Testing getting me down

[Energize]

Hi @peter.s
It would be worth noting that, in the mornings, you are likely to be more insulin resistant so I would advise, as others have, to skip the toast at breakfast and just have the low carb part, ie bacon and eggs, meat, etc. I think you will be surprised to find that you won't get hungry as quickly as you do when you've eaten bread/toast, surprisingly enough, but it's true. Once you skip the carbs, you'll find you don't get so hungry and you don't feel you need to eat so much. I have to admit I thought I'd never be able to cut out such things as bread, potatoes etc as I'd be too hungry but it wasn't the case. I can go much longer between meals without carbs.

Maybe give it a try and see for yourself. Good luck. You are doing well. It's very early days as yet

 

[Nicksu]

Thanks nicksu
Just got to be patient I suppose

I think you're like most of us - we want things to happen NOW! It's frustrating when things don't go as quickly (down!) as we would like. The old hare and the tortoise scenario I'm afraid (but its hard work sometimes!)

 

[peter.s]

OK thanks nicksu
I've been carb counting checking all the carb info on packets
The change in my carb and sugar intake has been drastic

 

[peter.s]

Thanks Energize
I open to try anything at the moment

 

[xyzzy]

Took me 8 weeks of low carbing at 60g / day to initially get my BG's down to safety so keep at it.

Not really sure why you doc has put you on Glic as the normal route is Metformin first and then onto Glic if you can't control. I'm not sure I'd recommend going much lower on your carbs while you're on Glic as you run a Hypo risk as Glic stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin so, if you haven't got enough carbs it could cause problems. Glic is a really old fashioned DB medication there are more modern equivalents such as Januvia which only stimulates insulin release when you eat. Glic forces your pancreas to produce insulin regardless of if you've eaten so its important to always eat some carbs with Glic.Metformin works differently by partially stopping your liver from releasing glucose. Many people including me think its a far better and safer medication as it effectively has no hypo risk (because it doesn't stimulate insulin production) and you can get excellent results using it with low carb. As its not a stimulant it actually gives your pancreas a nice holiday so long as you do the lower carb route as well. It still entitles you to free prescriptions as you should get those for being diabetic not for the meds you take.

 

[daisyduck]

I'd cut out the toast and add a good quality high meat sausage and mushrooms at breakfast.
The Lidl high protein rolls have only 7/8 carbs each . are very filling and don't spike me at all. I'd replace your lunchtime toast with one of those.
Moderate exercise will help too, even if it's a 10 minute walk a couple of times a day

 

[Pinkorchid]

Ickihun, when you say "they like us below 7.8mmol/l", who are "they" ? Is this an NHS/NICE standpoint ?

I think it varies it depends on your health care professionals and what they say

 

[hankjam]

wth 100 - 200 a day I would ditch the bread and go for some fat cheese.... and go for walks, it's done me a lot of good.
Good luck @peter.s

 

[kokhongw]

I open to try anything at the moment

Actually you only need to find enjoyable carbs lite fats friendly food, eg butter,eggs, nuts, roast pork belly, avocado, virgin coconut oil etc. that allows you to fuel your brain differently. Then you may be able to see the results within days. Divide units by 18 to get mmols.

 

[kokhongw]

When I had a Roast meat platter for lunch, the meter barely budge... 5.0-5.4 mmols. after meal...

 

[Tabbyjoolz]

@kokhongw - yep, egg, sausage, black pudding and mushroom for breakfast on Sunday. Reading one hour after breakfast was exactly the same as pre-breakfast, and two hours after breakfast fell slightly.

 

[peter.s]

Thanks everyone I will take them all on board

 

[xyzzy]

I'm on 80mg of gliclazide in morning and 80mg before dinner

Hmm but you guys are all ignoring that he is on a hefty dose of gliclazide. I am very much pro low carb but it needs to be done safely. I'll find you the historic link to a lady who fainted a minute after she got out of her car because her carb intake was too low on gliclazide and it caused her to hypo. A minute earlier and it doesn't bear thinking about. The OP needs to ask the GP why they have been put directly on gliclazide. This goes against latest NICE guidelines https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng...apy-in-adults-with-type-2-diabetes-2185604173. If the guidelines had been followed and Metformin had been prescribed then there would be no issue with a full on low carb approach.

 

[Sid Bonkers]

I would suggest that you look at how and why you are testing, as unless you test before you eat and then again 2 hours after you finish eating (postprandial) you are not going to learn anything from your tests.

By testing before you eat and again two hours after eating you will see what that meal did to your bg levels and can then adjust your next similar meal by reducing the carbohydrate portions until the difference between your pre and postprandial levels are are no more than 2 mmol/L apart, some people aim lower but 2 mmol/L is a very good start and if you aim for that and adjust the carbs accordingly you will see the difference dropping more and more.

By testing just after eating you have no pre meal reading to tell you what that meal did to you levels so to my mind it is a wasted test and can only tell you what your levels are at that time.

Hope this makes sense.

ps. as xyzzy says any sudden large reduction in the carbs in your meal could be dangerous so adjust them down slowly and look to make a reduction in your meds as the difference between your pre and postprandial levels closes.

 

[peter.s]

Thanks guys
Was told by gp just to test once a day but decided to test more regularly but now I'm armed with more information thanks to you all I will kick start a better testing program thank you all for your input I am very grateful thanks

 

[Resurgam]

I'd assumed continued testing - perhaps even more so as to get a few first thing, and before eating for comparison of various types of foods.
One thing my meter made very clear was that the type of carb matters for me. There was an exact match between what I can't eat and lose weight and what I eat and it spikes my blood glucose. Cutting out 5 gm of carbs from cauliflower and substituting 5 gms of carb from beans would stop my weight loss dead, for instance. Just like calories, not all carbs are equal.

 

[Kristin251]

I'd assumed continued testing - perhaps even more so as to get a few first thing, and before eating for comparison of various types of foods.
One thing my meter made very clear was that the type of carb matters for me. There was an exact match between what I can't eat and lose weight and what I eat and it spikes my blood glucose. Cutting out 5 gm of carbs from cauliflower and substituting 5 gms of carb from beans would stop my weight loss dead, for instance. Just like calories, not all carbs are equal.

I too find that even different veggies act different even in small amounts. Broccoli really spikes me, brussel sprouts a bit but asparagus and bok choy as well as mushrooms do very little. Even too much romaine spikes me but Boston/Bibb lettuce not so much.