Newbie needing help

redkids said:

Hi I have recently been diagnosed at type 2 diabetic my levels are 54 ????
I have today got a blood glucose monitor and checked my blood 2 hours after evening meal it said 4.4. ???
I have no idea what all this means or when I should test
Looking for some help?
Thanks

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Hi @redkids , welcome to the forum.
What was your evening meal?

A hba1c of 54 means your average blood glucose was likely around 8.7.
Have you changed your diet recently?

redkids said:

Hi I have recently been diagnosed at type 2 diabetic my levels are 54 ????
I have today got a blood glucose monitor and checked my blood 2 hours after evening meal it said 4.4. ???
I have no idea what all this means or when I should test
Looking for some help?
Thanks

Click to expand...

Hi redkids and welcome.

Anyone with a blood glucose of 48 or over as measured by an HbA1c test will usually automatically be diagnosed as having Type 2 diabetes. The HbA1c test looks back about three months. I was diagnosed with an HbA1c of 50/49 (two tests) as sometimes they want a second as confirmation.

The fingerprick tests give a snapshot of what your blood glucose level is right at the point of test. One test on its own is unlikely to tell you a great deal - it's more about building up a pattern and working out (for example) which foods do what to your blood glucose levels. This is really about working out the quantity and type of carbohydrate your system can tolerate. I found GI values to be no use in this respect.

That said, a post-meal fingerprick result of 4.4 is low. If it was me I'd expect that sort of result after a meal of steak and mushrooms, neither of which contain any carbohydrate, therefore you wouldn't expect a rise in blood glucose. Do you know what your reading was before the meal? taking a baseline before you eat allows you to know exactly what the impact of the meal was at the two-hour point. You're not testing to see "how high you go" - you're testing to see how well your system handled the carbs (if any) in whatever it was you ate.

This forum is a great resource. We've all been where you are now - take the time to read around and ask questions.

redkids said:

My evening meal was steak and mushrooms

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So there were virtually no carbs at all in your meal, looks like your choice of food is working very well for you!

redkids said:

been on a low gi diet.

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Most of us find it's not the GI that makes a difference, but all carbs.
In this case (steak and mushrooms) your meal was both very low carb and very low GI.

redkids said:

I have an appointment with the nurse in 2 weeks but in the meantime I'm just plodding about with no clue.

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I'm pretty sure you'd like to read this informative piece, written by one of our members: https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html
Your post meal result already shows this is working!
I expect that if you keep it up and keep testing, you'll blow the mind of your nurse with your healthy numbers in 2 weeks!