How much blood glucose can be removed via the kidneys, and how quickly can this happen. I ask this question as I am trying to understand how my somewhat tardy and irratic insulin response works. A couple of months ago when my blood sugars were higher than they are now, I had a supper of fish and chips. About 5 hours later just before I went to bed I did a random test. I was expecting a result of around 10 which would have been about average for that period. I was shocked to get a reading of 20. I confirmed this with a second test a few minutes later. It was a bit scary but I didn't feel any ill effects from it. 2 hours later I woke up and did another test and I had fallen back to a more reassuring 8. How much would this have been due to my insulin response and how much could my kidneys have played a part in this rapid drop.
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Removing excess glucose via kidneys
- Thread starter sugarmog
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Otenba
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Most quick acting insulins last around 5 hours so I doubt it was the quick acting you took for your meal (and considering the result afterwards, I doubt the high was caused by incorrect dose for food).
However, exercise can naturally increase insulin sensitivity...
Often if exercise is not catered for correctly, your body can respond by releasing glucose from the liver (not neccessarily with an accompanying hypo I find). I personally usually rise to about 20 when this happens and it is not uncommon for it to come down soon after on background insulin alone (on the DAFNE course, they do recommend that you do not jump straight on to correcting with quick acting after this occurance because it can potentially result in a hypo).
What had you been doing during the day?
Well done for not hypoing btw!
(Edit: Ah, I've just realised you're Type 2 - though you're not really diet only?... I'll leave my post here still, just incase it is of any help.)
However, exercise can naturally increase insulin sensitivity...
Often if exercise is not catered for correctly, your body can respond by releasing glucose from the liver (not neccessarily with an accompanying hypo I find). I personally usually rise to about 20 when this happens and it is not uncommon for it to come down soon after on background insulin alone (on the DAFNE course, they do recommend that you do not jump straight on to correcting with quick acting after this occurance because it can potentially result in a hypo).
What had you been doing during the day?
Well done for not hypoing btw!
(Edit: Ah, I've just realised you're Type 2 - though you're not really diet only?... I'll leave my post here still, just incase it is of any help.)
I'm not quite sure what you mean about the role your kidneys are playing but there are two things that strike me:
1) fish and chips are very high in carbs - much more than you'd guess. eg the normal portion size from our local chippy comes in at about 120g carbs. that's a lot. Compare it with a small to medium baked potato, about 30 to 40g carbs.
2) fish and chips are very fatty. So the body can take a while to digest it all, which might explain why your bg was so high even quite a long time after the meal.
?
1) fish and chips are very high in carbs - much more than you'd guess. eg the normal portion size from our local chippy comes in at about 120g carbs. that's a lot. Compare it with a small to medium baked potato, about 30 to 40g carbs.
2) fish and chips are very fatty. So the body can take a while to digest it all, which might explain why your bg was so high even quite a long time after the meal.
?
As I understand it, when blood sugar levels exceed a certain point then the body starts to dispose of some of it via urine. The drop from 20 to 8 in two hours was quite significant but I'm wondering how much of it was due to my own insulin production and how much of it was disposed of via my kidneys. I have however stopped eating fish and chips. My Sunday night treat is now grilled chicken, lots of vegetables ...and chips.
oh I see what you mean. It *couldn't* make it drop below 11 or so, though, because that's the 'renal threshold', i.e. that's when it starts to spill over. So it won't go into your urine if your bg is 8. Like a bath tub that won't spill unless the water level reaches the overflow pipe. But I suppose you are saying, it's a combo of insulin and kidneys?sugarmog said:
I have a feeling that it doesn't make any difference how much sugar's in your urine, your blood sugar will still rise. But I don't feel as if I can explain it properly so hopefully someone who knows will be along to help!
