Hi everyone... another confused newbie

[keymandave]

Hi,
Yep, another confused newbie with lots of questions.
I'm 44, 5ft10, 93kg

I've not yet been to the doctors, however I've not been feeling 100%. My wife suggested I should check my blood sugar, as I was terrible at pigging out on sweets & biscuits.
I got a tester 4 days ago and my first reading was 14.8mmol. I didn't understand what this meant but my wife nearly fell off her chair. I realised it wasn't good news.

So, I've started doing a minimum of 30 days on the treadmill, cutting out all my sugar as in drinks, sweets, biscuits, crisps.

My readings are now averaging 7.4 mmol which I assume isn't that bad ( although still slightly high ) early days though.

I've been having organic porridge for breakfast, an apple mid morning. Usually chicken salad sandwich on wholewheat bread for lunch, then vegetable stir fry or soup for tea, with maybe a handful of hazelnuts in an evening.

I've got a doctors appointment on Wednesday to review my high blood pressure, which already in a few days off cutting sugar out has dropped amazingly, this morning reading was 118/85.

So, anyway, is there anything else I can be doing to lower my readings ?
Is 7.4mmol average anything to worry about ?
Should my Doctor on Wednesday take this serious or just nod and say its fine ?

Thanks
Dave

 

[Bluetit1802]

Hello and welcome,

When you see your doctor you need to ask for an HbA1c test and you need to tell him about the 14.8 you had a few days ago. That will tell you where you are in this matter. Your reading a few days ago of 14.8 is not desirable, and readings in the 7s (if fasting at the time) are also not desirable. The HbA1c will tell you a sort of average of your blood sugars over the preceding 2 to 3 months. If it turns out you are diabetic, you will need to change the diet you are currently eating. It isn't just sweet stuff and crisps that raise blood sugar levels. I am tagging @daisy1 for her very useful post for all newcomers.

When were your readings taken? Were they random, or fasting, or 2 hours after eating, or a mix of those?

 

[HSSS]

Hi and welcome. When are you testing? It’s important to test at the right times. Either fasting in the morning or each side of a meal ie right before and then 2hrs after. These will give an indication of your baseline and how you react to particular foods. Take a look here for what they mean https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood-sugar-level-ranges.html.

Many of us here take a low carb approach to some extent or another to lower readings and many have reversed their readings to a normal level as a result. Even by Wednesday you could see a change in readings by trying it out. Organic or not porridge I still highly likely to produce a spike, as is the apple and the bread. Whole grain just makes it a more gentle rise and fall but the same amount of glucose still hits your blood. Essentially you need to consider not just sugar but all carbs especially those from grains ie cereals, bread, rice, pasta, flour etc and fruit (avocados and berries are the best option). Replace the energy gained from those with meat, full fat dairy, oils such as olive and avocado, and mostly above ground vegetables. Peas and sweet corn being the highest. (I know it goes against the promoted message of low fat but that’s a whole other conversation you can find on this forum)

Personally I would talk to the dr about it as they sound potentially a bit too high and ask for an hb1ac test. This blood test will see what your average level over the last 2-3 months has been as oppose s to finger pricks showing you the right here and now figures.

 

[keymandave]

Thanks for your reply,
Ok, over the last few days i'm getting the average readings off 7.4mmol,

For example yesterday
Fasting 8.1mmol
9am Porridge ( organic ) with dry fruit berries
11am 7.4mmol
12am Chicken salad sandwich ( wholegrain bread )
2.30pm 7.2mmol
4.30 pm Vegatable and chicken stirfry with wholegrain noodles
7pm 6.5mmol

Check before bed at 11pm 8.5mmol

Then 7.4mmol this morning.

I was confused because it was quite good all day then I got 8.5mmol before bed.

 

[HSSS]

I’d add in a check directly before each meal to get more accurate idea of what each meal is rising you by.

Sometimes wholegrain carbs raise the levels more slowly and a 3hr and even 4hr check then catch this later spike. This is possibly what happening after the stir fry.

 

[Bluetit1802]

There is no point in speculating. You need the HbA1c test. That will confirm matters for you, and if it is positive for full blown diabetes you will be put on the care pathway, which entails regular blood tests, essential foot checks, and even more essential retinal eye screening.

