Best way to increase blood glucose ( food drink recommendations )

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Scotsguy1966

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At risk of diabetes
Recently disgnosed pre diabetes . Been checking my blood levels now and then . I was at 2.4 earlier! Took teaspoon of honey and it increased to 7.1 . Someone said I also need to take some carbs to counter act the honey so had two slices of brown bread . Is this the right thing to do ? Any other recommendations for snacks etc to increase low blood sugars ? Tia
 
Goodness that must have been a scary experience @Scotsguy1966

Were you getting symptoms? Sweating, anxiety, extreme hunger, flashing eyesight? Did you double-check the reading with another strip. You are usually recommended to recheck any reading that doesn’t match how you are feeling, if case the first was a duff strip.

It doesn’t look like you are on any medication?

Active medication is usually the logic behind follow-up carbs. The bread would not have ‘counteracted’ the faster sugars in the honey, it would have added extra carbohydrate that would be absorbed slightly more slowly and can help to guard against a double-dip if there is too much medication active.
 
The usual suggestion for treating low blood glucose revolves around the ‘15 Rule’

Take 15g of cast acting carbohydrate (eg dextro tabs, glucose gel, or full-sugar Coke - nothing with fat in like chocolate as that will absorb too slowly). Then wait 15 minutes and recheck levels again.

If you are still below 4.0 re-treat with 15g fast carbs and wait 15mins again.
 
I assume you are not on any medication so you are not at risk of having a hypo. Diabetes causes high BG levels, not low and hypos are only caused by too much of the medication used to lower them, particularly insulin or other tablets which cause the pancreas to produce extra insulin.

How did you feel when you got that 2.4 reading? If you are not used to having hypos then a genuine 2.4 would feel like you were dying. You would be probably be shaking and sweating and going into shock. I remember my first 2.6 and I was on the verge of passing out and sweat was pouring out of me and I could barely sit straight let alone stand or walk and my whole body was shaking. It was really scary, so if you didn't feel anything like that then it was almost certainly a false reading.

Which device are you using to test your levels and what were you doing when you got the 2.4 reading? Some BG meters give low readings like that when you don't get enough blood sample on the test strip. If you get an unexpectedly low or high reading, you should always recheck with another test strip to confirm. If you are using a Libre sensor, it can give false low readings too, particularly if you lie on it in your sleep, but also if you have caught it on clothing and it has loosened it, that will also give you false lows.
 
Scotsguy1966 said:
Recently disgnosed pre diabetes . Been checking my blood levels now and then . I was at 2.4 earlier! Took teaspoon of honey and it increased to 7.1 . Someone said I also need to take some carbs to counter act the honey so had two slices of brown bread . Is this the right thing to do ? Any other recommendations for snacks etc to increase low blood sugars ? Tia
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I doubt you were at 2.4. It was probably a bad reading.

I have no idea why you need to take carbs to counter the honey. Don't listen to whoever told you this.
 
harbottle said:
I doubt you were at 2.4. It was probably a bad reading.

I have no idea why you need to take carbs to counter the honey. Don't listen to whoever told you this.
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Yes I thought the reading was well off to be honest. But I was feeling off so decided to test . Do you don’t need to take carbs to counter the sugar ?
 
Scotsguy1966 said:
Yes I thought the reading was well off to be honest. But I was feeling off so decided to test . Do you don’t need to take carbs to counter the sugar ?
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No. Sugar is a simple carbohydrate and all carbohydrates gets metabolised into glucose that ends up in the bloodstream. Eating more carbs on top of sugar will just raise blood glucose levels even more (Sugar is quickly absorbed and hits the system faster, which is why it's used for treating hypos.)
 
What is your normal diet like? Sometimes after a high carb meal the pancreas reacts by over producing insulin which makes your blood glucose go low which can make you feel a bit wobbly. What had you eaten when you had your low blood glucose episode.
 
Possible. In the early stages of T2D the first phase insulin response is blunted which leads to a massive release in the 2nd phase. It's quite rare, though, and happens 2 hours after meal which is about when the 2nd phase kicks in.
 
Leadinglights said:
What is your normal diet like? Sometimes after a high carb meal the pancreas reacts by over producing insulin which makes your blood glucose go low which can make you feel a bit wobbly. What had you eaten when you had your low blood glucose episode.
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I had a Scottish breakfast In a cafe around 1130 am . It consisted of 2 sausages , 2 bacon , 2 toast , 2 eggs , haggis . It was large meal really . I took bloods around 3 and it was 10 ! Took apple and then it sank to 2.4 ! Then eventually up to 7.2 after strawberries / yoghurt teaspoon of honey . Thoughts ? I must say I rarely have the breakfast
 
Which device are you using to measure your BG with? I believe the Sinocare and possibly the Kinetic have been reported to give a false low readings if you don't get enough blood on the test strip.
 
Scotsguy1966 said:
I had a Scottish breakfast In a cafe around 1130 am . It consisted of 2 sausages , 2 bacon , 2 toast , 2 eggs , haggis . It was large meal really . I took bloods around 3 and it was 10 ! Took apple and then it sank to 2.4 ! Then eventually up to 7.2 after strawberries / yoghurt teaspoon of honey . Thoughts ? I must say I rarely have the breakfast
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That does sound like a hugely carby meal, to be at 10mmol/l after three and a half hours, then adding an apple which has quite a few carbs. I do wonder if your reading was correct but if it was then a surge of insulin could have kicked in and your level dropped.
 
Leadinglights said:
That does sound like a hugely carby meal, to be at 10mmol/l after three and a half hours, then adding an apple which has quite a few carbs. I do wonder if your reading was correct but if it was then a surge of insulin could have kicked in and your level dropped.
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Yes it seems really odd . I have had the breakfast before but with less items on it . I’m really not sure if the reader was working correctly ?
 
Scotsguy1966 said:
Sino care
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I would be pretty confident that you didn't get enough blood on the test strip in that case and it was almost certainly a false low reading.
 
Scotsguy1966 said:
Thanks I’ll remember to put enough blood on the strip next time
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And to do a second test straight after to double check if you get a reading which seems odd.

Do you have any strategy for testing your BG levels and changing your diet to manage your risk of diabetes. Generally we suggest testing just before a meal and then 2 hours afterwards and if the increase was more than 3mmls then that meal was too carb rich for your body to cope, and next time you have that meal, drop one of the carb rich components or reduce it. If it was me, I would have the breakfast but not the toast or you might get away with just one round of toast, but not two. The important thing with testing is to use it so that you can adjust your diet to manage your risk of diabetes better and prevent it developing into full blown diabetes although those readings being up at 10 more than 3 hours later suggest you might unfortunately be heading that way.
 
rebrascora said:
And to do a second test straight after to double check if you get a reading which seems odd.

Do you have any strategy for testing your BG levels and changing your diet to manage your risk of diabetes. Generally we suggest testing just before a meal and then 2 hours afterwards and if the increase was more than 3mmls then that meal was too carb rich for your body to cope, and next time you have that meal, drop one of the carb rich components or reduce it. If it was me, I would have the breakfast but not the toast or you might get away with just one round of toast, but not two. The important thing with testing is to use it so that you can adjust your diet to manage your risk of diabetes better and prevent it developing into full blown diabetes although those readings being up at 10 more than 3 hours later suggest you might unfortunately be heading that way.
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Yes I’ll keep an eye and test before and after and juggle foods about too . I’m not on any medications and my last hb1a test was 44
 
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