Puzzled, need advice please

[rosco 2]

Good evening. Diagnosed T2 three months ago. HbA1c 89 at the time. On metformin 1000mg SR once a day. I do low carb, basically eat to my meter a GlucoZen. My second HbA1c was on Friday, latest result 34. Fabulous. Lost 1.5stone, done walking etc.
So far so good. Now I am trying to add in foods that really spiked me weeks ago. Baked spud skins - flesh removed -usually ok. Tonight I added most of the flesh of one half of the spud, cheddar, 2 sausages and my 2 hour test showed a rise of 1.3. My celebration meal Friday had some pasta...again not the rise I expected.

So I am confused. Has the decrease in my HbA1c kicked my pancreas into some level of production? Is my meter malfunctioning? Has my loss of weight although not really much, made a difference? The exercise? Anyone shed a speculative light on this? I am very puzzled. I realise I will always have diabetes but the relative lack of response to the low level of carbs is odd. Appreciate any views on this.

 

[Guzzler]

Hi there. Firstly, a big pat on the back, well done!

It takes a long time to become insulin resistant and we can be insulin resistant for a very long time before developing symptoms such as raised bg levels. Add to this a great change in lifestyle habits and the expectation can be flummoxed at times by the vagaries of our bodys not reacting as we think they should.
Remember, if you get unexpected readings it is wise to take a second reading to rule out anomalies. But eventhen, sometimes our bodys just wwon't play ball and the reason may remain a mystery. Do not concern yourself with single readings, rather watch out for trends upwards.

Keep up the great work.

 

[Alexandra100]

Good evening. Diagnosed T2 three months ago. HbA1c 89 at the time. On metformin 1000mg SR once a day. I do low carb, basically eat to my meter a GlucoZen. My second HbA1c was on Friday, latest result 34. Fabulous. Lost 1.5stone, done walking etc.
So far so good. Now I am trying to add in foods that really spiked me weeks ago. Baked spud skins - flesh removed -usually ok. Tonight I added most of the flesh of one half of the spud, cheddar, 2 sausages and my 2 hour test showed a rise of 1.3. My celebration meal Friday had some pasta...again not the rise I expected.

So I am confused. Has the decrease in my HbA1c kicked my pancreas into some level of production? Is my meter malfunctioning? Has my loss of weight although not really much, made a difference? The exercise? Anyone shed a speculative light on this? I am very puzzled. I realise I will always have diabetes but the relative lack of response to the low level of carbs is odd. Appreciate any views on this.

Huge congratulations on your efforts and A1c. But - did you only test after 2 hours? If so, how do you know that was the top of the rise? The peak could have come earlier or later. I would try again, testing from 1 hour repeatedly until you see your bg start to fall, and maybe if you can bear to, until your bg is back to its pre-meal level, noting how long that takes. What were the actual numbers?

 

[rosco 2]

Bless you. Ok, just taken another test. Result decreased slightly as I would expect 45 mins later. I had a packet of cheese n onion on Friday after a long walk back from GP and again I didn’t get the reading I feared. I long for my favourite...rice and curry but won’t push my luck until October when I return from holiday! I think I just have to keep eating to my meter.

 

[rosco 2]

Yes, tested immediately before meal then two hours after, then 2hrs 45 mins. Decreasing.

 

[Resurgam]

I am in the same situation - but if I were to eat carbs to any extent, or with any regularity I would see my weight start to rise again - so I am sticking to the same low carb diet, and even reducing the amount of carbs a little so as to try to lose more weight and size.
My diabetes is effectively negated, but my perpetual situation is unchanged - only low carb allows me to eat well and function normally.

 

[rosco 2]

Agreed. It makes complete sense to continue the path I have chosen. I need to lose a fair bit more weight so am deciding on my target! I will continue to avoid sucrose and limit my carb intake to as little as possible but knowing I can have a baked potato skin is lovely. Although there are nibbles I miss, I am pleased with my progress so far. Also impressed with the level of support on this site. Thank you all.

 

[Antje77]

Baked spud skins

Fully off-topic, but I'd never heard of these so I googled and now I really need baked spud skins in my life!

 

[rosco 2]

Really? Want my recipe? Put large potato in microwave. Nuke for about 10 minutes, test centre of potato with skewer. If soft, leave metal skewer in the potato then put potato in oven, about 180deg. until skin feels a bit crispy! Truly delicious, butter, cheddar cheese, whatever. I scooped the middle out as almost pure carb and ate the skins. Best bit anyway. Do not put metal skewer in microwave.

 

[Antje77]

Really? Want my recipe? Put large potato in microwave. Nuke for about 10 minutes, test centre of potato with skewer. If soft, leave metal skewer in the potato then put potato in oven, about 180deg. until skin feels a bit crispy! Truly delicious, butter, cheddar cheese, whatever. I scooped the middle out as almost pure carb and ate the skins. Best bit anyway. Do not put metal skewer in microwave.

Thanks! This is wonderful! I love short recipes without all the stupid ads and cookies you get when using google!

 

[zand]

So I am confused. Has the decrease in my HbA1c kicked my pancreas into some level of production? Is my meter malfunctioning? Has my loss of weight although not really much, made a difference? The exercise? Anyone shed a speculative light on this? I am very puzzled. I realise I will always have diabetes but the relative lack of response to the low level of carbs is odd. Appreciate any views on this.

I have always thought (but I don't know) that it's the liver working better after a period of low carbing. I think it may be more able to take the excess glucose out of your system because low carbing has emptied it of any previously stored glucose and has also slimmed down a fatty liver so it works better.
To my mind it's like liver dump in reverse. This seems logical to me but I don't have any links or anything to back up what is only my theory. I agree with others that this is probably only temporary and if you were to eat more carbs for a prolonged period then the liver would go back to its previous state.

 

[Pipp]

Just adding in some words of caution. In the early days following a rapid weight loss on a very low calorie (Newcastle) diet. I found I could eat anything at all without the result of raised blood glucose. I still had some weight to lose, but thought I would lose the rest slowly, rather than stay with the very low calorie method. Encouraged by the low BG meter readings I experimented gradually increasing carb foods. For me, and I suspect many others, high carb leads to craving more carbs, and so the weight increase and raised blood sugar eventually returns. It is more difficult to regain control of them again second or third time around.
My advice would be if you have found a winning formula low carbing, stick with it.

 

[rosco 2]

Thank you. I was thinking along those lines too. Reality is I suspect no one really knows, plus everyone is that little bit different although given enough people, patterns may be identified. I am only trying to add in a small amount of carb to check response. Was never a cake, biscuit or pudding eater except very occasionally. Rice may continue to be the big problem for me.

 

[kitedoc]

Good evening. Diagnosed T2 three months ago. HbA1c 89 at the time. On metformin 1000mg SR once a day. I do low carb, basically eat to my meter a GlucoZen. My second HbA1c was on Friday, latest result 34. Fabulous. Lost 1.5stone, done walking etc.
So far so good. Now I am trying to add in foods that really spiked me weeks ago. Baked spud skins - flesh removed -usually ok. Tonight I added most of the flesh of one half of the spud, cheddar, 2 sausages and my 2 hour test showed a rise of 1.3. My celebration meal Friday had some pasta...again not the rise I expected.

So I am confused. Has the decrease in my HbA1c kicked my pancreas into some level of production? Is my meter malfunctioning? Has my loss of weight although not really much, made a difference? The exercise? Anyone shed a speculative light on this? I am very puzzled. I realise I will always have diabetes but the relative lack of response to the low level of carbs is odd. Appreciate any views on this.

Pasta and some Indian food might cause BSL peak nearer 3 hours.