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Type 2 How can I lower my BG levels?

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Heidi5688

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Hi

I was recently diagnosed as type 2 diabetic and slowly learning about everything. I do have a query though. My last HbAc1 test was 7.2, down from 7.8 which is good but my BG levels are between 10 and 17. I have significantly reduced carbs and sugars, almost to the point of not having them every day but I cannot get my BG levels any lower. Any advise??
 
Hi @Heidi5688,

Welcome. Happy to have you on the forum.

To be better able to advice you, could you describe what you eat on a typical day? Are you on any medication for diabetes or other conditions?

I am also tagging @daisy1 for some really helpful introductory infos about diabetes.
 
Check out www.dietdoctor.com website. There is a lot of useful info there. Intermittent fasting is a good way to reduce blood sugars. The 16:8 method is where you eat only within a 8hr window and 5:2 fasting is where you eat less two days a week.

Apart from the obvious high carbs like breakfast cereals, bread, potatoes, rice and paste there is also a lot of sugar in fruit juice and fruit such as bananas and grapes. You need to cut back on all high carb foods and drink if you want to reduce your blood sugars.

Testing before and two hours after eating will help you find which foods spike your blood sugars. I found that porridge raised by sugars from 6 to 10, so I stopped eating it.
 
Heidi5688 said:
Hi

I was recently diagnosed as type 2 diabetic and slowly learning about everything. I do have a query though. My last HbAc1 test was 7.2, down from 7.8 which is good but my BG levels are between 10 and 17. I have significantly reduced carbs and sugars, almost to the point of not having them every day but I cannot get my BG levels any lower. Any advise??
Click to expand...

Hi Heidi, You have not mentioned any timescales in this post, it takes a while for things to come back into balance, so you may find if you just stick with a low carb diet, add in some testing to find out what spikes you so you can stop eating those, then things will improve over time. Good luck
 
Hi... thank you so much for answering my message, it is very much appreciated.

I am on a slow release metformin. 200mg a day

I was diagnosed in August and to begin with was on the non slow release metformin.

I eat a lot of chicken and veg- in fact its my main meal every day and have a weight watchers yoghurt.

I'm at university most days so 3x a week I have a banana in the morning and weight watchers yoghurt- these have 5.2 carbs per pot I mix these with berries of all any kind.

Once a week I have seeded cob with chicken and lettuce- no butter and a pot of pineapple pieces.

I'll have omelette once/twice a week.

Due to being at Uni I don't eat meals as I should- but I am generally not hungry anyway. I have a few nuts or 2 squares of very dark chocolate if I feel peckish and in lectures or travelling to and from.

I drink a lot of water and a bottle of diet coke every day at Uni. I also drink peppermint tea.

I hope there is more information but please do not hesitate to ask if you need more.

I tested my BG this morning and it was 10.1. I didn't eat anything but have had a diet coke.

Tested before I ate lunch and it was 11.7. Apart from the drink I'd had nothing. I'm concerned because my BG is so high.

Many many thanks again xxx
 
@Heidi5688

Hello Heidi and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful and that it helps you to get your levels down. Ask as many questions as you need to 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 well over 250,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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 blood glucose 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.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. They're all free.
  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 
Hi @Heidi5688,

Thanks so much for your reply and the helpful info. It is good to know that you are not on any medication that can cause hypos.

A lot of the foods, you regularly eat, are low-carb and very good for diabetics. This includes nuts, omelette, chicken, lettuce and most of the vegetables. Also, very dark high cocoa content chocolate works for most of us.

If you tweak your diet a bit, though, you can achieve even lower blood sugar levels.

You could reduce carbs significantly by eliminating the seeded cob, pineapple and banana. They definitely would raise my blood sugar levels considerably. The seeded cob has a lot of carbs, even complex carbs turn into glucose eventually. Tropical fruits such as pineapple and bananas have about 20g of sugar per 100g. Berries are much better for most of us, though, because they only contain 5g of sugar per 100g.

I also spent long days at work and often don't have a chance to plan meals properly. Go to foods for me include different types of nuts (such as almonds, hazelnuts, macadamias, brazils and pecans), cheese (such as babybels) and 85% chocolate.

Your diet sounds as if you are also trying to eat low fat. It is very hard to cut out carbs and eliminate fat at the same time. Doesn't it make you feel hungry a lot of the time?

