Is the average reading in the range of 7-8 too bad for a type 2 ?

[Kaha]

Due to my food habit and lifestyle I find my BS readings now a days range most of the times in between 7-8 . I am a T2 ,non insulin dependent . Just wondering whether my readings in the range of 7-8 are too dangerous or not ? I am willing to know what most diabetes have in practice , not the theoretical values/norms . I know that my readings are above normal range.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Are you talking before or after meals here? Or just fasting? It does make a difference.

 

[douglas99]

I like to stay in the normal range, as here.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood-sugar-level-ranges.html

 

[Kaha]

My readings are mostly fasting and before meals , after exercise.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

Since they are average readings and not peaks then in my opinion they are too high. Since I am being good at the moment my average readings are in the 5's (after two hours and some exercise). Sometimes I am not this good but I still don't make a 7-8 average.

 

[Daphne917]

I tend to be between 5.4 and 6 even 2 hrs after food although I do go down to 4.5-4.9 most afternoons and have the odd blip when I've eaten something too carby

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

Perhaps try to change your food habits and lifestyle. Just a thought.

 

[Kaha]

Hi NoCrbs , it is easy to advise ,but difficult to action. I had been trying my best, but can not. That is why, trying to understand how bad is this . Anyway, thanks.

 

[douglas99]

You have got a lot going for you with regard to improving though.

You check your BG, so you know what foods raise your numbers.
You want to bring them down, so you care about your health.
You like spicy food, so avoiding sweet food is going to be easy.


I found some foods, like rice, pasta, bread, were bad, but others, kidney bans, chickpeas etc, weren't as bad, and didn't raise my BG as much.
So if you can eat a meal, test your BG after, and then cut down on the 'bad' stuff, and increase the 'good' stuff, maybe keeping your eye on the portion size, you should see your numbers coming down.
Avoid processed, and ready made meals if you can, fresh food tends to be better.

Eat to your meter!

 

[Bluetit1802]

With those readings on fasting and before meals you are heading for trouble if you don't start to get them down. The higher you start, the higher you finish, so your after meal readings must be very high most of the time.

On diet only my fasting and before meal readings average in the low to mid 5's. My post meal readings average in the 6's. I do get some higher spikes, but not enough to increase my averages above the 6's.

I get the feeling from the threads you start you are trying your best to justify your current diet and lifestyle. I think you need a change of plan.

 

[Yorksman]

You should try to get them lower. If you listen to old NHS advice, that was "aim for 7.8 2 hours after a meal", your diabetes will progress and you will start to have difficulty in controlling it. It will run away with you eventually. The NHS then say that is because diabetes is a progressive disease. Well, it doesn't have to be. Just work at getting it between 5 and 6 rather than 7 and 8. It takes time but you will see 6 to 7 and then 5 to 6 if you stick at it.

This is what Roy Taylor states:

"A clear distinction must be made between weight loss that improves glucose control but leaves blood glucose levels abnormal and weight loss of sufficient degree to normalize pancreatic function. The Belfast diet study provides an example of moderate weight loss leading to reasonably controlled, yet persistent diabetes. This study showed that a mean weight loss of 11 kg decreased fasting blood glucose levels from 10.4 to 7.0 mmol/L but that this abnormal level presaged the all-too-familiar deterioration of control"

At 7 to 8 your BG levels are within striking distance of 5 to 6. You don't have far to go. Many on this forum are 12 to 15 or worse. Of course if someone is normally 12 to 15 and they get down to 7 to 10, the diabetes nurse says 'well done' but it's not enough. Go for the 5 to 6.

You're nearly there anyway and it's not a race. Even if it takes you the whole of 2015, as long as you are going in the right direction, the more good you are doing yourself. Just, don't be satisified with where you are. I take just one reading every morning before breakfast now and, if I am between 5 and 6, I am happy.

 

[Sigalit]

My doctor set me these limits:
- don't drop below 4, don't raise above 9. Above 9 is bad, because it means increased risk of complications.
- try to keep BG before meals below 6 and 2 hours after below 8.
- try not to have big 'jumps' between readings - no more than 2.5 between before and after meal readings, or between days. Big differences = big risk of complications.

It took me one month after I was diagnosed to get there - with help of insulin. I now privately try to reach below 5.5 before meals and below 7 2 hours later, but I still have problems with that, especially in the morning.

With 8 before meals, you probably have more than 9 after, so it's necessary to decrease it.

