong. The ones that are the worst are the non-medical folks who will try to tell you that natural bee honey is good for you as a diabetic... It is NOT! To your body, you might as well be ingesting pure refined cane sugar! I absolutely LOVE honey... LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! But as a type 2 diabetic who has pushed my cells to be completely insulin resistant, honey is practically poison and even the fastest acting insulin cannot overcome my extremely rapid absorption of pure honey. Count carbs in everything, whether you think it is a "healthy" food or not. And get a good glycemic index book or table and memorize your favorite carb containing foods.
JoKalsbeek
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Your questions have already been answered, but just to be completely redundant: Your fasting blood sugars are the last to come down. If you test before a meal and 2 hours after the first bite, and you don't go up more than 2.0 mmol/l, your body could cope with what you put in it. And eventually, those fasting blood sugars will follow suit, but it can take a while. (Don't be surprised if it takes 6 months... So save yourself the strips!). As for having a hard time giving up carbs, well... They are addictive. When you eat them, your body will demand more. And like any addictive substance, if you wean yourself off, the cravings'll go too. Take it from someone who used to put 5 scoops of sugar in her espresso. And then 5 portions of sweetener. I use none now. Just a matter of getting used to it.
Luckily I only have to do 2 days a week of being vegetarian but I can’t eat fish or eggs on those days either. Just trying to see what will work and what won’t work. Just got to keep motivated and to keep at it.
Yes will definitely get reading and looking for what I should and shouldn’t be having. A little bit of research will go a long way.
