New to T2 - High fasting levels?

hi and welcome,

@daisy1will be along shortly to give you the basic advice regarding how to control your blood glucose levels

In the meantime your current situation is completely normal at diagnosis.

It takes a long time for the fasting levels to start coming down. For now if you just focus on what you eat as per for example the "Low carb programe" on here, try and leave as long as you can between meals, and don't snack in between, plus a bit of walking and you should find everything starts to come good quite soon.

Hi and welcome to the forum,

@daisy1 has great information for new members.

Fastings levels just are not that easy to control and are the last to come down. Eat well, sleep well and a bit of exercise if you can and you will see lower results eventually.

There are some tips and tricks but unfortunately they don't work for everyone as you have found out. I didn't bother I just waited it out.

Hi and welcome,

Can you tell us which tablets you are taking? That may help with our replies, and also what your HbA1c was?

Please don't worry about your fasting levels. In fact, it is often best not even to test them at all initially. There are too many factors that can cause these to be high, most of which we have no control over. Concentrate on the before and after meal tests as they are the most important. The best guide is the test immediately before evening meal, and as long as your post meal rises are no more than 2mmol/l (preferably less) you are doing fine.

The liver dump is a natural phenomenon that happens to everyone, including non-diabetics, but non-diabetics don't notice it because their insulin clears the glucose easily. In Type 2 we are insulin resistant, which means our insulin cannot clear the glucose from the dump, so the rise is more noticeable. Once your insulin resistance improves, so will your fasting numbers, but this can take time.

@Anfalas

Hello Anfalas and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope it will be useful for you. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will help. (I love your avatar!)


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

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 250,000 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 free 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. They're all 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.

Hello and welcome - I was diagnosed in May and even though my HBA1C (the long term test level) has come down from 70 to 43 in that time my fasting bloods are still often in the mid-upper 7's. They were a lot higher to begin with but I stopped eating breakfast and that helped. It seems the fasting levels are the last to drop - I regularly now have levels during the day of late 5's and early 6's even after eating, but that blessed morning reading is still high! Tempted not to test in the morning and just use the averages throughout the day but I can't resist !!!! I agree with everything Bluetit1802 says about the Liver dump - it's a law unto itself.
Anyway, you've come to the right place for information and help - so don't hesitate to ask ! It's a bit overwhelming at fist diagnosis but it gets easier. I swear by low carb high fat, (so do many but not all on this forum) and have seen brilliant results over a five month period. I've always been a fussy eater, so I've just found around 6 lunches and 6 dinners that I can eat low carb (and like) and stuck to them. The weird thing I've found (very weird for me - a foodie all my live) is that with the low carb diet I'm neither hungry or crave sweet stuff. No one was more surprised that me !

charliebarker said:

Tempted not to test in the morning and just use the averages throughout the day but I can't resist !!!!

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I still do a fasting test in the mornings after all these years, but it tells me nothing and teaches me nothing, so basically it is a waste of a strip and would save a bruised finger if I stopped. For some reason, I can't stop! I still test my meals and bedtimes, too.
Really, if it teaches us nothing, it logically is a waste of time on a daily basis. I guess I am just addicted.

@Anfalas said:

I haven't had that long time glucose check yet as I have changed my GP. I am on 2 metformin which is giving me horrible stomach side effects already. When I was pregnant I ended up on insulin and I am trying my best to avoid that.

If you haven't had an HbA1c, how did your doctor diagnose you?

Anfalas said:

Thanks for all the replies


Hey, well done for getting your levels so much lower and sticking to it. I guess I am overwhelmed to be honest. My diet was pretty much sweets, crisps and unhealthy foods! So changing and learning all this is a lot to take on. I have started eating more healthily now but still not very low carb (need to look into different meal ideas!) Honestly I was hoping they made a mistake at the GP or something!

On a random note: Is sugar free pop ok? Like coke zero etc? I know its not healthy but I have quit smoking and now all sugary things. I dont think I can cope to cut everything out at once!

