High glucose readings

[LinsT]

Hi all,
I an a newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic. I had a call from my GP on Mon because the results of my HbA1c was apparently very high. He asked me to call in and pick up a prescription for Metformin (500mg am and pm) and to collect a glucometer.
I'm due to see him again tomorrow morning.
I have been reading the information here on this website, including these forums and now have myself a little terrified!
Due to the information I've read, I've been keeping my carbohydrate intake much lower than usual - about 30g of carb or less per meal, but my readings are very high.
For example, this evening I ate baked fish with vegetables. After an hour my levels were 17.3mmol/l, after 3 hours, 16.2mmol/l.
When I test first thing on a morning, they are around 15mmols/l.
So, my questions are:
1. Is this normal at first? Is there a possibility that these levels will reduce over time?
2. Does metformin take effect straight away or does it take time to start working?
3. What should I be asking my doctor tomorrow? (I have a record of the glucose readings and a food diary that I'll take with me.

Im so worried about these high readings and would be grateful for any help or advice you can give me.

 

[ButtterflyLady]

Hi @LinsT and welcome to our merry band.

I will tag @daisy1 who has some newbie info she can post for you.

I'm glad your GP is so proactive and positive about self-management of diabetes and using meter. This is a good sign!

Please try not to worry, there is no need to be terrified as it should be possible for your blood glucose (BG) to come down over the next few weeks, and if it doesn't, we can cross that bridge when we come to it (there are other rare types of diabetes... and they are also quite treatable). It's most likely you have "ordinary" T2 diabetes and your BGs will come down soon. So please relax and ease into it... this is a marathon, not a sprint.

1. Yes, BG levels don't usually come down in the first few days when they have been very high.
2. Metformin takes a few weeks to work (and food is more important than metformin in lowering BG)
3. Ask for a printout of your blood test results, or at least find out what the HbA1c result was. (We advise this as a standard thing for everyone).

Because your doctor sounds so onto it (compared to others) I don't think I need to suggest anything in particular, as I think he will have it covered. He should organise an eye test and refer you to a podiatrist to check your feet, and also check your blood pressure if he hasn't already.

 

[LinsT]

Hi Catlady,
Thank you so much for the response - its really put my mind at rest. I'm feeling a little food and blood sugar result obsessed at the moment!
It was getting to the point where I was scared to eat, as even low carb meals are having little impact. The first evening of diagnosis I ate pasta for dinner - and had a post meal reading of 24mmol/l so I guess at least the readings have come down from that since I stopped with the carbs!
I'm so relieved that its normal for it all to take a few weeks rather than a few days for things to start to settle back down.
Thanks again xxx

 

[daisy1]

@LinsT

Hello and welcome to the forum Here is the information we give to new members which I hope you will find useful. Ask all the questions you like and someone will be able to 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 over 150,000 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

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

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

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 bloodglucose 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.

 

[LinsT]

Hello again
Quick update. I saw my GP and apparently my HbA1c was 123. He is being extremely supportive and obviously taking the high result seriously. He has increased the metformin to 1000mg am and pm. He is also doing some tests to check out whether this might possibly be a type 1 (I had an HbA1c test a few months back which was normal).
In the meantime - thanks to this forum - I have counted every carbohydrate thats passed my lips - and my glucose reading are starting to dip below 10mmol/l. Not bad considering I started at 23!
My GP recommended the book Carbs and Cals - by Chris Cheyette and Yello Balolia - and I'm finding it really useful.
I would recommend it to anyone like myself struggling initially to know the carbohydrate content of foods. It's available on this website (I have no vested interest honest!).
Finally, thanks to all of you - for the questions you ask and the answers you give. You are a fantastic resource.
BIG hugs xxx