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High glucose reading four hours after eating

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R

ronmac

New Member
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Type 2
Hi all,

I am a 72 year old male with Type2 which was diagnosed 19 years ago. I take 36mmol of Humulin MK 3 before breakfast, and 26mmol before dinner. After lunch I take two x 1g Metformin tablets. I am reasonably fit, take three 30 min walks every day, and practice Tai Chi four hours a week.

I often have very high readings after my evening meal which is worrying me. For instance, at 6.30pm I ate a bacon roll with a cup of unsweetened tea, and at 10.30pm my BS was 14.8. It's often 15-17 at this time, even having just a light meal.

My question is does this sound execessive? I know that at 7.30am tomorrow my BS it will be around 9 or 10, so doesn't drop much during the night.

I'd be grateful for anyone's thoughts. It's difficult to get through to my GP under the current circumstances to chat and even more difficult to organise an appointment with the diabetes nurse.

Thanks.

Ron
 
It’s possibly the carbohydrates in the roll causing the spike .
Our body turns carbohydrates into its fuel (glucose) rather rapidly. We’re usually fine with protein and normal fats.
The thing is with insulin esp mixed insulin which I believe you are on you need to be very careful if you try to reduce your carbohydrate intake.as you could start having more /worse hypo’s , so it would be best to contact your diabetes nurse .
Have you been given any advise on the amount of carbohydrates to have at each meal.

I suggest you arrange a telephone appointment with your diabetes nurse ASAP

I start to feel rough if my levels get up to 9.5
 
Ron,
I can't advise you but just wanted to reply (having just had a 12.4 reading myself -which is 5.4+ higher than it has been since I started Managing my T2D /diagnosed Dec '19)

People suggest drinking water? And exercise to reduce the BG.
I am trying water as it is 11 PM!

Good luck with BG sure there are plenty of people here who can help.
 
Ljc said:
It’s possibly the carbohydrates in the roll causing the spike .
Our body turns carbohydrates into its fuel (glucose) rather rapidly. We’re usually fine with protein and normal fats.
The thing is with insulin esp mixed insulin which I believe you are on you need to be very careful if you try to reduce your carbohydrate intake.as you could start having more /worse hypo’s , so it would be best to contact your diabetes nurse .
Have you been given any advise on the amount of carbohydrates to have at each meal.

I suggest you arrange a telephone appointment with your diabetes nurse ASAP

I start to feel rough if my levels get up to 9.5
Click to expand...
Hi Ljc,
Thanks for the reply.
I am trying to arrange a call to my diabetes nurse to discuss this matter. I don’t recall ever being given advice on how many carbs to eat at every meal but will certainly be looking into that.
The strange thing is that I’ve had a bacon roll on other occasions which hasn’t spiked me like that. It seems to be random. A small helping of spaghetti can produce a reading of 8-10 or on occasions 17-20!
I am careful with my diet but get these strange spikes.
Thanks for your advice.
Regards, Ron
 
Neens said:
Ron,
I can't advise you but just wanted to reply (having just had a 12.4 reading myself -which is 5.4+ higher than it has been since I started Managing my T2D /diagnosed Dec '19)

People suggest drinking water? And exercise to reduce the BG.
I am trying water as it is 11 PM!

Good luck with BG sure there are plenty of people here who can help.
Click to expand...
Hi Neens, thanks for your reply.
I try to drink at least 2.5ltrs of water a day and exercise daily so have no idea what causes these spikes.
Best, Ron
 
If you’re often getting high blood sugar after your evening meal, it might be that your insulin needs adjusting and you need a little more to cover your evening meal. Waking up at 9 or 10 isn’t ideal if it’s most days either.

Humulin M3 is a mixed insulin, which contains certain proportions of fast-acting and slow-acting insulins. It could be that the proportions of the mix don’t suit you. There are other insulin options if that’s the case.

While you’re waiting to speak to your nurse, you could try a walk or other activity after eating your evening meal. Even light gardening or moving around the house tidying can help.
 
