awfyblether

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Running
Good morning - my blood sugar reading was 14.8 this morning which is about as high as it has ever been. Should I be worried?

It's ''normally" around 8. The only recent changes are to medication (changed from citalopram to propranolol) and I started the Slimming World eating plan a week ago.
 

Prem51

Expert
Messages
7,393
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
*
Hi @awfyblether and welcome to the forum. Can you tell us what you ate yesterday? Slimming World meals can be high carb.
 

JoKalsbeek

Expert
Messages
5,914
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Good morning - my blood sugar reading was 14.8 this morning which is about as high as it has ever been. Should I be worried?

It's ''normally" around 8. The only recent changes are to medication (changed from citalopram to propranolol) and I started the Slimming World eating plan a week ago.
Hi @awfyblether ,

Yeah, that's high... Could be due to a liver dump, but when you mention Slimming World, alarmbells tend to go off. It's, from what I understand, a rather high-carb diet, and T2 and carbs don't mesh. (Almost all carbs turn to glucose once ingested, so that's starches too, not just sugar. And we can't process that back out efficiently). Since you're looking into diets, may I suggest going low carb, high fat? It'll get your bloodsugars under control, and may tackle things like high cholesterol, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, weightproblems... (And in my case, it made a difference in anxienty as well. I'm still a wreck, but not totalled as I used to be). Just make sure your meds don't cause hypo's, because going low carb on certain meds can make your bloodsugars crash, and that's no good, of course. Preferably discuss a change in diet with your medical team first.

If you're worried about your bloodsugars, you might want to try testing before and after a meal. If you test before, and then 2 hours after the first bite, it should ideally not go up more than 2 mmol/l. If it does, that meal contained more carbs than you can process back out again. You can check your Slimming World meals that way and see whether they're bad for you or no.

If you're interested in low carb/high fat, check dietdoctor.com or the books by Dr. Jason Fung. Those places have proved quite useful. As a quick guide: Things we can't process well are: Potatoes, rice, bread, cereal (including the "healthy" ones), pasta, corn, fruit (save for a few berries, avocado and some tomato). Things we can eat until wel burst: Meat, fish, above-ground veggies, olives, eggs, butter/ghee, cheese, full-fat greek yoghurt, extra dark chocolate (Lindt 85% <3 ), things like that... So you're good when you start your day off with eggs, bacon, cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes, and ah, bangers, I think the word is? (Sorry, Dutch. ;) ). Or full fat greek yoghurt with some nuts, coconut shavings, and berries? Lunch a salad with a tin of tuna (not in brine, the kind in oil!), avocado, olives, capers, mayonaise.... Sound alright? Dinner meat or fish with something like cauliflower rice (which is very versatile) or broccoli? Some dark chocolate after?

In any case, there are healthier choices for someone with an impaired metabolism... Slimming World doesn't exactly cater to T2's, alas.

Hope this helps...
 
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Antje77

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
19,222
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Agree with the above and tagging @daisy1 for her excellent info sheet about diabetes.
Good luck!
 

DCUKMod

Master
Staff Member
Messages
14,298
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
@awfyblether - I'm just posting on the run at the moment, and I notice several good people have responded to you already, but I just wanted to mention your great user name! Do you hail from north of the border, perchance?
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@awfyblether
Hello and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask questions when you need to and someone will help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 235,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why

  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 

awfyblether

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Running
Thank you all for replying. I'm sorry not to reply to each post separately but I can't quite work out how to do it! (Clicking 'reply' doesn't seem to be the answer as it takes me away from this page).

There is a lot of useful and interesting advice up there and I appreciate it. Yes, with Slimming World, I have been eating more carbs than normal and these tend to be trigger foods for me so I have eaten more than I perhaps should have (but the plan seems to encourage eating as much as 'you like').

I think I need to ditch it for low carb. I've googled Dr Fung and his 'IDM' programme.

Yes, I'm a Scot though I live in England but still enjoy a blether!
 

lost_a_stone

Member
Messages
8
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
I would be suspicious of the Propranolol. I first had problems with pre-diabetic A1C levels a few months after starting Propranolol 7 years ago. I have lost weight, been careful with diet and all to no avail. So after my last A1c in August I slowly weaned myself off the propranolol over the 3 months and had a retest. Result! A1C down to 39 and expected to be even lower next time.
 
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