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Am I worrying too much?

Spudz

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
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He/Him
Hi all, Probably over-reacting but thought I'd ask anyway. For the past three odd years weeks I've been averaging weekly BG readings of around 8.7 (down from 17 in November when first diagnosed), with daily reading ranging from 9.6 to 7.0, (some individual readings have been down in the low 5's). Today my first two readings, pre breakfast and pre dinner, were 10.0 and 10.5 respectively. Breakfast consisted of cereal, a mixture of nutty granola and seeds. I've had this before without much of a spike in BG. After breakfast I was active up until dinner time where, on previous days with the same activity, my pre dinner reading has been anything from 7 to 8.9. Today's two readings of 10+ were a bit of a surprise and have been bothering me during the morning. Is it normal to get odd readings like this? Should I just take it that this will happen but keep an eye on what the other readings are for the rest of the day and hope they return to the levels I've been seeing? I have reduced my carb intake averaging around 110g per day. Feel free to tell me to 'man up' and quit being a wuss o_O
 
Don't know if you've seen this before @Spudz - there are 42 factors that can affect BG Levels

1739544594842.png
Are you testing with finger-prick or a CGM? - if the latter, it could be that the sensor is not behaving as it should (not uncommon)
 
Hello @Spudz, personally I would say you are not over reacting. Some folk get a diagnosis, make some changes and sit back for 6 months or a year to see if those changes have helped. I'm not one of those and nor are you. You are monitoring and curious, both actions are commendable.

@Lauren has mentioned potential illness approaching- which is a good call. I often find out from elevated BG that some minor ailment is coming along but is still 24 to 48 hrs from being directly apparent to me. This comes under number 21 of the 42 factors, stress. Medical stress starts as our body tries to fight off any new ailment. Should that ailment become long lasting our body adjusts to that new environment, the medical stress reduces and one's BG also adjusts back.

The 42 factors that @mashedupmatt has provided is both very useful, in providing some degree of explanation and insight into how our BG behaves. But because there are 42 described factors it is nigh on impossible to weave around each and all of those, nor decide which factor is playing up today! We sometimes retreat to conclude it's a "wrong colour socks day"; ie something is amiss but no real idea what! Diabetes doesn't always play to the known rules - if our D even knows what those rules are.

The US author, Gary Scheiner, early in his book 'Think Like a Pancreas' (intended for insulin dependent people with D) says: "Diabetes is Complicated, Confusing and Contradictory". It doesn't really matter what Type someone is - it's still so true for so many of us!
 
Hello @Spudz You might actually be seeing how your lower carb intake is allowing your previously hysterical pancreas to stop throwing out insulin and allowing glucose to leave cells and enter the bloodstream - the timing is about right.
Most type 2s test after eating to see if the meal was OK for them - but perhaps as you are on Gliclazide, the advice is to test before?
To manage without medication my daily intake of carbs is under 40 gm - but I really can't cope with carbs - I was left 10 years after a flagged high level which was just ignored, then I took Metformin, could not live with it and so tried just diet. It is extreme but it is working. I found being able to check my levels very useful, so you have that advantage with the meter being provided with a prescription of Gliclazide so you can check that you don't go too low.
 
Certainly worth keeping an eye on @Spudz

A couple of readings like that might be anything or nothing - just one of those random diabetes things… but over the coming weeks, if you have a regular checking schedule, you should be able to see if this is the start of a change of direction, either something temporary like illness, stress, whatever; or the beginning of a more general shift in the way your diabetes behaves, which might mean you need to slightly tweak your menu or ask about adjusting your meds a little?

Let us know how things go over the next few days.
 
Certainly worth keeping an eye on @Spudz

A couple of readings like that might be anything or nothing - just one of those random diabetes things… but over the coming weeks, if you have a regular checking schedule, you should be able to see if this is the start of a change of direction, either something temporary like illness, stress, whatever; or the beginning of a more general shift in the way your diabetes behaves, which might mean you need to slightly tweak your menu or ask about adjusting your meds a little?

Let us know how things go over the next few days.
Things seem to have stabilised since, could be a stress thing. I'll keep an eye no things though
 
Don't know if you've seen this before @Spudz - there are 42 factors that can affect BG Levels

View attachment 34026
Are you testing with finger-prick or a CGM? - if the latter, it could be that the sensor is not behaving as it should (not uncommon)
Thanks, no I haven't seen this and I can see it will be very helpful. I'm finger pricking at the moment and think that the rise was due to stress
 
At the risk of being banned or thrown off this great forum , this is exactly why I as a T2 have not gone down the testing route. I have reduced my levels and seem to have settled. There is enough stress with diabetes without having to worry about levels . That said, it's a personal choice and I wish you well.
 
At the risk of being banned or thrown off this great forum , this is exactly why I as a T2 have not gone down the testing route. I have reduced my levels and seem to have settled. There is enough stress with diabetes without having to worry about levels . That said, it's a personal choice and I wish you well.
Can't see any reason you'd be banned, we are all different, what works for you (and it seems to be working well), probably won't work for others. I've got my first 3 month check coming up soon and will be making some decisions after that. Keep up the good work.
 
It bothered me more than somewhat once I came to realise that the daftest little thing causing stress increases BG - not just major stress. So - eg frustration when ringing your bank and discovering that, 'All our operators are currently busy but please continue to hold as your call is important to us blah di blah' on a ruddy loop for 15 minutes (Yeah I suspected that's what I'd get, wonder if any other customer believes you really care? cos I certainly don't.) - or happily driving along the road to work when someone you saw but assumed would wait for you and other traffic to pass their house, reverses out of their drive and very nearly T bones you without even a glance in your direction. TG I had excellent brakes, even if I did stall.
ie just fairly ordinary occurrences in a fairly ordinary life.

It just annoyed me, when it wasn't like I had chosen to take part in something a bit risky, eg a bungee jump off Blackpool Tower or something. How very dare other people's thoughtlessness potentially affect MY health!

But I did realise I couldn't change the rest of the world's behaviour to suit me, so just had to put up with it, with as good a grace as I could manage.
 
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