Answer for everydayupsanddowns.

[eddieb]

Just got off the phone with the DN who informed my Wife she had her Hbiv(?) her last reading was 71 and now she is 62 and needs to get down to 56. Mine was 53. We have to go back in the New year and have another test.
Whilst I was talking to her she was impressed with my figures which for this week are, fasting,5.1,5.7,5.1,5.5,5.7,6.3,*7.6* ( these figures are staggered so the 6.2 is Saturday night and the 7.6 is Sunday morning ).....last reading before bed...4.8,6.5,6.6,6.6,4.9,6.7,*6.2*..... Question.. how do I go to sleep with a figure of 6.2 and wake up with a higher figure of 7.6? However, that has come to a sudden stop because she mentioned that my kidneys are a cause for concern ( had trouble when I was very young ) and told me to revert to two Metformin, which of course takes me back to my original state. Question please, Would I be better taking one every 12 hours as opposed to two at my evening meal?
I'm certain that I read somewhere that if one has kidney problems then Metformin is bad? having said that I last had problems over 50 yrs ago!

 

[Leadinglights]

Just got off the phone with the DN who informed my Wife she had her Hbiv(?) her last reading was 71 and now she is 62 and needs to get down to 56. Mine was 53. We have to go back in the New year and have another test.
Whilst I was talking to her she was impressed with my figures which for this week are, fasting,5.1,5.7,5.1,5.5,5.7,6.3,*7.6* ( these figures are staggered so the 6.2 is Saturday night and the 7.6 is Sunday morning ).....last reading before bed...4.8,6.5,6.6,6.6,4.9,6.7,*6.2*..... Question.. how do I go to sleep with a figure of 6.2 and wake up with a higher figure of 7.6? However, that has come to a sudden stop because she mentioned that my kidneys are a cause for concern ( had trouble when I was very young ) and told me to revert to two Metformin, which of course takes me back to my original state. Question please, Would I be better taking one every 12 hours as opposed to two at my evening meal?
I'm certain that I read somewhere that if one has kidney problems then Metformin is bad? having said that I last had problems over 50 yrs ago!

This puts you in a bit of a dilemma as, if dropping the dose of metformin means blood glucose increases then that put extra pressure on your kidneys so looking a bit more at your carb intake may help blood glucose not to go up. Splitting the dose will not make that much difference as if you are taking them just once a day they are probably slow release anyway.
If your morning readings are higher than evening that is likely due to what is referred to as Dawn phenomenon or Foot on the floor syndrome which many do get as is because the liver releases glucose in the absence of food to give people energy for their organs to function and for normal activity. So not unusual and not a lot most people can do about it.

 

[Lucyr]

Question please, Would I be better taking one every 12 hours as opposed to two at my evening meal?

If the metformin is slow release, take them any time of day you want, makes no difference at all

If it’s standard metformin then take one with breakfast and one with evening meal

 

[eddieb]

This puts you in a bit of a dilemma as, if dropping the dose of metformin means blood glucose increases then that put extra pressure on your kidneys so looking a bit more at your carb intake may help blood glucose not to go up. Splitting the dose will not make that much difference as if you are taking them just once a day they are probably slow release anyway.
If your morning readings are higher than evening that is likely due to what is referred to as Dawn phenomenon or Foot on the floor syndrome which many do get as is because the liver releases glucose in the absence of food to give people energy for their organs to function and for normal activity. So not unusual and not a lot most people can do about it.

OK, thank you for your reply. The higher dawn reading was an isolated case, I've been taking readings throughout the day since I first posted on here.

 

[Leadinglights]

OK, thank you for your reply. The higher dawn reading was an isolated case, I've been taking readings throughout the day since I first posted on here.

Don't take too much from isolated readings as you could come to the wrong conclusion.
Random readings don't tell you much either as blood glucose goes up and down throughout the day and night so a structured regime will give you much more information about how your diet is suiting you so you can respond in making changes which is why people tend to test before eating and after 2 hours.

 

[eddieb]

If the metformin is slow release, take them any time of day you want, makes no difference at all

If it’s standard metformin then take one with breakfast and one with evening meal

Don't take too much from isolated readings as you could come to the wrong conclusion.
Random readings don't tell you much either as blood glucose goes up and down throughout the day and night so a structured regime will give you much more information about how your diet is suiting you so you can respond in making changes which is why people tend to test before eating and after 2 hours.

