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So confused!!

D

Dippydolly

Well-Known Member
Messages
92
Type of diabetes
Type 2
So hubby is type 2 diagnosis about 10 years ago slowly his numbers have gone up he's had his head stuck in the sand , now just after Xmas his level was 97 now he got it down to 72 3 months back but I have been testing his bloods and it's Range from 10-18 now I have started him on low carb this last week first day he came home after work his blood was 8.5 next day 8.1 great I thought then last 2 days it's been 10 now today he came home he's had nothing to eat all since breakfast and his blood is 12.5!! Why is this
 
It's possible his pancreas cannot make enough insulin after ten years of high blood glucose levels. Or perhaps he is eating some carbs that you're not aware of. Perhaps you can keep an eye on him over the weekend and make sure he doesn't eat carbs and see how his blood glucose levels behave.
 
So if his pancreas is not producing enough insulin what will this mean for him( he already takes 2000 metformin and 15mg pioglitazone daily and he's not eaten anything today at all
 
Dippydolly said:
today he came home he's had nothing to eat all since breakfast and his blood is 12.5!! Why is this
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Back in the day when we were all running around with spears wondering when our next meal would come strolling by, our bodies had to keep going for the very lengthy periods between meals. Sugars are stored by the body for this eventuality. As you read around this forum, you will come across references to "dawn phenomena" and "liver dump", in both cases the body releasing sugar to get you up in the morning and to keep you going. Some people have said that fasting does, initially put up their blood sugars - the body responding to a lean period. When your body gets used to fat burning, rather than sugar burning and excess sugars become depleted, this should happen less. Don't panic, keep calm and carry on.
Sally
 
Dippydolly said:
So if his pancreas is not producing enough insulin what will this mean for him( he already takes 2000 metformin and 15mg pioglitazone daily and he's not eaten anything today at all
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If that is the case and he is producing very little insulin, he will need to inject insulin, or at least try one of the drugs that forces the pancreas to produce extra - such as Gliclazide.

If he had eaten nothing all day, genuinely, then the rise could have been a liver dump. This happens when our bodies think our glucose is too low for its needs - which it will be in the absence of food, so our hormones trigger the liver to secrete glucose from its stores. In healthy normal people this isn't a concern because the pancreas will step in and produce insulin to cover this dumped glucose. However, in diabetics if either the pancreas produces insufficient insulin OR the person is highly insulin resistant, this system breaks down. The insulin cannot cover the glucose efficiently, hence our blood glucose levels rise..
 
So today for breakfast he had 2 eggs on 1 slice of whole meal bread and he's had nothing but water since just tested his blood 10.1
 
Dippydolly said:
So today for breakfast he had 2 eggs on 1 slice of whole meal bread and he's had nothing but water since just tested his blood 10.1
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What was he before breakfast - that is important to know. Also how long after he started his breakfast was the test taken? That is also important to know. Otherwise his number doesn't mean very much, except it is high, but if we can advise on a possible reason for it, we need to know the answers to these questions.
 
Agggh right didn't test before his breakfast, but the test I did was done at 1.30 today and he ate breakfast at 8 this morning
 
Dippydolly said:
Agggh right didn't test before his breakfast, but the test I did was done at 1.30 today and he ate breakfast at 8 this morning
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You need to be more organised with the testing. Before eating and 2 hours after first bite. Random testing means very little.
 
Ok will try my thinking is he's been running in high double figures for a while and it may be that 10/11 may be good for him (obviously not very good)
 
Dippydolly said:
Ok will try my thinking is he's been running in high double figures for a while and it may be that 10/11 may be good for him (obviously not very good)
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This is a good way to do it
Test before he eats.
Test again 2 hours after his first bite.
Look at the rise from before eating to after.
Try to keep this rise as low as possible, definitely under 2mmol/l.
More than 2mmol/l and there are too many carbs in that meal.
Keep a food diary including all ingredients and portion sizes.
Record his levels alongside the food.
Look for patterns. These will become obvious after a while.
See which foods cause the worst rises and reduce portion size or eliminate completely.

I would suggest that the wholemeal bread wouldn't have done him any favours this morning, but testing as I suggest will show you this.
 
Yes I know I said low carb but he's cut down the carbs a lot!! And this is someone who ate quite a bit of carbs so 1 slice of bread is good for him , so just tested him again 2 hours after his tea of baked fish and a small jacket potato (yes I know carb ) but he insisted plus that is all he has had from breakfast and his blood was 7.5 !!
 
With respect, the bread may NOT be good for him. You must eliminate the culprits one by one. No dancing around this until you've established a pattern with testing times and foods
 
Dippydolly - How does your husband feel about the reducing numbers, and does he actually feel any different yet?

Well done on your progress so far. Whilst many folks on here would, and did, immediately give up bread, potatoes and the other stuff, whatever your husband does, it has to be sustainable.

As you say, you can work at paring things back over time. The only thing about the approach of "one slice of bread" or a small jacket potato is it's so easy for one slice to become 2 and for the spuds to become bigger and bigger.

Good luck with it all. Hopefully your husband will be buoyed up by the improving numbers.
 
Perhaps you could cut out the bread at breakfast time and give him bacon, mushrooms, tomato, maybe a couple of sausages if you can find low carb ones, I like bell peppers/sweet pepper with my eggs.
For dinner with fish, cauliflower and green beans go well, and celeriac chips or mash for someone with a good appetite - you can mash cauliflower quite successfully too.
 
Ofter him a cheese omlet maybe with added bacon instread of the bread, it will be a lot better for his BG.
 
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