Fasting BG 5.9. What's going on?

[Purple_Panda]

So I'd been making fantastic progress with my last two HBA1C readings being 37 and 38. By my own admission I had been binging the last couple of days on some "no added sugar" wafers but also this no added sugar nutella substitute called Jim Jams. I just tested my BG now at 11:13am, haven't eaten anything since last night etc. I'm shocked it's giving a pre-diabetes BG reading given the progress I made and my determination to get to a stage of remission.

Should I just give up on these no added sugar wafers and biscuits? Indeed, helping myself to spoonfulls of nutella substitute even with no added sugar clearly isn't helping the BG levels?

Ironically if I binge on strawberries or berries, no issues at all. If I binge on the Guliyan no added sugar chocolate, no issues at all. But it appears this Jim Jams spread, a 5.9 BG reading

 

[Sally71]

I don’t understand the problem, 5.9 is a perfectly normal reading, I’d be well happy if my daughter’s levels were that low every morning!

 

[Purple_Panda]

I don’t understand the problem, 5.9 is a perfectly normal reading, I’d be well happy if my daughter’s levels were that low every morning!

Because my HBA1C has been now consistent at 37-38 and I anticipated this would mean my fasting BG would be normal as it's consistently been in the 3.9-5.4 range hence my concerns. But as I said binging on nutella substitute probably hasn't helped.

 

[Pumper_Sue]

Should I just give up on these no added sugar wafers and biscuits? Indeed, helping myself to spoonfulls of nutella substitute even with no added sugar clearly isn't helping the BG levels?

It may say no added sugar, but it's the total carbs you need to be aware of.

 

[JJay]

Nothing wrong with a 5.9 BG reading! You do know that it doesn't directly correlate to HbA1c?

 

[Purple_Panda]

Nothing wrong with a 5.9 BG reading! You do know that it doesn't directly correlate to HbA1c?

Yes but it's a pre-diabetic reading. I want to get my levels to normal in every sense.

 

[Purple_Panda]

It may say no added sugar, but it's the total carbs you need to be aware of.

The total carbs concept is what's throwing me here and one I can't seem to get my head around or calculate with accuracy.

As I pointed out though I could eat a mountain of strawberries and it barely has an effect on the BG readings

 

[JJay]

Yes but it's a pre-diabetic reading. I want to get my levels to normal in every sense.

But as others have said, 5.9 IS normal, for non-diabetics too!

 

[Purple_Panda]

But as others have said, 5.9 IS normal, for non-diabetics too!

For fasting BG it isn't......

 

[Becka]

A single 5.9 reading is a perfectly normal fasting reading.

Glucose levels constantly fluctuate and the 5.6 – 6.9 mmol/L range to represent pre-diabetes is where that sort of level is sustained over a period of time. Which is why diagnosis is made on the basis of HbA1c tests which better represent that rather than isolated moments in time.

You also have to account for the margin of error of glucometers, where such a reading could mean your level is as low as 5.07.

You need to use reading your glucose levels to gain a general picture, of how things are on average, of the sort of range you get across several readings. You cannot and should try to manage your diabetes on isolated readings, as other factors can influence them, or try to manage to the decimal point.

You have eaten something, you have a reading, but you do not know why it is that. So the next time you eat the same thing, you see what the reading is that time. If it is similar you can start to assume a connection, but maybe it will not be different. So you need more readings to get a general idea of what is happening.

 

[Purple_Panda]

A single 5.9 reading is a perfectly normal fasting reading.

Glucose levels constantly fluctuate and the 5.6 – 6.9 mmol/L range to represent pre-diabetes is where that sort of level is sustained over a period of time. Which is why diagnosis is made on the basis of HbA1c tests which better represent that rather than isolated moments in time.

You also have to account for the margin of error of glucometers, where such a reading could mean your level is as low as 5.07.

