high sugars?

VW754 said:

Hi, i had a meal about 3pm yesterday (roast chicken,potatoes,baked beans) and at 4,pm walked for about 20 minutes,i got in last night and checked my glucose levels.... 6.5 ! Brilliant !

I know it was late but i had 2 rounds of toast and small amount of baked beans,and 3 puff pastry sticks( sugar coated..oops) after an hour or 2, my levels were 15.6 !

This morning they were 8.3 (at 9am before breakfast).........

im sure the walk has done me good,and lowered my levels as i dont really excercise.

how high is high after eating ........and does it matter ? I was told it dont matter as long as its low in the morning.

Click to expand...

It depends who you ask, but around here I think that the general consensus is that your BG two hours after eating should be less that 7mmol/l. Your fasting BG should also probably be less that 7mmol/l too.

15.6 mmol/l is very high and yes it does matter, as you're starting to find out from the neuropathy in your toes. The person that told you that only your fasting BG matters must be some sort of idiot. That's dangerously stupid advice.

Excercise is great, but no amount of walking is going to help you deal with a diet consisting of refined carbohydrates. There are not many (non-insulin dependent) T2s here who would eat a meal of toast, beans, and sugar coated pastry sticks.

Your HbA1c is consistent with an average BG of 9mmol/l.

VW754 said:

I also notice very very slight numbness in my toe only one of my toes the one next to my littlest one.....very very little.........i get no tingling just not as sensitive as the others but i can definatley feel it even if i prick it very very lightly with a toothpick...dont know if this is ok.....no discolouration or anything.

Click to expand...

That sounds like Neuropathy. You should get to your Doctors asap for some advice, and start being very careful about looking after your feet (inspect them daily for cuts or sores).

If you get your BG under control, then there is a good chance that you can reverse this, or at least stop it getting any worse. If you keep on eating all those carbs, it will almost certainly get worse.

You've made a good start by testing your BG after eating, but now you need to start acting on that information and cutting out the (carbohydrate) things that are spiking your BG and damaging your nerves.

Hi VW,

I'd just add a couple of things. Yes, 15.6 is a high reading and you should be aiming at getting your 2hr reading to 8.5 or below. A consistently high reading like that will do damage over time, so it's in your interest to avoid those things happening.

The meal you describe is carb with carb and a carby treat. Each to their own but you will feel much better if you restrict your carb intake. I still eat rice, potatoes and pasta but only in very small amounts. I never eat anything with sugar on it

The walking is good and you should build it in to your routine if walking is your favourite exercise. But don't think of carbs or sugar as a reward for exercise. Exercise goes alongside your improved diet to help you with the condition. Oh, and I had tingly and sometimes numb feet a few months back - they're absolutely fine now. They should be checked at your next DB review - I think this is standard practice - but learn to love your feet and then you'll soon notice if anything is wrong.

Hope that helps

S

Your blood glucose should come down after eating to about the same as it was before you started. For example, if your were 6 before eating, you should be in the low 6s 2 hours afterwards.

This is what is meant by good control, which many of us here are trying to aim for. The guidelines from the National Institute of Clinical Health and Excellence (NICE) for Type 2 diabetics are:

4 - 7 before meals;
less than 8.5 2 hours after

Non-diabetic levels are:
3.5 - 5.5 before meals
less than 8 after meals.

It's possible for many people (though not all) to achieve this. It's worth trying for - diabetic complications can be very nasty, and as a friend of mine keeps saying - she intends to be buried still able to see, and with both feet still attached.

I'd like to know how she intends to see after she's dead, but you know what I mean! :lol:

Viv 8)

Only one answer to that - yes!

All carbohydrates, whether sweet or not, turn to sugar in your blood. Less carbohydrate in the diet - lower blood sugars. Sweets send your blood sugars up the fastest. As a general rule it's as simple as that.

Viv 8)

Agree with all above, got to cut out those starchy carbs. You need to start counting how many OVERALL carbs you have as well. I manage ( although teacher would probably say "could do better") on about 150 or so a day plus exercise. Others have a lot less ( and do better than me as a result) you could start at, say, my sort of level then go less as you need to in order to get to the levels you need - as people have said, less than say 8 two hours after eating initially, getting down below 7 later as you start to get your diet settled. And NOTHING with sugar on. Penalty fit getting it wrong is not worth considering if doctors or dieticians tell you otherwise ( re carbs) ignore them. They don't normally have diabetes!

Exercise will help, but the main thing is getting your carbohydrates down. Grazer's suggestions are very sensible. Metformin/glucophage doesn't bring you blood glucose levels down very much. Instead it helps your body to use the blood glucose better. You don't want to be on any more meds before you really need them, if you can help it. Give diet a chance first.

