Not eaten for a few hours and BG rising?

[Foxybaby]

Hi

I'm new to this forum, so apologies for jumping straight in with a question. I'm on 3000mg of Metformin (2x500mg 3 times a day) due to PCOS as well as type2 diabetes. I've been very bad over Chrimbo and averaged out at about 17mmol through the whole period, not taking my tablets and eating bad things etc. Anyway, I've been back on the wagon for a couple of weeks and just thought that everything was calming down. I had my 2 tablets with my evening meal about 7pm, tested just before 9pm and it was 8.5mmol. So I thought that was great (compared to what its been). I'm testing before bed and its 11.5mmol, I've not eaten anything since my dinner. I've heard of the Dawn effect-but I've not even gone to bed yet :cry:

Can anyone shed some light on this? Is it my BG still getting itself right after my irresponsible 2 weeks?

Thanks in advance

 

[Sue Morton]

you don't mention what you have eaten as some foods digest slower in our system for example pasta rice etc which are very high in carbs and release sugar in your body slower so when eating these foods testing not just 2 hrs after but 3 hrs after is important.

However it is and seems to be the best way forward to control your diabetics is to do a low carb diet. You need to take your diabetis seriously as the complications that you could get are not very nice. Even being naughty you would have helped yourself by still taking your tablets!

I was diagnosed as type 2 last march 2010 and it has been hard work getting my BS under control finding out what my body will allow me to eat testing my BS. Read some of the questions on this site and you will see what one person can eat another can't as we are all different. But only you can find out what your body can take by testing and watching what you eat. Obviously what you had to eat that night is a no no for you or you need to eat a much smaller portion and see what happens then. If still high then stop eating that meal.

If your ever tempted to fall off the wagon again google the results of not controlling your BS and it might stop you from doing it. Or at least keep taking your tablets which will help a little but the best advice is DON'T.

Have a look at the low carb forum and try the low carb diet it will help you lose weight (if you need to) and help you to control your diabetis. there is also an item on Burgen bread (on Ask a Question forum) which is low GI bread - read that as its true its a bread quite a few of us can eat so you don't have to give up bread either just find one that suits you. Most breads have the carbs on and most of them are very high in carbs. I had 2 slices of white bread and my BS was 10.5 so thats a no no.

Eat carefully and you can still enjoy your food all the best
Sue

hope all goes well with you
sue





I have no idea what PCOS means but if it means that you have other medical conditions then you need to watch your diabetics very closely.

This was my 1st Christmas as a diabetic and I must admit I have been very depressed about it all as it really made it obvious that I was diabetic and all the foods in the shops looked so nice and I couldn't buy hardly anything this year. Saved me some money at least.

 

[cugila]

Hi

I'm new to this forum, so apologies for jumping straight in with a question. I'm on 3000mg of Metformin (2x500mg 3 times a day) due to PCOS as well as type2 diabetes. I've been very bad over Chrimbo and averaged out at about 17mmol through the whole period, not taking my tablets and eating bad things etc. Anyway, I've been back on the wagon for a couple of weeks and just thought that everything was calming down. I had my 2 tablets with my evening meal about 7pm, tested just before 9pm and it was 8.5mmol. So I thought that was great (compared to what its been). I'm testing before bed and its 11.5mmol, I've not eaten anything since my dinner. I've heard of the Dawn effect-but I've not even gone to bed yet :cry:

Can anyone shed some light on this? Is it my BG still getting itself right after my irresponsible 2 weeks?

Thanks in advance

Hi.
Welcome to the Forum. Have a good look around and if you have more questions just ask.

This isn't the Dawn Effect (DP) but no doubt simply a result of what you ate being a slower acting carbohydrate or simply had a lot more fat in it which would slow down the absorption. Your levels were rising and basically you might have needed to test 3, 4 hrs later or even much longer......the so called 'Pizza Effect.'

There are MANY diet pathways available to help you control your Diabetes, it doesn't just have to be a low carb diet but in most instances nearly all involve a 'reduction' in the amount of Carbohydrates consumed. It's a simple equation......Carbs = Glucose = Insulin = Fat. Reduce the carbs and that will lower the glucose levels, reduce the need for Insulin whether injected or naturally produced and keep the fat away from the body.

Here is the basic advice my pal Sue and I offer newly diagnosed Diabetic's which may be of some help to you......although you don't say how long you have been diagnosed. If you know it all then please accept my apologies.

Here is the advice we usually give to newly diagnosed diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

This is NOT a low carb diet suggestion, just a reduction in your intake of carbohydrate. You have to decide yourself how much of a reduction will keep your blood glucose levels in control.

The main carbs to avoid OR reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating, then two hours after eating, you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the effect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.


As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try!!

If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2010 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l........(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals......no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals....... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do 30 minutes moderate exercise a day. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.

Ken / Sue.

Sue.
PCOS is PolyCystic Ovary Syndrome. Here is a link explaining it........

http://www.verity-pcos.org.uk/guide_to_ ... at_is_pcos

 

[Foxybaby]

Thanks Guys. I am on the Slimming World Extra Easy diet, which is based round a low GI diet. I did have chips, that night (slimming world "syn free" chips") with lightly fried fish (In fry light), usually the combination of a low carb with a high carb balances the GI, this is a meal I have a couple of times a month and usually its fine. My usual trigger is bread :|, so I try to keep away. As long as my meals are balanced I'm usally fine, this was quite abnormal to me for it to go up 5hrs after eating.

I was diagnosed in 2002, but I was diet controlled-back when it was still a "sugar free" diet-never could figure out why my figures were elevated on my healthy starchy diet. I figured it out myself and told my Diabetic Nurse my findings and she said I was talking tripe :lol: Then the whole low carb thing came out and I was dying to poke a big finger in her face and say I told you so :roll:

I'm trying to think what I did differently the other night and nothing springs to mind, but I'll keep keep a closer eye in it when I next have that meal.

Cheers