Yo Yo blood glucose, despite eating the exact same thing.

[markpj31]

Hi all,

I am monitoring my BSG at the moment 4 times a day and am noticing huge ups and downs all over the place. For example, yesterday I woke up with a 9 and then by lunchtime my BSG had dropped to 6.9. Today, despite doing exactly the same thing as yesterday, I woke up with an 8 and my BSG was 10.5 come lunchtime!

At the moment I am eating the same thing daily and doing identical exercise too. I have been quite stressed as of late, yesterday being quite a bad day (however my BSG never went higher than 10 yesterday).

 

[Ronancastled]

The question is what you are eating, are you low carb ?

 

[In Response]

The question is what you are eating, are you low carb ?

The question are beyond food
- how did you sleep?
- how stressed are you?
- what exercise are you doing/done recently?
- what alcohol have you drunk, if any?
- what drugs are you?
...

We could live in a bubble, meet no one else, eat exactly the same thing , do the same amount of exercise, ... every day and still have variable blood sugars.

 

[Tutts711]

The question are beyond food
- how did you sleep?
- how stressed are you?
- what exercise are you doing/done recently?
- what alcohol have you drunk, if any?
- what drugs are you?
...

We could live in a bubble, meet no one else, eat exactly the same thing , do the same amount of exercise, ... every day and still have variable blood sugars.

Yeah, I am quite new to all this measuring. Yesterday it was 4.4 after a long walk. Then after resting for 2 hours, no food or drink intake, it went up to 5.0. Really strange.

I do notice that stress move the needle. This, sadly, is not as easy to control as food intake.

 

[Hopeful34]

Meters can also read +/- 15% . Also if you test your blood from different fingers at the same time, you'll probably get slightly different results, and non-diabetics blood sugar doesn't stay exactly the same 24/7.

 

[markpj31]

The question is what you are eating, are you low carb ?

20-30g of carb per day and I've been told to eat more.

So, for example:
Breakfast:
1 sausage (large), omelette, 2 ryvita crackers (10g carb, high fibre/protein) and a cup of tea/coffee.

Lunch:
2 crackers, sometimes with no added sugar peanut butter (whole earth) or a portion of fish (mackerel). - 10/14g carb.

Dinner:
Normally some meat (chicken, beef) cauliflower mash with a tad bit of melted grated cheese and veg (mushrooms, spinach, cabbage).

So about 30-40g per day? spread over the day.

 

[markpj31]

The question are beyond food
- how did you sleep?
- how stressed are you?
- what exercise are you doing/done recently?
- what alcohol have you drunk, if any?
- what drugs are you?
...

We could live in a bubble, meet no one else, eat exactly the same thing , do the same amount of exercise, ... every day and still have variable blood sugars.

- I sleep very well, 8-9 hours mostly.
- Very stressed at the moment, lots of things going on.
- Pace walk for 5 miles or 20-30mins moderate exercise on static bike.
- Lift weights, 3x per week.
- No alcohol for 2 months (no real reason, mostly to give body a break (mainly after covid) I did drink a fair bit before that).
- Insulin, Lantus 12 units 1 per day, 4x 80g glicazide, 1x sitagliptin.

Yeh, I was reading about Halle Berry and she has a personal doctor just for stress alone relating to her diabetes.

 

[markpj31]

Meters can also read +/- 15% . Also if you test your blood from different fingers at the same time, you'll probably get slightly different results, and non-diabetics blood sugar doesn't stay exactly the same 24/7.

Ok thank you. I knew there was some fluctuations on the meters (I think there is an actual acceptable limit relating to the standards they are produced to). 15% is quite a wide jump though I guess.

 

[In Response]

- I sleep very well, 8-9 hours mostly.
- Very stressed at the moment, lots of things going on.
- Pace walk for 5 miles or 20-30mins moderate exercise on static bike.
- Lift weights, 3x per week.
- No alcohol for 2 months (no real reason, mostly to give body a break (mainly after covid) I did drink a fair bit before that).
- Insulin, Lantus 12 units 1 per day, 4x 80g glicazide, 1x sitagliptin.

Yeh, I was reading about Halle Berry and she has a personal doctor just for stress alone relating to her diabetes.

My point is you sleep differently every night, you have different levels of stress every day, you may walk the same distance but some days it is easier than others, … all these thing affect your blood sugars in different ways. So don’t expect two days of blood sugar readings to be identical.

