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High glucose readings.....

Ken A A

Member
Messages
14
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I have been on a very strict low carb diet for two weeks and have lost 10lb. I have eaten nothing with any more than 2% sugar and virtually no other carbs yet my blood glucose level was 13.4 yesterday and after nothing to eat since 17.00 last night was 14.8 at 09.30 this morning. I take 2x50mg metformin daily. So, where on earth is this glucose coming from?
 
Probably your liver is making it. - google gluconeogenesis and dawn phenomenon
 
bulkbiker said:
Can we get some examples of what you ate yesterday?
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I had a small dish of salt fish and ackee for breakfast, containing avery small amount of onions, chilli and peppers. Dinner was some cauliflower with grated cheese and that was it yesterday. Drank only water and coffee. The previous day I had crispy bacon and sprouts for breakfast with coconut oil and dinner was chicken with cajun herbs. No other food at all. Today I have had a small piece of cheese to take with my metformin and I'll do the same this afternoon then nothing until I test tomorrow morning.
 
I have been taking metformin for 12 months and it makes me feel ill most of the time so was hoping to control my diabetes with weight loss/diet.
 
Hi Ken, big congratulations on your weight loss and commitment.

I am not as strict as you in my diet, have lost no weight, but have seen my blood glucose lower from an average of 13 to 6. For me, it was about my body re- establishing a new 'normal'. It has taken months, with slow improvement. The morning reading has been the last figure to come down, currently about 7.5.

Hang on in there, make sure you eating enough to keep you full and happy so you are more likely to stick with this long term. It is a long haul, and there were times in my journey when I felt like nothing was improving. I'm still journeying.....

Again, kudos on the weight loss!
 
OK nothing stands out there, except you aren't eating very much!
Where were your sugars before you started with this way of eating?
 
Hello and thanks for the comments and encouragement. I was at a high of 19st three years ago! After changing my eating habits I managed to get down to 17st 2lb and a couple of weeks ago thought why stop there so hit the Keto hard and have lost a further 9lb but as I say I think my liver might be in rebellion and is producing glucose to compensate for me "starving" . Just trying to figure out the way forward as I would like to get down to 15st.
 
Maybe just carry on? With the extra weight loss you may find a normalisation of sugars?
2 weeks isn;t very long although I would have expected to see lower sugars.. how long have you been diagnosed and what was your HbA1c on diagnosis?
 
Try having more fat in your diet if there isn't enough fat then your liver will dump glucose, high protein in the absence of fat can cause you sugar problems
 
For me, it was about lowering the blood sugars, so I have not been on any portion control! My weight is stable, but the Gliclazide gives me a fair bit of hunger. I am currently 14 St 10, and need to lose 3stone ideally. Now that the sugar is under better control I will be asking my nurse to greatly reduce the drug or better yet, stop it entirely, so I can try some fasting to shift the stored fat reserves

I also found that when I hit on the meals that did not raise my blood sugar, I quit testing all the time because it was stressing me out and raising those figures. So, I didn't test for about 3 weeks. When I started testing again (new food choices) I found my numbers were generally much lower.

For you, the only thing I can think of is maybe be a little kinder on yourself, you've had amazing success, and pack in a few more things you enjoy eating to keep your metabolism running high.
 
I think canned Ackee can vary quite a lot in its carb count, even if it is canned in brine with no added sugar
This is the info for the brand Im familiar with

https://www.fatsecret.com/Diary.aspx?pa=fjrd&rid=1311818
But I can see other brands citing much lower carb count - might be worth double checking yours
 
Also something to consider is that if your body is in a "stressed" state from dieting (which from what you ate, may be the case), hormonal releases (stress) can raise glucose levels a lot.
 
Alamode said:
Try having more fat in your diet if there isn't enough fat then your liver will dump glucose, high protein in the absence of fat can cause you sugar problems
Click to expand...
I have looked again at my intake and my fat levels are far too low! I am adjusting this as we speak with a nice coconut milk drink with added MCT coconut oil. Apparently a good dollop of butter in a mug of coffee works well too. Thanks for your help. Onwards and upwards.
 
My suggestion is you are eating far too little and your body thinks you are starving, so the liver dumps glucose to keep you alive. Are you calorie counting as well as carb counting, and keeping an eye on all your nutrients? Perhaps eat a bit more? If this is starvation mode, then you will make it a lot worse by continuing to eat so little.
 
Just a thought.. you mentioned on another thread getting a new battery for your meter but how old are your test strips...?
 
Give it some time your body needs to adjust. Sounds like you are off to a really good start though and as you are finding your body can produce glucose which is what it is used to burning. Also as bulkbiker says make sure the readings are accurate. I was using a libre and it always reads too high on me.

My theory is my body took a while to learn how to burn fat and while I transitioned it did everything it could to keep burning sugar. What I think helped me was running. I got big spikes with exercise but that seemed to empty out my liver for the day. Over time I found my spikes got smaller and smaller 15 at first and then more like 7 last time I checked a few months ago. The drop from 15 to 7 occured over about 13 months. It turned out that the worst thing for me seemed to be exercise of all things, made me spike more than food.
 
bulkbiker said:
Just a thought.. you mentioned on another thread getting a new battery for your meter but how old are your test strips...?
Click to expand...
The test strips are over a year old. I'm afraid I have not been using them regularly at all, still a wee bit in denial to be honest.
 
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