Did something stupid and believed on hype - Help for the future would be welcomed?

Prince4

Well-Known Member
Messages
74
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
So I did something stupid and believed my own hype. I Saw a Rheumatlogist yesterday who congratulated me in weight loss and HB1AC reduction and said I should give myself credit and gave me the all clear . So today I stupidly had 2 x Bacon roll, hash brown and a Sugar Doughnut ( all from McDonalds). My Goodness...... My Blood sugar spiked to 16.4% ( all time high since I have been testing) and a headache come on. I live next to a hospital so decided to walk to AE as google says that anything greater than 14 is an emergency? Is this correct? As I was walking my HR raced to the 140's and I started to panic and walk faster.

I then waited for the onsite Diabetes nurse and tested again and it went down to 10 in around 5 minutes of arriving, and felt a bt silly. but I guess that this was due to the intense 10 minute walk. However, It then rose again to around 12,13 and 14.1 about an hour 15 mins later as the food digested. After the 3 mark is started to normalise and now sits at around 4.9% as I am too scared to eat anything.

My Blood sugars have averaged 6.0 the last 6- 8 weeks, and this must have been the first injection of a legitimate fast food and dessert, hence the spike.

It begs the question as to how my body has coped with being averaging 96 HBA1C/ 11 MMOL! I never felt this bad then when I was eating and drinking way more sugar than I do today. Does anyone know why?

Also - aside from Insulin and not eating junk, is there anything I can do in the event of a spike like that. Walking was an interesting and surprising tool....ive heard Vinegar can be good to?

Finally - Does this mean that I will never be able to eat McDonalds ever again?
 
  • Hug
Reactions: Pipp
D

Deleted member 475901

Guest
I've eaten in burger bars, just asked for the burger or bacon without the bun.
(My go-to breakfasts in hotels are bacon, mushrooms and half a tomato, with cream in my coffee. Never a spike from that.)

Doughnuts are a different issue - maybe make some keto doughnuts, store them in the freezer and have one as a reward for resisting temptation?
 

Roggg

Well-Known Member
Messages
282
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
To be honest, I'm slightly confused, and maybe this is a regional difference. I am assuming the blood glucose readings are mmol/l rather than percent? If so, 14 shortly after eating is not an emergency. It is a spike, and if it doesn't come down in the next couple of hours might be alarming.

I've been on and off keto and IF for years. I have found that with long term commitment to low-carb (I'm talking months or years of good discipline) my body regains the capability to manage spike-inducing meals like this reasonably well. But if I indulge regularly, that ability erodes. So for me, I dont see any possibility of having high carb meals even semi-regularly. I have been learning (with mixed success) to find joy in low carb eating instead.

So whether or not you will ever be able to have MacDonalds again depends on how severe your insulin resistance is, how disciplined you are most of the time, and how firm your goals are to control through lifestyle rather than primarily through pharmaceuticals. Good luck.
 

MissMuffett

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,234
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I feel for you as I did the same a few weeks ago! I’d been eating low carb, fasting for about 18 hours (6pm to 12 noon the next day). BG slowly coming down, then I had to nip to the supermarket and I was feeling particularly fed up and bought a tub of ice cream and sat and ate all of it. 2 hours later I felt sick and had a headache. Why do we do this to ourselves because it’s only us we’re hurting :arghh:
 

Prince4

Well-Known Member
Messages
74
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
To be honest, I'm slightly confused, and maybe this is a regional difference. I am assuming the blood glucose readings are mmol/l rather than percent? If so, 14 shortly after eating is not an emergency. It is a spike, and if it doesn't come down in the next couple of hours might be alarming.

I've been on and off keto and IF for years. I have found that with long term commitment to low-carb (I'm talking months or years of good discipline) my body regains the capability to manage spike-inducing meals like this reasonably well. But if I indulge regularly, that ability erodes. So for me, I dont see any possibility of having high carb meals even semi-regularly. I have been learning (with mixed success) to find joy in low carb eating instead.

So whether or not you will ever be able to have MacDonalds again depends on how severe your insulin resistance is, how disciplined you are most of the time, and how firm your goals are to control through lifestyle rather than primarily through pharmaceuticals. Good luck.
Correct was 16.4 MOL not %.
 

Zilsniggy

Well-Known Member
Messages
430
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
So I did something stupid and believed my own hype. I Saw a Rheumatlogist yesterday who congratulated me in weight loss and HB1AC reduction and said I should give myself credit and gave me the all clear . So today I stupidly had 2 x Bacon roll, hash brown and a Sugar Doughnut ( all from McDonalds). My Goodness...... My Blood sugar spiked to 16.4% ( all time high since I have been testing) and a headache come on. I live next to a hospital so decided to walk to AE as google says that anything greater than 14 is an emergency? Is this correct? As I was walking my HR raced to the 140's and I started to panic and walk faster.

