High Blood Sugar Consistently

Personally I dont know of any small pastry or eating chips could be less than 75g of carb....

Ketones on your monitor is advising to check for ketones.... As your levels ate so high that if they stay at this level for any significant length of time then you are likely to get ketones.

Getting your levels down to 10 on a healthier diet is then going to tell your gp that you are trying and drugs arent working...
You do not want to be getting levels in 20's

Hello
If you are serious about watching your diet then you will need to account for all carbohydrates which does include potatoes, bread and anything baked along with sugar in the dessert I think you refer to. So as donnellydogs says chances are you had around 75 g of carbs which could be the cause of your high readings.
So count all carbs not just "sugar" and see if that makes a difference. You will be shocked where those carbs can be found lurking.
Cd

Carbs are equal in terms of sugar as sugar is! So in terms of how it affects an individual it does not really matter if it is a bread roll or a bun. Some people can tollerate a reasonable amount of carbs, nearing a normal diet and others can't. You have to test to find out which camp you fall into. I cannot eat above about 30g of carbs a day. I get most of these carbs from veg but for instance I ate a packet of Pistachio nuts for breakfast that had 8,5g of carbs in them - which are the hidden carbs that most people don't count. Looking at your meal, for instance, onion soup is wonderful - but made properly the onions are caramelised which brings out quite a bit of sugar. The chips are pure carbs... and the small pastry... which like donnellydogs said could mean that you ate 75g in one meal! If you can tollerate that, lucky you, but judging by your readings you should probably lower them a bit.

I do agree though that you should go back to the doctors / diabetic nurse and discuss the high readings as they might want to adjust your medication. But you should also start reading up on the value of carbs.

norfolkadam said:

Hello, I have T2 diabetes controlled with Metformin and Victoza.

I am getting very frustrated by my consistently very high blood sugar readings from a couple of hours after eating. For example, this evening, I went out for dinner, I had french onion soup, steak and chips and a small pastry, I know this wasn't healthy, it was a treat night but I really don't think that I consumed more than 10-20g of sugar.

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it's not about sugar as such. its about carbohydrates. Sugar is only involved because it is a fast acting carb.

Check out Jennifer's Smart Advice and Alan S's Test, Review, Adjust in links below ...

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045524.php

http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.co.uk/200 ... djust.html

A highly recommended book: Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker

For the first few months I just looked at the "of which sugars" element of food I was eating and followed a low sugar diet but I still had high readings. I did not understand completely why.

I attended a Diabetic course at which I learned to count all carbs as sugar, as effectively they all end up being broken down to this - some quicker than others (based on GI rating). I looked at food in a new light - if it was not protein or fat then it was a carb. The trouble is if I am not eating much carb then I must eat more protein or fat. Fat in general gets a bad rap, but there are ones better that the others and it is a case of balancing them all (http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/).

Since being on a low carb diet for the last 6 months my readings are usually very close to the normal range. This has meant cutting a lot of foods out of my diet - sugar, potatoes, oats, rice, chips, bread, pastries, chocolate and any flour based product. On the upside this also meant the inclusion of some others, that I really like, - butter, cheese, egg, cream, nuts. I do still have porridge for breakfast as even though this has 38g of carb, as a made up one serving from the box, I find it sets me up for the day and has a low GI which means it slowly breaks down to sugar and therefore does not spike my readings. Another new discovery is cocoa powder a spoon in my porridge, which a teaspoon of splenda to offset the bitterness and some double cream, makes a lovely chocolate porridge - not every morning - honest.

Flour was a real surprise for me, well it is so plain, but there are a fair few good recipes out there using ground almond in place of this and I have some nice puddings, with cream of course. Gravy was a bit of a gotcha for me I just didn't think about the thickening ingredient.

