blood sugars readings

[Anxious 63]

hi there sorry to bother people but im very confused and anxious about this type 2 diabetes , i had trouble taking the the tests but have managed to them now a couple of them have been 8.5 and then 11.3 today although i had eaten before, i feel a bit rough anyway and might have some kind of infection , head feels very stuffy and heavy , what advice would people give my gp is ok but he has waited a year for my it usual 4 month blood sugars test because of covid , he says mine is well controlled but im not so sure , the diabetic nurse was useless and said you dont need to take readings every day, i am starting to get more anxious about it all , i think i might just not eat anything because im so confused

 

[happydog]

Hello. Sorry that you are feeling confused. There is a lot of information out there and sadly a lot of misinformation. Feeling anxious and not being entirely well are things that can affect your BG readings, so may even have made them higher than they should be. COVID has negatively affected diabetes care in some practices in that people have had to wait longer for their tests. Clearly your GP and nurse are reasonably satisfied with your results and your figures are not bad although you do not say when you did the tests e.g. before a meal, first thing in the morning, after a meal etc. If you can manage to do the tests that will give you a snapshot of how you are doing. I am at present trying to control my diabetes through diet and exercise. I do test but not as much as I did at first. Some people are keen on fasting as being helpful to get control. I kept a food diary of what I ate and my BGs. This gave me the information that I needed. We are individuals and what adversely affects one person will not do so with another, e.g. oat porridge sends my BG up, others can eat it with little of no ill effect.
Many of the people on here are very knowledgeable and will be able to offer superior advice to me. I do not think not eating is the most sensible plan, maybe find out which foods you can tolerate and stick to those. We can do so much to help ourselves. Please ask questions on this forum as the people here helped me so much and continue to do so. Take care. You can and you will improve your BG levels. Good luck 🙂

 

[Anxious 63]

Ok thanks for that advice

 

[trophywench]

Once your diabetes is under good control, it's pretty normal to only have 'an armful of blood' tests (ie those sent off to the lab to perform) only once or twice a year. It helps to know what the lab test results are and keep track of em so one can assess on an ongoing basis how good one's BG control has been during the previous 3 -ish months. When it shoots up or down with no apparent reason - then there is great value in interrogating the day by day, hour by hour, blood tests using a meter and strips or an F or CGM..

 

[trophywench]

Sooo - what was your HbA1c test result which led to nursie pronouncing that you had good control?

 

[Anxious 63]

Yeah it was last may when they took that test i think it was 8.1 , so i have another test in april but i have had problems with vitamin b 12 and my liver a bit , and because of my bad anxiety i have been drinking too much and not sleeping well , so sorry its confusing but i am very frightened because gp kept going on about strokes and heart attacks, the diabetic nurse seemed to just brush it all aside saying your not insulin dependent

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Sorry to hear you are feeling anxious and uncertain about your diabetes @Anxious 63

And sorry to hear about your increased drinking - this probably isn’t helping you unfortunately, and the lack of sleep mustbe making things even harder

I wish Drs wouldn’t focus on ‘scare tactics’ and doom and gloom prophesies of nasties lurking around the corner.

Diabetes is a serious condition, but it’s also one that can usually be managed well with a few changes and adaptations - it’s something that you can learn to live well with, and it shouldn’t stop you doing things you enjoy. Try not to be disheartened about your diagnosis, many people on the forum later reflect that their diagnosis became a catalyst which prompted them to make positive changes towards a healthier and more active life. Perhaps changes that they had been intending to make for years.

But it IS important that you begin making small consistent steps to improve your diabetes management.

So be kind to yourself, and try to begin making small, manageable, sustainable steps towards a happier, healthier you.

 

[Anxious 63]

Thanks for that sorry i did not reply earlier but i have my bloods taken this week and will see now the blood sugars are on that and other blood results

 

[Annette&Bert]

great advice everyone. It does seem to be all doom and gloom from the professionals I have to say, so much so that nothing in my life has ever terrified me so much, and constantly occupies my every waking moment.

