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Getting readings down 2 months in

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sdgray22

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I was diagnosed just after Christmas Type 2 with a fasting level of 12 so obviously after eating I was having readings of 14 and 16. After reducing my carbs first to about 80-90 in the first month and now during the second month 70 to 80 I have my readings down to 8s first thing in the morning and 8s and 9s before I go to bed. I get the odd 7 but not steady, but on average I am going in the right direction - down. Now if I stay on the regime of 70 to 80 carbs will I continue to get lower and lower readings (ie is it a cumulative thing) or will I have to reduce carbs (or test foods) even more to obtain readings of 6 and 7 which is obviously what I am aiming at?. I realise I have been going for only 6-7 weeks and maybe I am being a bit impatient. :think: I am taking Metformin SR 500mg once a day. What are your experiences please, as many of you type 2s as possible please reply. I need to see what varied experiences you have all had before making my mind up what to do next if anything. I exercise every day on an exercise bike for 10 mins. I am slightly overweight and have set my mind to losing a stone or so but weight loss cannot be the means to do this I do not have enough to lose , I am 59.
I also have medicated and controlled High Blood pressure readings now in 117/75 range. My Cholesterol is 4.2 so not an issue.
 
You are on the smallest dose of metformin, so are doing well on that. An increase in the dose would probably get you down to the figures you are looking for as you have cut your carbs a fair bit.
 
Perhaps you could do a little more exercise and/or try to build up more muscle mass? I'm thinking of doing some weight training, as I already walk 50,000 steps per week and I've read that muscles decrease insulin resistance.
 
To give you an idea. From starting from roughly where you did after 6 weeks I was averaging low 7's on at that point about 50g / day. It is difficult to judge but after that point I upped my Metformin to 2 x 500g / day kept the carbs about the same and ended up averaging high 5's pretty soon after that. A jump to 3 x 500g since beginning of Feb didn't seem to make that much odds. I now average the low 5's and still on around 50g / day "real" food plus another 15g a day in a fresh fruit salad mix that if I eat with a main meal doesn't touch my BG's. I don't count any carbs in drinks i.e. the milk in tea and coffee so my total / day is a bit more.

I also eat the vast majority of my carbs in my main evening meal so my average pattern is 5g breakfast. zeroish g lunch, 45g main meal + 15g fresh fruit sald. If I get peckish in the evening its cheese and celery i.e zeroish carb. Many people on the forum seem to reckon I have a low tolerance to carbs when I've talked about the quantities of things I can eat and keep at safe levels.

To be quite honest 12 weeks in I no longer crave carbs at all and can take them or leave them its no longer an issue.
 
Did a bit of a test today. My readings have been 8s and then 10s after eating, with the odd 7 before bed. So today i cut my carbs to approx 60 my reading fasting was 8.6. 2 hrs after a breakfast of 1 apple and 1 piece of toast Burgen Bread reading was 10.6, I had a muller yoghurt and 100ml orange juice for lunch and then for dinner a 2 egg cheese omelette with 3tablespooons of baked beans and 1 slice of burgen bread and for pudding a zero jelly. my reading tonight before bed is 6.4 (my first 6) Just to prove I could do it. I have to admit that this is a bit extreme although I do not feel terribly hungry I do not think I could do this everyday. Each day is a new one though. They have called me up for my blood test and the diabetic clinic appointment at my surgery in April. Dreading it a bit I really dislike anything medical, it took me 4 years to get my blood pressure so low and steady so that they told me they only wanted to see me once a year then I got this!!! but I am practising nodding and smiling. :)
 
back to 8.9 at 8.30 this morning and the only thing I had was water & 1 thin slice of ham before bed last night. Not much sense in this little game is there????
 
sdgray22 said:
back to 8.9 at 8.30 this morning and the only thing I had was water & 1 thin slice of ham before bed last night. Not much sense in this little game is there????
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Yes that Dawn Phenomenon thing is a real pain. With me it gets worse the later I get up and wont go down until after I've eaten breakfast. My normal get up time is around 8.30am but on days I get up earlier my BG is usually a lot less. Over the weeks the DP effect has gradually become less but even now I can guarantee somewhere between a 0.5 to 1.5 rise overnight. Doesn't seem to make much odds if I do or don't eat anything just before bed.

My son (Type 1) bitches about the same thing even 12 years after diagnosis so perhaps its genetic.
 
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