Most of my other carb intake for the day is from nuts and vegetables. I do have to be careful with fruit due to some having very high carb content. My aim was to be under 100g of carb per day and I am currently averaging around 60g per day - different people will find different levels that they are comfortable at. It was tough at first whilst the body adjusted, carb detox, and I had a long period of time where I felt a little disconnected and fuzzy but I have found making sure I drink the 8 glasses of water a day have helped overcome this and now feel normal, well better than normal really. Over the low carb diet time I have also lost 9kg and my Hba1c, cholesterol and body fat readings have all improved to near normal. I was concerned that the increase of fat, mostly good fat, in my diet might have impacted my checkup results but so far so good.

I do have the odd treat, but that is what it is a treat, and then it is in moderation - a meal out, a piece of chocolate, a sweet from one of the kids. For me I know this has to be a change for life and as such it needs to be something I can maintain in the long term.
I use the free myfitnesspal application to keep a daily diary of food, and therefore the content, so that I don't slip back into my old ways and gorge myself on carbs

Hope this posting helps
Richard

Hi Norfolkadam

You need to look at total carbs on anything if it is mass produced on a production line. If the packet is say 4 biscuits, sometimes they give vales per biscuit, sometimes by weight... But you should no matter what try to add up packaged food carbs that you eat.

Also milk, beers, wine etc.

Also fruit and veg and defintely anything that is formed from a potato.

Buy carbs n cal book.. You will be suprised...

I eat on average 70-100g of carbs a day and I am very active. If I wasnt so active I would eat less carbs. To me carbs are lbs....

I am never hungry. I dont feel deprived on 70-100g carbs per day. This is my natural eating, I DO NOT restrict my carbs.. Its just that my brain and body dont feel the need for me.

I am sure that if you gave some positive thinking and reading to eating carbs that your levels would drop nicely.

Frypc is right...

This is not a diet... Its a change for life... What you do has to be able to be sustained and for you to be happy with for the rest of your life...

It is so important that you DONT think of this as a restrictive diet... Diets dont work....

Sustained lifestyle change does work...

As others have said you do need to keep your carbs down to, say, a max of 150gm/day and see how it goes. If you are overweight then you would be insulin resistant and the metformin will help with that but not directly to reduce your blood sugar by much. If carb reduction doesn't help then further tablets would need to be added. If you are either normal weight and younger or both then it is always possible that the diagnosis might be T1.5. So, reduce carbs and do see the GP again if there is no real blood sugar reduction. Your HBa1C needs to be kept below around 7.5%.

HELLO, I,M CARER OF ALAN WHO,S DIABETIC TYPE 2 MEDICATION INSULIN. HIS RECENT SUGAR READINGS WERE 24. 7, I REMOVED MASH POTATO, SWAP FOR YAMS, CHICKPEAS, ANY DRIED BEANS, LENTILS, SOYA CHUNKS, PEARL BARLEY. CASSEROLE MAINLY. I GIVE HIM VEAL, VENISON, PARTRIDGE, CHICKEN, SLICED TURKEY FROM DELI, NO ADDED SUGAR CORDIAL, I USE FLORA PRO ACTIVE ON HIS MEAT SALAD SANDWICH FOR SUPPER. HE HAS SEMI SKIMMED MILK IN MELLOW BIRDS COFFEE. HIS MEAT I BUY FROM DONALD RUSSELL.COM BUTCCHER, BECAUSE ITS LOW IN FAT LIKE VEAL FOR INSTANCE. HIS READING TONIGHT AT 9 0CLOCK IS 11.2. STILL NEEDS HELP I UNDERSTAND BUT I,M GETTING HIM THERE. I,M WONDERING IF IT,S OK TO JUICE HIS VEGETABLES WHEN HE DOESN,T WANT TO EAT THEM, AND IS SAY LA MUSCLE PROTEIN SHAKE OK TO USE, FOR BREAKFAST ALAN LIKES OATIBIX WITH A SPRINKLE OF TOTAL SWEET SUGAR ALTERNATIVE, OR SCRAMBLED EGG ON GRANARY HOVIS. HOPE THIS CAN HELP ANYONE OF YOU, I,VE FOUND CARB READING FRUSTRATING SO I REALLY DO SYMPATHISE. HOPE EVERYONES OK. SIGNED DELTASUE.

