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Unexpected Blood Sugar After Cake

woollygal

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,485
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Coffee diabetes
Hi
Newly diagnosed as type 2 3 weeks ago.

I have a testing machine just to use as info but not to take individual readings too seriously.

So today I went to a board game cafe. Had a panini (white) and sugar went to 13.3. Then about 3/4 hour later I had a piece of lemon drizzle cake. Have been told this is fine as long as not too much so had a smaller cake than other bits.

I then took sugar about 2 hours after and it had reduced to 10. (Something).

Like I said not worried as only for info but was just surprised that the cake didn’t increase the blood sugar didn’t instead it had decreased.

Any thoughts?
 
Was your first test 2 hours after the panini? If not, you are not comparing like with like.

Possibly your insulin production ramped up slowly so you were high after the panini but then were better able to cope with the lemon drizzle cake.

Whatever, 10 is a bit high.

What was your BG level before you ate the panini? Without that information we can't really comment much. For all we know your BG came down after the panini.
 
First thought is to tag @daisy1 for newbie welcome pack.

You need to take your readings systematically and seriously. 13 is very high. You are newly diagnosed so your numbers are probably high, do you know what your hba1c number was?

You should test before you eat and then 2 hours after the first bite. You are looking for a rise of no more than 2 between the two readings.
 

The doctor has said she only wants me using the tests for information out of interest not to do them too often etc. She is more interested in my next main test in November.

Hence why I don’t test religiously etc.

My first blood test was 87 I believe.
 

My first test of 13.3 was about 2 hours after the panini.
The second test of 10 ish was after the cake.
I expected the reading to go higher than the 13.3 due to cake being sugar.

My levels will be higher as I’m newly diagnosed. Only been on tablets successfully for 2 weeks.
 
You need to make some lifestyle decisions, eating as you do, come November your numbers are going to be very, very high.

Most of us follow the low carb/high fat diet and most of us have been successful in reducing our numbers into the non or pre-diabetic range.

Read daisy1's post thoroughly. Most of us test up to six or eight times a day.

Keep a food diary along with your numbers, test before and after eating. This will show you what foods cause your BG to spike and so avoid them in the future. Download the MySugr app to record these details. After a few days of entering data it will give you an estimated hba1c number.

Briefly, LCHF means, no bread (and no paninis), no rice, pasta. No cereals for breakfast. Avoid milk if you can, take double cream in coffee. No sweets, cake, pastries etc. No fruit (except berries) no fruit juice. No cordials unless they are sugar free.

Read around the site. Ask questions. It is up to you to self manage your T2 diabetes, unfortunately doctors and nurses don't tell us this.
 

I haven’t been eating like this everyday. I was out there were limited food choices.

The question is why lemon cake didn’t increase the blood sugar.

I’m being monitored by the diabetic team at my doctors and lifestyle changes are happening.

I was puzzled and so asked the question thinking this was the place to do it.

Thanks for the advice guys.
 

The technical explanation will be that the panini had triggered your pancreas to produce more insulin so by the time you had the cake it was already working hard to lower your blood sugars (and possibly being quite stressed by the experience)
What we are concerned about it that your blood sugars are high and could well be causing damage to your organs if they stay high for extended periods.
We are all monitored by our doctors (some better than others) but by testing we can often find out the best things to eat to keep our blood sugars in a more restricted range. So your doctors advice is fine if you want to rely on them completely.
However if you want to be in control it may make sense to test more often. The best way to test foods is to take a reading before eating then another 2 hours after. If your blood sugar has gone up by more than 2 mmol/l then something in that meal has caused a spike. It will usually be a carbohydrate food like bread (panini) or cake or something starchy( not necessarily sweet) like rice or potatoes. By trial and error we have found that for may of us these food types are best avoided if you want to maintain lower blood sugar levels. Many of us can do this without medication of any kind.
 
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Like others stated, by the time you got to the cake, your insulin production had already kicked into gear; if you tested 2 hours after each meal, that gives you something to compare.

Please don't feel attacked or anything. NHS doesn't cover teststrips so docs usually tell people not to test. Excuses used are sore fingers, test-stress, what have you. Rarely anyone ever says it's a cost thing. (And anyone here resting knows it's a cost thing, as strips can be quite expensive!) For me personally, I tested meals religiously. (Before I ate and 2 hours after first bite. If it went up more than 2 mmol/l, the meal was too carby for my body to be able to process back out.). It really helped get my bloodsugars under control; I would have been flying blind otherwise. My HbA1c was so high I should have been put on insulin straight away, but with doc and specialists on holiday I slipped through the cracks. So I read about low carb high fat, started the diet, and in 3 months I was in the non-diabetic range. No meds anymore, including statins, and never did go on insulin. I couldn't've done that if I hadn't started eating to my meter. So take it as friendly advice, as that is all it is. It worked for the bulk of us T2's on the forum. It could help you. Oh, and I have a lovely doctor who can't supply me with more that 40 euro's worth of teststrips a year. She's happy whenever I show up with a detailed series of tests (a one day curve especially). I'm the only one in her practice who does low carb/high fat (keto), and I'm her guinea pig. So the more data I provide, the happier she is. But she can't help me with strips. Alas. Her hands are bound in that respect, as are your own doc's. Too bad really, because T2 is a managable condition and we can go into remission, and remain complication free, if well controlled. It doesn't have to escalate and progress. But for that, we have to know what we're doing.

