Worried Blood Sugar Levels

joshaldo

Newbie
Messages
3
Hi guys,

I am a 31 year old male from Australia and I have been testing my Bloods on and off over the last 6 months with a home kit. I got up this morning and tested my blood sugar level and it registered 7.6. I tested again in about 20 minutes and this had dropped to 6.5. I had a coffee and a protein shake then I tested again about an hour after the shake and I am down to 5.3? Not sure what is causing irregular readings. I did test my bloods approximately 4 months ago and my waking blood sugar was 5.6. My diet since then has been terrible. I eat when I am stressed and have been eating a LOT of bad foods and drinking. I am really worried about the reading of 7.6.
 

muzza3

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,789
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
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Cauliflower pretending to be rice and any vegetable pretending to be pasta
Hi @joshaldo

Welcome to the forum. Good to see a fellow aussie on board.

Mate there is no need to get overly worried about the 7.6 reading. Its great that you are testing so that you can pickup on the increase in plenty of time to manage it.

I have tagged @daisy1 who will post some info that is well woth reading for newbies to the site.

I have been on here since the start of the year and it is a great place to ask questions and get opinions from many members that have experienced it all before.

You have said yourself that your diet has been terrible and you have been hitting the sauce a bit. You can change that quite easily. Have a look at the Low Carb Diet forums on here for some ideas but in the shorterm drop off sugars, use diet soft drinks and cut back on the carbs, Bread, Potatoes, Pasta and Rice

Keep posting on here and ask any questions if you need more help

Cheers
 

Mike d

Expert
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7,997
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Type 2
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Other
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idiots who will not learn
T1 or T2? Meds? Weight? Alcohol type?

Nothing especially wrong with the figures at all, but I'd like to know what you consider "terrible" insofar as the foods are?
 

joshaldo

Newbie
Messages
3
Hi,

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated. I am yet to be diagnosed I have just been monitoring my bloods due to my weight and diabetes runs in my family. I went to my Dr about 4 months ago and my waking bloods were 5.6 and he was not too worried. My current weight is 133KG and height 178 cm. I have been drinking heaps of Rum. Terrible foods include ice cream daily, take away pretty much every day. Pizza, ribs etc. Has been a very bad diet over the last four months.
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Tablets (oral)
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Cruelty towards animals.
@joshaldo

Hello and welcome to the forum :) Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find this helpful, especially regarding diet. Ask as many questions as you want 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 150,000 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

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


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.
 

Mike d

Expert
Messages
7,997
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
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idiots who will not learn
Hi,

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated. I am yet to be diagnosed I have just been monitoring my bloods due to my weight and diabetes runs in my family. I went to my Dr about 4 months ago and my waking bloods were 5.6 and he was not too worried. My current weight is 133KG and height 178 cm. I have been drinking heaps of Rum. Terrible foods include ice cream daily, take away pretty much every day. Pizza, ribs etc. Has been a very bad diet over the last four months.

You are welcome :) Australian to Australian .... get that test done pronto. You might be OK with the BS but with a history of it running in the family, time to pull up the horses, reassess what's going on and do something. I don't have to tell you that your weight is a big concern (at 31 you need to address that now) and your diet needs to change drastically.

I could be far more blunt, but I really hope this sinks in. You're far too young to continue down this path and diabetes or not, your doctor SHOULD be concerned 'cos if that was my profile, I sure would be.
 
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joshaldo

Newbie
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3
You are welcome :) Australian to Australian .... get that test done pronto. You might be OK with the BS but with a history of it running in the family, time to pull up the horses, reassess what's going on and do something. I don't have to tell you that your weight is a big concern (at 31 you need to address that now) and your diet needs to change drastically.

I could be far more blunt, but I really hope this sinks in. You're far too young to continue down this path and diabetes or not, your doctor SHOULD be concerned 'cos if that was profile, I sure would be.

Yeah the reading this morning was a real wake up call. I'm off to see the doctor again in the morning for so follow up tests. I am really hoping that if it is diagnosed I have caught it early enough for it to be reversible, if it is reversible??

I have tested my bloods during the day and have not been any where near the initial high waking level which i am going is good news. Thanks again for the reply
 

Mike d

Expert
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Type 2
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Other
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idiots who will not learn
Well, you either have it or you don't ... tipping points can't be changed .... once you're over, you are that way (a diabetic) permanently

It is good news with those recent readings.

Get some (REALLY GOOD) trainers, walk within your limits every single day, build it up (skip gym for the time being) and watch the kilos disappear. YOU, my friend might have dodged a bullet ... and drop the garbage diet.

Best of luck
 
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