I then waited for the onsite Diabetes nurse and tested again and it went down to 10 in around 5 minutes of arriving, and felt a bt silly. but I guess that this was due to the intense 10 minute walk. However, It then rose again to around 12,13 and 14.1 about an hour 15 mins later as the food digested. After the 3 mark is started to normalise and now sits at around 4.9% as I am too scared to eat anything.

My Blood sugars have averaged 6.0 the last 6- 8 weeks, and this must have been the first injection of a legitimate fast food and dessert, hence the spike.

It begs the question as to how my body has coped with being averaging 96 HBA1C/ 11 MMOL! I never felt this bad then when I was eating and drinking way more sugar than I do today. Does anyone know why?

Also - aside from Insulin and not eating junk, is there anything I can do in the event of a spike like that. Walking was an interesting and surprising tool....ive heard Vinegar can be good to?

Finally - Does this mean that I will never be able to eat McDonalds ever again?
 

Zilsniggy

Well-Known Member
Messages
430
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Perhaps it might help to accept your diabetes diagnosis and remember that it will always be there lurking in the background. To be honest, you went a bit over the top by eating what you did. Your glucose spiked, probably because you’ve not been used to eating so many carbs at once. It should be a lesson learned. Doesn’t mean you can’t have a mcDonalds now and then, but not 2 bacon rolls, hash browns , AND dessert! A ‘sugar’ doughnut(all very high carb) To be honest, the clue is in the name. I’m surprised your sugars stayed so low! Have you been counting carbs or just limiting what you’re eating? I’d suggest that the carb overdose probably gave you the headache too. Sorry to be blunt, but you can’t go back to eating ‘normally’. Carbs are probably always likely to affect you this way. But at least you know that a good walk after eating can help to lower your glucose levels. I‘m also confused because your profile says you take insulin…….yet you don’t mention taking any? Ahh, I see you’ve changed that to tablets. Are you newly diagnosed?
 

KennyA

Moderator
Staff Member
Moderator
Messages
3,897
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
So I did something stupid and believed my own hype. I Saw a Rheumatlogist yesterday who congratulated me in weight loss and HB1AC reduction and said I should give myself credit and gave me the all clear . So today I stupidly had 2 x Bacon roll, hash brown and a Sugar Doughnut ( all from McDonalds). My Goodness...... My Blood sugar spiked to 16.4% ( all time high since I have been testing) and a headache come on. I live next to a hospital so decided to walk to AE as google says that anything greater than 14 is an emergency? Is this correct? As I was walking my HR raced to the 140's and I started to panic and walk faster.

I then waited for the onsite Diabetes nurse and tested again and it went down to 10 in around 5 minutes of arriving, and felt a bt silly. but I guess that this was due to the intense 10 minute walk. However, It then rose again to around 12,13 and 14.1 about an hour 15 mins later as the food digested. After the 3 mark is started to normalise and now sits at around 4.9% as I am too scared to eat anything.

My Blood sugars have averaged 6.0 the last 6- 8 weeks, and this must have been the first injection of a legitimate fast food and dessert, hence the spike.

It begs the question as to how my body has coped with being averaging 96 HBA1C/ 11 MMOL! I never felt this bad then when I was eating and drinking way more sugar than I do today. Does anyone know why?

Also - aside from Insulin and not eating junk, is there anything I can do in the event of a spike like that. Walking was an interesting and surprising tool....ive heard Vinegar can be good to?

Finally - Does this mean that I will never be able to eat McDonalds ever again?
The bacon itself will probably have been OK. Everything else yiou ate is heavy heavy carb. I am not at all surprised that your BGs went where they did.

what's happened is that your body had got used to living with a high blood sugar level and had adjusted to that being the "normal" level. The good work you've done over the past weeks meant that your system was getting used to a new "normal" which was a much lower BG. You then overloaded it with carb, and all sorts of reactions happened - probably a massive increase in insulin production, that sort of thing.

I have done the same sort of thing. First Xmas after diagnosis, things had been going so well I thought I'd eat as I always had. That included Christmas Pudding. I was ill for two days - headaches, dizziness, cramps, all from a massive sugar overdose. Never again.

Exercise raises some people's BGs - it needs gentle exercise - like walking - to start to lower it. No idea about vinegar and I would have thought your system would be stressed enough from the sugar overload without adding acid.

You can eat at McDonalds - it's not where you eat that matters, it's what you eat. Don't eat carbs. That won't leave a lot on the menu, but I do meat patties with salad, for example.
 

Prince4

Well-Known Member
Messages
74
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
The bacon itself will probably have been OK. Everything else yiou ate is heavy heavy carb. I am not at all surprised that your BGs went where they did.

what's happened is that your body had got used to living with a high blood sugar level and had adjusted to that being the "normal" level. The good work you've done over the past weeks meant that your system was getting used to a new "normal" which was a much lower BG. You then overloaded it with carb, and all sorts of reactions happened - probably a massive increase in insulin production, that sort of thing.