And while most people here will immediately say 'low carb diet', I'm a living proof it can be done with carbs, too. I eat 150 grams of carbs every day, which is three times more than most people here. >.> It also depends on what you eat - what GI and GL it has, how you combine it with veggies, how much you drink during the day (that is in fact the hardest part of the whole diet for me - to drink 2.5-3 litres per day), how much exercise you have, your overall health and stress level... It's not a simple math, and food is just one part of it (though very important).

I eat 40 grams of carbs for three main meals, and 10 grams of carbs for snacks (though I often skip morning snack and 'second dinner'). I also try to strictly follow the drinking regime, and always drink at least 2.5 litres per day. Due to other health issues I can't go to gym, do aerobics or things like that, so for now, I at least take long walks
For example, if I eat my 40 grams of carbs for lunch in potateos (it makes 260 grams of potatoes) l get better readings after the meal if I eat a bowl of salad with it (especially leafy vegetable), drink enough, and have 15 minutes walk after it. The difference can be as much as 1 mmol.

 

[Clivethedrive]

My doctor set me these limits:
- don't drop below 4, don't raise above 9. Above 9 is bad, because it means increased risk of complications.
- try to keep BG before meals below 6 and 2 hours after below 8.
- try not to have big 'jumps' between readings - no more than 2.5 between before and after meal readings, or between days. Big differences = big risk of complications.

It took me one month after I was diagnosed to get there - with help of insulin. I now privately try to reach below 5.5 before meals and below 7 2 hours later, but I still have problems with that, especially in the morning.

With 8 before meals, you probably have more than 9 after, so it's necessary to decrease it.

And while most people here will immediately say 'low carb diet', I'm a living proof it can be done with carbs, too. I eat 150 grams of carbs every day, which is three times more than most people here. >.> It also depends on what you eat - what GI and GL it has, how you combine it with veggies, how much you drink during the day (that is in fact the hardest part of the whole diet for me - to drink 2.5-3 litres per day), how much exercise you have, your overall health and stress level... It's not a simple math, and food is just one part of it (though very important).

I eat 40 grams of carbs for three main meals, and 10 grams of carbs for snacks (though I often skip morning snack and 'second dinner'). I also try to strictly follow the drinking regime, and always drink at least 2.5 litres per day. Due to other health issues I can't go to gym, do aerobics or things like that, so for now, I at least take long walks
For example, if I eat my 40 grams of carbs for lunch in potateos (it makes 260 grams of potatoes) l get better readings after the meal if I eat a bowl of salad with it (especially leafy vegetable), drink enough, and have 15 minutes walk after it. The difference can be as much as 1 mmol.

Hi sigalit, dr Bernstein recommends 4.5 to 6.0 as being the desirable figures so as not to get secondary complications, you are doing very well, let us know how you get on :)

 

[Kaha]

Thanks Yorksman and Sigalit for your comprehensive posts. Very interesting and useful

 

[AndBreathe]

My doctor set me these limits:
- don't drop below 4, don't raise above 9. Above 9 is bad, because it means increased risk of complications.
- try to keep BG before meals below 6 and 2 hours after below 8.
- try not to have big 'jumps' between readings - no more than 2.5 between before and after meal readings, or between days. Big differences = big risk of complications.

It took me one month after I was diagnosed to get there - with help of insulin. I now privately try to reach below 5.5 before meals and below 7 2 hours later, but I still have problems with that, especially in the morning.

With 8 before meals, you probably have more than 9 after, so it's necessary to decrease it.

And while most people here will immediately say 'low carb diet', I'm a living proof it can be done with carbs, too. I eat 150 grams of carbs every day, which is three times more than most people here. >.> It also depends on what you eat - what GI and GL it has, how you combine it with veggies, how much you drink during the day (that is in fact the hardest part of the whole diet for me - to drink 2.5-3 litres per day), how much exercise you have, your overall health and stress level... It's not a simple math, and food is just one part of it (though very important).

I eat 40 grams of carbs for three main meals, and 10 grams of carbs for snacks (though I often skip morning snack and 'second dinner'). I also try to strictly follow the drinking regime, and always drink at least 2.5 litres per day. Due to other health issues I can't go to gym, do aerobics or things like that, so for now, I at least take long walks
For example, if I eat my 40 grams of carbs for lunch in potateos (it makes 260 grams of potatoes) l get better readings after the meal if I eat a bowl of salad with it (especially leafy vegetable), drink enough, and have 15 minutes walk after it. The difference can be as much as 1 mmol.

