Diabetic Nurse

I think you should test whenever you feel it will be pertinent or reassuring, and ignore any advice in this regard given by someone who probably doesn’t have diabetes

If you want to manage something that fluctuates throughout the day, then you have to measure it throughout the day.

Hi @ardvark

I have just seen your other thread, the one where you say you have been taken off Gliclazide
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/am-i-getting-better.162168/
and told to test less.

Gliclazide is a strong medication that can induce hypos. So people taking it should be supplied with sufficient test strips to use as often as necessary to monitor for hypos. They should also test before driving (at whatever time of day), to ensure their blood glucose is at a safe level.

Since you have been taken off Glic, I suspect that your surgery intends to phase out the test strip prescription to save money. Actually, I am surprised that you have been left any at all, and you may well find that your next prescription request comes back refused. Unfortunately, this is more the result of the NHS saving money, than giving you to tools to manage your diabetes well.

Many type 2 diabetics on the forum choose to self fund their testing equipment, so that they can monitor blood glucose through the day, and tailor their food choices in the best interests of their long term health. If you want to do this, there are a couple of meters that you can buy 50 test strips for less than the price of a prescription charge (I am thinking of the Codefree, and the Tee 2), which you may wish to look into.

As I understand it, you are just 2 months or so from diagnosis, and are attempting to change your dietary habits to suit both a heart condition and type 2 diabetes. In view of that, I would suggest that this is a time when testing multiple times a day would be most important to you, as you establish a new pattern of eating, and check its effects on your blood glucose.

Hope that helps.

ardvark said:

Now I have had my blood test results and what I'm doing seems to be working atm I want to start experimenting as far as food is concerned.
My blood check first thing in the morning is'nt a problem.
My blood check last thing at night shows it between 6.2 and 11 depending what I had for my tea.
My experiments would be to try and get the upper level down to a more exeptable one.
Boring as it may sound I tend to eat the same things during the week.
Tweeking these might help drop the upper level.

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What are your blood checks before and after eating (2 hours after first bite)

ardvark said:

Boring as it may sound I tend to eat the same things during the week.
Tweeking these might help drop the upper level.

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If you give us some examples of those meals we might be able to offer some advice..

ardvark said:

Every week my better half makes me a large trifle.
I have a portion every night after my tea.( Mon to Fri)
I know members will be pulling there hair out over this but she has added NO sugar to ANY of the stages.
Over the next week I'll be doing without any pudding after my tea to see what effect it has on my readings.
I'll be posting my findings after my experiment.

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I suspect a difference will be found. Jelly will usually have sugar already in it, sponge fingers and fruit will contain carbs, as will custard powder and sprinkles. There may be no/low sugar versions available but they’ll still have carbs. I guess a keto/low carb version could be possible if you did it all from scratch not a packet.

What are the higher scoring meals? Maybe we can help tweek them

I’ve never actually stopped to think about it, but I would imagine that any kind of trifle is a massive carbohydrate bomb, irrespective of whether or not it has ‘added’ sugar. Happy to be corrected though...there’s some pretty cunning low-carb recipes available for most things

ardvark said:

Ok here are the results of me experiment.
With trifle over 7 days my evening readings were:-
9.9, 8.2, 8.0, 7.7, 9.5, 10.2, 10.2. Av = 7.8
Without trifle over 7 days:-
8.8, 8.6, 10.2, 9.5, 10.2, 6.5, 8.5. Av = 8.9
Now that did'nt work did it?
I had about the same meals over both lots of 7 days
Back to the drawing board I think.

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As already asked, if you tell us what you eat apart from the trifle that would help us to help you.

For example, if you eat chips with every meal, a portion of trifle more or less isn't going to make much difference.

ardvark said:

Ok here are the results of me experiment.
With trifle over 7 days my evening readings were:-
9.9, 8.2, 8.0, 7.7, 9.5, 10.2, 10.2. Av = 7.8
Without trifle over 7 days:-
8.8, 8.6, 10.2, 9.5, 10.2, 6.5, 8.5. Av = 8.9
Now that did'nt work did it?
I had about the same meals over both lots of 7 days
Back to the drawing board I think.

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It depends on what else you ate at those meal times... you have the trifle data, but have excluded everything else.

Sorry but I make your first average 9.1 not 7.8. If those are your numbers going to bed what do you think they are like about 90 mins after eating? BTW when I was just starting I would walkup and down the stairs 15 times when my evening numbers were like this. It works wonders to bring them down. Give it a go.

ardvark said:

Ok here are the results of me experiment.
With trifle over 7 days my evening readings were:-
9.9, 8.2, 8.0, 7.7, 9.5, 10.2, 10.2. Av = 7.8
Without trifle over 7 days:-
8.8, 8.6, 10.2, 9.5, 10.2, 6.5, 8.5. Av = 8.9
Now that did'nt work did it?
I had about the same meals over both lots of 7 days
Back to the drawing board I think.

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I think you need to be more systematic.

Test just before you eat, then 2 hours later. Record what you ate, including portion sizes.
You are looking for meals that don’t raise your blood glucose more than 2mmol/l at the 2 hr mark.
If the food raised you more than 2, then try smaller portions of carbs and larger portions of veg. Or swap out the carbs completely. Or exercise as @andcol suggests.

Compare identical meals, one with trifle, one without.

Of the readings you listed, only 4 are with NHS guidelines for acceptable levels 120mins after eating.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/controlling-type2-diabetes.html
Personally, I would aim lower, since the NHS believes T2 to be progressive, and its targets are so high that damage from high blood glucose continues and that progression is kind of inevitable.

ardvark said:

Sorry MY mistake. The first average is 9.1 as pointed out by andcol.
As I said on my correction. I'm disapointed by the result.
As for what I've eaten during the experiment.
It was roughly the same for both weeks.
The experiment was to see what differance there was between having and not having trifle.
0.2 is not a lot is it?

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As has been said meals with loads of carbs followed by yet more carbs can be hard to work out which individual items are the worst culprits.

It really will make all the difference if you could just list what these typical meals are. Your numbers are not ideal and could do with lowering. We can’t help if we don’t know what those meals are.

ardvark said:

Sorry MY mistake. The first average is 9.1 as pointed out by andcol.
As I said on my correction. I'm disapointed by the result.
As for what I've eaten during the experiment.
It was roughly the same for both weeks.
The experiment was to see what differance there was between having and not having trifle.
0.2 is not a lot is it?

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Is there a specific reason why you won't tell us what you eat?
If you are embarrassed then don't be.
We are here to help, not to judge.