HAS ANYONE OUT THERE TRIED XYLITOL CHOCOLATE BAR, AND DOES ANYONE FEEL IT,S OK OR NOT TO GIVE ALAN, HE,S BOTHERING ME FOR SOME CHOCOLATE, AND DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE I CAN GET IT IF HE CAN HAVE IT, APPARENTLY XYLITOL IS SUGAR FREE, ROLE ON HIS BED TIME IN 10MINS OR SO.

If I want chocolate I either have a piece of very dark chocolate which has less carbs but I understand that some people find it an aquired taste so I also eat Atkins bars. They make about 5 or 6 different varieties which are sold everywhere from Boots to ASDA and are very low in carbs. If you eat to many they can upset your stomach but I have always found that they taste quite nice!

I am new to these forums but have read most with interest. It does seem to me that what works for some doesn't work for others which obviously is only human nature. However, i was diagnosed 13 years ago with T2 Diabetes. I went through the whole range of pills etc until they finally put me on Insulin. I was determined that i would get back to as near normal as i could. I learned that to control my blood sugars involved losing 2 stones in weight, (i am now 13st 4lbs ) and excersise. After all energy in, unused, leads to high everything. So now i don't consciously watch what i eat i excersise it off by walking and using an excersise bike.
There is no need to go daft on the excersise but to just remember that blood sugar is energy that has to be used. I have been off insulin now for 3 years and am just on Metformin and sitagliptin. Well pleased it may work for you.

Fryrpc is spot on. Getting sugar levels down isn't rocket science. Out goes sugar and anything containing sugar. Out goes carbohydrates, potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, flour products. In, vegetables, salads, fry-ups, eggs, meat, dairy, fish etc. I've been on this diet for a year and feel loads better, I now even have the odd roast potato. Oh and don't forget to drink wine - but not the sweet ones. I don't understand this thing about drinking gallons of water, I just drink decent cafetiere coffee and tea throughout the day. To complete the two pronged attack, try and exercise 4 or 5 times a week. I found that a good hammering either swimming or on the exercise bike, until you feel half dead combined with weight training in the gym. My attitude was kill or cure and I really didn't care which. Currently it seems very much cure and my blood sugar levels plummeted.

My practice nurse (heaven forfend HM the doctor might ever take an interest) still insists - after my 5 years of T2 - that carbs are OK. In my DIRECT experience there's only one difference between carb and sugar - half an hour. In any case, blood sugar levels must surely be academic when every test strip seems begrudged.

Pickwick said:

My practice nurse (heaven forfend HM the doctor might ever take an interest) still insists - after my 5 years of T2 - that carbs are OK. In my DIRECT experience there's only one difference between carb and sugar - half an hour. In any case, blood sugar levels must surely be academic when every test strip seems begrudged.

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I'm afraid that my experience of these diabetic specialist nurses is not good. I think with a bit of reading around the subject it is not difficult to match their knowledge levels. They look for easy fixes, eg carrier bags full of pills, which I don't think are necessarily the best solutions. I attended a desmond session where a couple of diabetic expert nurses held sway for a day long course. They were patronising and I suspect had about 5 GCSEs between them. Sure, they were talking to some clueless clots on the course but when they started telling me that you shouldn't drink alcohol because it is sugar then I'm afraid that we had a verbal ruck. They don't like being challenged. I found their attitude negative and depressing. It doesn't have to be like that and there are loads of foods and drinks that diabetics can really enjoy. Being diabetic has not had one jot of impact on my life just a few changes to diet. The only drawback is the exercise which I don't always feel like doing, but needs must.