A newbie question about moderate post-meal BG increases

[BobbyBee]

Hello folks,
I am about a month into my T2 diagnosis after about 3 months of the weight loss / peeing lots / dry mouth symptoms. Not to mention the brutal leg cramps while cycling or hill walking.

BG on diagnosis was very high and I was started on Glyclazide which I was taken off 2 weeks later, as, combined with diet change, I was at the point of having to keep eating to ward off hypos. Currently not on any medication.

The last 2 weeks have seen BG anywhere between low to mid 5s, say before breakfast or after a day in the hills, to mid to high 6s, except for very brief periods after a meal with a bit more carbs, such as I would have before prolonged exercise. In these cases, I might see BG at mid to high 8s when testing around an hour to an hour and a half after the meal (waiting for 2 hours before getting out on the bike, or trying to do a finger prick test on the side of a peaty hill in a cold November wind aren't overly practical) and back down below 7 after a couple of hours.

Tests are all finger pric,. Tried Libre and was getting odd readings and a very sore arm so removed it after a week.

Am I over-worrying about these brief excursions into higher readings? Are they normal?

Thanks

 

[silver minion]

Hello @BobbyBee and welcome to the forum.
Your blood glucose levels vary a lot during the day depending on time of day, meals and exercise. This is very normal and also happens to people without diabetes. Your finger prick readings don't seem particularly high. If you don't mind me asking, what was your HbA1c result at diagnosis and are you taking any other medication?
To get the best out of your readings it helps to do it at consistent times. Most people test first thing as soon as they wake. It's quite normal that this reading is higher. Then test just before a meal and 2 hours after. It also helps to keep a food diary so you can see the effects of the meals on your blood glucose.
Have you received any dietary advice from your doctor or nurse?
I know when I was newly diagnosed I had a lot of questions and found this forum really helpful. Have a look at some of the posts to get an idea of what people ask about and discuss.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Sounds like your levels have responded really well to the changes you have made @BobbyBee 🙂

The general suggestions for T2s used to be to aim for 4-7mmol/L before meals, and no higher than 8.5mmol/L by 2 hrs after eating.

From what you’ve said it looks like you are hitting those guideline targets a lot of the time. Well done!