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Is 4 hours too long for BG to lower?

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Poohbear616

Member
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12
I was diagnosed type 2 in beginning of February at the age of 36. I'm in the process of trying to get the doctors to give me a C peptide blood test to check if I'm LADA. I have had the antibodies test that came back normal but it was suggested on here to get the other test done just to make sure.

I've been put on gliclazide 80mg twice a day and metformin 500mg twice a day. I can start taking an extra metfromin from tomorrow. I also check my BG before breakfast and dinner just before I take my gliclazide.

One thing I have noticed is if I take my evening reading and it has been less than 4 hours since I've eaten my reading is always still high even if I haven't eaten much carb or sugar in that time.
And example of this is last Saturday I had a small bag of pork scratchings at 4pm that had <0.1g of carb in. Took a reading at 7pm before dinner and the reading came out at 11.3 mmol/L. I've noticed this more recently when I've had a late lunch due to being busy during the day and it's been about 3 hours later that I've had dinner. I've also noticed this if I've tested before lunch if I'm going out for exercise or driving far and that's after I've taken my medication.


Does anyone else have this or is it something I need to mention to the doctor?
 
I'm sorry you're having a long wait for your test results to come back. If your c-peptide is high, the time it takes for your BG to lower will be due to insulin resistance. If your c-peptide is lower than the normal range, your blood sugar remains high because you don't have enough to clear it. Cutting carbohydrates that you can't process, supported by fingerpicking two hours after eating, is a useful strategy either way.
 
Longer lasting higher BG readings may well be a sign you are producing less Insulin - either that or your insulin resistance has got much worse.
But without details of what your BG is before a meal, of what the meal was and of what your BG was at the standard 2hrs after 1st bite and then say 3hrs and 4hrs it is difficult to make a guess as to what is happening
 
I spoke to my doctor yesterday for the first time since March. He said he didn't do a C-peptide test but did 2 very similar so I'm definitely Type 2.


Yesterday my morning fasting BG was 6.1, and I had one slice wholemeal toast with half an avocado and 2 fried eggs on with half a pint of milk

Lunch was a low carb and sugar protein bar and a pack of pork scratchings as I was out doing a delivery job. I walked 5 miles while doing that.

At about 4.30 I had a pear when I got home

Tested at 7.50pm and my BG was 9.3!

I only test twice a day. My doctor has told me not to even do that everyday but I found i forgot to be more careful with what I eat.
 
Morning fasting isn’t too bad. So the rise is about what you eat v the insulin you have and your ability to use it well. The toast and milk aren’t the best choices. I’d check the details on your bar. Many aren’t as good as they appear and many have maltitol in that can still cause spikes for some. Pears whilst not the worse fruit aren’t the best either. Most of us stick to berries and totally avoid tropical fruits like bananas pineapple and also grapes.


The only way you’ll know what foods do what is to test them. Test before the meal and at 2 hrs. You want a rise of less than 2mmol, less is even better. If it’s still high then keep testing to see how long that meal took to return to normal. That way you’ll know if it’s good for you or not in terms of blood glucose levels. Many drs don’t understand this method of testing. His random method of testing won’t tell you much of anything or give you the tools to do much of anything. Also if on gliclazide you should be testing before driving not just before meals.
 
Normally the toast isn't too bad when i have it as I take my medication at the same time. Mind you we had a different bread this time which has a bit higher carb which may not have helped. The milk I've been drinking to try to maintain/ gain some weight as only weigh about 45kg and the doctor told me I need to put some weight on. Just ordered some whey protein to have with it so I cut down a bit on the milk. Just checked the protein bars and they have sucralose in. The pear was the only fruit we had left. I've not noticed any problems when I've had a banana at breakfast time.

I have been trying to not eat anything after 4pm to try to minimise the increase in BG. But now its the summer holidays and started doing more during the day I'm finding it harder to stick too. I even treated myself to a 99 ice cream which shot my BG upto 12.9!

I'm very conscious of being on gliclazide. I make sure I test before driving and before any exercise and always carry glucose tablets and cereal bars in my bag and car. I'm almost a bit paranoid about it as I'd be really screwed if I lost my licence as my boyfriend doesn't drive and my family live 50 miles away. There's been a couple of times my BG has dropped to 4.0 and even then I've started to feel a bit off.

I'm hoping starting metformin at lunchtime may help but I guess that will take a few days to see any affect.
 
Just to clarify are you saying toast, bananas and milk are all ok at the 2 hr point post starting to eat or at the 3-4 hr point Just before the next meal. To gain weight without raising carbs it’s about adding fats and proteins rather than carbs.


What was the name of the alternative to c peptide test? Other than actual insulin test I cannot think what it could be and am worried you are being fobbed off with hb1ac or blood glucose or some such. I really think it’s worth asking for the test name and results in numbers. As you say a single anti body test can be negative and still be LADA/type 1. Your levels and weight loss and comparatively young age still send alarm bells for further checks to me.
 
The bread etc was after 4 hours as I only test before meals or exercise. I may have to start testing more often.

It looks like I had a islet cell antibody level test and a glutamic acid decarboxylase Ab test. Both of which were normal according to the print out they gave me.

I have got a family history of type 2 as my great grandad, all 4 of my grandparents and my mum have it which I think gave me a 95% chance of developing it just not this early. Also my brother got diagnosed just after me as we had both gone to get checked for a family heart defect and came out with diabetes instead. I did use to be a sugar addict as well which may have caused it to happen earlier than planned.

I had a long conversation this evening with my mother in law who used to be a diabetic nurse and she's not totally convinced in type 2 either. I've got another Hba1c in October so I will see if that's gone down anymore.
 
They are both antibody tests and can give a negative result but you can still be type 1. They are not a measure of insulin. Keep an eye on levels and if low carb really isn’t working and numbers keep going up go back and demand c peptide or referral. If they go really high don’t delay in getting checked out especially if you feel unwell with it. That said type 2 is possible.

In the meantime you do really need to test at the 2 hr mark. 4 hrs is just too long to see what the food is doing to you. It’ll spike and come back down in 4 hrs and you’ll miss it all and think it’s ok when maybe it’s not.
 
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