OK, thanks for that. I think I might have damaged my kidneys after upping my metformin, I noticed after a couple of days that I was getting occasional pressure in the right side, which has always been the troublesome kidney. I took the four a day for seven days, so I'm hoping that not too much damage has occurred. Is there any other medicine other than metformin?

Can I ask another question please, My Wife has been on a strict diet, cut out ALL fruit, chocolate etc, Her breakfast is 30grms of so called sugar free muesli, lunch say a small piece of sirloin steak and raw onion and evening meal, muesli again, yet the lowest reading she gets is 6.7 ? This is after nine days.

 

[Leadinglights]

OK, thanks for that. I think I might have damaged my kidneys after upping my metformin, I noticed after a couple of days that I was getting occasional pressure in the right side, which has always been the troublesome kidney. I took the four a day for seven days, so I'm hoping that not too much damage has occurred. Is there any other medicine other than metformin?

Can I ask another question please, My Wife has been on a strict diet, cut out ALL fruit, chocolate etc, Her breakfast is 30grms of so called sugar free muesli, lunch say a small piece of sirloin steak and raw onion and evening meal, muesli again, yet the lowest reading she gets is 6.7 ? This is after nine days.

It would be better for your wife to have a more balanced diet unless of course there is a reason for her to be so restrictive. There are many low carb foods, vegetables, salads, berries, all meats, eggs, cheese. Low sugar muesli is not really low carb so breakfast of full fat Greek yoghurt, a few berries and much less of the muesli would be lower carb or eggs in any form.
An evening meal of cooked meat or cheese or tinned fish with salad with a pudding of high protein yoghurt or sugar free jelly and cream would give more variety.
If she has only been doing this 9 days that is early days and it will take time for blood glucose to come down but that is not a bad reading anyway and will depend on when you test.
Even a low carb regime is still counted as being no more than 130g per day. It is better to bring levels down gradually to avoid issues with eyes and nerves and is not a quick fix but a long term solution.
As far as other medication other than metformin, they all come with potential side effects so making adjustment to diet if you can is a better option if it can work for you.

 

[Lucyr]

Is there any other medicine other than metformin?

There are hundreds of medication options for diabetes

 

[Drummer]

OK, thanks for that. I think I might have damaged my kidneys after upping my metformin, I noticed after a couple of days that I was getting occasional pressure in the right side, which has always been the troublesome kidney. I took the four a day for seven days, so I'm hoping that not too much damage has occurred. Is there any other medicine other than metformin?

Can I ask another question please, My Wife has been on a strict diet, cut out ALL fruit, chocolate etc, Her breakfast is 30grms of so called sugar free muesli, lunch say a small piece of sirloin steak and raw onion and evening meal, muesli again, yet the lowest reading she gets is 6.7 ? This is after nine days.

The sugar free muesli is likely to be anything but - if it is touting itself as a no added sugar option it might very well be so, but still high in starches and sugars from dried fruit - so I'd advise a close look at the packaging to see just what it is hiding in the 'carbohydrate' listing which is usually on the back and in small print.
I seem able to get into normal numbers with meals such as steak, onion and mushrooms for my evening meal, and eating such things as scrambled eggs, left over meat from dinner, or a tin of tuna with coleslaw, cooked ham or chicken thighs with a salad is nice in hot weather, though I have had a hot salad, boiled radish and celery in meat stock, hot beetroot and runner beans, baked onions with beef and a few peas - it was rather nice. I put it into some small Chinese bowls after slicing the larger items and ate it with chopsticks, except the peas.
I don't seem to need to limit calories - in fact a recent experiment with reduced calories and slimming shakes was a bit of a failure.

 

[eddieb]

It would be better for your wife to have a more balanced diet unless of course there is a reason for her to be so restrictive. There are many low carb foods, vegetables, salads, berries, all meats, eggs, cheese. Low sugar muesli is not really low carb so breakfast of full fat Greek yoghurt, a few berries and much less of the muesli would be lower carb or eggs in any form.
An evening meal of cooked meat or cheese or tinned fish with salad with a pudding of high protein yoghurt or sugar free jelly and cream would give more variety.
If she has only been doing this 9 days that is early days and it will take time for blood glucose to come down but that is not a bad reading anyway and will depend on when you test.
Even a low carb regime is still counted as being no more than 130g per day. It is better to bring levels down gradually to avoid issues with eyes and nerves and is not a quick fix but a long term solution.
As far as other medication other than metformin, they all come with potential side effects so making adjustment to diet if you can is a better option if it can work for you.

OK, thanks for that. Getting my Wife to eat is nigh on impossible, as I have indicated previously!

