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Banting

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Does anyone have any thoughts on the accuracy of home blood glucose monitors ?

I believe I am pre-diabetic but haven't been to the doctor yet. I have suffered low blood sugar episodes after eating food in the past for at least ten years, but not all of the time. I would say intermittent episodes. But these have led me to believe that there is something not quite right. I eat mainly a low carb diet, no sugar, fruit or white food carb, definitely no fast or processed foods.

My fasting blood glucose this morning was 8. It has varied between 6 and 7 for the last two weeks since I bought this monitor.

Any comments would be very welcome.
 
What do you consider a low blood glucose. And how do you know? What prompted you to start self testing? Whilst your quoted fasting levels are slightly above the normal range, it could be the meter reading high, so you should ask the doctor to do another independant check if you are worried. I have a meter that reads high, and has done so consistently for nearly 5 years now.
 
I don’t have an absolute number for low blood sugar. I have only experienced it after eating. It makes me dizzy, shakey, legs get heavy and I have to sit down. That is the only way I can describe it. It goes after about 5 minutes. Now, if that is or is not a blood sugar problem I actually do not know for sure.
The reason I bought a monitor is a bit long and involved really ! I have been overweight for some time now, not massively, a BMI of 30 max. I have been on several diets over the last twenty years but have always regained what I have lost. I think I first got into looking at metabolism after reading Gary Taubes’ book in 2014. Since then, after getting interested, I have followed the low carb community, mainly listening to podcasts and watching presentations from low carb conferences. You could say I have talked myself into it ! Seriously though, I have to virtually starve myself to lose weight even though I maintain a low carb diet. I am aware that it can take a good number of years to become diabetic. So, I thought it would be a good idea to test my blood sugar as a start but I now understand that they can vary up to 15% . I will go to the doc and get a proper test.
Thanks for replying.
 
Thank you. I think that is right course of action since the shakiness after eating is not a normal side effect of diabetes, though it could be Reactive Hypoglycaemia (RH) which has a thread going on this forum. If you test when experiencing such an event then it will confirm or not if your sugars are actually low.

The name Banting has been associated with the story of diabetes quite strongly since the1860's. As a low carber you probably know about the Banting Diet,, but another unrelated Banting was the one who discovered insulin.

Interesting that you found us through wanting weightloss not diabetes per se, but welcome, and good luck with the Doc.
 
Thankyou for your comments.

I did know about both Bantings which is why I chose the name as I thought it appropriate with the insulin connection. I was surprised it was not already taken. It was not my first choice.

I will look at the RH thread.

I came here because I thought this would be a place where people would use and know about blood glucose monitors, not because I want to lose weight. I do but I believe probably it is diabetes that causes weight gain; not the other way around. I will report my results after the doc. Many thanks again.
 
T2 can indeed cause weight gain. But T2 diabetics don't tend to have hypos after eating. As we are insulin resistant getting a hypo, without certain medication which reduces blood sugar, is unlikely.

I think the attitude of get testing and see how you can get healthier is a good move. Youll have a bank of evidence to show the doctor. Although morning BG wont tell you much. You need to test just before you eat and 2 hours after first bite. That will tell you what the food you're eating is effecting your body and how your body deals with carbs.

The problem with lots of diets is that they aren't sustainable- you have to find a way of eating that suits you and your body.
Good luck with both diet and testing!
 
Hello and welcome,

I don't think it is ever a bad idea to have more information about your body whether or not you have diabetes. Having taken the readings it will be some information that your doctor can take into account. I agree with @mouseee that type 2s don't usually have hypos after eating but as @Oldvatr said it may be something else so the more information you have the better.

Good luck with your tests.
 
In my 20's and ongoing, I thought I was having hypos after food. I had investigations for narcolepsy and other stuff and in the end was told I was i was mildly depressed. Only after falling asleep in the initial credits of movies, on the hillside, after visiting the canteen did I get depressed! that was a symptom. The only correlation I had was it was probably related to food.
I still get the problem but it is not as pronounced. When I got my meter, I found that doesn't seem to be low blood sugar that causes it but may be the speed of increase or fall in blood sugar.
No explanation still in Dr Google. It is known about as an issue but no mechanism is clearly indicated.
Keeping my sugars steady after eating has pretty much remove the problem. I don't fall asleep on zero carb at my evening meal whereas if I eat 20g of carbs which are normally in the form of green veg, it can still happen.
 
Thank you for your replies. Very helpful.

I don't get these episodes these days as I believe my low carb diet has probably helped this but I mentioned it because it used to be scary and, since finding out more about how our metabolism works, I figured it could be relevant.

I think I have probably got a bit obsessed with 'low carb' after following all the promoters of this (mainly American), and the Americans do have a big problem, but I find it fascinating and I believe that Education is Never Wasted. (can't remember who said that).

All best to everyone.
 
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