Is my blood glucose too high?

[Sophie198]

Hi, I have recently started monitoring my blood glucose as I have started to have really bad ectopic beats after dinner, especially if I have any kind of white carbs. The past two readings have been 9.2 and 9.0, exactly one hour after I started eating. I know this might be a bit too soon to test after eating but it’s when the ectopic beats start to occur. Soon after this the reading goes down however. For example 15 minutes after the 9 reading it went down to 7.1. The meal I had was tacos, with three mini tortilla wraps , about 10/11cm diameter and the filling was just fish with sour cream and homemade guacamole with no sugar added. Please can someone advise me, are these high readings something to be concerned about? I also checked two other people who ate the exact same meal and quantity and they had 4.8 and 6.0 readings.

 

[urbanracer]

Hi, I have recently started monitoring my blood glucose as I have started to have really bad ectopic beats after dinner, especially if I have any kind of white carbs. The past two readings have been 9.2 and 9.0, exactly one hour after I started eating. I know this might be a bit too soon to test after eating but it’s when the ectopic beats start to occur. Soon after this the reading goes down however. For example 15 minutes after the 9 reading it went down to 7.1. The meal I had was tacos, with three mini tortilla wraps , about 10/11cm diameter and the filling was just fish with sour cream and homemade guacamole with no sugar added. Please can someone advise me, are these high readings something to be concerned about? I also checked two other people who ate the exact same meal and quantity and they had 4.8 and 6.0 readings.

Hi @Sophie198

Welcome to the forums.

Here's what NICE advise glucose levels should be:-
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood-sugar-level-ranges.html

As you can see, they advise taking glucose readings around 90 minutes after eating. Looks like you would have been within range by that time?

Always difficult comparing yourself directly with somebody else because we are all different. If you have any grave concerns then please consult with your GP in the first instance.

 

[Sophie198]

Hmm ok, so you think 9 is nothing to worry about then as it’s before the 90 minutes mark? Thanks for the help

 

[HSSS]

I’d go see your dr and ask for an hb1ac. (A average check of your levels over the last 3 months). Whilst this meal might have been within limits, just, others might not. It’s not scary or frighteningly high but high enough I’d want it checking. The earlier you catch these issues the easier it is to tackle them. With the greatest of respect to the above post type 1 and type 2 are different animals. Type 2 is more typically a gradual process that can be stopped and reversed at any point, unlike type 1.

 

[Grant_Vicat]

Hmm ok, so you think 9 is nothing to worry about then as it’s before the 90 minutes mark? Thanks for the help

A non diabetic can go up to 10 half an hour after a meal. It would be interesting to know what your reading is at 2 hours after. Are you type 1 or 2? I agree with comments above concerning seeing a GP, but I have just looked at the British Heart Foundation website by typing in 'What causes ectopic beats?', and it says they are usually harmless and the cause is not always explained. Certainly worth a second opinion. Good luck!

 

[Sophie198]

Thank you for the help everyone . I will definitely find out about that hb1ac test. My blood sugar before meals is also on the lower side, eg 4.1 , I read that having low blood sugar before meals can cause a higher glucose spike maybe. I’m not actually diabetic. I just decided to start taking my glucose levels as I wanted to try and find out why the ectopics are way worse after I’ve eaten dinner and especially after eating any kind of white carbs. They come so close together, after every alternate beat it’s a missed beat and it can go on like that for a few hours. I didn’t check it after two hours because I checked after 15 minutes and it had gone down to 7.1, which is in the safe zone. But usually once it peaks then it goes down to normal levels quite quickly.

 

[HSSS]

Thank you for the help everyone . I will definitely find out about that hb1ac test. My blood sugar before meals is also on the lower side, eg 4.1 , I read that having low blood sugar before meals can cause a higher glucose spike maybe. I’m not actually diabetic. I just decided to start taking my glucose levels as I wanted to try and find out why the ectopics are way worse after I’ve eaten dinner and especially after eating any kind of white carbs. They come so close together, after every alternate beat it’s a missed beat and it can go on like that for a few hours. I didn’t check it after two hours because I checked after 15 minutes and it had gone down to 7.1, which is in the safe zone. But usually once it peaks then it goes down to normal levels quite quickly.

So it’s probably not that but I’d still get a check over not least to get the heartbeat issue looked at too. At least things will get ruled out that way if it comes to nothing