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how can i get sugars down

J

jackie14

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hi,im new to this site,ive been type2 diabetic for about 8 years,i have had tablets and 6 weeks ago was put on byetta 5 which has now been increased to 10,i dont have much of appetite for cooked meals just mainly snacky stuff,i used to drink loads of coke but gave it up at christmas,i also used to eat loads of chrisps n choc but only on odd occations now,can anybody help me in what sort of things to eat that wont send sugars up,also tell me what i can expect from byetta 10,any help i would be grateful for
 
You can't depend on medicine to do all the work. Most T2 medicines can only reduce your sugar by a bit.
You also need to control the foods which become sugar in your blood.
you've already started on this, but the key is; anything containing sugar will increase your blood sugar
anything containing starch will increase your blood sugar.
most things with a chemical name ending in ~ose will increase your blood sugar.[cellulose won't and sucralose won't. but sucrose, glucose,lactose, maltose will.
You need to limit the foods which make your blood sugar go up. In fact the only food that has absolutely NO effect on blood glucose is FAT.
Oh and exercise helps too!
I have no personal experience of Byetta, but several group members use it and there is a special Byetta thread
Hana
 
Although you are not new to diabetes I will put our basic information below for you . Some of it may help you with your diet especially the information on Carbohydrates.

Here is the advice we usually give to newly diagnosed diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

The main carbs to avoid OR reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating, then two hours after eating, you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the effect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.

As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try!!
If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2010 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l........(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals......no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals....... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do 30 minutes moderate exercise a day. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.

Sue/Ken.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the very useful information, more than I have had from my GP, she said oh yes you can eat carbs and that was it ! I take Glucophage SR (metformin) 1000mg in the evening wih food still early days and my fasting BG was 9.9 this morning the lowest it has been for a long long time.
I had a very weird experience yesterday evening after a long, stressful day at work and a 3 hour drive home to add insult to injury. I was so fatigued I could hardly put one foot in front of the other and was so cold I was shaking, my legs felt so weak and achey i just lay on the sofa for 3 hours and finally went up to bed when i had the strength. I have felt very under par all day and the locum GP said it sounds like either a hypo or virus - I had to point out that you don't get hypo's on metformin !!!
Has anyone experienced anything similar?
 
Do you know what your Bg level was at the time of this event ? It might have been a hypo, a false hypo, or even a hyper as some of the symptoms overlap ?

As for Metformin and hypo's. In theory it shouldn't, however anybody even a non Diabetic can suffer a hypoglycaemic event. It just means low blood sugar levels, usually classed as anything below 4 mmol/l which is the medically accepted level.

So, it can cause you to hypo if for instance you were at a very low level to start with, the extra drop with the Met might then just tip you over the edge into hypo territory, or near to it giving you the classic symptoms.

Ken
 
Hi Ken
No I did not think to check my BG levels, good tip for the future to see what is going on. My fasting BG was 11.6 this morning and I hardly ate anything yesterday, minimal carbs mostly protein and salad. Guess I just have to keep going :(
 
Susie.
You really do need to eat through the day, doing without will play havoc with your Bg levels as your body goes into 'starvation' mode and the levels will rise to compensate. Little and often or at least two meals a day with a small snack is what you should be aiming for.

The high morning level could be down to the Dawn Phenomenon where your liver will dump glucose into your bloodstream to help you start the day, so your level goes higher. Sometimes a small carby snack at bedtime can help to stop or slow that down. The problem is when you are that high it is then a knock on effect throughout the rest of the day.

Keep plugging away....it does get easier. :D

Ken
 
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