In any case, hope your question's answered to your satisfaction. (Best is to remain between 4 and 8, thereabouts.) Good luck, and welcome!
Jo
 

Thanks
My doctor seems fine giving me strips., at the moment anyway and they are covered by my exemption card.

With regards to keeping between 4-8 I’ve been told I have to be above 5-5.5.
I overdid the stripping out carbs last week and went down into low 4.
Although I drive all day so don’t know if that’s the difference.
 

I don’t feel attacked in just trying not to worry about what I can’t control at the moment. Like long term complications.

It was a shock diagnosis in that I went in for a kidney stone and cane out with diabetes. No warning of oh you need blood tests..
On meds to reduce the sugar (first lot made me ill).

I know the complications but at the moment just trying not to worry about them. I’m working on the diet (yesterday was my first sweet thing in 3 weeks and chosen as a better than that option), no good options that I like were on offer for the bread. At home I’m much better, out and about is so much harder.
Although today being in London I’m hoping the coffee shops like pret do wholeneal options.
 
Stick with "5 to drive". If you're lower while getting behind the weel the insurance won't cover you, from what I understood. (I don't have a licence myself; if I'm wrong, someone will chime in.). Another good reason to test. If something happens, you can prove you didn't drive while low.
 

I also don’t want to get into having to notify dvsa. Being type 2 I don’t have to as I don’t get hypos.
So the danger is if by testing I’m showing I’m low that there could be issues.
Although when I did, I ate and retested to show it up again
 
I'm a T2, and I have had hypo's. It's uncommon, if there are no hypo inducing meds, but not completely unheard of. I'm not sure whether a T2 has to legally tell the dvsa... Others will know though. But they're hopefully having a lie in on this beautiful sunday morning.
 

You don’t have to unless your meds cause hypos.

Hence why dr is keeping me off those meds.
 
Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you have a lot of information to cover in a short amount of time. My recommendation would be to first read daisy1's advice. Further advice can be found by following the links in my signature.

If you're interested in learning more about blood glucose and how to control with diet, I'd highly recommend the Blood Sugar 101 website - it was my go-to reference for everything when I was first diagnosed:

https://www.bloodsugar101.com/

Another site that's very good is Diet Doctor:

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto
 
Cana said:
You don’t have to unless your meds cause hypos.

Hence why dr is keeping me off those meds.
Click to expand...

If going without meds, and intending to stay that way, you really need to look into low carb diets... (www.dietdoctor.com had loads of ideas. With bacon! ) It's pretty much the only other option besides medication and just letting it run amok. Because anything above 8 is doing damage to your eyes, kidneys, nerve-endings, heart, veins, you name it. Once someone here, likened it to having finely ground glass in your arteries. Kinda stuck with me. It can be done without meds, as I stated, and it's quite easy to get used to... Loads of us here do it. But lemon drizzle cake and panini's aren't exactly doing you any favours, as your meter already mentioned to you. (That's why I usually have a packet of walnuts or something with me. In social situations people get uncomfortable if you fast, I've found... So if I'm munching on walnuts or pecans, no-one's bothered. )
 

Hi Cana,

sorry to sound lecturing but wholemeal makes no difference to your readings, it's all carbs and will react in the same way as your Panini but maybe a little slower. The problem with most Drs advice is that they send you off with a 'diet sheet' full of ideas about changing to wholemeal bread or brown rice etc BUT this is not going to reduce your glucose levels. The only reason people are not sticking with just answering your actual question is because they can see that your Dr is leading you in the wrong direction food wise. We've all been there. Would you mind telling us what you are eating these days?, you may be surprised. Oh, and you definitely CAN control long term complications from this point on. x
 
Of course you can control long term complications and you can start right now!
It's sad that many people with diabetes (both 1 and 2) get so much wrong (and stupid!) advice. I have heard of people been told that their a1c is too low, that it's better to run a bit high bg and so on.

My boyfriend has had type 1 for a couple of years and they have told him that it is ok to get "high" if it's not for prolonged periods (and how long is a prolonged period?). From what I have read and learned that is completely garbage. Of course you can't control everything but everybody can control what you put in your mouth.

Cut the carbs (not all of them of course) , that is my main message. You have the power, not the doctors.
 

I bet your doctor omitted to tell you that ALL carbs turn to sugar once inside the system. There are just as many carbs in wholemeal varieties as there are in white varieties. There is no need to give up on some of your favourite foods completely if you use your meter to show you what your personal danger foods are, and what size portions your body can cope with. Everyone differs in this. Testing before and after, keeping a food diary and recording your numbers alongside the food will very quickly tell you what you can or can't cope with. This is called eating to your meter and is very easy to do. As an example, I have found that for me personally, I can manage potatoes in small portions, and I mean small - 2 new spuds with butter on, or 2 roasted in duck fat, or 6 fried chips do not raise my levels. However, normal bread is a danger food for me. You may find the same ... or you may not. Let your meter guide you.

You can eat meat and fish by the lorry load as long as it isn't coated in carby stuff, you can eat as many eggs as you like, dairy is also an excellent choice if you aren't allergic in some way - real butter, double cream on strawberries or in coffee, full fat plain yogurts, and cheese. Vegetables vary in carb amounts, but a general rule is the ones that grow underground like spuds and carrots have more carbs than those that grow above ground. Beans and peas can be difficult. Fruit is best avoided other than berries, and fruit juices are never a wise choice. Breakfast cereals including porridge are full of carbs - all of them. The old saying "go to work on an egg" is a brilliant suggestion, especially if accompanied by bacon and mushrooms.

Using a meter is the best way to learn.
 
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