Fasting levels not going down

Nos

Newbie
Messages
3
Hi All,
I'm new here and still learning all I can about my condition.

Here is a brief history.
Earlier this year(Feb) I started having pins and needles all over my body also my felt heat in my left shin but it was not hot to touch. GP did some blood tests and it came high on Cholesterol and triglycerides. Oddly my glucose was not tested at the time.
Feb tests:
Triglycerides: 2.05
HDL: 1.22
LDL: 5.28
So as can be seen my Tri and LDL are high and HDL is on low side. I had known that my LDL is high for some times as I did tests 4 years ago and it was also high. This time I've adjusted my diet and and also started moving more. I work in IT so most of the time I'm glued to my chair.

Unfortunately this has not improved, the only thing I noticed is that the symptoms go away on holidays.
Moving to June and one morning I woke up feeling dizzy and tired. Also sometimes I felt tipsy. Went to GP and was given some drugs to treat inner ear but that did not help so I got referred to Neurologists. At this point I went and did a range(over 70) of blood tests on my own expense. This is where glucose popped up, also found that I have Calcium and Vid D deficiency. The good thing that my HDL dropped but by Try went up.
Aug tests:
Triglycerides: 2.17
HDL: 1.22
LDL: 3.63
GLU: 6.9

Neurologist asked to do another range of blood tests, MRI and EMG. Both MRI and EMG came clear. The blood tests shown below:
Sep tests:
Triglycerides: 1.26
HDL: 0.84
LDL: 3.15
GLU: 6.0
HbA1c: 38
So again my fasting glucose came high but my HbA1c is still within the norm but it is almost at border line. My LDL and Try went down but so did HDL. I did OGTT on my own initiative and that came positive. My fasting 2 hour glucose was 10.0 although I'm not convinced it was done properly as from what I understand it is not enough just fast before the test.
I've adjusted my diet again to lower my carb intake, also I've upped my daily active time. As I wrote before I noticed that symptoms go away during holidays. The main difference is that all my holidays are very active unlike my normal work day. This is where fitness tracker came in handy as I could see how much I move during a day. So since my the adjustments I've lost 4Kg but I never was overweight in my life. Also nobody in family has diabetes.

I have couple questions:
1. About 2 weeks ago I got myself Glucose tester and started testing. My average is 5.7 so far. I rarely go above 6.5 but I noticed that my fasting glucose does not go down overnight it actually starts rising. So if my last meal was carb heavy and I go to bed with glucose at 6.0, in the morning it will be the same or a bit higher. Is this normal? During the day my glucose 2 hours after meal is between 5.0 - 6.5 depending on how much I move.
2. I get 150-200g of carbs a day. My weight is still dropping and honestly I do not want to lose more. I'm not sure how to manage this? Any tips?
3. Any reason my HDL went down and how to bump it up?

Sorry for long post
 
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hazelzac

Well-Known Member
Messages
92
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi I really appreciate you are doing something great for yourself ,I would say try to reduce carbs further,specially for dinner.Walk after dinner would be a good idea for fasting glucose control .As now you have gluco meter you can try and test different foods . Good luck
 
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Rustytypin

Well-Known Member
Messages
387
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi @Nos , firstly welcome to the Forum, tagging @daisy1 for the useful info sheet; to answer your point re morning BS level, it sounds like the Dawn Phenomenon where your liver ups your glucose level in order to give you a good start to the day, although 6 and over is considered a little high. Having said that your HbA1c is within the normal range for non diabetics.
With regard to your after meal levels up to 6.5 isn't bag, but depends on the pre meal level, you should look for a rise of not more than 2 at the 2 hour mark.
Your holiday levels are probably due to your muscles clearing the glucose from your blood stream due to the increased activity over your usual. It may also be due to a change in diet, perhaps less carbs on hols?
Not too sure regarding the cholesterol thing, I tend to ignore all the hype surrounding "high cholesterol " as most is made in the body as it is needed. Tagging @Bluetit1802 who is far more knowledgeable than me regarding ratios for trigs, HDL etc.
 

HSSS

Expert
Messages
7,465
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
If you don’t want to lose weight and want to drop carbs further add more fat to feel full, have energy and maintain your calories.
 

Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
@Rustypin Thank you for the tag.

@Nos As far as cholesterol is concerned I personally would have no worries with the numbers you have provided. You may wish to spend some time reading a thread brilliantly put together by @bulkbiker as it will explain everything, and why cholesterol is not as worrying as the old science makes out. There is plenty of new science on this matter. The thread is long and contains many videos so you would need to book mark it.

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/cholesterol-and-statins.156985/

I would also point out that our lipids change constantly, just like our blood glucose does. It is possible to have it tested several times on the same day and you would see several different results.
 

Nos

Newbie
Messages
3
Thanks all for info.
I went through loads of information in last 6 months but it looks like there is way more to go through and to learn.
 

Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Thanks all for info.
I went through loads of information in last 6 months but it looks like there is way more to go through and to learn.

It is a long learning curve - one that never ends I'm afraid. :)
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@Nos
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 as many questions as you want and someone will be able to 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.