That said, before my diagnoses I was not obsessed with food, never had a takeaway, and can honestly say never ate or thought of eating junk food. I come from an Italian/Maltese famiy where the food is cooked from scratch. Always aware of things like calories, but tell me I am diabetic and all of a sudden I am obsessed with food, and I’m fed up with it.

I don’t eat at all, bread, pasta, potatos etc., and haven’t done for about 3 years. I live on chicken, fish (not breaded or battered) shellfish and eggs, cheeses. I steam all my veg and also have salads.

Recently, as in about 5 days ago, I decided to eat nothing after 6pm. I can’t tell you what a difference this has made to my life, only getting up once from my sleep to pee and lying in bed asleep till around 7 or 8 am. Unheard of for me.

So, can someone tell me why my BG is above 10mmol in the morning, it was 13 this morning, I’m baffled since all I had last night was a glass of sparkling water between 6pm and going to bed at 11?

I buy my test strips as I don’t get them on prescription because I am not on a drug, or insulin likely to cause a hypo. I take 1 x 10mg Forxiga (Dapagliflozin) dailly. Nothing else.

 

[Teaforme]

great advice everyone. It does seem to be all doom and gloom from the professionals I have to say, so much so that nothing in my life has ever terrified me so much, and constantly occupies my every waking moment.

That said, before my diagnoses I was not obsessed with food, never had a takeaway, and can honestly say never ate or thought of eating junk food. I come from an Italian/Maltese famiy where the food is cooked from scratch. Always aware of things like calories, but tell me I am diabetic and all of a sudden I am obsessed with food, and I’m fed up with it.

I don’t eat at all, bread, pasta, potatos etc., and haven’t done for about 3 years. I live on chicken, fish (not breaded or battered) shellfish and eggs, cheeses. I steam all my veg and also have salads.

Recently, as in about 5 days ago, I decided to eat nothing after 6pm. I can’t tell you what a difference this has made to my life, only getting up once from my sleep to pee and lying in bed asleep till around 7 or 8 am. Unheard of for me.

So, can someone tell me why my BG is above 10mmol in the morning, it was 13 this morning, I’m baffled since all I had last night was a glass of sparkling water between 6pm and going to bed at 11?

I buy my test strips as I don’t get them on prescription because I am not on a drug, or insulin likely to cause a hypo. I take 1 x 10mg Forxiga (Dapagliflozin) dailly. Nothing else.

I can identify with this. I love food, read recipe books for fun. Suddenly with the onset of T2 diabetes, food has become the enemy. And thanks to the nausea caused by the metformin, the food I eat has become much less enjoyable. My ambition is to get it into remission to the extent I can enjoy cooking again.

 

[Annette&Bert]

I can identify with this. I love food, read recipe books for fun. Suddenly with the onset of T2 diabetes, food has become the enemy. And thanks to the nausea caused by the metformin, the food I eat has become much less enjoyable. My ambition is to get it into remission to the extent I can enjoy cooking again.

good luck that is a good ambition, however, not one that will ever happen to me, I’ m afraid!

 

[Leadinglights]

I can identify with this. I love food, read recipe books for fun. Suddenly with the onset of T2 diabetes, food has become the enemy. And thanks to the nausea caused by the metformin, the food I eat has become much less enjoyable. My ambition is to get it into remission to the extent I can enjoy cooking again.

Rather than ditch all your cookery books you could find ingenious ways of modifying the recipes to reduce the carbs and have a few ones you like as 'go to' which you know you are going to be able to tolerate. Otherwise there are quite a few low carb or keto cook book around, I have Keto Kitchen and the Diabetes weight loss cook book, I know some people like The Pinch of Nom and there are lots of recipes on the internet if you look for Low carb or Keto.
As far as the nausea is concerned it does usually settle down and it helps if you take the meds with food. If it persists mention to you G P as there are alternatives, slow release is more gentle on the stomach people find.