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Highs and lows.

Lau89

Lau89

Well-Known Member
Messages
50
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi,
Just wanted to ask if it's normal to go quite low then high with your blood glucose levels when first diagnosed? I've been in both ends of scale today & just wanted to see if that's 'normal' at first? Sorry if it's a silly question.
Thanks,
Laura
 
I think so, I'm about 6 weeks in and depending on what I do and eat they can be quite erratic! I think at some point you're supposed to get the hang of it
 
in your early days following diagnosis your best friend is your blood glucose meter-- it will tell you if what you are eating is doing you any good.
try to learn from it.
if you spike badly try cutting the portion.

another important consideration is routine as much as possible.
trying to do the same things each day so that you can see patterns in your glucose readings and make adjustments as needed.

also really important -- use your D team -- they get paid to help you so ring them as well to double check things.
 
Hi Laura, whats high and whats low for you ?

I can go from 4 to 17 in a day, depends on what I eat a do when i test, if I eat high carbs and test within a couple of hours I can see my BG bounce. I try to test 3 hours after eating as still got quick acting Insulin on board.
 
Thank you for the words. Monitoring on the blood glucose meter 4 times a day & keeping a record of what foods are eaten.
Today has been at 2.1 to 21, quite erratic. Eventually settled down a bit but still quite high. I guess it will take a bit of time to settle.
Thanks again
 
How did you treat the 2.1? Could over correcting have caused the 21?

Early in my diagnosis, I would have eaten everything I could find once I realised that I was having a hypo, then if the hypo symptoms were still there after a minute or so, I would have continued to over correct and end up very high. It took me a little time to figure that out.

It's a perfectly sensible question. :-)
 
I was only diagnosed on Friday so not sure how to count carbs yet. Seeing a dietician on Wednesday which will help.
Over treating sounds about right though
Thank you :)
 
Do you count carbs @Lau89 ?
Lau89 said:
I was only diagnosed on Friday so not sure how to count carbs yet. Seeing a dietician on Wednesday which will help.
Over treating sounds about right though
Thank you :)
Click to expand...

Ah, ok :) Very early days for you then. Yes, carb counting shoukd help your control a lot. It's something you perfect with experience as you learn how your body responds to certain meals. It shoukd help reduce the big highs and lows as the amount of insulin you'll be taking should be more tuned to the amount of carbs you're eating in each meal.

You're very organised to have joined the forum and already be trying to understand your results :) Diabetes is hard work, but it looks like you've got a good attitude towards it.

Have a read around thevforum and ask any question you want. The more you know and understand, the easier it is to deal with diabetes day to day.
 
azure said:
Do you count carbs @Lau89 ?


Ah, ok :) Very early days for you then. Yes, carb counting shoukd help your control a lot. It's something you perfect with experience as you learn how your body responds to certain meals. It shoukd help reduce the big highs and lows as the amount of insulin you'll be taking should be more tuned to the amount of carbs you're eating in each meal.

You're very organised to have joined the forum and already be trying to understand your results :) Diabetes is hard work, but it looks like you've got a good attitude towards it.

Have a read around thevforum and ask any question you want. The more you know and understand, the easier it is to deal with diabetes day to day.
Click to expand...

Thank you azure, I'm sure I'll be asking more questions in time :)
 
I was diagnosed in July.
Mine is still a roller coaster.. it will be hard at first, but you will manage. You just need to get used to how many units of insulin to take for what you are eating.. at first i'm sure we all over treated the low's in a panic and over injected at meal times.. i think i once ate 10 jelly babies and downed a bottle of lucozade in a hypo panic and then spent the rest of the day correcting it! haha then realised 3 jelly babies would have been fine!.. it will all get easier in time.. for now i'm also still pretty much winging it too so dont worry its early days! x
 
Lau89 said:
Thank you for the words. Monitoring on the blood glucose meter 4 times a day & keeping a record of what foods are eaten.
Today has been at 2.1 to 21, quite erratic. Eventually settled down a bit but still quite high. I guess it will take a bit of time to settle.
Thanks again
Click to expand...
When I was first diagnosed my blood was everywhere. It still is to be quite honest, we can't control it. All I would say is keep testing as you are quite new to it, when you get used to it and know how you feel when your blood is 'normal,' 'hypo,' and 'hyper' you won't have to test as much. As time goes on it gets easier.
 
Casey_Jane said:
When I was first diagnosed my blood was everywhere. It still is to be quite honest, we can't control it. All I would say is keep testing as you are quite new to it, when you get used to it and know how you feel when your blood is 'normal,' 'hypo,' and 'hyper' you won't have to test as much. As time goes on it gets easier.
Click to expand...

Thank you @Casey_Jane :) my Levant have been more balanced the past 2 days
 
LauraC27 said:
I was diagnosed in July.
Mine is still a roller coaster.. it will be hard at first, but you will manage. You just need to get used to how many units of insulin to take for what you are eating.. at first i'm sure we all over treated the low's in a panic and over injected at meal times.. i think i once ate 10 jelly babies and downed a bottle of lucozade in a hypo panic and then spent the rest of the day correcting it! haha then realised 3 jelly babies would have been fine!.. it will all get easier in time.. for now i'm also still pretty much winging it too so dont worry its early days! x
Click to expand...

Thank you Laura :) hope your levels calm down a bit too
 
Lau89 said:
Thank you for the words. Monitoring on the blood glucose meter 4 times a day & keeping a record of what foods are eaten.
Today has been at 2.1 to 21, quite erratic. Eventually settled down a bit but still quite high. I guess it will take a bit of time to settle.
Thanks again
Click to expand...
A high following a very low could be simply that you over compensated - or it could be what is known as the Somogyi effect where your body pumps out a load of glucagon in order to compensate . This gives a fuller explanation
http://www.caninsulin.co.uk/Somogyi.asp

Personally I sometimes find it difficult to differentiate between me eating to much to compensate, or its the Somogyi effect - generally if it is the latter I stay higher for longer.
 
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