I am not on Insulin but I have been diagnosed nearly as long as you, over the years I have had to review what I can and cannot eat and the effects on my blood sugar levels. I no longer eat bread rolls, pasta, or rice, as even a small spoonful now impact my levels.
 
Inka said:
If you’re often getting high blood sugar after your evening meal, it might be that your insulin needs adjusting and you need a little more to cover your evening meal. Waking up at 9 or 10 isn’t ideal if it’s most days either.

Humulin M3 is a mixed insulin, which contains certain proportions of fast-acting and slow-acting insulins. It could be that the proportions of the mix don’t suit you. There are other insulin options if that’s the case.

While you’re waiting to speak to your nurse, you could try a walk or other activity after eating your evening meal. Even light gardening or moving around the house tidying can help.
Click to expand...
Thank you Inka.

I have it in mind to speak to my GP about a change of insulin. I can't lose weight no matter what I do exercise-wise or diet, and have been told it's because insulin prevents weight loss. Don't know how true that is but I've read that there is an insuln that doesn't do that.

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Regards, Ron
 
ronmac said:
Thank you Inka.

I have it in mind to speak to my GP about a change of insulin. I can't lose weight no matter what I do exercise-wise or diet, and have been told it's because insulin prevents weight loss. Don't know how true that is but I've read that there is an insuln that doesn't do that.

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Regards, Ron
Click to expand...
People say if you have to eat to your Insulin as on the Insulin you it can make it more difficult.
I think you might have misunderstood about there being an Insulin that helps with weight loss, there is a drug for Diabetes that is supposed to help with weight loss but it is not Insulin. I am sorry but I cannot think of its name.
 
ronmac said:
Thank you Inka.

I have it in mind to speak to my GP about a change of insulin. I can't lose weight no matter what I do exercise-wise or diet, and have been told it's because insulin prevents weight loss. Don't know how true that is but I've read that there is an insuln that doesn't do that.

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Regards, Ron
Click to expand...

Insulin might indirectly affect weight loss if you’re having to eat to counter-act it as @grovesy says. Mixed insulin and fixed doses don’t help.

One possible option you might consider is a basal/bolus insulin regime, where you take one or two injections of background/basal insulin, then injections of a faster acting meal-time insulin when you eat with the dose adjusted according to the carbs in your meal. This would allow you to follow a diet eg low carb, more easily, and give you more flexibility. It would mean more injections though.
 
ronmac said:
The strange thing is that I’ve had a bacon roll on other occasions which hasn’t spiked me like that. It seems to be random. A small helping of spaghetti can produce a reading of 8-10 or on occasions
Click to expand...
Hi Ron

I find that the same amount of carbs at one time in the day will have a different impact at another time of day. When I was in Multiple Daily Injections I used different ratios for the insulin to the carbs at different times of the day. That leads me to one thought.

With mixed insulins you need to be careful to eat to match the doses you are injecting. Many on here find that separate long acting insulin (Basal) which deals with glucose your liver drips out to keep you going , and another quick acting insulin (Bolus) which deals with the carbohydrates that you eat, makes things a lot more flexible. It does mean having more injections each day, but it makes things a lot more flexible. Perhaps it would be worth raising this with your Diabetes Nurse.
 
SB2015 said:
Hi Ron

I find that the same amount of carbs at one time in the day will have a different impact at another time of day. When I was in Multiple Daily Injections I used different ratios for the insulin to the carbs at different times of the day. That leads me to one thought.

With mixed insulins you need to be careful to eat to match the doses you are injecting. Many on here find that separate long acting insulin (Basal) which deals with glucose your liver drips out to keep you going , and another quick acting insulin (Bolus) which deals with the carbohydrates that you eat, makes things a lot more flexible. It does mean having more injections each day, but it makes things a lot more flexible. Perhaps it would be worth raising this with your Diabetes Nurse.
Click to expand...

Thank you all. I have an a phone appointment with my Diabetes Nurse in a week to discuss this with her.
 
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