I thought i was doing ok!!!

It is a fact that the morning BGs are usually higher than others. This because your liver dumps glucose into your system to help you "wake up" and get on with the days hunting and gathering before you break your fast.

I have a good HbA1c (5%) but I have morning fasting figures much like yours. Nothing I have tried has had any effect on these BG readings so I am resigned to the fact that nothing probably will.

So, apart from getting up at dawn and going for a run I don't think you can do much about it.

If you do find a way to change things let me know, I will try it, (but not the dawn run)!

By the way, have a look at the carbs in Shreddies, I can't eat them.

H

I test on waking (but only sometimes, less often now as I'm more confident of what I'm doing), before a meal if a) it's not a meal I've had before and I'm interested in learning what I can cope with or b) to confirm that it wouldn't be daft to eat (if I've done something reckless earlier on like having a Florentine from Dobbies ) and lastly 2 hours after a meal to see what impact the meal had on me.

I look for my blood sugar to be under 7 on waking. Hopefully it's under 7 pre meal, if it was between 7 and 8.5 I'd be cautious about what I ate, if it was over 8.5 pre meal I might decide to put off eating for a wee while, perhaps go and have a walk instead.

With the 2 hour blood test I'm looking for the sugar to be in the same ball park as the pre meal test and definitely under the 8.5. Depending on what the change in blood sugar is I will either happily eat the same food and portion size without testing in future, amend the portion size down or give up on the idea that that food is a sensible inclusion in my diet.

At first I tested ever such a lot. I can't get the strips on prescription and have to self fund and money is tight at the moment so I do understand how you feel about buying your own strips. However I do feel that the money I have spent on strips has been well spent. Having the ability to make judgements and fine tune my diet has made me feel much more in control than I felt when I got my diagnosis and the meter readings have made it a lot easier not to eat too many Florentines...

As Primmers says, you need to test and see what affects your BGs.

We all vary, sometimes some of us have some remaining insulin production, some of us have better glucose tolerance than others and so on.

Facts are, eating carbs will push your BGs up, so you need to see how much carbs you can eat and still keep your BGs within reasonable limits.

I try to keep mine as low as is reasonable, so 5 or 6 mmol before meals and no more than 8 two hours after but 7 is better.

Doing this keeps my HbA1c around 5%.

Your readings after pasta etc. are ok, since they do come down quite quickly, this probably indicates that you still have some insulin production.

You might try wholemeal pasta, it gives me a lower "spike" and sort of spreads the effect over a longer period. This is true of most whole grain foods. If I eat potato I try and eat lots of stuff like cabbage at the same time, it slows the absorption of the carbs down.

I wouldn't be happy with 10 or 11 after one hour of eating, say, Shreddies, remember that the "spikes" are important as well as they can cause the dreaded complications in time. I would be happier with 8 - 8.5 at one hour. Try reducing the quantity, try soy milk instead of cows, (Cows milk has more carbs) . 100 gms of Shreddies has 73 gms of carbs and 15 gms of sugar. Shredded Wheat has 69 gms of Carb but only 1 gm of sugar per 100 gms so Shredded Wheat should not produce such a rapid spike as Shreddies. Milk has about 12 gms of carbs per cup and soy milk has only 4gms per cup.

Hope it all helps, it is all about carbohydrates and how your body copes with the amounts and types of food you eat.

H

Hi Bazza,

I think you need to re-read the advice for newly diagnosed that you were given.


viewtopic.php?f=20&t=17088

If you are testing and your levels are high, you need to do something about it. The whole idea of testing is to see which foods are affecting your blood sugars. Test strips are too expensive to waste.

When you get a high reading, then try cutting the portion size of that particular food, try and lower the overall G.I. by adding low G.I. foods to the culprit and if these two approaches fail then it is best to knock that particular food on the head.

I hope this helps.

Don't forget to test after whole wheat versions of ANYTHING. (+1hr then +2hrs).

You might be surprised.

Or (hopefully) you might be lucky! :wink:

I have had these odd symptoms for a year. I just want to enquire about if it could be diabetes. It has included tingling in my hands, fingers and feet. Plus increased frequent toilet visits. In addition to this at times I just feel that I have felt quite tired. I seem to have to eat every two hours.

Patch,

I want to query if diabetes can be mistaken for depression? It is just the tingling in my hands and feet does not make sense. In addition to this at times I have seen clear spots. Would you recommend home diabetes testing kits? Are they accurate? Which are the best? Plus should you visit the GP if you have had symptoms of diabetes? I seem to have to eat certain types of food. At times I feel worse after eating certain food.

Catherine,

I left a message for Patch. However perhaps you might manage to help me. I am new to this forum. I feel that since last year I have had these odd symptoms. Thus urine infections, visiting the toilet increased times, tingling in my hands and feet, odd leg cramps at times. Plus if I eat certain food I feel tired and lethargic. I once blacked out last year for a whole day. I woke and I felt tingling over most of my body.

Does it sound like diabetes? I have resorted to visiting the local library. I have a whole list of the symptoms. Yet I have not been tested for diabetes. Should I ask the GP if they have a diabetes nurse specialist who deals with diabetes?

CAT NM

Crikey Cat, go see the doctor!
Do not know what you have, it could be a whole stack of things, but it cant be good if you are unconscious for 12 hours. I avoid the doctor myself, but there are limits. Explain your worries, s/he will send you for a blood test. I am assuming you are in the UK, and do not have to pay for doctor visits?

spendercat,

I am in th UK. It is just after eating certain types of food that I get worse. Thus for example chocolate orange. I have realised that I brought a testing kit for glucose. Thus I could test for diabetes with that. However I am uncertain if they are accurate. I did a test the other day. I had a reading of 11.8mmol/L. Another was 9.4mmol/L. Should I be worried? I have contacted a walk in. However I am going to make an appointment with my GP tomorrow. I had tingling in my feet last night and plus my leg felt had. I had not done anything that was strenuous.

In a word, Cat. Yes. You should be worried.

You are diabetic.
Get on down to the surgery.
Tell them about your readings.
Diabetes is absolutely treatable - stay on this forum. Your readings are not too high to treat with diet alone, if you choose to go down that route.
My readings were up to 15 and I got them down to 8 within two weeks on a low glycaemic diet. I have got them down to 5.5 on a low carb diet (that is a bit harder, but doable).
Once you are diagnosed and start to take proper care of yourself these feelings of fear and uncertainty will start to fade.

Do not panic. Diabetes is just numbers, and once you get those numbers down you will stop feeling so poorly.
Angela