Help - Blood sugars to high!

[ccolman607]

Hello

I am new here, but not new to Diabetes. I have been a type 2 for 5 years that was controlled by diet and tablets. I have been on insulin since October 2008. My blood sugars just will not come down to acceptable levels. I have been visiting my consultant since October 2009 and can communicate with him via email which is very useful.

I am currently taking metformin daily, Levimar (80units twice daily) and Novarapid which has just increased to 22,22 and 26 for my meals. They have analysed my diet and I was very honest about this. The ruling was that carbs were about average per meal. I work more than full time and do a job that means that I am sat down or charging from office to office. I eat cereal for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch and then eat an evening meal.

Ok, so blood sugar readings are to high. I have just completed a 24hr urine sample for Cortisol and it was within the normal range - so not an issue here. This morning I have tested and my bloods are 14.7. Morning bloods have never been lower than 12.2.

This last Retinopathy Test has come back showing signs of deteriation - this has panicked me.
Can anyone offer me anything that may help here?

 

[cugila]

We offer you advice based on our own experience at controlling our Diabetes. Here is the advice that we hand out routinely to newly diagnosed Type 2's. Have a read and see how it compares to what you have been told. You will no doubt find that the dietary advice is different from what your HCP's tell you. We find it works for most of us. It may help you.

Here is the advice we usually give to newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics.This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

The main carbs to avoid or reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating then two hours after eating you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the affect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.

As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try !!

As a Type 2 the latest 2010 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l.
2 hrs after meals......no more than 8.5 mmol/l.
If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do 30 minutes moderate exercise a day. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

Ken/Sue.

 

[hanadr]

ccolman
It's the experience of many of us who write here, that NHs dietary advice does not work
therefore, your dietary check, if done by an NHS dietician, probably won't help you.
A group of us also believe that the usual Blood glucose levels aare set higher than is healthiest.Too high above non-diabetic.
However, If you control your carbs, you should find your BG coming under control
You give your Insulin doses for your meals.
Do you eat to your insulin, or do you carb count?
To me, a non medic, your insulin doses seem quite high, especially if supported by Metformin.
If you reduce your carbs, you might be able to bring your doses dowm, Which could help avoid the weight gain spiral.
Try reducing your carbs, or changing to a lower GI and your numbers should respond quite quickly. Fasting never below 12 is too high. anything over 7 puts you in line for complications. control of diabetes is a 3 way thing, diet, exercise and medication. of these, diet has most power.
Hana