a little advice please

[salt n pepper lady]

Hi

I’ve been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 2 weeks ago my figures were 54 , I bought myself an acue check blood glucose machine , despite completely changing my diet its still readings between 8.0 and 11.3 ,I’m trying to stay off the metformin for now and try to bring it under control by diet alone , can someone give me some advice please

 

[Martin.A]

Hi

I’ve been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 2 weeks ago my figures were 54 , I bought myself an acue check blood glucose machine , despite completely changing my diet its still readings between 8.0 and 11.3 ,I’m trying to stay off the metformin for now and try to bring it under control by diet alone , can someone give me some advice please

When are you testing? The usual regime is on waking (without eating or drinking anything beforehand), immediately before a meal and then again 2 hours later (with nothing but water in between).

 

[salt n pepper lady]

When are you testing? The usual regime is on waking (without eating or drinking anything beforehand), immediately before a meal and then again 2 hours later (with nothing but water in between).

i tested 2 hrs after a meal yesterday evening and it was 8.0 i didnt eat anything and tested it before breakfast this morning and it was 9.6 , so confused !

 

[rebrascora]

i tested 2 hrs after a meal yesterday evening and it was 8.0 i didnt eat anything and tested it before breakfast this morning and it was 9.6 , so confused !

How long had you been awake and out of bed this morning before you tested?
Our liver will pump out extra glucose from it's stores on a morning to give us energy for the day ahead. This is called Dawn Phenomenon or Foot on the Floor Syndrome. It is believed to date back to prehistoric times when we needed that energy to hunt or forage our first meal of the day, but it doesn't take much energy to walk into the kitchen and open the fridge and those of us with inefficient insulin response see a rise in BG as a result, until we eat something which tells the liver that we no longer need that glucose and switches that function off because we now have food which will provide us with energy. If you test as soon as you wake up and whilst still in bed you will likely see a lower reading and sometimes eating a small low carb snack as soon as you wake up will settle the liver down and stop this glucose release. As a Type 1 with very little or no insulin production, my liver could raise my BG levels by 6 whole mmols on a morning before breakfast, so it can be a really significant increase.

 

[rebrascora]

I should also mention that one of the actions of Metformin is to discourage the liver from releasing so much glucose. Doing exercise on an evening if you are able can also reduce the increase in the morning as well as trying the strategy of eating a small low carb snack as soon as you wake up.
In reality the pancreas should release insulin to counteract this glucose rise but if you have visceral fat in and around your pancreas and liver, it can interfere with the messaging systems and the pancreas doesn't release insulin until you eat something.

 

[Martin.A]

i tested 2 hrs after a meal yesterday evening and it was 8.0 i didnt eat anything and tested it before breakfast this morning and it was 9.6 , so confused !

8.0 two hours after a meal is in range, albeit at the top end.

The target ranges for waking and pre-meal are to be between 4 and 7, and for two hours post meal below 8.5 and no more than 3 higher than your pre-meal reading.

How long had you been up when you tested before breakfast?. As Barbara @rebrascora has said, DP or FOTF can kick-in to get your day started so the sooner you test the better. I generally test within 5 minutes of getting up, for example.

 

[Leadinglights]

You are still early days so don't be discouraged that your blood glucose levels are not dropping dramatically but in actual fact it is kinder on your body to reduce levels gradually as there is less likely to be issues with your eyes and nerves.
This link may give you some ideas for the sort of meals you can have and you will see there are plenty of options for tasty meals. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
The introduction gives some good explanation and some do's and don'ts. I hope it helps as I found it very straightforward and it was a successful approach for me.
Everybody is different in what suits them so look around at the options as whatever you choose has to be enjoyable and sustainable.

 

[salt n pepper lady]

You are still early days so don't be discouraged that your blood glucose levels are not dropping dramatically but in actual fact it is kinder on your body to reduce levels gradually as there is less likely to be issues with your eyes and nerves.
This link may give you some ideas for the sort of meals you can have and you will see there are plenty of options for tasty meals. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
The introduction gives some good explanation and some do's and don'ts. I hope it helps as I found it very straightforward and it was a successful approach for me.
Everybody is different in what suits them so look around at the options as whatever you choose has to be enjoyable and sustainable.

Thank you

 

[salt n pepper lady]

You are still early days so don't be discouraged that your blood glucose levels are not dropping dramatically but in actual fact it is kinder on your body to reduce levels gradually as there is less likely to be issues with your eyes and nerves.
This link may give you some ideas for the sort of meals you can have and you will see there are plenty of options for tasty meals. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
The introduction gives some good explanation and some do's and don'ts. I hope it helps as I found it very straightforward and it was a successful approach for me.
Everybody is different in what suits them so look around at the options as whatever you choose has to be enjoyable and sustainable.

I’ve checked out the link and it’s absolutely amazing, full of ideas and tips , thank you so much

 

[PhoebeC]

Yes as others have said those levels aren’t crazy high if you are just starting on making changes. Take it slow. You are doing great and going in the right direction.
Plenty to learn and things to action. Stay positive!
You’ve been given great advice, keep going!

 

[salt n pepper lady]

Yes as others have said those levels aren’t crazy high if you are just starting on making changes. Take it slow. You are doing great and going in the right direction.
Plenty to learn and things to action. Stay positive!
You’ve been given great advice, keep going!

Thank you so much , I didn’t know anything about diabetes but thanks to this forum I’m learning and getting great advice and some great recipes off the Freshwell app.