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My BGs are FINALLY coming down! So happy.

Jenny15

Jenny15

Well-Known Member
Messages
770
Location
New Zealand
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
Dislikes
Jazz music, science denial, and running out of coffee.
It's a long story but some stuff happened in the last two years and after 9 years of managing T2 diabetes with just low carbing and Metformin I was advised by one of my doctors to consider going on insulin, at least temporarily.

My HbA1cs have been very high for over 12 months (I only found this out 6 months ago). I've had severe hyperglycaemia symptoms and am basically miserable all the time with them, and at risk of life threatening infection because of another condition I have.

So, I started Lantus 5 days ago and have been testing several times a day and not seeing any real changes. I knew it would take a while so I kept my expectations low.

My fasting BG yesterday was 11.1.

Today I am recording several BG results and all food eaten, and here's what I found:

8am Fasting 9.5 then drank two black coffees with sweetener
10am - BG 10.5 then ate one boiled egg
12 noon - BG 7.8

It may not seem like much an improvement to others but for me this is HUGE. I haven't had a result below 8.5 in months. Now I can see that there is hope.

I am finding that doing my best to limit carbs (without being so extreme it becomes a problem for me) does help the Lantus do its job and I think I will reach my fasting BG initial target range of 4-7 faster than I otherwise would.

I'm not yet ready for lunch (it's 1.30pm here) but I will test before and two hours after and post it here. I'm intrigued to see what tomorrow's fasting BG will be like.
 
That's great news! I think you are allowed to punch the air at this point, keep up the good work.
 
Fingers crossed. It does really get your moods in the wrong place having BG so high. 1 X boiled egg? Not much of a breakfast. Have you tried protein shakes? The stuff bodybuilders use? If you shop around you can get some high protein but low carb stuff. Make with really cold water. Cold water gets your BMR up a little bit. Coffee doesn't. Every little helps. Also check out using different sweeteners. T2 can even react oddly to sweeteners. Hope it gets better for you. R.
 
Robin101 said:
Fingers crossed. It does really get your moods in the wrong place having BG so high. 1 X boiled egg? Not much of a breakfast. Have you tried protein shakes? The stuff bodybuilders use? If you shop around you can get some high protein but low carb stuff. Make with really cold water. Cold water gets your BMR up a little bit. Coffee doesn't. Every little helps. Also check out using different sweeteners. T2 can even react oddly to sweeteners. Hope it gets better for you. R.
Click to expand...
Thanks Robin. I haven't been shopping yet to stock up on good LCHF options yet, so have been eating what I already have in the kitchen. I didn't feel like eating more than an egg this morning, same when it came time to have just a piece of cheese for lunch. I had a normal sized dinner though.

Today was a bit of a one-off eating wise. I've found it works better if I have a decent LCHF breakfast and lunch, so when I get organized better I will be doing that for sure. Thanks for your good wishes.
 
Here's a summary of the whole day. 9.40pm now.

*Was using up existing supplies, will shop for LCHF choices this week (not looking for feedback on my food choices for today, lol)

8am Fasting 9.5 then drank two black coffees with sweetener
10am - BG 10.5 then ate one boiled egg
12 noon - BG 7.8
2pm - 7.1 then ate 10g feta cheese
5pm - 6.6 then ate dinner:
- crumbed chicken breast
- one small potato
- broccoli, cauli, carrot & sliced green bean frozen mix
- small serving of berries and cream
715pm - 10.1
9.30pm 8.5

I will have a small LCHF snack now so I don't feel hungry later.
 
Hi @Jenny15 welcome to the forum. I will tag @daisy1 to send you the welcome info. Well done on getting your Bg down great feeling eh!. How long do you fast for? I find the LCHF way of eating so easy. I don't miss my carbs and have plenty of nice food and never feel hungry, so that's a bonus. I do !8/6 fast, no food after 20.00 till 14.00 next day. I only have black tea, coffee,water and vitamin water as needed. I aim for less than 15 - 20% carbs. In one month of this lost 8.4 kg and fetched my Bg down from 16.6 to7.0 (average over 7 days). You will soon find what foods help you. Have a look at the Low carb eating thread in the forum also "what have you eaten" thread it will give you a better insight into LCHF. You are in the right place for help, advice and support, so any questions just ask. :)
 
Terrytiddy said:
Hi @Jenny15 welcome to the forum. I will tag @daisy1 to send you the welcome info. Well done on getting your Bg down great feeling eh!. How long do you fast for? I find the LCHF way of eating so easy. I don't miss my carbs and have plenty of nice food and never feel hungry, so that's a bonus. I do !8/6 fast, no food after 20.00 till 14.00 next day. I only have black tea, coffee,water and vitamin water as needed. I aim for less than 15 - 20% carbs. In one month of this lost 8.4 kg and fetched my Bg down from 16.6 to7.0 (average over 7 days). You will soon find what foods help you. Have a look at the Low carb eating thread in the forum also "what have you eaten" thread it will give you a better insight into LCHF. You are in the right place for help, advice and support, so any questions just ask. :)
Click to expand...
Thanks @Terrytiddy, I wasn't intentionally fasting, I just wasn't hungry so didn't force myself to eat more than tiny amounts. But, having accidentally tried light eating all day before dinner, I like it!

I felt better than I have in ages and my BG kept dropping as the day went on. I will definitely consider adding a degree of fasting into my plans somehow.
 
And your food intake is pretty much ok for the day BUT my recommended intake of potato would be Zero. Just fooling yourself at 1 X small. It's neither a decent portion or free of carbohydrate so would be easy enough to imagine it gone.
Berries. Love them. They hate me. If I want to put my BG up they are a great way of doing it.
Although there are so many variable involved a suggestion for tomorrow would be to eat exactly the same without those two. And compare tests.
I've mentioned elsewhere that your bodies reaction to foods is very individual and often what one person says is great - isn't. And of course the other way round.
As an example I find chocolate in moderation has little (not zero but not huge) effect on my BG
I find tea upsets my BG.....? I'm British!! How can that be right??
 
Robin101 said:
And your food intake is pretty much ok for the day BUT my recommended intake of potato would be Zero. Just fooling yourself at 1 X small. It's neither a decent portion or free of carbohydrate so would be easy enough to imagine it gone.
Berries. Love them. They hate me. If I want to put my BG up they are a great way of doing it.
Although there are so many variable involved a suggestion for tomorrow would be to eat exactly the same without those two. And compare tests.
I've mentioned elsewhere that your bodies reaction to foods is very individual and often what one person says is great - isn't. And of course the other way round.
As an example I find chocolate in moderation has little (not zero but not huge) effect on my BG
I find tea upsets my BG.....? I'm British!! How can that be right??
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestions but I did say this in that post:

"*Was using up existing supplies, will shop for LCHF choices this week (not looking for feedback on my food choices for today, lol)"

A small potato occasionally is not going to destroy my BG control. I started doing LCHF 9 years ago and only stopped doing it all the time 2 years ago. I got my A1c down to 32 for quite a while.

My purpose in starting this thread wasn't to fine-tune my food choices. It was to celebrate the first of many good signs that my severe hyperglycaemia has started to turn the corner, on Day 5 of insulin therapy.

Thanks for your post and I commiserate about the tea issue. Despite having left the UK in the 19th century for NZ, my ancestors continued the tea-drinking tradition with gusto.
 
Hmm. Yes. I rather lost sight of the original thread. My bad. Thread wander seems to kick in around 4 to 5 replies in!

And hopefully it's another good day in your struggles.
Yes the tea drinking thing is a disappointment.
 
@Jenny15

Hello Jenny and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful and helpful. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 235,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why

  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 
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