Questions - am I on track?

[Mushroom]

Hi, I was diagnosed in May with Hb 7.1, 51 yrs old and 9 stone overweight.
Posted on this forum as I ditched bread, pasta and potatoes straight away, tried GI then now have arrived at low carb (not having anything obviously carby) about a month a go. Weight loss now over 2 stone. Started blood testing a week ago.

Found the answer to most of my questions on this brilliant website but now have some I can't find.
Can anyone help with the following? Apologies if they seem obvious/silly.

Breakfast yesterday - 2 scrambled eggs, butter and 2 bacon - 6.3, 2 hrs after 5.9 (good).
Today - 2 scrambled eggs, butter and one sausage (0.3 carb) before breakfast 6.1, 2 hrs later 6.6. (?).
1. Should the after-meal figures be the same as before meal? If not, what is the 'safe' upper level/difference?

My average readings are 6.3 over the whole week. My very first reading was 4.6 but since then lowest was 5.2 (highest 8.6 after very large homemade chicken tikka and yoghurt dressing!).
2. I assume 'my' lowest will be eventually dependent on how well my pancreas is working but will my figures go lower when/if I lose the further 7 stone? Does the amount of existing fat at around the waist influence blood glucose?

Thank you in advance. Mary

 

[MaryJ]

Hi Mary

By the sound of it you are doing bloody marvelously.

Well done on the weight loss. Fantastic.

Your readings are great too, you want to be heading back towards your pre-food read by 2 hours after. To be honest I only bother with the 2 hours after food reading. Personally, I aim for no more than 7.8 but the NICE guidelines are less than 8.5.

Keep at it and look forward to some great blood results, hopefully loads of praise from the doc

Mary x

 

[Squire Fulwood]

1. Should the after-meal figures be the same as before meal? If not, what is the 'safe' upper level/difference?

2. I assume 'my' lowest will be eventually dependent on how well my pancreas is working but will my figures go lower when/if I lose the further 7 stone? Does the amount of existing fat at around the waist influence blood glucose?

Thank you in advance. Mary

The level of blood sugar rises after eating and then starts to go down in accordance with how your insulin is doing. If it rises high and goes down slowly then it will possibly (usually for most of us) read higher than the pre meal reading. If it doesn't rise much and goes down quickly then you are looking like someone that does not have diabetes.

The industry standard is to read this graph of sugar level two hours after eating. This is to check on progress in a way that can be compared to everyone else. The guidlines do not speak in relative terms but in absolute ones. If you are less than 8.5 after 2 hours then that is good. Some people aim for lower and there is evidence to support that attitude.

Your second question poses a philosophical point and possibly a long argument. My nurse definitely told me that fat squidging up against the pancreas can impair its function. This brings on the blame culture argument about it all being your fault for being overweight. I don't know if that is true or not but I know it does not explain how thin people get diabetes.

 

[Grazer]

Hi there. Your figures are great. Don't worry about small changes that seem "odd"

Breakfast yesterday - 2 scrambled eggs, butter and 2 bacon - 6.3, 2 hrs after 5.9 (good).
Today - 2 scrambled eggs, butter and one sausage (0.3 carb) before breakfast 6.1, 2 hrs later 6.6. (?).

Going up .5 rather than down .2 the day before is well within the error range of your meter. Besides, our Pancreases (Pancreii?) don't run like clockwork, and it's not an exact science. You'll get much bigger differences after the same meals than that at some stage I'm sure.
Losing more weight should help figures improve even more (BG ones that is!) as surplus fat, particularly around the midriff, increases our resistance to our own insulin. As fat goes, so insulin resistance improves, andthe same amount of insulin from our poor old pancreas achieves better BG reductions.
So well done again, keep at it! Bet you get great results at your next HbA1c test!

 

[Mushroom]

Hi all, apologies if my post has duplicated itself as I tried posting this earlier and thought it hadn't worked - but it has.
You have all been really helpful and encouraging.
Mary - thank you for the kind words and praise. Will keep testing before meals for a while to see the difference between before and after just to see if comes down. I don't like needles much so will be glad to stop stabbing so often.
Squire Fulwood - thank you for the explanation about tummy fat. I am hoping that is what will happen - that the more I lose, the further my levels will come down. So my levels may not return to near the pre-meal level, but they should at least be under 8.5 (but preferably less than 7.8)?
I am afraid I won't be popular as I do go along with the blame culture. I believe I my weight and lifestyle did increase the likelihood of developing diabetes. However, with the reading I have done now on the effects of carbohydrate on hunger and weight gain, I feel there was a lot conspiring against me. The TV programme 'The Men Who Made Us Fat' made so much sense about what we have been conned into thinking by big business.
Grazer - yes, I have had bigger differences after the same meals and assumed it would happen, nothing would be exact or predictably the same. Thank you for confirming that. Regarding the insulin resistance improving with weight loss allowing BG to also improve, that is good to hear and what I thought should happen. I was a bit worried because I am about as low carb as I can get - no obvious carbs such as bread and also I am pretty aware of the wide range of 'hidden' carbs in other foods such as fruit and veg. I read on here before a comment you had made about guidelines NICE guidelines below 8.5 and Forum below 7.8. Did you also say that the majority of people were below 6.5 and most below 5.5'? (Apologies if i have mis-quoted you or have not understood). This is why I asked about the possible effect of weight loss as I couldn't see how I could eat any less carbs, but I can see my levels could go down further due to weight loss. Hope that makes sense!
I am definitely hoping my 2nd Hb in a couple of weeks will be less than 7.1. I will see how the DSN takes it. I read most DSNs don't agree with low carbing. Doctor has already told me to not bother with the blood testing (only for type 1 for hypos) but I need to know what is going on on inside me.
Sorry that was a bit lengthy but thank you for all replies so far. Best wishes, Mary

 

[Grazer]

Did you also say that the majority of people were below 6.5 and most below 5.5'?

That was the stats for NON-Diabetics two hours after eating! So don't compare yourself with that. Your figures really are good. If I can, I like to get to those figures that non-diabetics enjoy, but don't despair if I don't.

 

[Mushroom]

Grazer - fantastic! Breathes a huge sigh of relief. So, I am not aiming for 6.5 and 5.5. Thank goodness for that!
Wasn't sure how representative my Hb of 7.1 was because I misunderstood the doctor regarding how long to fast before the test. She meant 14 hours and I did 24 hours. Got a bit of 'respect' from DSN for that though - lol.
Very pleased I am on the right track but know my BG testing results wouldn't be like that if I hadn't found this forum.
Mary

 

[l0vaduck]

Hi Mushroom, the HBA1c test is not a fasting test, you don't have to fast at all for it. You probably fasted for a fasting glucose test before, or possibly for your cholesterol tests.

 

[Grazer]

You probably fasted for a fasting glucose test before, or possibly for your cholesterol tests.
Hi Mushroom, the HBA1c test is not a fasting test, you don't have to fast at all for it. You probably fasted for a fasting glucose test before, or possibly for your cholesterol tests.

OR, as in my case, because the diabetes nurse didn't KNOW you don't need to fast for an HbA1c. I had to make her check it out and she finally agreed.

 

[375lindyloo]

Hi Mary re your breakfast results difference between the bacon and sausage-sausage has hidden carbs-they bulk the meat out with breadcrumbs I believe-would explain the slight difference. Congratulations on your achievement so far! I have found that the more you research diabetes the more you get to grips with you bg levels. Try Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution-quite a bit book and a bit daunting at first but it's given me a good grounding in understanding about carbs and it's effect on diabetics and our bodies. Good luck.