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Concerns over high sugar level after lunch.

Hi everyone. Just a couple of questions I forgot to ask last night and some details about todays BG.
Novorapid 10u Levemir 5u
Before Breakfast (9AM)
6.2
2 hours after Breakfast (11AM)
8.8 (I had a small bowl of Bitesize Shredded Wheat)
Ive been in town and felt my BG level rapidly decrease (12PM) so I had a small mars bar
Just got home (12:40PM)
6.4


As I said previously, my sugar level does drop around 12ish which is too early for lunch so what would be the ideal snack to keep me going for around another 1h?

Now going to have 3 scrambled eggs, cheese and <del>one round of wholemeal bread</del> - had 2 crackers instead. Also had a few small dollops of ketchup.

Novorapid 4u
Taken 20 minutes after lunch
Sugar Level at 2.15PM
3.4

May be if i am going to be cutting out the bread over lunchtime I wont actually require any insulin at lunch. I guess one biscuit is a good way to get my 3.4 up to a good level.

Two maryland cookies and 25 minutes later
2:40PM - 3.1 BG

Small Mars bar and 1h20 Later
7.2
40m later
7.0
6PM
5.5
Novorapid 7u Levemir 3u

Had turkey with stir fry and half a pack of uncle bens pilau rice
7:40PM
9.5
8:55PM
5.6
10:15PM - Had small portion of pre chopped cantaloupe melon
4.9
11:05PM - Had 4 red grapes (I wasnt feeling crazy enough for a 5th!)
4.7
11:55PM - Still dipping so ive just had 1 maryland cookie.
4.4
 
Hi everyone.

Wanted to post this question separately to bump the thread. Hope thats ok.

Had some great results today (i.e, no doubt figures) which mostly came from not having a lot of carbohydrates at lunch time. There are clearly some changes needed although id be very appreciately if someone could comment on my eating and BG levels today.

I tend to lean towards lucozade and mars bars if I have a hypo. Is that the best method? Sometimes I find that I eat too much and reverse a hypo into a hyper.

My 9.5 level about 1.5h after dinner - is that good/acceptable?

I could feel my sugar level dipping when I tested it later at 4.4 (also the results confirm this) so is a choc chip cookie an advisable snack to counteract this at night?

If, for example, my BG was a steady 4.4 before bed time would you recommend I eat something? What would that be?

Shaun
 
Hi Sean, delighted to hear that you're making progress already.

Lucozade and Mars Bars will certainly get your BG levels up pretty fast, Lucozade fatest. My trouble with those things is that it's very difficult to accurately control the quantity taken and a rebound hyper can often result.

My tip for hypo fuel is Dextrosol tablets. They taste fine, but not the sort of thing you'll be too tempted to sneak a couple while no-one looking. They'll raise your BG by a precise amount e.g just under 1mmol/l for me. Therefore you can get back to a normal BG in seconds, without going too far the wrong way.

Oddly enough, I was 4.4 before bed last night too! I had a chunck of stilton with my Rioja, and this morning it was still 4.4.

All the best,

fergus
 
Thanks Fergus.

Any thoughts on my 9.5 level after dinner? Is that fine? Considering it dipped within the following hours I guess theres not a lot I can do there?

Annoyingly I am down to my last testing strip. Going to see if I can pursued the chemist to give me an advance, although not likely.
 
Hi Sean,

9.5 after dinner is a bit too high for comfort I'm afraid. If you could try and limit your peak BG after dinner to somewhere in the 7mmol/l range, that would be better. There's a reasonable consensus that 7.8mmol/l is the safe upper limit, although some of us try to stay well below that.
My guess is the peak would be down to the rice.

All the best,

fergus
 
Thanks Fergus. Ill take that into account. If I was to repeat that exact same meal again would a higher dose of novorapid be advised? And may be less levemir considering how low my sugar was in the evening?
 
Shaun

If you hit the low fours and you think it will keep dropping, I would keep an eye on it and time it to see if you need to treat it as a hypo. IE i can test before dinner injection, its 4.4 but I know that I can sit steady until dinner time, or i will have some nuts of a slice of meat just to increase it a wee bit but not too much before dinner.

If this is the case, just have half slice toast, bit oatcake etc.

As for treatments, the 150ml cans of coke are good to have about (mixer size you get on planes) and half can of this will bring me up. I used to eat 3 dextro tabs but was overtreating so will usually only have 1 and then test again, I hate overtreating nearly as much as the hypos themselves

The rule is apparently 15g fast carbs, 15 min wait to test, 15g slower carbs
Sometimes depending on number I will just eat a tiny bit of fast carbs, then have something to eat right away, Dont always wait 15mins either (only 5 months dx, still get worried a bit!) so tend to test bout 5 mins later

Still, you seem to be really doing well already, Onwards and upwards!

x
 
If I was to repeat that exact same meal again would a higher dose of novorapid be advised?
Click to expand...

Personally, I'd suggest trying to avoid the rice and, instead, having more turkey and stir fry veg. I think if you tried that you would find you would need less Novorapid and have a much more stable blood glucose.

All the best,

fergus
 
Thanks lilibet and fergus. Good advice again, ta.

Had bran flakes for breakfast and then prawn cocktail w/salad for lunch (lite dressing and not much of it).

Had to have 2 biscuits (am out of dextro tablets atm) as my level was 2.6 before lunch. After lunch had a level of 5.4 and an hour later, 4.6 (3pm).

Clearly not ideal yet, but so much better than the double figures I had after lunchtime every day last week and for a few months prior.

Didnt have an inject for lunch either. Novorapid 10u Levemir 3u before breakfast. Will keep a close eye on this throughout the week and adjust accordingly.

Completely lost as to why they dont stress how damaging carbohydrates are at the clinic.
Although I do blame myself too, Ive been on a diet before and lost 3 stone and im certainly not unhealthy although I knowingly let myself slip up. But I do wish that instead of telling me my HBa1c levels of 7.X were perfect and that my control of diabetes was some of the best they have seen they would have instead told me the truth and I then wouldnt have been so laid back on what I was eating.

Once again, thanks. Means a lot.

Shaun
 
Very interested in the responses, as I'm a newbie T2. Low carb/hi carb is very confusing for me too.

I started at 17.9 (fasting) 4 weeks ago, and with 2x 500mg of Metformin, drastic cutting of sugar (and most carbs) have cut this to around 9. Not good enough I hear you say! So I'm seeing the Doc next week with the prospect of more meds.

But, as you do, I also peak after almost all meals. When your average is around 8, being up an average of 4 at the 2hr mark, is really scary.

But the advice is very varied. One friend says she gets great BG control on a low GI (but fairly high carb) diet. Another friend says low carb is the way to go! I even got told off by the Diabetic Nurse for not eating enough carbs. Although, to be fair, I was eating very, very little.

So far the only thing that makes the level go down a lot is water and exercise. I don't think I could just live on just these though.
 
You're at the level where you are probably still suffering from "glucose toxicity" - the high BG in itself is tending to keep your BG high and probably your insulin resistance too.

More meds on a temporary basis to break you out of this may well be a good plan. Once your BG gets into a normal range and your body resets its thermostat it becomes easier to keep it there and you may be able to reduce or eliminate some of the meds again.

Long term plan

http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/NewlyDiagnosed.htm

this will help you discover what you need to eliminate and what you can eat more of, and how your responses vary thoughout the day

Metformin can be taken up (gradually) to 2500 mg so you have a way to go with that. Growing and using muscle is a good plan to reduce insulin resistance and works synergystically with the met.
 
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