Help with my blood sugar levels

Your BG (blood glucose) should fall between 4 and 7 mm/ol on the meter. As a T2 you really should look into lo-carbing. I've found (like many others here) that lo-carb is un-beatable as a way of maintaining low BG levels. A lot of the food you are currently eating will cause your BG to rise. This site is a great resource for lo-carb info. Have a look around.

For me (T2 for 11yrs) Pizza and Pasta are absolute no-go's. Bolognese sauce is ok - but eat it without pasta.

I am so frustrated at the opinion held by many GPs that they can manage our BG levels remotely when realistically it is outside their control.

In my opinion, you do need to test. At a minimum, twice daily, once when waking and again 2 hours after your main meal. Only then will you be in a position to say whether or not you need to change your diet.

NICE recommendations are that testing should have been discussed with you, along with how to interpret the results. PCTs have interpreted the NICE guidelines to mean that type 2s on diet alone or on glucophage should test no more than three times a week, unless a regime is changing or you are ill or you experience hyperglycaemia (which begs the question, how do you know if you're hyper unless you test some people are hyper aware, just as some people are hypo aware).

Discuss testing with your GP and if your HbA1c is causing you concern, then stress that testing can help you learn how your diet affects your BG levels and influence the decisions you make about diet which will, in turn, benefit your health.

You will not get a meter on prescription, but the practice may have a few "sample" meters provided by the manufacturers. Alternatively, you can get one from your pharmacist, but be aware that they are VAT exempt items for people with diabetes, explain you are diabetic to the pharmacist and you should be able to get a few percentage points off the price. Once you have your meter, get your GP to prescribe you strips (which are, by far, the most expensive element of testing).

Regards, Tubs.

I'm afraid I shuddered visibly at your diet.

Yes OK I know that's probably what you were told to eat, that's probably what most of us were told to eat, and not giving you a meter is because then you can't see what horrific numbers the diet gives you, which might make you depressed.

IMNSHO testing is essential at first

http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/10/d-day.html

if you do that I can practically guarantee you won't be eating weetabix or cornflakes for breakfast ever again

Firstly, ask if they have a spare BG meter and ask for a prescription for test strips - or buy yourself a meter, you should still ask for a prescription for test strips.

Secondly, ask for a referral to diatetics.

Testing is the biggest thing you can do towards finding out how your diet affects your BG. You need to work out which foods in your diet cause your BG to spike, and those which either do not affect your BG or affect your BG in a way that is acceptable to you. Each of us is different, it could be that you can handle a few slices of pizza or a couple of slices of wholegrain bread without your BG rocketing.

Regards, Tubs.

irnbru , as a starter for your journey and that is what it will be for you. A little research into what is in food groups of Protien -Carbohydrates- and Fats will put you in good stead to make some choices that you will need to make.

There is a whole lot of that on this site.

The next part of that is what effect each of the above groups has on Blood Sugar levels. Again there is ample to look at.
By now the penny may already be dropping you aquire information.

Worrying about it wont actually help you but by finding out and taking control you will be surprised at what you can achieve .

You will have lots more questions i am sure

Good luck
Dave P

I'd really avoid drinking lucazade ever, it's very sweet. What medication are you on? You shouldn't be getting low blood sugar bad enough to need to drink lucazade, depending what medication you take though.
Having a snack is a good idea, and maybe plan to eat a healthy snack before you feel light-headed anyway just in case?
If you look in the low-carb section there is lots of advice, meat and fish are good (I don't eat either though so not sure what types are best!) vegetables too, root vegetables less so as they have more carbs. Cheese is ok too. Does that go with meat/fish? no idea!

I am on low carb diet, I am quite strict, no rice, potatoes, vegetables, pasta, cereal or fruit other than berries. I have far more energy than before. I used to feel tired all the time, whereas now I feel terrific, get yourself a meter as others have said and give it a try. I cook for my family and it is easy to have the same meals, for example last night we had a roast, I had no potatoes but loads of veg. Tonight chicken kebabs and salad, rest of family had cous cous with theirs. I can't do eggs in the morning but you can have eggs and bacon for breakfast, then for lunch I normally have a large salad.

I think you will be surprised how well you feel if you give this a try.

irnbru said:

One thing that I wondered about with eating a low carb diet was, doesn't it make you feel lethargic, I mean if your not eating carbs how does your body have energy? forgive me if I sound foolish just wondered.

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Hi Irnbru,

Reducing your carb intake doesn't make you feel lethargic at all - in fact it is just the opposite. The amount of carbs that your body needs on average to meet your energy requirements is around 50g per day. Below that level then the body gets its energy by burning off fat. This creates ketones which the body uses instead of glucose to provide energy. You mentioned about feeling knackered all the time in your previous post. That is generally a result of having a high blood sugar level, which is indicative of having too many carbs. Something that pretty much all people who have reduced their carbs have remarked on is how much more energy they now have compared to their higher-carb days!

If you are feeling tired I'd imagine it's high blood sugar like Dennis + Jo123 said, I definatly feel very tired and lethargic all the time when I have high blood sugar. Do you know what your last HbA1c results were?

Hi irnbru!
I found a good cookbook, which you might find interesting. It's by Carolyn Humphries and called
The Low Carb Long Term Lifestyle. It's available from Amazon.
there's a load of delicious stuff in there. Mainly Mediterranean style.