You need to use reading your glucose levels to gain a general picture, of how things are on average, of the sort of range you get across several readings. You cannot and should try to manage your diabetes on isolated readings, as other factors can influence them, or try to manage to the decimal point.

You have eaten something, you have a reading, but you do not know why it is that. So the next time you eat the same thing, you see what the reading is that time. If it is similar you can start to assume a connection, but maybe it will not be different. So you need more readings to get a general idea of what is happening.

I mean it is probably safe to assume this has caused a spike in the readings given as I said similarly "sweet" foods like the guliyan chocolate and berries aren't yielding these kinds of readings.

 

[Becka]

I mean it is probably safe to assume this has caused a spike in the readings given as I said similarly "sweet" foods like the guliyan chocolate and berries aren't yielding these kinds of readings.

No it is not, because that is not how it works. And that sort of thing is why some doctors and nurses do not think type 2 diabetics should test at all.

Your levels are affected by more than what you eat, anything else could have caused it to be that level, and on another day eating the same thing would give you a lower level the following morning. Nothing you can eat will give you constantly the same level.

But even if it did mean that, which it does not necessarily, then unless you eat the same thing every day it really does not matter because other days you will be lower and it all averages out, and that is what matters. The average.

Healthy non-diabetic people will have fasting levels of 5.9 from time to time. You can be in remission and still have fasting readings of 5.9.

Also, an HbA1c of 37 mmol/mol means that you gave an average glucose level of 6.3 mmol/L. Not that you can relate such an average to everyday life and readings because of how they fluctuate, but maybe that will help you put it in context.

You are trying to beat yourself up, but we will not go along with that because you have done nothing wrong. There is no problem. At the very worst you have identified a food you can eat occasionally, not once which is bad for you. But you have not even done that you, you have a random piece of information with no context. Scientifically, medically, to be meaningful it needs to be repeatable. So try again and see what happens. Until you have done that you are making assumptions which are unsafe.

 

[JJay]

Have you discussed this with your DSN as it does seem you are trying to micro-manage your diabetes in a way that's causing you unnecessary stress?

 

[Leadinglights]

If you did not test until after 11am and you have been up and about for several hours without eating it is just your body giving you a boost of glucose for energy. Anyway that level is perfectly normal.
My HbA1C is now 36 but I don't ever get a morning (on waking) of less than 6.2mmol/l. You can't compare a spot test with a 3 monthly average.
The no added sugar waters are practically zero carbs but do have sweeteners which affect some people.

 

[rebrascora]

The only thing I would add to what has been said above, which I totally agree with by the way, is that binging on anything is not good ( I know easier said than done as I have certainly had my problems with it) but also many of these sugar free products are highly processed and contain a lot of what are essentially "chemicals" and I am not convinced that they are as harmless as we might be lead to think, especially if you are binge eating them ie. Eating a larger than recommended portion.... usually at least 2-3 times the recommended portion. You would be better off not buying these foods and perhaps eating something with just a small amount of real sugar in it and doing some exercise afterwards. So an ordinary dark (80%+) chocolate rather than a sugar free one. Or a small piece of fruit instead of sugar free wafers or whatever.

I know it is so easy to say but not so easy to do, but I have found that my tastes have changed a lot since I cut the sweet stuff out almost altogether and I now taste sweetness in things which were previously sour to me. I would urge you to look at the list of ingredients in these products before you buy them and then make your mind up about whether you want to ingest those ingredients in greater than the recommended quantity.

 

[trophywench]

Without knowing when your BG started to increase from whatever level it had been at for hours beforehand (and supposing you know that anyway which I assume you don't) you cannot possibly read anything whatsoever into that 5.9 - so don't waste effort even trying to!

How many non-diabetic people do you normally test at the same times as you do your own, in order to make a direct comparison?

Approx 4 - 7 = non diabetic - and a fasting BG test needs to be done the instant you wake before you put your foot out of bed or do anything else (including having a wee!) to be true.

