Monitors and their info.. any tips?

[EFMax]

So, I am Type 2, and this week I started to use a Libre 2 patch and monitor after a recent blood test showed that my fasting blood test had a Hba1C of (64) which is down from over a year ago of (114)

The monitor's app is factual but at the same time scary. I wanted to see what my body is doing and when and under what conditions.. I am beginning to realise that I have a bit of battle ahead as my GP would like to get e down to a Hba1C level of below (50)

Meds wise, I am off the Metformin (me and it were not friends) and now on Trulicity 1.5mg/0.5ml solution (weekly), Dapagliflozin 10mg tablets (daily), Pioglitazone 15mg tablets (daily).

I can see that when I eat, everything goes through the roof.. from an average of 8.5mmol/L to as high as 11mmol/L for a light snack and as much as 16mmol/L for a full meal with a naughty drink.. on this one occasion I wanted to see how the meter/app were working so I wanted to see how bad things would be at the bad end of a stupid and very loaded celebration meal.. coming back down is slow but it will average back out at around 8-9mmol/L.

I did 2hrs of reasonable paced walking yesterday and the monitor did drop to about 7.7mmol/L but came back up to around 8.5.. and it stayed there throughout the night.

So I am guessing, what I am asking is how best to maximise these numbers without me going mad and as I normally have a quite low carb high protein hardly any fat diet, beyond exercising more (I cycle and I indoor row) what else can I do to help myself - I am not sure how effective the meds are, as I would love to lose about 5kg but at 63 the body says naff chance unless you exercise even harder. I drink mostly water, no caffeine or alcohol and I am getting through 2L plus a day.. With meds, my BP is around 115/75 - 125/80.

EDITED..

 

[Rokaab]

So, I am Type 2, and this week I started to use a Libre 2 patch and monitor after a recent blood test showed that my fasting blood test had a level of (64mg/dL) which is down from over a year ago of (114mg/dL).

The monitor's app is factual but at the same time scary. I wanted to see what my body is doing and when and under what conditions.. I am beginning to realise that I have a bit of battle ahead as my GP would like to get e down to a fasting level of below (50)

Are you sure that's mg/dL? - 50mg/dL is way way too low, its 2.7mmol/l in the UK for a finger prick (measured in mmol/L in the UK, mg/dL in the US) which is well into hypo territory. and would need immediate treatment.

If those numbers (114 and 64) were your Hba1C results that's measured in 'mmol/mol' not 'mg/dL' .

The HbA1C result is when blood is drawn at the docs/hospital and is sent off for analysis and is basically a 3 month average, and is not a fasting level

 

[EFMax]

Are you sure that's mg/dL? - 50mg/dL is way way too low, its 2.7mmol/l in the UK for a finger prick (measured in mmol/L in the UK, mg/dL in the US) which is well into hypo territory. and would need immediate treatment.

If those numbers (114 and 64) were your Hba1C results that's measured in 'mmol/mol' not 'mg/dL' .

The HbA1C result is when blood is drawn at the docs/hospital and is sent off for analysis and is basically a 3 month average, and is not a fasting level

I probably got the letters wrong but the numbers are correct from blood tests done at the GP from me fasting before the tests.. I will edit my OP to read correctly - thanks.... I am from Reading as well, up in Tilehurst..

 

[catinahat]

I can see that when I eat, everything goes through the roof

So what is it you are eating to make "things go through the roof". You described your diet as "quite low carb high protein hardly any fat" if you give us an idea of what your meals look like we might be able to see what is causing things to go through the roof.
Carbs are the main culprit, when digested they get turned to glucose, it's also possible for some of the protein to get converted to glucose. Fat on the other hand is an excellent energy source and never gets changed into glucose.

 

[EFMax]

So what is it you are eating to make "things go through the roof". You described your diet as "quite low carb high protein hardly any fat" if you give us an idea of what your meals look like we might be able to see what is causing things to go through the roof.
Carbs are the main culprit, when digested they get turned to glucose, it's also possible for some of the protein to get converted to glucose. Fat on the other hand is an excellent energy source and never gets changed into glucose.

My go through the roof comment was aimed at me seeing how the meter was showing me what happened - so from eating that one ott meal, I got an education on how quickly my body was responding to what I was eating - now I can see just how fast and just what trips it off, I can be even more careful as i can see first hand just how it all hangs together..

 

[boggle]

My guess is that your body is making its own glucose through a process called gluconeogenesis. As you are avoiding fat and carbs your body is likely converting protein to glucose to supply yourself with energy. You could consider becoming fat adapted to see if that works, it can take time.

