Ideal blood sugar levels for me

[Davetherave99]

Hi all

Have had some very useful info off this forum in the recent past but i wondered if someone might clarify a few things.

i am type 2 and have recently had 2 stents fitted.

My advice with regard to diabetes is that in order to get the best out of the stents i should concentrate on reducing my blood sugar levels to 48 or thereabouts for the Hb1c ( could be wrong on my reference there but sure you will know what I mean) which is of course a 3 month average figure.

On using a converter I came across it appears the 48 equates to an average of 8 ml per whatsits as an equivalent figure that i can generate by using my daily blood checks as tested at home

So my Hb1c levels were 69 about a month ago but have been getting average levels of blood sugar as genergted by my meter of 9 ml which is around 55 according to the conversion i am doing.

please bear with me on this as i know its long winded but I believe if I can operate on a diet of 40 carbs per meal or 120 per day this would help me get to to the 48 figure in due course ?

Does that make sense and any comments please.

thanks very much David

 

[Felinia]

DUK advises under 130gm carbs per day. I aim for 75gm +- 15gm per day carbs and many go a low lower. You might like to aim a little bit lower, say 35gm per meal, but don't forget to include all your snacks, liquids, sauces etc. My milk for my tea and a dash comes to almost 10gm per day. If you get under 48 you become pre-diabetic, which is good, and you seem to be moving in the right direction.

 

[Docb]

A couple of observations...

The average you get from spot readings is only an average of those readings. You are asleep for about one third of the day and you don't get any readings for that time to include in your average. This means that the average you have is a bit rough and ready and when you add in that the conversion from average reading to HBA1c is a bit iffy because they are measuring different things, one reading only gives a ballpark figure for the other, not an accurate prediction.

If you currently eat 200g+ carbs per day and drop to 120g, then there is fair chance that you can get your HBA1c down to below 48 .... assuming of course there is nothing else going on.

 

[Davetherave99]

Thank you very much both very helpful especially re the extras I hadnt considered will certainly take that into consideration.
It is difficult I think to keep an arcurate figure of your current average blood level unless I guess one uses a continuous monitoring system.

I guess if I could just stop eating all my problems will be solved

 

[grovesy]

For some even

Thank you very much both very helpful especially re the extras I hadnt considered will certainly take that into consideration.
It is difficult I think to keep an arcurate figure of your current average blood level unless I guess one uses a continuous monitoring system.

I guess if I could just stop eating all my problems will be solved

Even they are not fool proof either, I have recently had my HBA1C done my Libre was estimating 48 it actually came in at 53. I was not totally suprised as i thought the ststmation was a bit on the low side.

 

[trophywench]

I guess if I could just stop eating all my problems will be solved

No - your dead body would still be diabetic! LOL

I've never been able to eat more than c. 100g carb a day as an adult but there again I'm 5ft 3 and a girl with a medium sort of sized frame, and would guess you are likely to be slightly larger than me!

 

[Davetherave99]

Ah but my levels would be lower I think

 

[grovesy]

Not necessarily, I suggest you do a forum search of Dawn Phenomenon.
I also sometimes find after some meals my levels can be lower.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I’d suggest you aim for 4-7 before meals and no higher than 8.5-9 by 2 hours after meals.

If you can hit that something like 70% of the time (or more) you should be on for an A1c of around 48mmol/mol

 

[Davetherave99]

Thanks for that last comment but slightly worrying at the moment as I find my levels tend to drop offafter about 3 hours rather then 2 but will have to work at it. Exercise, hydrating etc what about metmofin currently taking 1000 mg per day?

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

My understanding is that Metformin doesn’t act directly on BG levels, so much as act by reducing insulin resistance, and reduces glucose output from the liver.

What levels of carb are you eating in your meals? One way of reducing your post-meal levels would be to try reducing the carb load in the meals.

 

[Drummer]

I'm pretty certain that it is an individual thing - I eat no more than 40 gm of carbs a day and see fairly low levels of blood glucose after eating, but my Hba1c is stuck at the top end of normal - 42.

 

[Davetherave99]

I started the thread saying I am targeting 40 per meal or 120/day.

However other people quite rightly have said I should be thinking about drinks, sauces, etc so am going to have to try for 35 or say100/day. Sounds impossible to me but need to give some more thought as to how this might be poss.

Thanks for your advice

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Sounds impossible to me but need to give some more thought as to how this might be poss.

Have you had a look at the ‘what did you eat yesterday’ thread?

Might give you some ideas?

What did you eat yesterday?

Breakfast: Smoked bacon rashers and a cup of coffee - I was supposed to have an omelette with them but it smelled iffy when I'd cooked it so reluctantly it went into the food bin :( Lunch or as I call it Lea because it was at 4 o'clock: Roast pork with crackling and Brussels sprouts and...

forum.diabetes.org.uk

 

[Davetherave99]

Are you really saying 40 per day doesn't seem possible. You must have discovered the Holy grail.

 

[Davetherave99]

Will have a look thanks

 

[rebrascora]

Thanks for that last comment but slightly worrying at the moment as I find my levels tend to drop offafter about 3 hours rather then 2 but will have to work at it. Exercise, hydrating etc what about metmofin currently taking 1000 mg per day?

I think what you may be misunderstanding is that you are roughly looking for the peak of the spike in BG at the 2 hour mark, so it would be reasonable normal for it to be tailing off after 3 hours. This is why you are aiming for it not to exceed 9 (or a max of 3 whole units above pre meal reading) at the 2 hour point. If it is higher, then you need to reduce the amount of carbs in that meal. We can make suggestions for possible substitutes if you give us an idea of which meals spike you too high. Weighing carb rich ingredients and keeping a food diary of them and your readings is key to finding your tolerance levels.

 

[trophywench]

It depends what you are actually eating as to by how much or when, your body will give you its peak blood glucose for that food. The only way you can discover both when and by how much, is by testing. No dount some of your meals will increase by more than you want and some won't. But even though 'that food' caused it to rise too much, does not necessarily mean you need to stop eating it entirely. What would happen if you just ate less of it? One less spud, half a serving spoon less of Pasta or rice? Buying small sliced bread instead of large, thin sliced instead of thick …… only one way to find out!

 

[grovesy]

I started the thread saying I am targeting 40 per meal or 120/day.

However other people quite rightly have said I should be thinking about drinks, sauces, etc so am going to have to try for 35 or say100/day. Sounds impossible to me but need to give some more thought as to how this might be poss.

Thanks for your advice

You have to find what works for you and you can maintain most of the time. I am speaking from personal experience. I have been at this over 16 years. I first adopted a way of eating that resulted in good weight loss, and reduced my HBA1C to what would now be classified by some as remission levels. This was too restrictive for me for the long term. I have also found over the years that had worked for me sometimes needs readjusting.
We used often say here it is a marathon not a sprint, why not make small changes.

 

[SB2015]

As @grovesy says we all have to find a way that works for us.

You began with the idea of reducing the carbs at your meals. We did this and found a value that works for us. This then puts less pressure on your pancreas as it does not need to produce as much insulin.

I wanted to reduce the spikes that I was seeing after my meals and in addition to reducing the carb total we also looked at what specific foods made those spikes and did some swaps. A good rule of thumb I was given was
If veg are grown:
- under the ground it is high carb (potatoes, swede, ...)
- above the ground it is medium carb (green beans, peas, ...)
- on the ground it is low carb (celery, lettuce, ...)
This info, along with monitoring your portion sizes, might help you in getting to your new carb target.

Let us know how you get on.