I have done the same sort of thing. First Xmas after diagnosis, things had been going so well I thought I'd eat as I always had. That included Christmas Pudding. I was ill for two days - headaches, dizziness, cramps, all from a massive sugar overdose. Never again.

Exercise raises some people's BGs - it needs gentle exercise - like walking - to start to lower it. No idea about vinegar and I would have thought your system would be stressed enough from the sugar overload without adding acid.

You can eat at McDonalds - it's not where you eat that matters, it's what you eat. Don't eat carbs. That won't leave a lot on the menu, but I do meat patties with salad, for example.


Thanks, McDonalds meal was silly 114 carbs, but worse was the 22 g pure sugar, I think its the latter that sent me reeling. Although makes me feel that I will never be able to return to Carbs. Its not like never having to return to cigarettes given Carbs are a massive feature of most food types more broadly. Hopefully, once I can get my Type 2 into remission or at least in normal range, would be great to be able to have a bowl of pasta, however not sure how my body will ever adjust away from the Carb intolerance.....I am going to a 5 star hotel/resturant in a couple of weeks but not looking forward to only be able to have the Steak and a garden salad.....
 

MrsA2

Expert
Messages
6,791
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
..I am going to a 5 star hotel/resturant in a couple of weeks but not looking forward to only be able to have the Steak and a garden salad....
And the scallops and prawns and lobster and other fish, and the lamb and the chicken and the pate and the cheese , and more cheese.
I'll gladly take your place if you don't want to go...
 
  • Agree
  • Winner
Reactions: lessci and Outlier

lovinglife

Moderator
Staff Member
Moderator
Messages
5,732
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
High end places are by far the easiest to stick to low carb, just avoid the desserts and go for a lovely cheeseboard.
 

plantae

Well-Known Member
Messages
828
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Thanks, McDonalds meal was silly 114 carbs, but worse was the 22 g pure sugar, I think its the latter that sent me reeling. Although makes me feel that I will never be able to return to Carbs. Its not like never having to return to cigarettes given Carbs are a massive feature of most food types more broadly. Hopefully, once I can get my Type 2 into remission or at least in normal range, would be great to be able to have a bowl of pasta, however not sure how my body will ever adjust away from the Carb intolerance.....I am going to a 5 star hotel/resturant in a couple of weeks but not looking forward to only be able to have the Steak and a garden salad.....
114g of carbs? I don't even know how I'd dose my insulin for that, but I'm not judging at all (if I have any opinion at all it's impressed). I don't like McDonalds food except for the fries which, umm, is a bit of a problem for me but I'm not going to say I'll never have fries again. I have no doubt that I will at some stage buy and eat them. Please don't beat yourself up about it. It was one occasion. There might be more occasions
 

Prince4

Well-Known Member
Messages
74
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
114g of carbs? I don't even know how I'd dose my insulin for that, but I'm not judging at all (if I have any opinion at all it's impressed). I don't like McDonalds food except for the fries which, umm, is a bit of a problem for me but I'm not going to say I'll never have fries again. I have no doubt that I will at some stage buy and eat them. Please don't beat yourself up about it. It was one occasion. There might be more occasions
Yes - what's worrying is that I used to eat Big Mac Meals and Apple Pies for fun ( Around 160 g) 3 times a week only as soon as March of this year. I think I have zero tolerance to Carbs now....
 
  • Hug
Reactions: lovinglife

lovinglife

Moderator
Staff Member
Moderator
Messages
5,732
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Yes - what's worrying is that I used to eat Big Mac Meals and Apple Pies for fun ( Around 160 g) 3 times a week only as soon as March of this year. I think I have zero tolerance to Carbs now....
Don’t worry about the past, we’ve all got a past - it from this point forward that matters and you are learning all the time, it’s what you do with that knowledge that matters and using that knowledge can definitely change your future:)
 
  • Friendly
Reactions: CaminoTurtle

0110

Well-Known Member
Messages
305
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
Don’t beat yourself up about it, I used to do this twice a week until I got diagnosed in March. Even though I have lost 12KG in 3 months and HBAC1 gone from 82 to 30 I still end up in Mc Donalds once a month. Recent trip about a week ago, biggest thing on the menu, Big Tasty thing, and a Quarter pounder with Cheese. I ate the quarter pounder with cheese fully, the Big tasty I had the pattie and half the bun, threw half bun away but not the patty or bacon and cheese etc.. I had half pack fries threw other half away. My readings, it certainly spiked my sugar levels 2hr reading 8.8. Then in the 6s in the 3rd and 4th hour.
 

WaveyDavey123

Well-Known Member
Messages
51
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
It begs the question as to how my body has coped with being averaging 96 HBA1C/ 11 MMOL! I never felt this bad then when I was eating and drinking way more sugar than I do today. Does anyone know why?
It's amazing how used to feeling rubbish you can become. You probably just forgot what feeling good felt like
 
  • Like
Reactions: Outlier