Meter question

[Maggie75]

Hi everyone,

I'm T2, haven't been well controlled at all in the last couple of years but decided this week to get my act together, get back to low carb eating and start testing my blood sugar again to see what's going on. Tested today before eating anything (although I did have a couple of cups of tea with milk) and reading was 11.1. That shocked me a bit, think that's the highest I've seen it although I haven't tested for ages.

Had scrambled eggs with 2 small slices of wholemeal bread for lunch, tested 2 hours later and reading was 11.5, was quite happy with that as I'm supposing it means the bread hasn't spiked me too much? I ate a relatively low carb dinner, chicken with mozzarella in a tomato sauce, I did have a couple of baby potatoes and green beans with it, tested 2 hours later and my readings are now 9. Does this sound right after a meal like that? Not that I'm complaining, fantastic if it is, just wanted to see if this sounds like my meter is working ok.

I got my meter in Nov/20 when I was first diagnosed, I've ordered a new one today with new strips to be on the safe side. Also I started taking my alogliptin again today which I haven't taken in ages following that 11.1 reading, not sure if diet alone will get me to where I need to be so I'm throwing everything at this now. Thanks for any advice with this.

Maggie

 

[catinahat]

If your strips were as old as your meter there's a good chance they were out of date and unreliable.
Your fasting levels seem quite high and it's unusual not to see some rise with bread unless is a particularly low carb version.
Your new meter and strips should give you more trustworthy results.
Remember it's the difference between your pre meal level and the 2hr post meal result that will tell you if the spuds and bread need a rethink

 

[KennyA]

Hi everyone,

I'm T2, haven't been well controlled at all in the last couple of years but decided this week to get my act together, get back to low carb eating and start testing my blood sugar again to see what's going on. Tested today before eating anything (although I did have a couple of cups of tea with milk) and reading was 11.1. That shocked me a bit, think that's the highest I've seen it although I haven't tested for ages.

Had scrambled eggs with 2 small slices of wholemeal bread for lunch, tested 2 hours later and reading was 11.5, was quite happy with that as I'm supposing it means the bread hasn't spiked me too much? I ate a relatively low carb dinner, chicken with mozzarella in a tomato sauce, I did have a couple of baby potatoes and green beans with it, tested 2 hours later and my readings are now 9. Does this sound right after a meal like that? Not that I'm complaining, fantastic if it is, just wanted to see if this sounds like my meter is working ok.

I got my meter in Nov/20 when I was first diagnosed, I've ordered a new one today with new strips to be on the safe side. Also I started taking my alogliptin again today which I haven't taken in ages following that 11.1 reading, not sure if diet alone will get me to where I need to be so I'm throwing everything at this now. Thanks for any advice with this.

Maggie

Hi

The "target" for before and after food testing is to have a reading at the +2hr point that is within 2 points of your before meal reading, and not above either 7.8 or 8.5 (depending on whether you go for the diabetic or non-diabetic recommendation). That's not to see "how high you go" - the real high point will probably be somewhere in the first hour. What you're actually testing for is how well your system deals with excess blood glucose (from eating carbs) and returns it to close to your starting level. What were your pre-meal readings like?

So the readings you're seeing after meals are definitely higher than recommended - but it is of course possible that your test strips are out of date and showing false (high) readings. It's not surprising that you had some rise, because you had carbs at each meal you've described. When you get the new equipment and are sure your strips and meter are all working properly, I'd repeat the test. If BG is not coming down far enough or quickly enough at the two hour point, there's too many carbs in what you ate for your system to handle. Remember it's not one-off rises that cause problems, it's sustained high BG levels over time. What "high" means varies from person to person.

best of luck. Hope you find the advice and support you need here.

 

[Angelofthemarches]

I find ordinary bread including wholemeal incompatible with a low carb lifestyle - obviously tiny quantities might be manageable, just not whole slices at a time. It all depends on how many grams of carbs one person can tolerate.