 

[Erin]

I've tried to find a pattern between eating one snack, and another of approximately the same calories, and so far I have found my meter reading about 5 numbers in 1hr + a few minutes in between. Sometimes, there are strange variations, and I put that up to metabolic speed of food digestion, stress, activity, and of course, amount of food. It's a bit tricky to measure precisely. Of all the gadgets on the tech market, that would be a nice one to have.

 

[sunspots]

Just wait until you've tried using different meters with same drop of blood! Accuracy is an ideal I think. Patterns probably matter more.

BTW, you don't seem to be eating enough fat for such a low carb diet. You need enough of it to give yourself energy. I'm not sure if you're putting yourself through physical stress too by eating so little. Other low careers might be better able to comment or advise.

 

[MrsA2]

20-30g of carb per day and I've been told to eat more.

So, for example:
Breakfast:
1 sausage (large), omelette, 2 ryvita crackers (10g carb, high fibre/protein) and a cup of tea/coffee.

Lunch:
2 crackers, sometimes with no added sugar peanut butter (whole earth) or a portion of fish (mackerel). - 10/14g carb.

Dinner:
Normally some meat (chicken, beef) cauliflower mash with a tad bit of melted grated cheese and veg (mushrooms, spinach, cabbage).

So about 30-40g per day? spread over the day.

Impressively low carb, but, imho, too low in protein and healthy fats, especially for your level of activity.
Do you have weight to lose/gain?

 

[markpj31]

Impressively low carb, but, imho, too low in protein and healthy fats, especially for your level of activity.
Do you have weight to lose/gain?

Nope, I'm 11 stone (72kg). I have now been told to eat 50g of carbs per meal (150g per day) as they seem to think my body is in ketosis/survival mode.

 

[markpj31]

Yeah, I am quite new to all this measuring. Yesterday it was 4.4 after a long walk. Then after resting for 2 hours, no food or drink intake, it went up to 5.0. Really strange.

I do notice that stress move the needle. This, sadly, is not as easy to control as food intake.

4 is nearing hypo. Don't you feel abit odd when you are at around 5?

 

[markpj31]

Just wait until you've tried using different meters with same drop of blood! Accuracy is an ideal I think. Patterns probably matter more.

BTW, you don't seem to be eating enough fat for such a low carb diet. You need enough of it to give yourself energy. I'm not sure if you're putting yourself through physical stress too by eating so little. Other low careers might be better able to comment or advise.

Interesting point about fat. I've not been told to eat 50g of carb per meal.

 

[Dr Snoddy]

I am puzzled as to why a Type 2 on a very low carbohydrate, low energy density diet is also on so much medication. It is no wonder that your poor body has gone into emergency mode!

 

[Andydragon]

I am puzzled as to why a Type 2 on a very low carbohydrate, low energy density diet is also on so much medication. It is no wonder that your poor body has gone into emergency mode!

Ultra low carb with plenty of exercise and without excessive weight and that amount of drugs something doesn’t sound quite right. @markpj31 Have your doctors tested you for other types of diabetes? many on the forums following similar pattern would be reducing or off drugs now, and definitely not on insulin

i had a read of your other post, and understand a little more why you’re on insulin now. Sounds like you have a complicated situation going on right now, but I still wonder about the tests they did if any?

 

[markpj31]

Ultra low carb with plenty of exercise and without excessive weight and that amount of drugs something doesn’t sound quite right. @markpj31 Have your doctors tested you for other types of diabetes? many on the forums following similar pattern would be reducing or off drugs now, and definitely not on insulin

i had a read of your other post, and understand a little more why you’re on insulin now. Sounds like you have a complicated situation going on right now, but I still wonder about the tests they did if any?

Hello there, Nope, no tests. I asked of they did a c-peptide test, but they didn't. My last HbA1c was 7.4 (57) on Metformin back in December. Something even odder is going on now, my BSG are rocketing even more so, up to 15 yesterday. This has just started to happen over the last 3 days.

 

[Andydragon]

Hello there, Nope, no tests. I asked of they did a c-peptide test, but they didn't. My last HbA1c was 7.4 (57) on Metformin back in December. Something even odder is going on now, my BSG are rocketing even more so, up to 15 yesterday. This has just started to happen over the last 3 days.

Sounds to me like you need to go back to your doctors. Also, keep a careful eye on your levels and ketones and if in any doubt call 111

 

[markpj31]

Sounds to me like you need to go back to your doctors. Also, keep a careful eye on your levels and ketones and if in any doubt call 111

Thank you. I couldn't get through to 111 last time, I was on the phone for 2 and a half hours and gave up. I agree though, I just wish getting ketones tested was easier than having to buy a relatively expensive monitor.