Erratic Blood Glucose Reading

[bluecurlylegend]

I'm pre-diabetic and I've been using an SD Biosensor Code Free meter for the last two weeks. I've noted the usual variations like an increase after eating and sometimes a rise in Fasting Blood Glucose levels but today I got a reading that really confused me.
Before eating my lunch of two hard boiled eggs, two slices of cheese, six small pickled gherkins and a small apple, my reading was
5.8 mmol/l. Two hours later my reading was the highest I'd ever seen, 11.6 mmol/l.
Three hours later after a brisk forty minute walk my reading was 5.8 again and after my dinner of a mixed salad with some smoked sausage it was 6.3.
I should add that my fasting reading taken at 9.30 was 6.3 and two hours later after a banana and a small pot of full fat yoghourt it was 6.2.
OK, I'm new to this, but is that reading of 11.6 just a spike ? And what would account for it ?

Any comments gladly appreciated.....

Bluecurlylegend.

 

[Mark_1]

Maybe it was a false reading, did you test again, different finger, wash hands first etc.

 

[Diakat]

There may have been a lot of protein in the meal which can be used for glucose. Or the fat from the cheese might have slowed abs of the Apple carbs so they hit later than usual. Or the Gerlan pickle may have had higher levels of sugar?

 

[bluecurlylegend]

Maybe it was a false reading, did you test again, different finger, wash hands first etc.

No, I didn't do an immediate re-test. And I had been working with lubricating oil before that, although I thought I had washed my hands sufficiently. Good points, though, thanks for the support.

 

[bluecurlylegend]

There may have been a lot of protein in the meal which can be used for glucose. Or the fat from the cheese might have slowed abs of the Apple carbs so they hit later than usual. Or the Gerlan pickle may have had higher levels of sugar?

Thanks for the response. I've eaten more or less the same stuff for lunch a few times previously without oddly high readings afterwards. I've calmed down a bit now so in future I'll take a second test immediately and then see what happens.

 

[Diakat]

If the same meal is usually ok, then it comes down to false reading or stress or liver dump or 'oh flip diabetes does odd things sometimes!'

 

[Alison Campbell]

It is great to see others with prediabetes testing. Testing my blood sugars have really helped me mostly keep to normal levels.

The trick is to never focus on the individual numbers but the trends. I have found this has got easier over the years. So many factors other than food can affect a reading and meters are allowed to be plus/minus 15% out.

On the plus side I can always tell if I am coming down with a cold bug etc.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Whenever you get a genuinely unexpected number way out of the range you expected, whether higher or lower, it is always worth a re-test after washing, rinsing and drying hands again. Sometimes it may even need a further re-test. We all get the odd rogue reading, often human error, contaminated strip or finger, or just the meter playing up.