I have found that fats make me feel fuller and make it easier to stick to the low-carb way of eating. They don't impact my blood sugars at all and I still have lost weight. You don't have to overboard with the fat, but have enough to not feel hungry.

There also is a lot of research that has come out in the last couple of years showing that most fats are healthy for us (including butter and other animal fats, olive oil and nut oils). So, you might consider having plain full-fat yoghurt (maybe with some berries) instead of low-fat yoghurt. I even go for 10% fat greek yoghurt.

A fantastic website for low-carbers is dietdoctor.com. Have you had a look at the site yet?

They have loads of wonderful recipes. I use the keto bread recipe, for example; to make a bread substitute -- it is quick and easy and only has only about 4g of carbs per 100g. I usually put plenty of real butter on it and it doesn't raise my blood sugar at all. If you don't enjoy baking, many forum members buy Lidl protein rolls with about 10g of carbs per 100g. Both choices generally tend to be much more diabetes-friendly than seeded cob.

Do you measure your blood sugar levels at home?

We all react differently to different types of food. The only way to find out whether a specific type of food will work for you is testing before and after a meal.

Have a read around the forum and just ask if you have a questions. There are many, many forum members who have been on this journey themselves.
 
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Hi Ziggy, thank you for replying to me again.. I was told by my GP to go low fat because I'm overweight and need to lose it. But I've also noted that since being on metformin eating fattier food gives me a really bad stomach and since my meds were changed the slow release it's even worse. I'm eating anti diahorrea tablets like anything!! I daren't leave the house!! (Sorry for the graphics)

This is all so confusing lol.

I do measure my blood levels. Being type 2 I've needed to buy my own tester and everything, my GP told me I didn't need to test. I was testing first thing in the morning, before I eat and 2 hours after.

I'm going to check out all of the websites that everyone on here have been so kind to mention.

I am so sorry for asking so much, I just don't have anyone I can talk too :-( xx
 
Heidi5688 said:
I am so sorry for asking so much, I just don't have anyone I can talk too :-( xx
Click to expand...

That is what we are here for.

If you were diagnosed in August, getting your A1C down from 7.8% to 7.2% is encouraging. Concerning your struggle with the daily levels, you are doing a lot of the right things. If you add the advice already provided by @daisy1 and @ziggy_w you should be able to make further progress. I am sorry about the tummy problems -- not unusual with Metformin, judging from other people's experience.

For what it's worth, my doctor is happy with my A1C as long as it is 7% or below, and you are already close to that. (Others will find that target too lenient.) With further control of your daily levels, you should move in the right direction.

These are early days and you have made an encouraging start.
 
Hi. If the metformin continues to cause upset tell your doctor. Some people simply cannot tolerate it and it really does not do much for glucose levels. Diet is really the best route.
 
Hi @Heidi5688,

Great that you got a glucometer and strips. Unfortunately, most of us T2s have to pay for them -- but after a while you probably won't need to test as much as you learn how your body reacts to different types of food.

I agree with @chalup -- if you've taken the slow release metformin for a while and you are still suffering from an upset stomach and diarrhea, you should probably talk to your GP. Maybe you could ask if you can try lowering your blood sugar levels with diet and exercise alone (and without medication) for three months.

For many, diet is much more important than medication (especially metformin, which only lowers blood sugars slightly) in getting blood sugars down to normal levels. So, it might be worth a try.

If fatty foods upset your stomach, there is no need to increase fat of course. In the absence of carbs, your body will switch into the fat burning mode for energy -- but this fat can also come from your body.

Don't worry about asking questions -- this is how we learn. We all would have been lost if we hadn't been able to learn from others who were there before us.
 
Hi Heidi and welcome,

Much of your diet is very good but as others have said above I would avoid the banana and pineapple as both contain a lot of fructose-ordinarily they are healthy options but for a diabetic contain too much sugar. Corn on the cob is also too starchy for many T2s (all carb turns to sugar once ingested even the healthy stuff !)

I'd also ditch the diet coke ASAP. A can of coke contains 10 teaspoons of sugar and diet coke contains potentially harmful chemicals as well.
You'll find that you will lose weight following a low carb diet as it tends to trim the fat from around the middle. Your HbA1C is very good-almost back into pre-diabetic levels. My Hubby (he's the diabetic one) has been managing his T2 by diet alone and got his BG down from 17-22 to 7-9 just through dietary changes (he refused to take Metformin)

good luck and keep at it-you are doing really well xx
 
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