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tom_r_orr

Well-Known Member
Messages
61
Location
Thailand
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
2 years on LCHF and happy with progress. Off meds 20 Kg down.

I am pretty satisfied that my FBG in the mornings is now a steady 90 to 100 (5 to 5.6) so I am starting to use my meter at other times of the day. When I started with my meter I checked out what was good and bad for me and stick to the list as best I can and avoid spikes.

Today I started the day on 95 (5.2) and at 10 am broke my fast. Now I have not bought or eaten bread in a very long time so today I had 2 small slices of wholemeal bread with butter and bacon. I.E. a small bacon sandwich.

Figured I'd check the effect at the 90 minute mark, and was gobsmacked to see 211 (11.7)! I had similar past spikes when eating fresh fruit (which I don't now).

What does this tell me other than I still have diabetes?
 
Goonergal said:
Bread’s not a good idea?
Click to expand...
Ha ha I knew it wasn't a good idea but I wanted to know just how not good an idea it actually was. I now know.

I am looking for someone to tell me what's actually happening regards my pancreas and insulin. How does it get so high so fast?
 
Probably just physiological insulin resistance. To be expected when you’re eating LCHF and then eat bread. This would most likely improve after an initial bump, but then you’d be in danger in getting diabetes again not long later.

Each to their own, but bread sucks. If you’re insulin resistant, or ever have been, then bread is always going to cause some degree of friction in your body. Solution is don’t eat it. It’s cake with less fructose.
 
I'd say it shows you still have insulin resistance to a degree.
 
Bread gets broken down from starch to glucose very rapidly, starting with the saliva when you begin to chew, and then in the stomach glucose is absorbed into the blood with similar rapidity. As our pancreas and in some cases liver, are not acting as they should this glucose will produce a large spike until your less than perfect metabolism gets it out of your blood. I love bread and find I miss it more than chocolate, which was a shock. There are some good low carb recipes that will let you have a bacon sandwich without causing metabolic havoc.
 
Quick Update: so this spike reading of 211 was taken today at around 12 noon.

1 PM dropped to 126
2 PM dropped to 120

Minimal carbs for the rest of today, so should be back to normal quickly hopefully.

Thanks for the input.
 
@tom_r_orr - Our bodies also like to run to habit. With habit and routine, our body knows what to do to prepare for the next meal/drink/whatever. Obviously, minor deviations don't make a material difference.

In terms of the body's prep, that means the provision os finsulin, but also of digestive enzymes. This is just one reason why if we really overeat at the fexstive season, a birthday or other special event, we might suffer with some indigestion and discomfort - even if the foods consumed aren't too alien to us.

When we throw in something unusual, like bread in your case, our body just isn't ready to cope with it, so we can oftentimes see an unexpectedly extreme reaction. It could be if you repeated the experience abother once or twice, the reaction you experienced could moderate - or not!

We're all individual, and will have differing rocket fuel foods, although bread is quitre a common one - much to many's disgust.
 
I agree with @DCUKMod

It is why, when we have an oral glucose tolerance test (75g pure glucose) by our doctor (or even at home), we are advised to eat at least 130g carbs daily for at least 3 days before the test, otherwise our pancreas is caught napping. It is often called the last meal effect. Your pancreas was only used to you eating low carb, so was not ready for the sudden influx of glucose from the bread. It is a normal sort of thing. Physiological insulin resistance is something entirely different.
 
You gave your body a huge (in its eyes) carbohydrate load which you haven't had for ages and it was a bit slow to react. A bit like when I did my OGTT without carbing up beforehand and got this result.


X-axis is time in minutes..

Edit to add once again read @Bluetit1802 's answer before posting... hey ho sorry Daf..
 

Well I never knew that, I certainly wasn't advised to eat 130g carbs daily for 3 days, I just had an appointment letter turn up
 

Hi Jim,
When a T2 manages to reverse their diabetes, this means your blood glucose levels are now back in the normal ranges but is that only when sticking to a low carb diet? Does the insulin resistance eventually reverse enough to allow you to go back to eating some slightly increased amounts of carbohydrates, or will doing so just bring the diabetes back all over again?

I wondered too if someone has been eating low carb for a while and then they go and have a couple of pieces of toast, like the OP did, would you find your reaction to the carbs to be a little worse initially because your body has become unaccustomed to dealing with the extra carbs and that if you continue with the bread, things would settle after a short amount of time, but then perhaps in the longer term, it would just slowly become a problem again as the diabetes creeps back?
 
Northernlad1965 said:
Well I never knew that, I certainly wasn't advised to eat 130g carbs daily for 3 days, I just had an appointment letter turn up
Click to expand...
Guess the assumption would be that everyone must eat at least that amount of carbs everyday because our brain "needs" them!
 
Northernlad1965 said:
Well I never knew that, I certainly wasn't advised to eat 130g carbs daily for 3 days, I just had an appointment letter turn up
Click to expand...

The instructions on the ready mixed glucose drink are clear. Your doctor/surgery/hospital most likely assumed you already eat sufficient carbs. Other points are - you must be on a stable diet, constant weight, no acute illness at the time.
 
Northernlad1965 said:
Well I never knew that, I certainly wasn't advised to eat 130g carbs daily for 3 days, I just had an appointment letter turn up
Click to expand...

Was that for an oral glucose tolerance test, or another blood test?

I actually did a home, but controlled, OGTT, without prepping with the carbs, and I actually did OK. I was very pleasantly surprised.

I posted the results on here somewhere.
 

Good question! For me I think 'in remission' would be more accurate then 'reversed'. I am hoping that after 2 years of keto many of my internal organs are under a lot less stress!
 

How do you do an oral Glucose tolerance test at home? And does that mean Id have major spikes eating 130 carbs for 3 days beforehand after my time on minimal carbs?
 
tom_r_orr said:
How do you do an oral Glucose tolerance test at home? And does that mean Id have major spikes eating 130 carbs for 3 days beforehand after my time on minimal carbs?
Click to expand...

You simply consume at least 130g carbs daily for at least 3 days before the test. Acquire the required acquire 75gr glucose from your corner Family Mart and disolve it in water.

Prepare your test station with plenty blood glucose strips and maybe some reading material (as you'll be sitting still for a couple of hours), then fast overnight

Get up and disolve the glucose in water (or you could do that the night before too).

Test your blood sugar before you drink it down.

Sit still - no food, drink (even water), or exercise

Test every half hour at least (I did every 15 minutes), and record

Continue testing until 2 hours have elapsed.

I chose to go a little longer, just to see what was happening.

Review the results.

Alternatively, you could go to your local bloods lab and have it done, although from memory, it wasn't the cheapest test on the menu, when I had some bloods done in your part of the world.

Edited to add, I've just looked at the list of tests and it wasn't offered where I went.
 
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