Headaches

Hi Graham,

Others may comment on potato related headaches, but all I would say is that it's not always about diabetes. Lots of things can cause headaches, particularly dehydration; I often find drinking plenty of water will resolve a headache for me.

From a blood sugar point of view, mash will raise your sugars more quickly than, say, boiled new potatoes so they might be a better choice.

I hope you are able to get a meter and strips soon, as that really is the best way to monitor yourself and work out how things affect you. Everyone's response to food is different, so some people tolerate porridge well, for example, and others don't.

In the meanwhile, keep an eye on things and if you get a headache every time you eat mash after trying it several times, well I'd give up mash.

The advice for newly diagnosed diabetics that gets posted here is pretty good. Keep asking the questions though!

Good luck.

Hi,

These headaches may be because your BG's are high, a common symptom.

Unfortunately of course you don't know because your unable to test, so i hope you get your meter and strips soon then you can test to see how your meals are affecting you to see how many carbohydrates you can tolerate while keeping your BG's at a good level.

My advice would be in the meantime is to keep the amount of carbs your eating to a minumum, drink plenty of water to keep yourself hydrated which may also help your headaches.

Someone may correct me if i'm wrong but i think boiled potatoes take longer to digest than mashed potato so the release of glucose from those will take longer so won't raise your BG's as fast, which is why you may have noticed these symptoms in mashed potato.

Good luck for when you get your meter and strips, you seem to be taking this very well and seriously which is brilliant

Hi,

I am glad that the water helped your headache. You need to keep hydrated as it is part of the management of Type 2 as is exercise.
Your meal was high in carbs and the peas and carrots are not low G.I. Try and get some leafy greens in your diet.
You can put any food you are not sure of in this website and find out the G.I.
http://www.glycemicindex.com/
The testing is the most important part of seeing what you can and cannot tolerate. There are people who post here who can eat potatoes without having to worry.
When you start to test ask yourself,

......Why do I want to test?

.....What benefit am I getting from this result?

.....What am I learning from this test?

.....What will I change as a result of this test?

.....Will I be able to use this information to make changes to my diet or activity levels?

Gratope said:

Many thanks to rglennon/angie321, your spot on. I was going to mention the water, I drank loads even thru the night. I was sure that it helped my headache go away. ( Thought it may sound silly to mention that ) Just in case I will avoid the mash from now on.
I am forcing myself NOT to go and buy a meter only because my diabetic nurse told me to wait until my next visit, (20th June) she said If I REALLY wanted one I could have one free. Although I understand I will have to buy the strips and lancets. I really do want to treat this seriously, I find the help and support of this site an absolute lifeline.
Just wish my friend next door would'nt keep telling me its all in the mind.

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When your BG's are above 10mmol, your body starts to get rid of glucose through pores in your body and urine, hence the urgent need to go pee when you have high BG's! so the body can become quite dehydrated in the process which is why it's important to keep your body topped up with fluids and also of course dehydration is a big cause for headaches!

If you have researched a good meter which uses cheap strips as you have to buy them, you could call the company and see if they will send you one for free. Some companies may or may not but it could be worth a shot? If you get one i would still recommend you get one from your diabetes nurse as it's always a good idea to have a back up.

Your starting out well so don't worry, it takes alot of effort and courage to take things head on like you are. Keep asking all the questions that pop into your head on here. No question is ever silly or pointless!!! everyone has been there on step along the way which is why everyone will always take the time to help and support.

As for your neighbour i'm afraid although diabetes is becoming more common it is still a misunderstood illness. The best way in my eyes to go about it is to set people straight. Your doctor is qualified to diagnose, went to medical school. They don't spend god knows how much money on research for diabetes for no reason and i'm 1000% sure millions of people in the world don't have diabetes because of mindset!

I know it must be disheartening to hear such comments, but don't take it to heart. Sit your friend down and tell them FACTS and that comments like that are not needed, wanted or deserved when a friend should be supporting you!

All the best!

Woah you should have a meter deffo won't your gp provide you one? That's really bad to hear. I often get headaches when my sugars go over 15 or under 3 and they sometimes last days the only thing that eases these headaches is plenty of fluids sometimes it eases it slightly, do you feel tired or t&irsty with these headaches? I am still waiting to find out the cause of my change in sugar levels but have been given a meter by my Gp you should go see your Gp and tell them you need to monitor your glucose levels mine was funny about handing me mine but I explained we have kids in the house and i need to keep a watch over the levels because of the amount of hypos I have been going into. Honestly I think that you should go to the gp and make sure you don't leave without it.

The drugs companies frequently give out meters free to healthcare practitioners (the companies make up the money on test strips).... so definitely grab one!