New to Blood Glucose Testing - Unexpected Result

[Smileypigface]

Hi - I'm about 6 weeks after my T2 diagnosis - I'm currently taking 500mg metformin 3 x daily and following a LCHF diet - so far I've lost 6.4kg. Waiting for an appointment at the Diabetic Clinic for further analysis and possible additional medication - however, I'm hoping to convince them that I'm good to continue what I'm doing for a while longer to see if I can avoid any additional medication.

My cholesterol was just about in the high range (total 5.2) at the point of my diagnosis but I've refused statins for now as, again, I'd like to see what impact my dietary and exercise changes can make (after one month the total cholesterol remains at 5.2 but my triglycerides have reduced from 4.1 to 2.6).

Today my Accu-Chek Mobile arrived - I tested just before lunch - 4.6 and then 2 hours later - 3.9. I was expecting the after lunch reading to be higher - did I leave it too long to test? My lunch was homemade mushroom stroganoff (mushrooms, minced pork and sour cream) and cheese containing 5.6g of carbs, 30.6g of fat and 25.6g of protein.

I know I probably shouldn't get too tied up in knots analysing one meal - I plan to test on waking, before meals and 2 hours after each meal (3 meals per day) so I'll hopefully start to see a trend after a few days.

Any initial feedback/observations would be most welcome - am I on the right track?

Many thanks

 

[MarkMunday]

... I know I probably shouldn't get too tied up in knots analysing one meal - I plan to test on waking, before meals and 2 hours after each meal (3 meals per day) so I'll hopefully start to see a trend after a few days. ...

When you can see a trend, you will have something to discuss. Be aware that there can be a fair amount of variability between readings that doesn't mean anything. The manufacturers specify 20%. Sometimes blood glucose drops after meals because too much insulin is produced. A so called reactive low. But, without a trend having been observed, we can only guess that this may be happening.

 

[Ronancastled]

Today my Accu-Chek Mobile arrived - I tested just before lunch - 4.6 and then 2 hours later - 3.9. I was expecting the after lunch reading to be higher - did I leave it too long to test? My lunch was homemade mushroom stroganoff (mushrooms, minced pork and sour cream) and cheese containing 5.6g of carbs, 30.6g of fat and 25.6g of protein.

I've the same meter as you as you can see n my avatar.
Your body putting it's baseline at 4.6 before eating is a great sign.
Your body is producing enough basal insulin all on it's own to put you in the normal zone.
The 3.9 at 2 hours is another great sign but the meal you ate was really low carb so start adding small amounts of carb to see what your body can tolerate.

Your post diagnosis journey sounds very similar to mine.
I too lost weight straight away I got my fasting down from 7.5 to 5.1 in 3 weeks.
I did take me about 9 months however to recover my first phase insulin response.
I've seen 13's after testing at 1 hour after a heavy carb meal, nowadays I'd barely see a 7.
It takes time for your pancreas to recover & it's dependent on continued weight loss, exercise and low carb eating to give it a rest.

I reckon you've got this

 

[DanW13]

I did take me about 9 months however to recover my first phase insulin response.
I've seen 13's after testing at 1 hour after a heavy carb meal, nowadays I'd barely see a 7.
It takes time for your pancreas to recover & it's dependent on continued weight loss, exercise and low carb eating to give it a rest.

I reckon you've got this

Hi,

Apologies for interjecting, but I’ve a quick question on this bit of your response.

I was diagnosed with prediabetes recently - Hba1c of 43. Since then I’ve lost weight, gone low carb & after 6 weeks & a retest my Hba1c is back to 37 so going well so far. I purchased a Libre & used it for a month & one thing I noticed was that spike after eating carbs, never really bad but for example eating 2 weetabix would take my BG up to nearly 10 after 45 minutes, though it would quickly drop back to normal levels. Other low carb meals produced a much less dramatic response.

Does this sound normal or is this illustrating Phase 1 insulin resistance? After 2 hours BG was generally back to baseline, circa 5.0 or <1.0 higher than prior to the meal. If it does is it worth my buying another Libre after say a year to see if my Phase1 response has been restored? Are you able to eat some carbs now you’ve restored yours, or is the reality that it would quickly be lost again if you did??

Sorry for all the questions, but trying to understand better my own body & had been wondering about what did or didn’t constitute a normal/non diabetic post meal (1st hour) spike, or if there shouldn’t be one at all? All the discussion is generally about the 2 hour point after a meal so wasn’t sure how important the initial spike was or wasn’t!

Thanks
Dan

 

[Ronancastled]

Hi,

Apologies for interjecting, but I’ve a quick question on this bit of your response.

I was diagnosed with prediabetes recently - Hba1c of 43. Since then I’ve lost weight, gone low carb & after 6 weeks & a retest my Hba1c is back to 37 so going well so far. I purchased a Libre & used it for a month & one thing I noticed was that spike after eating carbs, never really bad but for example eating 2 weetabix would take my BG up to nearly 10 after 45 minutes, though it would quickly drop back to normal levels. Other low carb meals produced a much less dramatic response.

Does this sound normal or is this illustrating Phase 1 insulin resistance? After 2 hours BG was generally back to baseline, circa 5.0 or <1.0 higher than prior to the meal. If it does is it worth my buying another Libre after say a year to see if my Phase1 response has been restored? Are you able to eat some carbs now you’ve restored yours, or is the reality that it would quickly be lost again if you did??

Sorry for all the questions, but trying to understand better my own body & had been wondering about what did or didn’t constitute a normal/non diabetic post meal (1st hour) spike, or if there shouldn’t be one at all? All the discussion is generally about the 2 hour point after a meal so wasn’t sure how important the initial spike was or wasn’t!

