First day of Glucose testing

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Nidge76

Nidge76

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Having been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes last week I am only currently on 1 Metformin a day (with breakfast) as I build up to 3 a day over the coming 3 weeks.

I ordered a glucose meter and started using it for the first time yesterday.

I am using the Accu-Chek finger stabber and initially thought I had loaded the drum incorrectly so removed it then realised it couldn't be put back in so that was 6 needles wasted! I then stabbed myself twice to no effect, so adjusted the depth gauge and all was good.

My waking reading yesterday morning was 8.9 mmol.

I had made some overnight oats for breakfast, but somehow got it wrong so they got binned and ended up having 2 slices of wholemeal bread with hoummos and cheese.

My after breakfast reading was 9.7 mmol.

For lunch I had some salad with dressing, 2 chicken drumsticks and a small piece of chorizo.

My reading before lunch was 6.4 mmol and 2 hours after was 9.4 mmol.

Mid afternoon I had a banana.

For dinner I had chicken tikka masala curry, brown rice and roasted aubergine.

My reading before dinner was 7.7 mmol and after dinner was 10.3 mmol.

For supper I had 1 low carb beer (my first and only beer since I went to the Dr's 10 days ago) and some pistachios.

My waking reading this morning was 10.3 mmol.

I know there are a lot of dietary improvements to be made, but so far I have found doing a food diary, alongside using the Nutracheck app and doing the readings a valuable insight into what is going on with my body.

Thanks for reading if you got this far.
 
Now you have you monitor it will show you what are not going to be good choices in the quantity and combination you are having. For example toast and hummus both high carb, banana high carb, rice high carb, so some potential for some alternatives that would be lower carb. I am surprised your lunch showed such an increase.
A good start on the testing so keep your food diary along with your readings of before the meal and after 2 hours, you want to be aiming for no more than 2-3mmol/l increase and as you make adjustments to your dietary regime then aiming at no more than 8.5mmol/l 2 hours post meal is good.
 
I’ve done that before with the drum! Very annoying. But your new one will last you six years as we traditionally only change our lancets once a year on St Swithen’s Day! 😉
Good luck on your quest. You’ve taken the first step by getting a metre. It’s the single most important tool to help you on your diabetes journey.
 
Yes, there's a lot of high carb stuff there. I ditched bread, rice and pasta straight away after diagnosis and my BG is generally between 4 and 5.6 in the morning and after meals between 4-7 (Usually between 4-6, but I find that a coffee causes a small increase, as does stress at work!) Vegetables I eat are tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, leeks, onions, peppers, brocolli usually with a fish or chicken dish. I also make a daal and chicken curry that lasts for a few days - lentils don't seem to cause me any issues with blood sugar levels.

For snacks I have almonds, pistachios or Walnuts or maybe a Satsuma or two. Yesterday I snacked on 3 Nairns oat cakes without rise in BG (They are about 5g each).

I also eat a lot of Greek Yoghurt (Fage 2%) with berries, sometimes mixed with pure peanut butter.

I used to love a Cappuccino but stick to black coffee, although I have had a sneaky one and testing didn't show any real rise in BG - I prefer not to risk it, though.

Good luck! I actually have found that the food I'm eating is far tastier than what I used to eat before, and it's all made from fresh ingredients.
 
@Leadinglights the only explanation I can think of with regards to the higher after lunch reading is that only currently having 1 tablet a day means once it wear off I get a gradual build up anyway? I'm not sure if it works like that.

With regards to carbs, I probably need more alternatives. I'm so used to eating them that I think changing them to brown and reducing them will improve things, but maybe it won't be enough.
 
@harbottle I enjoy many of the things you mentioned there. Maybe apart from the lentils. I will have to try them again as I haven't had them in years.
 
Nidge76 said:
@Leadinglights the only explanation I can think of with regards to the higher after lunch reading is that only currently having 1 tablet a day means once it wear off I get a gradual build up anyway? I'm not sure if it works like that.

With regards to carbs, I probably need more alternatives. I'm so used to eating them that I think changing them to brown and reducing them will improve things, but maybe it won't be enough.
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No the metformin doesn't work directly on food, so that is unlikely to be the reason. The metformin helps the body use the insulin it produces more effectively.
 
Nidge76 said:
@Leadinglights the only explanation I can think of with regards to the higher after lunch reading is that only currently having 1 tablet a day means once it wear off I get a gradual build up anyway? I'm not sure if it works like that.

With regards to carbs, I probably need more alternatives. I'm so used to eating them that I think changing them to brown and reducing them will improve things, but maybe it won't be enough.
Click to expand...

Metformin does a few things like reducing glucose production in the liver and improving sensitivity to insulin (Although they don't seem to understand how this works.). I've read a few research papers that show an average reduction of around 1.1% on hba1c with a 1000mg dose...
 
Watch out for the lentils. Some people seem able to extract more carbs from them than the listed amounts - I am one of them, and need to multiply the carbs by 1.8.
I avoid oats as even though some people can eat them, I spike. I still have lots of things I can eat, just need to refer to the list of low carb foods I keep in my notebook for inspiration when shopping.
 
Glad to hear you are finding your food diary and BG monitor helpful @Nidge76

Reactions to foods can be very individual, so it’s very much a matter or trial and error, tweaking portion sizes, and trying various swaps and options to find a menu that works for you. Hopefully by aiming to keep your ‘meal rises’ as low as possible you will begin to see your overall levels gently reduce over the coming weeks and months. Newcomers often seem to find that it is their waking/breakfast levels which are the last to come into line.

Are you aiming for weight loss alongside your focus on BG levels?
 
Thanks for your reply. As I make adjustments I can very quickly see what the problem foods are. I had a very small portion of wheat noodles last night and unsurprisingly it spiked my blood sugars. This morning I purchased some edamame pasta so be good to see the difference it makes.

I'm only on 1 tablet a day at the moment and my last test of the day 2 hours after dinner is the highest figure and then in the morning it is still fairly high.

I'm within the top end of healthy weight/BMI although this is partly due to feeling rough the last 2 to 3 months so I have lost half a stone anyway. It wouldn't hurt to lose a few more pounds, but that isn't really a concern, it's more about maintaining and eating the right things.
 
I got myself a cauliflower today to try it out. If I like it, which I am sure I will, it will be a godsend as I eat a lot of Chinese and Indian food with rice and it sounds like a great substitute.
 
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