 

[keymandave]

Thank you

 

[daisy1]

@keymandave

Hello Dave and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 235,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  
  
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
  

 

[Daibell]

Hi and welcome. Porridge is a carb and will probably spike your blood sugar; being organic makes no difference. Oats are better taken as muesli with cold milk as the cells aren't broken down with sugar being released and hence don't spike so much.

 

[KK123]

Hi there, as others have said you need to go to the Doctors and get diagnosed properly. If you are diabetic then you do not currently know what type you are so all this advice about not eating porridge and going low carb is secondary at this precise moment, in my opinion. I understand that you will have been shocked by such a high reading and you may be worried about what to eat between now and your Drs appointment but going low carb before this appointment might distort the diagnosis anyway (until various tests come back). I personally would cut out all the obviously 'bad' carbs, ie the sweets and biscuits but I would also not wait until Wednesday, I would contact the Drs tomorrow and get in there as an 'emergency' appointment. Not to worry you but at the moment you have NO idea what is going on and for all anybody knows you could be a type 1 that could be very ill by Wednesday. Just to give you my example, I attended the Drs on a Thursday and he looked at my 16 reading and said yep, diabetic, then he said come back Monday to see the Diabetic specialist Dr. For the next few days, I continued to exercise even more than usual and ate lowish carb. I went back as instructed on Monday and before I knew it I was being whisked off to hospital where I spent 24 hours on a drip with high ketones. I was later told that the exercise I had been doing over the weekend was actually dangerous.

 

[keymandave]

Hi there, as others have said you need to go to the Doctors and get diagnosed properly. If you are diabetic then you do not currently know what type you are so all this advice about not eating porridge and going low carb is secondary at this precise moment, in my opinion. I understand that you will have been shocked by such a high reading and you may be worried about what to eat between now and your Drs appointment but going low carb before this appointment might distort the diagnosis anyway (until various tests come back). I personally would cut out all the obviously 'bad' carbs, ie the sweets and biscuits but I would also not wait until Wednesday, I would contact the Drs tomorrow and get in there as an 'emergency' appointment. Not to worry you but at the moment you have NO idea what is going on and for all anybody knows you could be a type 1 that could be very ill by Wednesday. Just to give you my example, I attended the Drs on a Thursday and he looked at my 16 reading and said yep, diabetic, then he said come back Monday to see the Diabetic specialist Dr. For the next few days, I continued to exercise even more than usual and ate lowish carb. I went back as instructed on Monday and before I knew it I was being whisked off to hospital where I spent 24 hours on a drip with high ketones. I was later told that the exercise I had been doing over the weekend was actually dangerous.

Thank you for this information. I will do as you say and call the doctor in the morning.

 

[KK123]

Thank you for this information. I will do as you say and call the doctor in the morning.

Hi keymandave, I am sure you will be fine, I do not mean to alarm you but just wanted to share my experience because I know how it feels when you are right at the start of all of this. Whatever the outcome is (and please let us know) you sound like you are already doing a lot of research and that will really assist you. x

 

[keymandave]

Hi keymandave, I am sure you will be fine, I do not mean to alarm you but just wanted to share my experience because I know how it feels when you are right at the start of all of this. Whatever the outcome is (and please let us know) you sound like you are already doing a lot of research and that will really assist you. x

Thank you for your advice. I did as you suggested and went to the doctors this morning. I'm booked in for blood tests on Friday.
I'll keep an eye on things between now and then..

My readings seem to be staying between 5.7 and 8.5 mmol area and my ketones in the urine are about 1.5mmol in the morning, dropping down to about 0.5mmol as the day goes on.

I'll keep my eye on things and stick to my diet anyway, as realistically it can't be a bad thing cutting all my rubbish out.

Thanks again to everybody that helped me

 

[KK123]

Thank you for your advice. I did as you suggested and went to the doctors this morning. I'm booked in for blood tests on Friday.
I'll keep an eye on things between now and then..

My readings seem to be staying between 5.7 and 8.5 mmol area and my ketones in the urine are about 1.5mmol in the morning, dropping down to about 0.5mmol as the day goes on.

I'll keep my eye on things and stick to my diet anyway, as realistically it can't be a bad thing cutting all my rubbish out.

Thanks again to everybody that helped me

Hi key, SO glad you are ok. x