Struggling to bring readings down

Hi @Andy2 ,
Have you been testing during the day as well? Fasting numbers are often a bit higher due to 'dawn phenomenon', your liver pumping out glucose to get you going for the day.

I think the morning numbers are the last to normalize, focus on your meals and exercise. Testing meals is most important..

Andy2 said:

My BS test this morning was 8.2. Yesterday I ate two meals: Lunch with salami and cottage cheese and evening meal of salad with small amount of chicken pieces and feta cheese. Breakfast was coffee with cream and throughout the day sparkling water. So what's going wrong? I have been doing this for over a week and the numbers aren't going down. I wanted to get them below 6 generally. Has anyone got any ideas? Regards Andy2

Click to expand...

It's the numbers around your meals that are telling, the morning numbers mean next to nothing at this stage.... The liver needs a long time to get used to the new normal, until that time it'll just think you're "low" and you need help to get back to where you used to be. Me, I wouldn't waste a strip on a fasting blood sugar reading. If your pre and post meal differ no more than 2.0 mmol/l after two hours, that means your fasting will go down too. But it could be several weeks, months, half a year, before those follow suit. mainly because our livers are idiots. They do try to help, but... Still idiots.

Hi. Are you on any meds? What is your weight like? What was your last HBa1C?

Thanks for posting this as, after a little while testing my levels are around the same as yours and I was getting concerned over the fasting test results. I won't waste any more strips on morning tests and stick to the pre and post meal tests. Tonight has had me in a bit of a stir as before it was 6.1 then 2 hours after I ate it was 8.8 but I had about 7 peices of white penne pasta in with my dinner, rest of the family had a higher carb amount. Maybe this has caused the spike, who knows.
But thanks for posting this thread as its been helpful for me.

Muddling Through said:

Thanks for posting this as, after a little while testing my levels are around the same as yours and I was getting concerned over the fasting test results. I won't waste any more strips on morning tests and stick to the pre and post meal tests. Tonight has had me in a bit of a stir as before it was 6.1 then 2 hours after I ate it was 8.8 but I had about 7 peices of white penne pasta in with my dinner, rest of the family had a higher carb amount. Maybe this has caused the spike, who knows.
But thanks for posting this thread as its been helpful for me.

Click to expand...

My fasting numbers came down very slowly over many, many months. They still aren’t great (not awful either) but definitely better. The rest of the day is reasonably good with minimal post prandial rises in the most part.

The pasta certainly will have contributed. What else was on the plate?

I just like to make sure everyone knows. If you are doing everything right and your numbers keep climbing you could be a misdiagnosed type 1. 35% of type 1's are misdiagnosed as a type 2 at first. A type 1/LADA still makes some insulin for a while until they completely stop so medications and change of diet can seem to work at first.

So if you are doing everything right and it isn't working make sure you ask to get tested for being a type 1.

HSSS said:

The pasta certainly will have contributed. What else was on the plate?

Click to expand...

20g of Quorn mince, roasted Peppers, onion, garlic and tomatoes cooked all together for the sauce. It was a Fast800 recipe.

20g?? That’s about a tablespoon worth isn’t it? Mind you even if it was 200g that’s only 9grams carbs. Peppers onion and tomatoes can all be a little suspect for some people. For others they are fine. My guess would be they together with the pasta are a bit borderline for you right now. Maybe without the pasta it’d be fine.

Sounds a tiny dinner without any fat and I’d be hungry afterwards- but then I don’t count calories at all and only limit my carbs.

Andy2 said:

My BS test this morning was 8.2. Yesterday I ate two meals: Lunch with salami and cottage cheese and evening meal of salad with small amount of chicken pieces and feta cheese. Breakfast was coffee with cream and throughout the day sparkling water. So what's going wrong? I have been doing this for over a week and the numbers aren't going down. I wanted to get them below 6 generally. Has anyone got any ideas? Regards Andy2

Click to expand...

Hi Andy2 - my FBG at the end of March was 8s and 9s - I think I had just lapsed a bit and got a bit too comfortable with what I was eating - however with lockdown and the panic of diabetes and COVID I started testing again - and since then I am now getting FBS readings in the 6s possibly by losing a stone in weight I had put back on and also going lower carbs. The kinds of things I eat at the moment are for brunch possibly, omlette, eggs and bacon or my favourite full fat greek yoghurt, berries (not everyone can have berries - you would have to test yourself) with double cream. I also have earl grey tea with double cream (I find I don't need to add any sweetners to earl grey). Dinners would be maybe chicken, salmon, steak or even large omlette with salad and coleslaw or above ground veggies with the chicken etc. I think it does take a little while for the numbers to come down and I have never had a FBG level below 5 even although I have been in remission for over 2 years (although my yearly check-up in April was cancelled) - I assume I have DP. As long as your numbers are coming down and not going up you are heading in right direction and just keep testing. Good luck!

You need to know what is happening before meals and after glucose wise. So test and find out, keep a log.
Are you restricting food?

Doesn't sound like you are eating much, this could well prompt the liver to supply what is missing.