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What Am I Missing Here?

feniangirl

Well-Known Member
Messages
49
Location
Nashville, Tennessee
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I don't quite this know where to begin. I am a relative newbie here, although I have been reading as much as I can. (@daisy1, please note, I have read the excellent welcome info you give everyone, so no need to repeat. Thanks.)

I suppose the beginning is a good place to start. 21 May 2018 I was diagnosed with T2, H1C 6.8 (HBA1C 50.8). The nurse in my doctor's office rang to inform me and said thaqt I needed to eliminate potatoes, rice and pasta from my diet and she was writing a prescription for Tradjenta® (linagliptin) 5mg. That was it. I started reading everything I could find and much of the information was contradictory. I finally decided this was the best site for information and support, as it is coming from real people with the same problems.

I want to get off of the meds and be able to control my T2 with diet. (Need to add that I have a few other issues as well. COPD - on oxygen, high blood pressure - on medication, high cholesterol, A-fib - medication, sleep apnea - CPAC machine, and kidney disease - the side effect of a medication). The T2 is what has me the most concerned.

I have been monitoring everything I eat. I test my glucose when I first wake up, 2 hours after breakfast, before lunch, 2 hours after lunch, before dinner, two hours after dinner and bedtime. I have cut down on carbs dramatically. At first I was down to under 100, then down to under 50 and now trying to keep it at around 20. Sort of anal retentive, huh?

It seems though that my fasting glucose is higher now than it was when I was eating a few more carbs and more food. I introduced no new foods yesterday, yet last night my glucose was 103 (5.7) 2 hours after eating (8 carbs). Then three hours later, at bedtime, it was 114 (6.3). This morning my fasting glucose was 120 (6.7). I try to eat to my meter, but it doesn't seem to be working. What am I doing wrong? I am afraid I will never get my glucose to a consistent level. ( No more stress than usual. No weather issues, sleeping fine - nothing I can think of to exacerbate the situation)

I have to go to the doctor for a new glucose test 21-8-18 and I am afraid of what the results will be. Any advice will be gratefully appreciated.
 
Are you familiar with this chart. I think you maybe confusing the mmol/L of a blood test with the HbA1c reading as a percentage.
If your 6.3 at bedtime is taken as a very rough average glucose level that would take you into the green zone below pre-diabetes.

 
Hi! Are you on any steroids for the COPD? Those could raise your bloodsugars some... Or your liver could be dumping stored glucose; if so, it'll probably get lower in time, as your body gets used to the new normal... But far as I can see, you're doing pretty good. Fasting glucose is usually the last to come down in any case. (Took mine well over a year.). Stick with it, you're on the right track!
 
Protein, fats and limited carbs, no starches. Including eggs, cheese, beef, pork, fish, salad, veg (asparagus), broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, sometimes a small tomato or two. Prior to this change in BG levels, I did eat a few strawberries, or cherries and initially, I ate an orange everyday. Snacks are roasted pumpkin seeds, raw almonds, celery with cream cheese. Mayo, butter, olive oil, etc. That's about it. No sweets, no breads, no rice, no potatoes, no pasta.
 

Can’t really fault the diet. Unfortunately I don’t have any experience with your other conditions but as has been suggested, possibly they are affecting BG levels? I hope you get to the bottom of it.
 
Actually I wasn't really confusing them. I know what my HbA1c needs to be. I just didn't know how low my daily BG readings should be to actually get off the **** pills. This chart does help. thanks.
 
There seems to be nothing wrong with your diet. I am surprised you were given medication if your HbA1c was only 50. If you prefer not to have the medication, I suggest you discuss this with your doctor. On diagnosis my HbA1c was 53 and medication was never mentioned. I was simply told to change my diet and do some exercise.

Certainly medication for your other conditions maybe affecting your blood glucose - steroids and statins plus beta blockers especially.
 
Thanks. No, so far no steroids for the COPD. Last year I had to take them for a week, but not since. I have no idea about the other medication, like the statin for cholesterol or the medication for blood pressure. Perhaps they could be a contributory factor.
 

great what you are doing already, if you can do long walks it is also really good against type 2 diabetes, and eating a bit higher fat than you´ve done before... actually my cholesterol level hasn´t raised even when eating 3 times as much fat as I did before, my GP doesn´t know because she is very sure I have inherited high cholesterol... which I do not obviously...
I just knew she would be against it so I didn´t tell her just wanted to see the results myself... and was surprised it hadn't raised at all

try to be under 100 grams of carbs in total in a day
 
I just spent the last 30 minutes researching side effects of all 7 of my medications. OMG! Only one has no evidence of increasing BG levels. The others can or do increase BG levels. One more thing to discuss with my Dr. next week. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
 

Statins are notorious for raising BG levels. There is even a warning on most of the information leaflets inside the packets. As you have A-Fib, are you on beta blockers? Certain brands of those are also known for it. (Atenolol is the main one and not recommended for diabetics) The only thing you can do is research other makes of your medications and see if they are any better, then point your doctor in the right direction.
 