 

[Inka]

Anything could have caused your 5.9, which isn’t an awful reading anyway.

But as a separate matter, you ask:

Should I just give up on these no added sugar wafers and biscuits? Indeed, helping myself to spoonfulls of nutella substitute even with no added sugar clearly isn't helping the BG levels?

My honest answer to that would be Yes. Lots of your posts talk about over-eating sugar-free foods. I think they can be addictive because our bodies are expecting a sugar hit they never get. They’re also usually full of additives, which doesn’t help either.You’ve said yourself that strawberries work well for you, so I’d stick with things like that for a sweet taste. Real food not fake food 🙂

 

[pm133]

Yes but it's a pre-diabetic reading. I want to get my levels to normal in every sense.

But you're not "normal" in that sense.
You have diabetes.
Between your pancreas and your insulin resistance there's nothing normal going on within your body.
There's no reason to expect "normal" blood glucose levels.

For what it's worth, I think 5.9 is a perfectly good result and I can't think of a good reason for you to be worrying about it.

 

[pm133]

I mean it is probably safe to assume this has caused a spike in the readings given as I said similarly "sweet" foods like the guliyan chocolate and berries aren't yielding these kinds of readings.

The problem is that you are trying to "diagnose" from a single blood glucose reading and it simply doesn't work like that.

Firstly, as others have said, normal non-diabetics can get these fasting readings. I know you said they don't but I'm afraid you are wrong about that. The sources you are using to get your numbers are issuing recommended guideline levels. That doesn't mean non-diabetics can't go outside those levels and still be non-diabetic. They can and they do.

Secondly, your meter isn't accurate enough for you to know that you are at 5.9 exactly. Check your manual for the tolerance on the results you get. Run tests on different hands and fingers. Chances are you'll get different results every time and all of them will still be subject to tolerances within the machine (5-15% I think). So a 5.9 reading could be as low as 5.0 or as high as 6.8.

Only your HbA1c will tell you where you are and whether you are in "normal" range.

 

[Becka]

Without knowing when your BG started to increase from whatever level it had been at for hours beforehand (and supposing you know that anyway which I assume you don't) you cannot possibly read anything whatsoever into that 5.9 - so don't waste effort even trying to!

Actually that is a really good point.

If you ate the hazelnut spread before going to bed but were still processing it when you tested at 11:13am then it means you went so incredibly high you were hospitalized for being in a hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state and this is all a dream within your coma.

It could also result from either not being able to produce enough insulin or being sufficiently resistant to it, but that can be ruled out because of your very good HbA1c levels and that you are normally so low as to consider a 5.9 reading to be a problem. You would see such a reading far more often, and more, if it was caused by a physical problem that cannot be solved by diet alone.

Your morning reading is, I assume, at least twelve hours after eating. Assuming you have been awake and were active before testing then it is more likely as Leadinglights says, the result of your body releasing stored glucose to use as energy. As it is supposed to. As it does for everyone.

And to those questioning the ingredients of Jim Jams, it does not contain E-numbers (unless you count sunflower lecitihin which could be labelled as E322) and uses malitol from maltose as a sweetener.

This is a disaccharide, like lactose or sucrose, but instead comes from malt. It is used because it has far fewer calories than sugar, does not cause tooth decay, and has a lower glycemic index. Though not so amazing as into the middle of the next day! But it is a little less sweeter and excessive consumption, as in over 100g for an average person, can cause a laxative effect. But warnings are required on the labels of items which use it, which is why you see that on sugar free gum etc.

Jim Jams is not marketed as a diabetic product, I think its selling point is simply that it is better for children, and does not mean anyone can eat it with impunity. It claims "no added sugar" not that it is "sugar free." It is still a hazelnut spread. But I assume Purple_Panda has read the nutritional information, as they seem quite diligent about their diet, to be aware of the carb content and regulate their consumption accordingly.