I think it's important that we have a variety of approaches, and results discussed on the forum, so thanks for your input. I would however comment that it is likely that you can deal with carbs more easily as you have the aid of insulin. For those T2s not using insulin, it is usually desireable, even necessary to drop some carbs in order to get the numbers down.

I'm not challenging or puting down anything you say, just pointing out you have a different class of helper onboard on your diabetes journey.

 

[Sigalit]

Hi sigalit, dr Bernstein recommends 4.5 to 6.0 as being the desirable figures so as not to get secondary complications, you are doing very well, let us know how you get on :)

Yeah, I heard about him, though he's not much known or popular around here. He's the guy who says you can reverse diabetes if you eat low-carb diet, no grains, starchy vegetables, most fruit and dairy, right? I'm aware it's heresy to say it at this forum, but I was warned against eating too little carbs, or excluding grains and certain vegetable. My doctor insists on learning to control the BG with eating all types of food, but with sense. And to be honest, that suits me, though there's still big room for improvement.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Yeah, I heard about him, though he's not much known or popular around here. He's the guy who says you can reverse diabetes if you eat low-carb diet, no grains, starchy vegetables, most fruit and dairy, right? I'm aware it's heresy to say it at this forum, but I was warned against eating too little carbs, or excluding grains and certain vegetable. My doctor insists on learning to control the BG with eating all types of food, but with sense. And to be honest, that suits me, though there's still big room for improvement.

But again, you are an insulin user, so your diet can be a bit more generous as regards carbs than a non-insulin user. We have nothing to help us control those after meal spikes. It is a different ball game.

 

[Yorksman]

Thanks Yorksman and Sigalit for your comprehensive posts. Very interesting and useful

If you are the right type of type 2 diabetic - turns out there are more than just one, losing weight, being more active and watching what you eat, works well. You have got to do it, keep it up and learn about food but, it's not difficult. It becomes routine and it's a better routine than my eating anything whilst watching TV routine that I had before.

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

Yeah, I heard about him, though he's not much known or popular around here. He's the guy who says you can reverse diabetes if you eat low-carb diet, no grains, starchy vegetables, most fruit and dairy, right? I'm aware it's heresy to say it at this forum, but I was warned against eating too little carbs, or excluding grains and certain vegetable. My doctor insists on learning to control the BG with eating all types of food, but with sense. And to be honest, that suits me, though there's still big room for improvement.

After losing trust in doctors' advice I did a large amount of research on type 2 diabetes. My conclusion was that following the current standard medical advice regarding diet was what got me to diabetes (and fat) and continuing to follow it sure wasn't going to get me out of it. I don't think I approached my research with any bias as to what would be the best approach, but where I ended up was LCHF. I was hopeful that this would control my blood glucose levels, result in weight lose, lower my plasma triglycerides, improve my cholesterol numbers, and not result in anything bad. So far that has borne out for me. Due to genetic variation, not everyone does optimally on LCHF, but it is worth trying. My diabetes nurse has told me point blank that my diabetes will continuously get progressively worse and I'll eventually be on lots of pills and insulin eventually. I told her that won't happen. I saw her for a 3 month check yesterday and she was genuinely surprised that I had gone from diabetic blood glucose levels to normal levels - below prediabetic levels - and my kidney function test results were perfectly normal. Like you, I too got the advice to eat carbs and whole grains and low fat. I feel that if I had followed that advice blindly I'b be on a path to insulin. So, what I'm saying is don't listen to advice blindly - not even the advice I've given above. The information is out there on the interwebs. Keep in mind that doctors get virtually no training in diet. Maybe an hour or two. If you really don't have time for much research, then just get the book "Death by Food Pyramid". You can order it from Amazon.

 

[AnnieC]

My readings are mostly fasting and before meals , after exercise.

Going by the link Douglas put on you are not that much to high when fasting and before meals exercise I think does put BG levels up a bit

Yeah, I heard about him, though he's not much known or popular around here. He's the guy who says you can reverse diabetes if you eat low-carb diet, no grains, starchy vegetables, most fruit and dairy, right? I'm aware it's heresy to say it at this forum, but I was warned against eating too little carbs, or excluding grains and certain vegetable. My doctor insists on learning to control the BG with eating all types of food, but with sense. And to be honest, that suits me, though there's still big room for improvement.

Yes you are right at the end of the day you have to do what suits you and what you are happy with