May I ask if you are overweight. If so, losing it is a big help that often gets ignored. Helps with COPD too. Very low carb diets are fantastic for weight loss as well as the obvious role of reducing blood glucose.
Have fun,
Glenn
 
Thanks. @Freema I know I need to walk and I used to a lot. Now I have sciatica and can barely make it across the room without doubling over in pain. I am still searching for a way to deal with this as it makes life miserable. I feel it is the worst medical condition I have - and no doubt it is a primary factor in all my other issues.

LOL! About your talking to your doctor about the LCHF diet, I feel the same and will not mention it this time because I know she would freak out.

BTW. I am trying to keep the carbs at 50 or less - slipping periodically, but never ever over 100.
 
@Crocodile Oh my yes. Very over weight, not from excess eating though, primarily from lack of exercise. I am unable to walk across the room with out severe pain due to sciatica. I believe this too would improve with weight loss, but makes it a slow process. I know the weight loss will help many of my issues, but other than diet, I am unsure what I can physically do. Any suggestions? Thanks.
 
I'd be looking a lowering my carb intake further in your shoes and trying an ultra low carb ketogenic diet. Many of us have seen weight loss, much improved blood sugars levels and far fewer other health problems when eating this way. I'm not saying it will cure all (although people have reported exactly that) but it may help alleviate symptoms and maybe help you quit some other meds. Maybe worth a try for a couple of months?
Check out some of the recipes on www.dietdoctor.com for some meal ideas. Aim for fewer than 20g of carbs per day and you won't go far wrong.
 
Thanks. I am diligently working on lowering the carbs to below 20g - some days I actually make, usually something throws me over to 30-50g. Do you eat a certain amount of food per meal? Are you limited in the amount?
 
feniangirl said:
Thanks. I am diligently working on lowering the carbs to below 20g - some days I actually make, usually something throws me over to 30-50g. Do you eat a certain amount of food per meal? Are you limited in the amount?
Click to expand...
I tend to eat a pretty high protein diet but only once or twice a day.
Usually start the day with tea and coffee (lactofree milk or double cream in those) but no solid breakfast.
Maybe lunch usually something like bacon and eggs or cold meat from the fridge. Dinner meat and green veg. Maybe a few frozen raspberries and cream or some high cocoa choc for dessert. I also monitor everything I eat weigh and measure and record along with testing blood sugar levels regularly to keep an eye on things but I'm a bit of a data freak so that doesn't worry me in the slightest. Maybe check out some of the diet doctor meals and find some you like and try and stick with them for a few weeks while you get used to this way of eating.
 
Try using Nordic walking poles to see if taking the strain off your back will help with the sciatic pain - there are also exercises you can do to help with it. I bought a trampoline quite some time ago now and find that it is a very easy exercise. I started off not bouncing off the surface at all, just doing stretches and bobbing up and down using my weight but I soon found that I progressed to jumping and could do a thousand jumps twice a day. It made a big difference to my fitness.
 

From your other posts where you're reducing carbs to < 20g per day is a great start. Unfortunately, excess weight is profoundly caused by over eating even if you think you are not with the rare exceptions of some medical disorders. There is enough energy in 1 slice of bread to go for a 2 mile jog so exercise itself plays a surprisingly minor role in losing weight. It's great for other health benefits but I'm afraid no compensation for what goes in your belly.

A good start would be to actually tally up the total number of kJ ( or calories if you prefer ) that you eat over the course of a week. Only then will you get an accurate picture of what impact your diet is having. You can then work on cutting down some of the kJ intake. As a rough guide, over time if you reduce your intake by 2000 kJ per day you will lose, on average, a noticeable amount of weight every couple of weeks. There is no magic pudding. It is a long, slow process that takes an enormous amount of discipline and vigilance. You've most probably heard all this before but with diabetes now thrown into the mix it adds another dimension to just how things can spiral to a state of urgency. Just to give you an idea, I started at 106kg when I concluded that weight was causing some serious health issues if I let it continue. I'm now 88kg. The process took 9 months of solid work. Having got there, maintaining it is a bit easier. Again, low carb is a big help. It is most definitely, a long term project.
Good luck with it all,
Glenn
 
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