 

[EFMax]

My guess is that your body is making its own glucose through a process called gluconeogenesis. As you are avoiding fat and carbs your body is likely converting protein to glucose to supply yourself with energy. You could consider becoming fat adapted to see if that works, it can take time.

Thanks for that - I am actually seeing my diabetic nurse on Monday, so I shall have a good chat with her..

 

[ianf0ster]

Everybody's BG rises sharply after a meal provided it has some carbs in it. That isn't a problem unless it remains over 2.0 ,mmol higher 2hrs after first bite. So you should mainly ignore what your Libre shows you during that time.
Many people are confused about what constitutes Low Carb and so claim they are eating Low carb when it's actually nowhere near as low as they think it is.

You also say you are eating Low Fat, are you aware that the vast majority of us eating Low Carb aren't eating Low Fat, because it's so difficult to find protein with either carbs nor fats.

Fats are an essential macro-nutrient as is Protein. But carbs are not, which means that the body can make all the carbs it needs from protein or fat. So why are you trying to deprive your body of one of its macro-nutrients? Is it for weight loss? - If so then cutting down on carbs alone is quite enough to lose more that 15% of your body weight without restricting fat or calories.

 

[Daibell]

HI. You are obviously taking this seriously and doing what you can. Do let us know what your typical diet is. Don't worry about the fat in your diet as the body doesn't use it as the main source of stored glucose. When you were on Metformin was it the Slow Release (SR) version?

 

[BravoKilo]

Well done on reducing your HbA1c dramatically- going in the right direction!

Everybody is different, but for me going for a short walk or exercise after eating lowers my blood sugar , but this has solution dropped off now that the nights are closing in …

BTW, I’ve used 4 Libres so far and each has shown different accuracy wrt finger prick tests

 

[EFMax]

Everybody's BG rises sharply after a meal provided it has some carbs in it. That isn't a problem unless it remains over 2.0 ,mmol higher 2hrs after first bite. So you should mainly ignore what your Libre shows you during that time.
Many people are confused about what constitutes Low Carb and so claim they are eating Low carb when it's actually nowhere near as low as they think it is.

You also say you are eating Low Fat, are you aware that the vast majority of us eating Low Carb aren't eating Low Fat, because it's so difficult to find protein with either carbs nor fats.

Fats are an essential macro-nutrient as is Protein. But carbs are not, which means that the body can make all the carbs it needs from protein or fat. So why are you trying to deprive your body of one of its macro-nutrients? Is it for weight loss? - If so then cutting down on carbs alone is quite enough to lose more that 15% of your body weight without restricting fat or calories.

Thanks for your input.

A typical breakfast for me is egg-based, usually an omelette with mushroom, onions and sometimes chicken or salmon.. sometimes just plain scrambled eggs.

I have managed to cut my bread intake to all but zero (and it was really bad before) same for rice and pasta, maybe once a month now of either. Potatoes have been hard to cut out but I have cut back. Fresh fruit was an issue before but I have reduced that. . my veg intake and salad intake is quite high. I don't use anything prepacked and I cook from fresh on everything and if I bake, I try to be selective about any flour I use and that is only about once month. I eat a lot of chicken, very little red meat and a fair bit of salmon. A lot of my dishes are homemade soups at the moment. No milk as I don't like the taste, no alcohol cos I don't like the taste, no sugar drinks..

 

[EFMax]

HI. You are obviously taking this seriously and doing what you can. Do let us know what your typical diet is. Don't worry about the fat in your diet as the body doesn't use it as the main source of stored glucose. When you were on Metformin was it the Slow Release (SR) version?

The Metformin started off as standard and then slow release 4x 500mg but even at 1x 500mg, I just could not get on with it.

 

[kyler]

Well I'm on my last couple of days trying out a libre 2 patch and find it's great to monitor what's going on during the night although very inaccurate compared to finger prick readings
It's not bad at about 5 finger saying 4.5 but at reading of 15 finger saying 11.5 so very poor overall.
But what did suprise me were my readings during the night if I dropped down to 5 usely about 2am it often climbed way up to 15 even if I go down to about 7 it go up to about 12 before I get up libre readings this is I know there are two reason behind this but it strange why it gets so high.

 

[sunspots]

It seems to me that there are 2 routes to lowering bgs; low carb diet or medication (I've never been convinced that exercise does that much but, then again, it raises my bg after doing it). In order to decrease those numbers you could look to lowering your carb intake, as others have said, and possibly swap out some of the protein for fat. That dietary approach can help weight loss too so win-win.