Hi I need some advice and help please. My fasting blood sugar readings are too high and I can't lower them. I have been low carb for 18 months and lost around 4 stones in weight feel loads better and walk now I am fitter between 3/5 miles daily and am active. I also do intermittent fasting 24hr at least once a week. I have rang my diabetic nurse and she insists 4-8 fasting levels are normal, but I have read anything over 5.5 can cause sticky blood and I also have CKD stage three so would love to lower my levels. I am 65 not on any diabetic meds and just can't get morning level under 7.2 and yet four hours later with only two mugs of tea it is very often only 5.9. Any advice would be very welcomeas I don't know what else to try.
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Fasting numbers
- Thread starter jacksprat
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Leadinglights
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You have done fantastically well in your weight loss and the low carb approach has obviously worked for you. Morning (fasting) levels are often the last to come down but at 7.2 you are not really over what you might expect. It can depend on when you test as some people experience an increase as soon as they get out of bed so that could explain the result that is higher than after your cups of tea.
I would wait for your next HbA1C result which would be a better thing to base any changes on but I would just keep doing what you are doing.
I would wait for your next HbA1C result which would be a better thing to base any changes on but I would just keep doing what you are doing.
Leadinglights
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It is something you have a right to know and what it actually is, is important to be able to judge where you are at and how far you have to go to get to normal levels. Not too bad tells you not a lot.
Hi. First register for online access to your surgeries online system and ask for access to the level that gives you test results; don't take No for an answer as you have a right to see those results and complain to the Practice Manager if needed. Don't worry about fasting results as they are not as important as tests taken 2 hours after a meal. This is because of the overnight liver dump.
rebrascora
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Firstly, many congratulations on your fabulous weight loss and walking regime. That must be doing you the world of good.
44 is only ever so slightly elevated and in what we describe as the "at risk of diabetes" range which is 42-47. Diabetes is diagnosed at 48 or more and 20-41 is normal, so your 44 is a good reading for someone who has been diagnosed as "diabetic" but there is perhaps a little room for improvement. Some Type 2s may not be able to get back down to the normal range again though and should be happy to be able to maintain that sort of level in the "pre diabetic" range. As a Type 1, I would be absolutely "over the moon" with a reading of 44 and so would my consultant, so it can be a question of perspective.
Not sure where you got the info about greater than 5.5 waking reading being a problem. I don't think it is a helpful figure. The HbA1c is a much better guide. Many people experience what is known as Dawn Phenomenon, where their BG levels rise when it starts to get light as a result of their liver pumping out glucose to give them energy for the day ahead. Sometimes it doesn't happen until you swing your legs out of bed and stand up, so many of us take our waking reading as soon as we wake up and whilst still in bed as that gives us the best result. Interestingly, if you eat something straight away it can stop this rise in levels because the liver gets a message to switch off glucose production and the pancreas gets a message to produce insulin. Both of these things should improve the situation, so your intermittent fasting may not be helping your situation. The pancreas should be producing a little insulin to deal with that glucose trickle from the liver but sometimes if there is a build up of visceral fat around the liver and pancreas it causes a problem with the communication between those 2 organs so the pancreas doesn't get the message from the liver to produce more insulin to balance things but it does get the message from the stomach, so eating can just kick it into action, even if it is something relatively small, like an oat cake.
This is all greatly simplified from the very complex system which actually exists but will hopefully help you to understand what might be going on and give you something to try to improve your morning readings. Ie.... test the moment you wake up if you don't already and have something small to eat (or have breakfast straight away) and maybe test at half hour intervals after that for a few days to see what happens and get an idea if this tactic is working for you rather than perhaps having higher readings than you might like for half the morning, because you are fasting.
44 is only ever so slightly elevated and in what we describe as the "at risk of diabetes" range which is 42-47. Diabetes is diagnosed at 48 or more and 20-41 is normal, so your 44 is a good reading for someone who has been diagnosed as "diabetic" but there is perhaps a little room for improvement. Some Type 2s may not be able to get back down to the normal range again though and should be happy to be able to maintain that sort of level in the "pre diabetic" range. As a Type 1, I would be absolutely "over the moon" with a reading of 44 and so would my consultant, so it can be a question of perspective.
Not sure where you got the info about greater than 5.5 waking reading being a problem. I don't think it is a helpful figure. The HbA1c is a much better guide. Many people experience what is known as Dawn Phenomenon, where their BG levels rise when it starts to get light as a result of their liver pumping out glucose to give them energy for the day ahead. Sometimes it doesn't happen until you swing your legs out of bed and stand up, so many of us take our waking reading as soon as we wake up and whilst still in bed as that gives us the best result. Interestingly, if you eat something straight away it can stop this rise in levels because the liver gets a message to switch off glucose production and the pancreas gets a message to produce insulin. Both of these things should improve the situation, so your intermittent fasting may not be helping your situation. The pancreas should be producing a little insulin to deal with that glucose trickle from the liver but sometimes if there is a build up of visceral fat around the liver and pancreas it causes a problem with the communication between those 2 organs so the pancreas doesn't get the message from the liver to produce more insulin to balance things but it does get the message from the stomach, so eating can just kick it into action, even if it is something relatively small, like an oat cake.
This is all greatly simplified from the very complex system which actually exists but will hopefully help you to understand what might be going on and give you something to try to improve your morning readings. Ie.... test the moment you wake up if you don't already and have something small to eat (or have breakfast straight away) and maybe test at half hour intervals after that for a few days to see what happens and get an idea if this tactic is working for you rather than perhaps having higher readings than you might like for half the morning, because you are fasting.
Thank you so much for your detailed reply, it makes a lot of sense as on my fasting days (teatime to teatime) I get shaky after around 18 hours and by the time I eat I always have a headache and by whole tummy area is the last thing to lose weight so more than likely still storing visceral fat. Will experiment around with breakfast as I never eat it normally especially before getting out of bed etc and see if I can make a difference. The only reason I am so concerned is that my mum died of kidney failure and my Dr has said that I probably will, so trying very hard not to escalate it with high blood sugar. Once again many thanks.
Leadinglights
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Maybe the fasting regime is not so suitable for you and to have 3 meals a day with no snacking in between might now suit you better.
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