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cannot get my sugars below 12!!!!

R

roxie1964

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4
Hello i wonder if any of you lovely people can advise me please. I cannot get my sugar below 12, also i keep taking Hypers, some of them can be really bad, shaking, blurry eyes,being narky, agitated.
My GP thinks its because of the pain i am in just now, but this has been going on for at least a year and a half,
am presently on metformin 500mg, gabapentin 3600mg, asprin 75mg, Bisoprolol 2.5 mg, am on artovastatin 40mgs, elleste solo 2mg

I really dont eat very much, i work shifts, was told by a dietician that i should eat more! I only get 30 mins for my lunch/dinner break, and sometimes you just dont feel like eating a lot!
am presently off work with cervical spondylosis,also they think i have peripheral neuropathy, so am not in a good place just now.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks so much Roxie x
 
Hi Roxie sorry to hear about this. I'm not an expert but I have personally found that pain can really increase my blood glucose readings. I've had it explained to me and I can't remember but it's something to do with the release of adrenaline in the body. I've been diabetic for 20 years and also have osteoarthritis and find on days the pain is bad that my blood levels shoot up. Also I guess to do with not being as active! Could you talk to your doctor about pain medication? It sounds like your pain levels aren't being adequately managed. Hope this helps a little and take care.


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Can only say what works for me but when I first started and was very unfit a brisk walk was the thing that brought down my level. Now I am a lot fitter and spend time on an exercise bike - still walk in the park though.
I suspect that doing the exercise without stress also helps - rushing from one place to another doesn't seem as good.

Lack of sleep seems to have sent it up too - getting up early after a late night to meet someone.

Other than that being careful with the diet is good - I started by cutting out carbs almost completely but have now discovered that adding a potato actually sent the readings down. Need more testing to find if that is normal for me though.
At the beginning I ate very little which did get the level down a bit but now I eat regularly it has come down more.

Best of luck and keep trying.
 
There is absolutely no argument, you should be on insulin. No amount of pills is going to get your sugars down, nor is excercise. You need to see a diabetes clinician -YESTERDAY.
Failure to do so and you will have serious problems, loss of vision,- permanantly, limb amputation, or how about death!
Does that bang it home enough!
If your doctor refuses to get you on a program then go to the ED. You are a ticking time bomb.
What is your weight, do you smoke, are you invalidated in any way.
BS over about 8 -9 for long periods is serious health issues.
 
Following my diagnosis in 2003 and sticking rigidly to the diet approved by the dietician, I spent 5 years unable to reduce my levels below 11. With the help of this forum and some very kind contributors, I changed to a low carb diet. Since when my levels have remained below 6.

My daily average for carbs is 50 grams.

You might take a trip around the low carb area of the site and see if it is for you.

Good luck.

Steve
 
Hi, Firstly dont worry about your blood sugars and dont listen to rinfrance! You dont necessarily have to go onto insulin. May I ask a question of you? Are you overweight at all? If you are, even slightly then your problem is not only the pain you're in but you could also be insulin resistant. you say you're on Gabapentin, this is normally given to people with Fibromyalgia or Neuropathy and this can also have a factor in controlling your blood sugars. The advice would be to eat a low carbohydrate high protein diet. You dont have much time to eat when you work shifts but could you take say a mixed salad with chicken(no skin) or other protein like cheese/eggs in to eat in your break time? Things that are also good to stabalise and reduce your BG levels are slow release carbs such as beans/peas and lentils, houmous(ground chickpeas) or nuts like peanuts for example. Try not to get them with a coating on because it's normally made from flour, which is a carb. I've been a Diabetic for 25years and have always suffered from high BG levels, however 7 weeks ago I suffered a stroke and this was down to numerous things but Diabetes was a contributing factor. I've been on insulin for much of that time so insulin isnt always the answer which is why I said ignore rinfrance's advice! I would however ask to see the Diabetic Specialist Nurses if your hospital have them. You dont need to see a specialist doctor, these nurses are great and know as much about the condition as my specialist doctor so ask your GP for an URGENT referral to them. They will help and so will I if you post again I will help as much as I can. In the 7 weeks since the stroke I have lost 9kgs! Not bad really but I found that I was eating too much bread and not enough protein, i'm also a vegetarian so protein can be hard to come by if you dont eat the alternatives that are out there. I'll be here everyday if you want topost again with any other questions or want advice. I'll do what I can to assist you o and by the way, anxiety/depression etc can also be a factor in BG levels so try a calming tea such a camomile or try a health food shop for some advice if you feel that worried about your levels. The more you worry the worst it can make the levels! Good luck
 
Hi.