You need to get yourself a Carb Counter book. Collins do a pocket-sized one in their Gem series, called Carb Counter. I got mine from Amazon. Then just eat as you usually do for a few days and use the book to count how many grams of carbohydrate you've eaten at each meal. You'll be surprised! If you also test before and two hours after each meal you'll see how foods affect your blood glucose levels.

Don't try to do too much too soon. You're going to be living with this for the rest of your life, so it's important to get it right. Your blood glucose levels are too high, but you'll have been living with those for a while. Take a few days to learn why they are so high - the food you're eating - and then make changes. It will take time to get control, but you'll be amazed at how quickly your levels drop if you take Grazer's suggestion of 150g to 100g of carb per day.

One step at a time, and try not to worry. Stress pushes your blood glucose levels up - we simply can't win! :shock:

Except we can :wink: Go for it!

Viv 8)

Hi Great advice from viv n grazer n borofergie.
Would just like to suggest when going for a walk myself, I take a chopped up apple along with me.
The natural juice and sugar in the apple keep me sustained safetly and prevent my BG levels going too low! [as excercise lowers the BG levels ] Plus its carb and natural sugars in the piece of fruit.
As its sweet - it prevents me from picking at the wrong stuff later!
You will learn as you go along daily , dont stress just see it as a learning curve.
I still do things the wrong way round even now... Its how I learn . :lol:
Anna.x

Why not try 1 round of beans on toast instead?
My levels before meals are usually in the 5's if I've been good but if I ate 2 rounds of beans on toast I would end up about 14 I think!! If I eat 2 rounds of bread it would be around 8 or so without the beans.
What sort of bread are you eating, is it lower carb? And are your beans low sugar ones?
HTH
Angie

Fact is VW, your BG was too high BEFORE you had the beans on toast. And 2 rounds of toast is probably more than most of us would have, ignoring the beans. I think you need to see the doc/nurse to review your meds to get your base BG levels down, then look again at your carb content in your food. Otherwise, get seriously down on your carb intake to get your BG lower overall

VW754 said:

Also im concerened about a couple of things......1st of all as beans release energy slowly...is it worth checking levels after 2 hours or should i wait longer? im sure all food rise bs levels differently?

Click to expand...

Honestly - until you get your BS down - I'd skip the beans and the toast all together.

Does 2 rounds of Baked Beans mean a tin full? If so that'd be about 53g of carbs. Plus 12g each for 2 slices of toast. That equals 77g of carbs in a single meal. Slow release or not, that much carb will always spike your blood.

Why don't you try eating bacon and eggs tomorrow. Good quality bacon has almost zero carbs, and maybe 1.5g of carbs per egg. You could gorge yourself on that and it wouldn't spike your blood at all.

VW754 said:

My 2nd issue is.....if say i ate sweet things,i.e cakes/biscuits/chocs etc say on monday/tuesday....would it still be in my system on saturday/sunday and cause me this blood sugar rise?

Click to expand...

Yes. It's possible. Most of us were in that situation before we were diagnosed. If you're eating so more carbohydrate than your endocrine system can process before the next morning, then they'll still be sugar in your blood. That is a bad situation to be in.

Sorry to be repertitive, but it's carbohydrates not just obviously "sweet things" that are doing this to your blood.

VW754 said:

Im not eating now until about 10am tomorrow,il check my levels when i wake up in the morning see what they are........maybe i need some more tablets...these glucophage sr 750mg x 2 may not be working as good

Click to expand...

Glucophage will only help you if you help yourself. Even on the maximum dose, they'll only reduce your BG by 1-2mmol/l. You need to do the rest yourself by changing your diet.

VW754 said:

Oh....one more thing.........is coconut meat ok to eat or will it rise my bs levels?????????

Click to expand...

Depends on how much you eat. By Googling "Cocunut Carbs" I just found that half a coconut has about 30g of carbohydrate (flesh only). Try eating a quarter (say) and testing to see how it influences your BG.

VW754 said:

Does 2 rounds of Baked Beans mean a tin full? If so that'd be about 53g of carbs. Plus 12g each for 2 slices of toast. That equals 77g of carbs in a single meal. Slow release or not, that much carb will always spike your blood.

2 slices of wholemeal toast and just under half a tin the bread is 16.5 carbs each

Click to expand...

So:
2 slices of toast = 37g
1/2 Heinz Beans = 26g
Meal Total: 63g of Carbs.

You now know that your endocrine system can't handle 63g of carbs in a single meal (that's not surprising - neither could mine). Now you just have to work out a meal that involves less carbs, eat it, and see what it does to your BG.

It gets easier quicker than you think...

Hi vw754

It takes time to accept but to truly get those levels down I had to accept I can't eat bread, any type, any time.

I would agree that 1 piece of toast and beans is not enough for a main meal but how about ditching the beans and adding a egg, with mushrooms and toms instead?

Keep at it , not easy but gets easier

Mary x