HELP! Blood sugars seem TOO stable

[rtee]

Have reposted here in the hopes someone will answer me!!

I'm just recently monitoring my BGs having joined this forum and reading how other people are controlling their diabetes.
I have also been low carbing but not scientifically measuring etc just using common sense and ideas from here.
I've lost nearly a stone and a half in about 2 months.

Problem is my Bgs seem to be fairly stable in the 6's - occassionally dipping into the 5's and sometimes up into low 7 .
Athough almost never over the top post prandial figure for non diabetics they are never below 5.9 pre- prandial.
They are always higher in the morning than they were the night before. Dawn phenomenon?
Yesterday I fasted . Bg pre eve meal 6.5, post 6.7 bedtime 6.6. This morning (admittedly after major late morning!) 6.9
went to gym this afternoon & pre eve meal 7.1 :cry:

Sorry for long pre-amble but my questions are
1. Could I not be eating enough causing 'liver dumps' during the day as well as in the night?
2. Do I need to weigh out everything to make sure I'm not eating too many carbs? ( I HATE the weighing /counting stuff)
3. how much does exercise help? Have had inner ear problems so exercise been limited over last week
4. Can exercise make Bg worse?

Thanks in advance for your help.
Oh forgot to say type2 metformin500 x2 REFUSING STATINS!

 

[paragliderpete]

Hi first of all , you are getting great results, with your bm's below 6.8mmol you will be preventing complications from developing. Not sure how long you have been achieving these levels, you do find that it takes time for your levels to reduce, and this may be the case, this is particularly true of morning readings, which are always the last to normalise.
You could try counting your carbs to understand exactly the volume you eat, and adjust them down if you want to. I try to keep my levels between 4 and 6.8mmol, and if I have a good few days I allow myself a treat, it's something to look forward to. It's a bit sad but a treat is something like two squares of 85% dark chocolate,or a biscuit. With regards to carb counting, once you've worked out your regular meals it's done, you don't have to work out that meal again.
Exercise does help, and it can cause a spike in levels, If you do too much exercise, youre bm's will initailly go down but then trigger a liver dump, hence a rise in bm's , which can go quite high.
I consider exercise as just another tool to help control our diabetes, you can however have perfectly good control without any exercise, it just means your diet control has to be more precise.
I've been type 2 for nearly three years , and i'm still constantly experimenting with my diet, and tweaking the timing of my meds, I still find great excitment in discovering a new food , or ingredient.
Your doing very well keep it up

 

[rtee]

Thanks Ppete for the encouragement,
I'm beginning to wonder if I may have an infection brewing as have gone up into 7's for last few tests, tho haven't done anything much different foodwise. I believe that can make Bg's go up.
Am going to be really strict today and see if that brings them down again.
I'd really like to be between 4 & 6.8 too. Will keep trying!

 

[Superchip]

Hello rtee !

Sounds to me that you have a good control of this diabetes lark !

In answer to your questions I only take good long walks for exercise so not much use to you, although I was on metformin I packed it in just over 2 weeks ago and it has not made a scrap of difference , BG wise.

Also like you I have refused statins for 16 of the 18 years post Papworth heart transplant. Please read Dr Malcolm Kendrick, The great cholesterol con, eye opening stuff !

Lots of good advice on these forums from people that actually know what works, not just toeing the NHS party line.

Very low carb, Superchip

 

[Grazer]

Hi, agree with allthe above. It is possible to have a liver dump in the day if your fuel (energy) demands are greater than the amount you have in the tank (your muscle stores) This is slightly different to the dawn phenomenon. DP comes about because our body releases cortisol into our blood to wake us up. Part of this action results in raising our BG. Daytime liver dumps are the liver releasing Glycogen (glucose in our blood) because it senses our Bgs are starting to go low. I wouldn't worry too much, as exercise brings it's own benefits by getting our BGs down in the first place, AND improving the effectiveness of our own insulin - receptors improve and increase our uptake of glucose from the blood. So a temporarily increased BG from exercise is more than compensated for overall by the exercise itself. i Wouldn't take extra food in the way of sweet carby things to offset this - the quick rise you'll experience will be worse than the ensuing liver dump if you don't. What I do if I feel my BGs are getting a little low, (I don't mean hypos - we don't get dangerous hypos on diet only/metformin, the liver dump sees to that), is have an apple or similar just to top me up a little. This sometimes occurs on a hot day during 18 holes of golf with no food, and I can tell because I'll start to get a tad dizzy. So I'm talking a small top up after a LOT of steady exercise over hours. Otherwise, I just soldier on and look forward to my next meal! Have been known to treat myself to a bacon sarnie after 18 holes!

 

[rtee]

Thanks for all your help.

It's a bit of a minefield at the moment as I'm only a couple of months into testing having been told "it's not necessary" like so many others!

I suppose I'm expecting it all to happen immediately when it's taken far more yrs than I'm admitting to to get my body into this state! About 8 yrs ago i was 4.5 stone heavier than I am now. Lost 2 stone then stuck for several yrs. Lost another stone then stuck. Now have lost over a stone in last 2 mths and intend to carry on with the hope that Bgs & blood pressure will fall and medication lessen or become unecessary.

I'd like to do the newcastle diet, but docs are not supporting (what's new?) Any one done it on their own? Did you stop meds?

 

[rtee]

Thanks for all your help.

It's a bit of a minefield at the moment as I'm only a couple of months into testing having been told "it's not necessary" like so many others!

I suppose I'm expecting it all to happen immediately when it's taken far more yrs than I'm admitting to to get my body into this state! About 8 yrs ago i was 4.5 stone heavier than I am now. Lost 2 stone then stuck for several yrs. Lost another stone then stuck. Now have lost over a stone in last 2 mths and intend to carry on with the hope that Bgs & blood pressure will fall and medication lessen or become unecessary.

I'd like to do the newcastle diet, but docs are not supporting (what's new?) Any one done it on their own? Did you stop meds?

 

[Fraddycat]

Hi Rtee, not sure if its appropriate but hormones can make your blood sugars rise so if its TOTM you can get higher readings (another curse of being female )

 

[Defren]

Thanks for all your help.

It's a bit of a minefield at the moment as I'm only a couple of months into testing having been told "it's not necessary" like so many others!

I suppose I'm expecting it all to happen immediately when it's taken far more yrs than I'm admitting to to get my body into this state! About 8 yrs ago i was 4.5 stone heavier than I am now. Lost 2 stone then stuck for several yrs. Lost another stone then stuck. Now have lost over a stone in last 2 mths and intend to carry on with the hope that Bgs & blood pressure will fall and medication lessen or become unecessary.

I'd like to do the newcastle diet, but docs are not supporting (what's new?) Any one done it on their own? Did you stop meds?

I have done the ND. I started without support but then told my GP and he did support me. I am on Metformin 2 x 500mg a day and I chose to stay on them due to the protective qualities they offer. If you want any help of advice regarding the ND I did a daily diary which is on the weight loss forum (I am doing the 5:2 fast at the moment) or PM me, if I can help I will. There are a couple of people doing the ND now, Stevelution has a diary on the weight loss forum, maybe they will help you get an idea of what it's all about. I strongly advocate the ND so will support you all the way.

Good luck - Jo.