 

[aylalake]

I also find milk, whether whole or skimmed (the latter is worse) adversely affects my BG. I now have a splash of double cream instead.

 

[Maggie75]

Thanks so much for your replies and advice, I tested again this morning with old meter and it showed 13.3, all I'd had at that point was a coffee with double cream, had a boiled egg with some wholemeal toast for breakfast and after 2 hours it showed 14.2, that scared me as it's obviously very high, but it's still less than a 2 point spike, am I looking at that the right way?

Received my new meter and test strips this afternoon, tested just before I had dinner and reading showed 9, had chops with some rice and broccolli for dinner, still trying to see what these types of carbs will do, after 2 hours reading showed 11.1, so I'm still unsure if this was ok, I know it's still high but I've just restarted alogliptin yesterday so maybe I have to give it a bit of time?

I'll keep testing with the new meter to see how these different carbs are affecting me, I know when I was testing before the wholemeal bread and potatoes didn't spike me too much as long as I watched the quantity of them, whether it will be different now I don't know. Thanks again for the advice on this, I just wasn't used to seeing these high readings but I definitely think the meter and strips were not accurate, strips were out of date. I just hope I can get back on track again with this.

Maggie

 

[Taighnamona]

Thanks so much for your replies and advice, I tested again this morning with old meter and it showed 13.3, all I'd had at that point was a coffee with double cream, had a boiled egg with some wholemeal toast for breakfast and after 2 hours it showed 14.2, that scared me as it's obviously very high, but it's still less than a 2 point spike, am I looking at that the right way?

Received my new meter and test strips this afternoon, tested just before I had dinner and reading showed 9, had chops with some rice and broccolli for dinner, still trying to see what these types of carbs will do, after 2 hours reading showed 11.1, so I'm still unsure if this was ok, I know it's still high but I've just restarted alogliptin yesterday so maybe I have to give it a bit of time?

I'll keep testing with the new meter to see how these different carbs are affecting me, I know when I was testing before the wholemeal bread and potatoes didn't spike me too much as long as I watched the quantity of them, whether it will be different now I don't know. Thanks again for the advice on this, I just wasn't used to seeing these high readings but I definitely think the meter and strips were not accurate, strips were out of date. I just hope I can get back on track again with this.

Maggie

The best thing I did was to get a trial of Libre2. That showed me which foods were spiking my glucose. Bread, rice, pasta, potatoes as expected were the worst. Lentils !!!… I love lentil soup but that’s a no no now too. I’m maintaining my carb intake at around 50-60 and that is working to keep my levels around 5-7.
I’m now self funding Libre 2 until I get myself totally on track to maintain this healthier lifestyle.

 

[Maggie75]

Yes, I honestly think the Libre 2 may be the best idea for me to see exactly what's happening with various foods, again I tested today before my first meal, reading showed 10, I had a boiled egg with 2 slices of wholemeal toast again, I've tested after 2 hours and reading is 9.8, so I have to assume that's ok for me to eat? I'm testing with brand new meter and test strips so I'm confident these results are correct. Can some people with T2 have more carbs than others? Or maybe the medication is starting to help as well. I'm still a bit confused, sorry if these are daft questions. Thanks again for the advice.

Maggie

 

[catinahat]

They are not daft questions, the only dumb questions are the one's you don't ask.
Yes we are not machines, we are unique individuals who react differently to foods.
It's possible that you are extremely lucky to be able to enjoy some wholemeal bread, it could be something else in your diet causing the higher numbers.
It takes lots of testing and time to figure it out, its not a precise science. Something that seems ok one day can give not so good results another day. Take bread for instance, if I spread it sparingly with a low fat spread (shudder) The resulting blood sugar rise is quite impressive .
If on the other hand I have it with lashings of butter and sizeable chunk of cheese, the rise is much more acceptable for a very occasional treat.
Keep testing, keep a note of your food along with the test results, remember to factor in other considerations like exercise, stress, the weather and the many othe non food things that can influence the result. Blood sugar is a mystery sometimes, you have to become something of a detective to make sense of it