Sudden high bg and then low

Well without any numbers to go on its a bit difficult to be positive but I would guess that it is.

A spike is when your level before eating shoots up after you have eaten.

May I ask why you, as a type 2 diabetic, are eating sweets?

I don't think any of us tolerate hypo's well, but I personally wouldn't eat sweets just before eating a meal as I would then even if I waited 30 mins be eating on rising blood sugars and exacerbate any rise caused by my meal. As @Bluetit1802 says a spike is the numbers achieved after eating or it can be caused by the dawn phenomenon when your liver dumps glucose into your system because it thinks you are going low.

Curious as to what you eat & how often? I find eating something low carb between meals cuts the chance of low readings & hypos.

Erin said:

Well, it works for me. I am probably not eating a large breakfast -- that's for sure because my diabetic nurse was irked with my muffin at 8:00.am. I have noticed too, that time is a very important variable; e.g. if you eat x and wait to have your lunch 3 hrs instead of 4 or 5 hrs. it makes a big difference. Awareness of lows coming is good but not always there for chronic diabetics, but the meter is very good and noting the time and amount you ate for breakfast.
It works for me.

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Muffin for breakfast. OMG. Hope it made from almond flour or something on them lines.

I see that you were given the forum advice back in 2011 but it might be worth @daisy1 providing a refresher

cyclist said:

I see that you were given the forum advice back in 2011 but it might be worth @daisy1 providing a refresher

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@Erin

Hello Erin Here is a refresher of the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask more questions and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 130,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

Erin said:

Thank you Daisy1. That's classic information. The part that I find mysterious is about
long-term high bg's leading to organ failure-- how often, how high, and which organs are most likely to succumb? It is rarely compared with hypo damage, even in the best
books (except in some artlcles e.g. PubMed, Canadian Diabetes Association) that as you progress in years with diabetes, it is better to keep higher bg's (say 8.5). The reason for this is that hypoglycemia becomes more common due to memory lapse and metabolic changes. A hypo. esp. frequent can be more dangerous than hyper sometimes.

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If your methods dealing with impending hypos ...fine. However, why are you getting these impending hypos???? That's what you should concentrate on solving. You have't said what insulins you're taking and do you carb count and if you do are you happy with your insulin/carb ratios, or are you on fixed amounts of quick acting insulins.