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Confused/concerned by my test results

W

welshtony

Well-Known Member
Messages
50
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi all, I wonder if I could have some opinions.

I am a T2 diet and exercise only, diagnosed Aug 2008, was 17st 10 lb on diagnosis, and 5ft 6.

I haven't managed to increase my height, but have manged to drop to about 15 st by this week, by basically dropping all starchy carbs almost completely (bread, rice, pasta), and also sticking to mainly non-processed food items. Oh, and adding 40 mins on a cross trainer 3-5 times a week.

I have been testing myself 2-6 times most days, and now have a reasonable feel for the types of foods that cause me spikes. Unfortunately it seems to include most fruits, which is a bit of a blow. But alcohol doesn't seem to cause me any difficulties, which is a blessing!

But recently I have been reading more about the "normal" fasting and 1hr and 2 hr "good" test results, and also about the impact of exercise. And today's results really puzzle me:

- waking 6.6
- after 40 mins exercise 7.3 (I thought exercise was supposed to drop my BS?)
- 73 mins after breakfast (which was only 60g of low fat yoghourt) 7.8
- 120 mins after yoghout 7.3

The 73 mins one is good (below 8.5, but the others are above the minimums.

My overnight fasting ones are generally in the 6s, with some 5s and some 7s.
Sometimes, pre meal, I can get one in the 4s!
Occasionally I get a 9, and I have usually been able to trace that to a specific food test.

I'd be grateful for any thoughts.
 
Hi Tony,

I found this article which I think answers your question about BS going up after exercise.

Question - When you exercise does that increase your blood sugar levels or decrease them?
---------------------------------------
Great question - and the answer is both, actually. The situation is basically like this . . .

When you exercise, or even think about going to exercise (mentally get ready) your body responds be increasing your blood glucose (sugar) levels. This occurs through so called "glucose-sparing pathways" (gluconeogenesis, glycogensis, etc) that occur in the liver and other tissues in the body (your liver is the main organ that stores and releases glucose).

Okay, so there you are getting ready to work out, or starting to do so, and your body has released all these hormones to cause your liver to increase your blood glucose levels - now what?

Basically, your muscles use glucose as a primary fuel source during exercise - so your blood sugar levels are maintained at a higher level while you are working out until you use up all the stores your liver had available. It is at this point that your body starts burning fats and other fuel sources to keep it going.

That is the cut and dry answer to your question - although really you could sit down and take entire biochemistry courses on carbohydrate metabolism and still not get through it all!!

I hope that helps

Susannah Sample, BSBME
Department of Surgical Sciences
University of Wisconsin, Madison

So it looks like your exercise ended before the glucose had all been used, leaving you with a slightly higher BS than you started with.
 
Thanks, Dennis. That makes sense, and seems to be different to other info I'd found, which concentrated on warnings about keeping glucose topped up when exercising, to avoid going too low!

Sounds like I need to educate my liver more!

I've got my next Hba1c test coming up in a couple of weeks. I'm wondering what it will show as I've had a couple of cortisone injections since the last one, and they seem to have spiked my BS a bit (7.2 this am).
 
Try doing the exercise in the afternoon, you may get different results! My liver used to be on a bit of a hair trigger in the morning and would happily overdump glucose. A friend gets this effect really badly. In the afternoon her BG stays pretty normal whereas mine tended to drop low after the same exercise. Working on the insulin resistance (metformin and growing and using muscle) may improve this over time, as may just keeping your BG down.
 
Thanks, that's probably a good suggestion....but, unfortunately, it won't work for me.

The only way I can motivate myself to exercise is if I do it on autopilot, so I do 40 mins on a cross trainer, immediately after I get up, watching an episode of 24 or someother US series that only lasts that long. Then a shower, breakfast and off to work.

Since I started this routine, I've definitely felt brighter and more alert in the morning, and can last through the day better since I started the lowish carb route.

I tried gyms after work etc, too hit and miss and takes too much time out of the day. And I can find too may other reasons not to want to do that... :roll:
 
I think the issue of exercise has already been covered. However no one has given any comment on test strips. I am reliably informed that ANY reading is actually + or -1 over or below the actual reading your unit displays. So I would keep this in mind when you get a result +1 over what you think you should have. As for fruit - I also love fruit and used to eat at least 8 a day and had varying results. Clearly banannas are a problem (for me) as are any fruit that is not fresh ie hard. If I eat a Comice pear that is soft and ripe my BS levels shoot up, however have a hard pear and there is no problem what so ever. So the watchword here is that a nice firm pair is far better for you! Sorry pear! The same for plumbs etc and have given up on oranges and grapefruit since both send BS levels sky high. Apples are no problem, again if they are hard. Hope this helps you, regards James
 
I forgot to mention your use of low fat yogurts. Just because they are low fat does not mean they are low sugar. I also love yogurt and stick to weight watchers brand or a similar thick Irish one that I cant remember the name of. Get used to reading labels and remember that low fat does not mean low sugar, since manufacturers will compensate with sugar, the loss of fat to keep the taste.
 
Just to be clear, did you eat breakfast after the exercise? If so, I don't recommend that as a good idea at all. You appear to be suffering from mild dawn phenomenon; exercise without breakfast will exacerbate that.

If I have misread it, and you are eating first then exercising, that isn't so bad but it is more puzzling. In that case the problem is high carbs in the yoghurt or a probable liver dump from the exercise.
 
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