Drop of 5 points in 90 mins - is my meter faulty?

[ian1968]

I tested today at 10.45am and I was 9.3. I was surprised it was so high, but I've developed a bit of a cough, so put it down to that.

I tested again at 12.20pm, as I was starting to feel worse with my cough and was concerned that my BG was still high, and it was 4.1. Between the two tests I ate a clementine, and drank some water.

Is a drop of 5.2 in an hour and a half normal? Or could something be wrong with my meter?

 

[ian1968]

Sorry if this seems like a silly question. I'm still trying to get my head around BG testing. I'm worried about this big drop, so any advice would be gratefully received!

 

[IanD]

Sorry if this seems like a silly question. I'm still trying to get my head around BG testing. I'm worried about this big drop, so any advice would be gratefully received!

What did you have for b'fast - how long before you tested? A carb b'fast will give such a spike, & will drop quickly.

I experimented with a cereal b'fast & was 14 after an hour, 5 after 2 hrs & 4 after 3. A protein & fat b'fast (my nut porridge) is much more sustaining, with only a small spike.

 

[Grazer]

Allowing for the fact that our meter readings gave up to 15% error, this sounds perfectly within normal boundaries

 

[ian1968]

Sorry if this seems like a silly question. I'm still trying to get my head around BG testing. I'm worried about this big drop, so any advice would be gratefully received!

What did you have for b'fast - how long before you tested? A carb b'fast will give such a spike, & will drop quickly.

I experimented with a cereal b'fast & was 14 after an hour, 5 after 2 hrs & 4 after 3. A protein & fat b'fast (my nut porridge) is much more sustaining, with only a small spike.

I had my normal breakfast of shreddies and semi skimmed milk two hours before. I've tested after that before and got readings between 3.7 and 6.9, so I was surprised by 9.8. It's possible that those other readings were two and a half hours after the shreddies, so maybe that 30 mins makes all the difference?

I'm interested to learn that a carb breakfast gives a spike and then a quick drop - why is that?

 

[angieG]

In the Atkins Diabetes Solution book I've just read in the explanation about Insulin Resistance it explains what happens when you eat carbs and you are Insulin Resistant...

1. Eating a carb-heavy meal causes a rapid rise in blood sugar. To control this elevation, the body produces insulin to transport the blood sugar to the cells.

2. As the cells become more and more resistant to the insulin, the pancreas increases its output of insulin.

3. As the effect of the excessive insulin kicks in, blood sugar drops too fast and too low, making you feel irritable, jittery and hungry.

4. When blood sugar takes a dramatic dive, your body releases stress hormones such as epinephrine (adrenaline) and cortisol.

5. The side effects of this response can cause mood and energy swings, palpitations, food cravings, difficulty concentrating, irritability, headaches and even high blood pressure.

Hope this helps, it certainly explained it to me.
Angie

 

[IanD]

Sorry if this seems like a silly question. I'm still trying to get my head around BG testing. I'm worried about this big drop, so any advice would be gratefully received!

What did you have for b'fast - how long before you tested? A carb b'fast will give such a spike, & will drop quickly.

I experimented with a cereal b'fast & was 14 after an hour, 5 after 2 hrs & 4 after 3. A protein & fat b'fast (my nut porridge) is much more sustaining, with only a small spike.

I had my normal breakfast of shreddies and semi skimmed milk two hours before. I've tested after that before and got readings between 3.7 and 6.9, so I was surprised by 9.8. It's possible that those other readings were two and a half hours after the shreddies, so maybe that 30 mins makes all the difference?

I'm interested to learn that a carb breakfast gives a spike and then a quick drop - why is that?

This shows my experiment & results:

While preparing my low carb experience for the Hounslow Support Group, I thought I would try comparing my usual breakfast - almond porridge with soya milk - with a standard cereal - Tescos Fruit & Fibre, with full-fat milk.

Roughly the same weight showed striking differences in composition & performance. My almond porridge sustains me until lunch - & on occasions I play tennis during the morning while consuming only water. After the 1 hour spike up to 7.4, my BG stayed at about 5.5.

The Tesco fruit/fibre cereal gave a massive spike to 14.3 & by 11 o'clock had dropped to 4.1 & I was beginning to feel shaky. Happily at that point my reserves came into use & raised the BG to 4.7.

A further point of interest is that the data on the packet is for a suggested amount of 30 g, with 125 ml milk. That provides only 183 kcals, or 10% of the daily requirement - which does not amount to a substantial breakfast.

 

[IanD]

Angie has explained well. My experiment showed the massive changes possible in a short time.

The data on my wife's Shreddies pack shows you would get 210 Kcals in a bowl. NOT enough to last the morning, so you would want a snack, & a clementine would provide less than 10g of carb.

The food industry & dietitians are waging a war against fat of all kinds, but especially animal fats. You will references on the forum to the TV series about the men who made us fat - by substituting sugars, including cheap high fructose corn syrup, for fats. The high carb foods taste good & creates a demand for expensive snacks. Fat is sustaining, & a good source of energy. I had 5 sets of tennis yesterday (won 4, lost 1) - & I'm 73.

This thread include my talk to the Hounslow Support Group (Page 2)

 

[ian1968]

I have 90g of Shreddies and 250ml of semi skimmed milk, then a clementine mid morning.

I'd be interested to know exactly when the spike happens and for how long. I don't feel like I drop too low after a high, although maybe I've timed the clementine just right. I did test 3.7 mid morning the other day thought...but that was after an hour's walking too.

 

[ian1968]

Thanks both, by the way. This is really helpful - and very interesting. There's so much to learn.

 

[IanD]

I have 90g of Shreddies and 250ml of semi skimmed milk, then a clementine mid morning.

I'd be interested to know exactly when the spike happens and for how long. I don't feel like I drop too low after a high, although maybe I've timed the clementine just right. I did test 3.7 mid morning the other day thought...but that was after an hour's walking too.

I see you are eating more than double what they suggest - the packet is misleading. But perhaps they expect you to have toast & marmalade to boost the carbs even more....

Looking at my experiment table, between 1 & 3 hours after b'fast, BG could be anywhere between 4 & 14.