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I used to life on sweets, chocolate crisps and pastries etc - can't believe it now!! I tried diet drinks but weirdly they gave me sugar cravings which annoyed me as I wasn't having any on the low carb. The trick is to go VERY low carb (as low as you can if it works for you) like anything it doesn't really work if you half do it - it's all or nothing! For about four or five weeks I had nothing sweet at all ( well, not entirely true as I can eat raspberries and strawberries in strict moderation). Now I treat myself with keto recipe cookies or brownies !!! Made with almond flour and Erythritol rather than wheat flour and 'real' sugar. Also I can handle 90% chocolate which after a few weeks of no sweetness was much more bearable than I thought it would be. For me at least, the higher the carbs or the sweeter the taste the more hungry and crave-y I get! It sounds counter-intuitive but the less carbs I eat the less I want!

charliebarker said:

I used to life on sweets, chocolate crisps and pastries etc - can't believe it now!! I tried diet drinks but weirdly they gave me sugar cravings which annoyed me as I wasn't having any on the low carb. The trick is to go VERY low carb (as low as you can if it works for you) like anything it doesn't really work if you half do it - it's all or nothing! For about four or five weeks I had nothing sweet at all ( well, not entirely true as I can eat raspberries and strawberries in strict moderation). Now I treat myself with keto recipe cookies or brownies !!! Made with almond flour and Erythritol rather than wheat flour and 'real' sugar. Also I can handle 90% chocolate which after a few weeks of no sweetness was much more bearable than I thought it would be. For me at least, the higher the carbs or the sweeter the taste the more hungry and crave-y I get! It sounds counter-intuitive but the less carbs I eat the less I want!

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My basic meal choices are: omelette full of veg and cheese, steak and green beans, home-made pizza ( almond flour base), homemade beefburgers and a sort of ratatouille mix, duck breast and veg, bacon & eggs. Lunches: homemade soup (buy a soup maker!) Avocado, cheese, cottage cheese, celery as well as full fat Greek yoghurt. Strawberries or raspberries and cream for pudding! I don't eat breakfast but lots of people have Bacon and eggs! None of these take more than about 10 mins prep as I hate cooking and I generally stay below 45 grams of carbs a day. Hope that helps!

Anfalas said:

Because I had Gestational diabetes, I had an oral glucose tolerance test 10 weeks after having my baby. The doctor called me and said that it looks like I have type 2 diabetes now and that I need to take metformin and make an appointment to have the test that looks at glucose levels over a period of time but that is to come yet as I am currently moving and have a new GP. He also told me to test my sugar and see what they are like so I can discuss at the appointment and told me to eat better
I was in a bit of a shock and didnt even ask him what levels I had. When I had GD my GTT test results were really high, not sure if to expect similar results this time

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Thanks for explaining. You could ask the surgery for a print out of the test results and the OGTT. You will find it very useful, and it's good to know where you are starting from so you can track your progress. The same advice for all future blood tests.

Of course you are shocked, upset and overwhelmed. Best to take some deep breaths and take things slowly. Let it all sink in. Perhaps you could start by making a list of all the food you like that doesn't include too many carbs. Meat, fish, vegetables, salad stuff, dairy products, eggs, avocados, berries, olive oil, mayonnaise, whatever low carb stuff you actually like. Then you can concentrate on making meals with just those things. Use your meter to help you calculate which carbs you can tolerate. You may have a surprise .... a couple of spuds are fine for me, as are half a dozen deep fried chips. Bread is not fine for me, even one slice, and nor are any flour products, but I am addicted to the low carb high protein rolls from Lidl so my love of bread is satisfied without raising my BS levels.

It is a long learning curve. No need to rush. No need to go cold turkey on everything initially, provided you use your meter, keep a strict food diary and watch portion sizes. I started at about 120g carbs a day and worked my way down to 30g. I never felt deprived doing it that way. Make a plan and try to stick to it.