 

[eddieb]

The sugar free muesli is likely to be anything but - if it is touting itself as a no added sugar option it might very well be so, but still high in starches and sugars from dried fruit - so I'd advise a close look at the packaging to see just what it is hiding in the 'carbohydrate' listing which is usually on the back and in small print.
I seem able to get into normal numbers with meals such as steak, onion and mushrooms for my evening meal, and eating such things as scrambled eggs, left over meat from dinner, or a tin of tuna with coleslaw, cooked ham or chicken thighs with a salad is nice in hot weather, though I have had a hot salad, boiled radish and celery in meat stock, hot beetroot and runner beans, baked onions with beef and a few peas - it was rather nice. I put it into some small Chinese bowls after slicing the larger items and ate it with chopsticks, except the peas.
I don't seem to need to limit calories - in fact a recent experiment with reduced calories and slimming shakes was a bit of a failure.

It is virtually a waste of time reading for carbo's, it appears to me that everything I look at has carbo's. For myself I have cracked it so to speak because I eat now almost everything that you have listed. One thing that has proved beneficial is a stew that I have always made, which we eat every other day in Winter. It's basically a vegetable soup with either chicken or lamb. I tested it as per normal and got a high reading, so I made myself the same thing sans potatoes and found that my reading went up by 0.1, so we now have one known good meal.

 

[Leadinglights]

OK, thanks for that. Getting my Wife to eat is nigh on impossible, as I have indicated previously!

That must be challenging for you but is that because she finds it physically difficult to eat, problems with chewing or swallowing or she is just not liking the foods she feels she is allowed to eat or no appetite or problems with how things taste.
It may be by encouraging her to eat the foods she likes but still being mindful of the carbs. It sounds as if she is actually eating very little so letting her have what she likes will be OK.

 

[eddieb]

That must be challenging for you but is that because she finds it physically difficult to eat, problems with chewing or swallowing or she is just not liking the foods she feels she is allowed to eat or no appetite or problems with how things taste.
It may be by encouraging her to eat the foods she likes but still being mindful of the carbs. It sounds as if she is actually eating very little so letting her have what she likes will be OK.

In the interest of trying to get a lower reading this morning, I suggested for breakfast, scrambled egg, lunch the soup that I make and for evening meal tinned salmon, which she will eat at any time, about a half a tin's worth, no thanks she said!
What gets me although she eats very little, she's always had way more energy than I.
Can you suggest the best breakfast cereal please, I ask because every one I look at has carbs.
I keep meaning to ask this question, Is it the sugar in carbs that does the harm or carbs themselves?

 

[Leadinglights]

In the interest of trying to get a lower reading this morning, I suggested for breakfast, scrambled egg, lunch the soup that I make and for evening meal tinned salmon, which she will eat at any time, about a half a tin's worth, no thanks she said!
What gets me although she eats very little, she's always had way more energy than I.
Can you suggest the best breakfast cereal please, I ask because every one I look at has carbs.
I keep meaning to ask this question, Is it the sugar in carbs that does the harm or carbs themselves?

It is the carbs because ALL carbs convert to glucose but 'sugar' is metabolised more quickly so the only time you might consider the sugar is when comparing 2 products with the same carbs you would choose the one with the least sugar. So the message is low sugar doesn't always mean low carb.
M & S fruit and nut grain free granola is very low carb 9g per 100g but a bit pricy but is the best I have found, the other I buy is the Keto Hana granola similar carbs but also expensive. But I tend to mix 50/50 with Lizi's low sugar granola so end up with something about 30g carbs per 100g but still only have about 20g on my Greek yoghurt and berries.
There will be very few foods which have zero carbs. But a low carb dietary regime is not NO carbs.

 

[eddieb]

It is the carbs because ALL carbs convert to glucose but 'sugar' is metabolised more quickly so the only time you might consider the sugar is when comparing 2 products with the same carbs you would choose the one with the least sugar. So the message is low sugar doesn't always mean low carb.
M & S fruit and nut grain free granola is very low carb 9g per 100g but a bit pricy but is the best I have found, the other I buy is the Keto Hana granola similar carbs but also expensive. But I tend to mix 50/50 with Lizi's low sugar granola so end up with something about 30g carbs per 100g but still only have about 20g on my Greek yoghurt and berries.
There will be very few foods which have zero carbs. But a low carb dietary regime is not NO carbs.

Thanks for that very clear explanation! have just explained this to her indoors., she is currently comparing berries etc, again, thank you!