Thanks
Dan

Have a look at some of my recent posts where I quote a study of 57 healthy young Stanford University students who wore cgm's & were given a test meal of a bowl of cornflakes.
Many of them spiked like you with some going over 200 (11.1),
The old paradigm of non-diabetics never spiking has been severely questioned with availability of these real time glucose monitors.
They now propose up to 3 different glucose responses seen in the population called glucotypes.
Some have a flat response, some spike high then come down rapidly & there's a group in between.

As you were only a prediabetic your pancreas was obviously overworked but long term damage is less likely.
Now is the time to loose weight if you need to, up your exercise & lower your carbs.
What none of us know is how are body handled carbs before diagnosis cause we weren't pricking fingers or wearing Libre's back then.

Maybe, like the students, eating Weetabix might have been a bad idea.
The day your Fitbit or Apple Watch can read glucose will be bad day for the processed food companies.

 

[DanW13]

Have a look at some of my recent posts where I quote a study of 57 healthy young Stanford University students who wore cgm's & were given a test meal of a bowl of cornflakes.
Many of them spiked like you with some going over 200 (11.1),
The old paradigm of non-diabetics never spiking has been severely questioned with availability of these real time glucose monitors.
They now propose up to 3 different glucose responses seen in the population called glucotypes.
Some have a flat response, some spike high then come down rapidly & there's a group in between.

As you were only a prediabetic your pancreas was obviously overworked but long term damage is less likely.
Now is the time to loose weight if you need to, up your exercise & lower your carbs.
What none of us know is how are body handled carbs before diagnosis cause we weren't pricking fingers or wearing Libre's back then.

Maybe, like the students, eating Weetabix might have been a bad idea.
The day your Fitbit or Apple Watch can read glucose will be bad day for the processed food companies.

Thanks for replying, very interesting so will take a look at your posts.

Exercise was never an issue for me as I’m a keen runner (circa 20-30k a week), My problem was my sweet tooth & love of pasta, cakes, chocolate, basically anything carb! Given pretty much all of it up now, down to just 1 x weetabix now that doesn’t spike me so much!

 

[epiphany]

Hello, I’m new to this community and would like to ask some advice.

I purchased a blood sugar monitor (pin-prick type) a couple of years ago but would question its accuracy as readings from the same sample can fluctuate somewhat. For example, in a recent test I measured 5.9, 6.6 and 7.4 from the same drop of blood.

I’ve been borderline diabetic for the last 5 years or so and have not been prescribed any medication as yet. My most recent formal Hba1c readings of about 47 – 48 were taken about a year ago. However, I have a feeling that this may have risen in recent months, as my mouth feels drier than it used to and I have a greater urge to urinate in the morning.

I was wondering if anyone can recommend a more accurate and reliable device, or perhaps give me some other helpful advice?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hello, I’m new to this community and would like to ask some advice.

I purchased a blood sugar monitor (pin-prick type) a couple of years ago but would question its accuracy as readings from the same sample can fluctuate somewhat. For example, in a recent test I measured 5.9, 6.6 and 7.4 from the same drop of blood.

I’ve been borderline diabetic for the last 5 years or so and have not been prescribed any medication as yet. My most recent formal Hba1c readings of about 47 – 48 were taken about a year ago. However, I have a feeling that this may have risen in recent months, as my mouth feels drier than it used to and I have a greater urge to urinate in the morning.

I was wondering if anyone can recommend a more accurate and reliable device, or perhaps give me some other helpful advice?

Many thanks in advance.

Blood glucose devices have a 15% margin of error, almost never give the same result on the same drop of blood. Which is usually enough to let you know whether you're hypo, hyper or normal. There's nothing save a lab test that'll give a higher accuracy, and even then, test results from the same sample could vary from lab to lab. If you ever doubt a meter, check whether the strips are still in date (it really does make a difference!), whether your hands are quite clean and dry (no hand cream!), and that the monitor itself isn't too old. They kind of lose their knack for it after a few years. Mine are between 3 and 4 years old, which kind of means I'd better be on the lookout for a new machine, I suppose. In any case, if you feel like your blood glucose might be off due to symptoms, it might pay to get a new meter and fresh strips (The codefree or Tee2 are pretty good, from what i understand, and the strips don't cost an arm and a leg).

Good luck!
Jo

 

[epiphany]

Blood glucose devices have a 15% margin of error, almost never give the same result on the same drop of blood. Which is usually enough to let you know whether you're hypo, hyper or normal. There's nothing save a lab test that'll give a higher accuracy, and even then, test results from the same sample could vary from lab to lab. If you ever doubt a meter, check whether the strips are still in date (it really does make a difference!), whether your hands are quite clean and dry (no hand cream!), and that the monitor itself isn't too old. They kind of lose their knack for it after a few years. Mine are between 3 and 4 years old, which kind of means I'd better be on the lookout for a new machine, I suppose. In any case, if you feel like your blood glucose might be off due to symptoms, it might pay to get a new meter and fresh strips (The codefree or Tee2 are pretty good, from what i understand, and the strips don't cost an arm and a leg).

Good luck!
Jo

 

[epiphany]

Many thanks for your reply Jo,

It has given me some much needed clarity on the subject of glucose testing.

On a related matter, I submitted a blood sample for my latest NHS HbA1c test today, which I have put-off for some time.
I'm hoping it won't exceed 48 but I'm not very optimistic. I fear that my lock-down habits will become all too evident....

However, I'm very grateful that resources such as this one exist.
I can see that it has the potential to change the lives of those affected by this challenging condition.

with best wishes, Bilhar