If you're off work, I'm guessing you're not as active. This will keep your sugars up. Try and do as much activity as you can.

Also, Drink at least 2 litres or 8 glasses of water or no added sugar cordial etc, throughout the day. This will also help with your sugars.

You must eat. Food is medication! Don't eat 3 squares a day but try eating little and often throughout the day. Avoid carb loading as it will make you feel ****. Lots over fruit and protein like meat or eggs. you need some carbs but don't over do it.

Alcohol lowers your sugars but don't over do that either as it could lower it too much in combination with your meds. Have a couple of shorts with a diet soda each night.

Cinnamon is good for sugar levels too. I cook a lot with it. Even in omelettes etc or anything you'd normally season with a bit if salt and pepper. Add a bit of cinnamon too!

Hope this helps. Some of it isn't what the doctor will condone, but it works for me!

Gaz :-)
 
P.s. Rinfrance. You can't go scaring people like that, especially when you know so little about them. Diabetes is different for everyone! Not so much of the doom and gloom eh! :-)
 
Hi - cut down on your carbs. Get the carbs and cals book from Amazon and it makes it easy - also ask about a course in your area and you can counteract any carbs you have with the correct amount of insulin, keep the level down and be a real person and have a treat if you like because you will know what to do to cover that treat. I have a max of 40g a day - keeps the weight down too.
 
Do you think emotional stress may be a factor? Try to take care of yourself ok?

Apart from the diet stuff, perhaps meditation, breathing exercises or gentle yoga if you can spare a minute and physically manage it with your condition- might help keep those cortisol levels down.. Sorry I can't help more..


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Pain definitely raises sugar levels as I know from experience :-( It would be worth asking for a meds review to see if different pain relief would help. Look on the bright side if I was getting 12 regularly I would be dancing with joy ;-)
 
Hi there, first of all thankyou all for all of your replies, presently am not doing good, hoping my sugars will come down soon, am presently trying to get myself out of a hyper.
My sugar is at 19.6. I just feel as if i am going mad!!! Does anyone else feel like that?
 
Roxie, it's OK to feel like this, honestly it is. I suffer from Fibromyalgia and I'm currently in a flare stage. I should be taking Gabapentin or Pregabalin but I cant tolerate them and so have no pain relief at all! My BGlevels have gone up purely because of my body's reaction to the pain. My last test showed 16.9 but it's OK because I know the cause. Did you read my last post? It will help you understand what's going on with you at the moment. No matter what we do, if we suffer pain our bodies react by suppressing insulin and raising BG levels. All we can do and what I'm doing at the moment is to slowly increase my insulin, esp the long or base one, it provides my body with insulin over the whole of the 24 hr period, I take it 3 times a day to ensure a fairly high baseline. I'm also slowly increasing my short insulin too but it has to be done gradually and left for a couple of days before I increase again. Too much and I'll have a hypo which is just as bad! Try to do this yourself, just 2 units on each dose for 1 day and see how you get on. I'll be back tomorrow to see how you are. Take care and you know the more you worry the worse it gets believe me x
 
Hi I can't speak from experience because I am type 1, but I just want to say that if you do have to take insulin it's not the end of the world. I've been doing so for about 40 years.

I have a friend who is certainly not obese and possibly not even overweight who is type 2 who takes insulin twice daily and gets good control. Rinfrance did overreact, but is right in that you do need to make sure that the issue is addressed. I'm very lucky in that I'm looked after not only a great diabetes nurse at my doctor's practice, but also the excellent diabetes centre at the hospital in Exeter. If there is a hospital near you with a specialist diabetes team then you might well try contacting them with a view to coming under their care. I do hope that even as I write your situation is being addressed.
 
Roxie

You are on a minimum of medication for diabetes. Your dosage of metformin is the lowest and may not giving you sufficient insulin sensitivity. An increase in metformin with, perhaps another drug such as gliclazide or perhaps one of the newer drugs such as exenatide or dapagliflozin might help.

I agree with others that you are probably not ready for insulin.

Take care

Doug
 
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