18.1 bloods :(

[Tr242]

Hi,
I was diagnosed type 2 about 3 weeks ago and i’m still so confused with everything!
My blood sugars seemed to be coming down, on average about 8.5 which isnt bad considering i started at 17.5!
I have just tested before bed and its shot up to 18.1! How worried should i be about this?
I did have a large jacket potato for tea so i’m assuming its the carbs that has caused it but I’m just guessing. With covid going on I feel alittle left in the dark with a lack of advice

 

[Docb]

Hi @Tr242 and welcome to the forum.

Chances are it was the large jacket potato that was at least partially responsible. In any case it looks like you have got one item on your list of foodstuffs to avoid! Might also be worth thinking about what you had with it - were there any carbs there that might have made a contribution.

Getting left in the dark is not uncommon for people given a T2 diagnosis. That's where we can help. If your blood glucose seems to be coming down then you must have made a start on getting things under control. Are you on any medication and have you started to make changes in your diet?

 

[SweetGuy]

Are you on any meds like metformin? I wouldn't worry too much. I have been at it 13 years and got a spike bigger than that a couple days ago. It's not exactly satisfactory but you are not going to keel over or anything.

 

[Ljc]

Hi, welcome to the forum
Yes it’s likely to be the carbohydrates in the jacket potato, what did you have with it. I love jackets too esp with a nice crispy skin, me being on insulin does have some advantages .
Sipping water may help bring your levels down a bit.

Not sue if you know apologies if you do, their is a way of testing to se how the various carbohydrates affect you.
By testing just before eating then two hours after the first bite, it’s the difference between the two that lets you know if that meal or snack was ok , aim for no more than 2 or 3 mmol difference

 

[Ljc]

You should find this letter helpful , it’s a bit long lol.
It was also written in a time when fats were believed to be enemy number 1 , many of us on here eat normal amounts of fats by not eating the low fat version of things as they often have more carbs added to improve their taste and texture .
Maggie Davies letter

You will find loads more info here
Useful links for people new to diabetes
For future reference it’s in the newbies section

 

[Tr242]

Hi @Tr242 and welcome to the forum.

Chances are it was the large jacket potato that was at least partially responsible. In any case it looks like you have got one item on your list of foodstuffs to avoid! Might also be worth thinking about what you had with it - were there any carbs there that might have made a contribution.

Getting left in the dark is not uncommon for people given a T2 diagnosis. That's where we can help. If your blood glucose seems to be coming down then you must have made a start on getting things under control. Are you on any medication and have you started to make changes in your diet?

Thank you for your response! I’m taking metformin and i have tries to male big changes to my diet. The potato is the first proper carby food I have eaten in weeks. It is definitely on my avoid list!

 

[Tr242]

Hi, welcome to the forum
Yes it’s likely to be the carbohydrates in the jacket potato, what did you have with it. I love jackets too esp with a nice crispy skin, me being on insulin does have some advantages .
Sipping water may help bring your levels down a bit.

Not sue if you know apologies if you do, their is a way of testing to se how the various carbohydrates affect you.
By testing just before eating then two hours after the first bite, it’s the difference between the two that lets you know if that meal or snack was ok , aim for no more than 2 or 3 mmol difference

I had beans with the potato because I thought it was the safest choice, it is now off my list! Ha /
I didnt know about testing how the carbs effect
me so thank you for that 🙂

 

[Docb]

Thank you for your response! I’m taking metformin and i have tries to male big changes to my diet. The potato is the first proper carby food I have eaten in weeks. It is definitely on my avoid list!

Jacket potato and beans would spike many of us, especially if the beans were of the "tinned in tomato sauce" variety!

I'm a bit of a systematic person, it comes from many years of doing science, so can I suggest that you get a notebook and start to keep a diary of what you eat and any blood glucose measurements you make. The idea is then to look at your meals and to do some estimates of total carbohydrate and then look to see if any patterns appear in your blood glucose measurements. Look to see what rises you get from meals and get some idea how those are related to carbohydrate level. If you get particularly high jumps (like you got with your potato and beans) then make a note to avoid those things.

After a few weeks you should be able to get a good idea of what is going on in your system and make changes to stop the spikes. You probably will not have to do anything too drastic. There is a good chance that a few eliminations, cutting down some portion sizes and a few simple swaps will do the trick but you cannot do that until you have got a good idea about how your system works. If you read around the forum you will see that although there is the general principle that carb reduction is the way to go, different carbs affect different people in different ways. The only way to find out what works for you is to record and test yourself.

Keep talking to us and let us know how you get on.

 

[Ljc]

Ah yes baked beans are rather carby too. Cheese would have been better .
Diabetes is a funny thing , some foods that are considered very healthy may be no good for us . Ie breakfast cereals, fruit juice
And some foods that are considered unhealthy are ok for us , ie meat, dairy (providing you are not vegetarian or vegan that is)

These two long running threads on here may give you some ideas
We have some great innovative cooks who put their creations here

Recipes

Post links to your favourite recipes here! If it's not your own recipe, please share where the recipe came from

forum.diabetes.org.uk

On this one folks we bare all. Good and bad

What did you eat yesterday?

It can be helpful sometimes to know what sort of things people are eating, as it might give some ideas for a more varied diet. So, I'll start off with what I ate yesterday: Breakfast - 1 slice buttered Burgen toast (my breakfast every day, I don't like to run with too much in my stomach)...

forum.diabetes.org.uk

 

[adrian1der]

I watched a programme a few weeks ago "The Truth About Carbs". It claimed that a large jacket potato was the equivalent of 19 cubes of sugar. I was amazed!

 

[Drummer]

On the 'education' course I was sent on after diagnosis we were told that 'a good lunch' was a baked potato and beans.
It is of course the worst possible choice for a type two diabetic.
My Hba1c was 91 and blood glucose 17.1 mmol/l at diagnosis, but fortunately I went straight back to a low carb way of eating and that fixed it fairly quickly.
In place of potato I use cauliflower or swede, as it is far lower in carb. I don't eat baked beans at all, I have small amounts of peas or green beans, as they seem to have a greater effect than might be expected.
I am really sensitive to carbs, so my meal last night was two chicken thighs followed by berries and cream and coffee with cream, as I knot that it will result in a BG level under 8 afterwards. I keep things really simple, and concentrate on meat, fish and seafood, with eggs and cheese as they are not going to result in spikes.

 

[trophywench]

In a tin of Heinz baked beans - or any brand which contains plenty of beans, occasionally cheaper &/or generic 'own brands' have a lot more sauce than beans - at least 50% of the carbs are contained in the sauce rather than the beans.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I didnt know about testing how the carbs effect
me so thank you for that 🙂

Welcome to the forum @Tr242

Hope you find self-monitoring helps you make changes to your meals and improves your BG management.

Are you self-funding your meter? Which one do you use?

Tthe most affordable meters members here have found are the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Tee2 which both have test strips at around £8 for 50 - which may be important if you begin a more systematic test-review-adjust programme?

Let us know how you get on 🙂