First prick test results

[Essex]

Hello all!

So, I went to the diabetes specialist with my latests HbAc1 test results which are still at:
48 mmol/mol, 6.5% (estimated average 140 mg/dL, 7.8 mmol/dL)

So I'm borderline
She told me that diet and exercise etc will help but eventually meds will be needed (my mum and her mum have / had Type 2)

She also gave me a test machine (Contour Next) with some sample strips and lancets, and a prescription for more.
Apparently its all free here in Portugal if you are diabetic

This morning I tested the below:

I was trying to see what would happen and had an idea that the Weetabix could cause a 'spike'.
I didnt eat or drink anything after breakfast as a control.

• 07:30 Waking 5.3 (half hour after waking but no food or drink)
• 07:45 Breakfast - 2 Weetabix with lactose free semi-skimmed milk + cuppa
• 08:45 6.8 (Δ +1.6)
• 09:45 4.3 (Δ -2.5)
• 10:45 4.2 (Δ -0.2 / -2.7)

At the last reading at 10:45 I was definitely getting symptoms of hypoglycemia (lethargy, impaired mental functioning; irritability; shaking, etc from Wikapedia - I know them well) I wasnt too bad but I could feel it coming on and it was enough that when I had my wholegrain toast and lactose free cheese (I am intolerant) just after the last reading I choked ramming it into my gob with my shaking hands, kicking the dog out of the way in a fury (OK this last bit is a bit of embellishment - I love my dawg - but if anyone gets between me and my food in these times I am dangerous!) and now feel well enough to keep my thoughts together to write this

Funnily enough I felt fine at 9:45 and to all intents and purposes this and the last reading were the same. Strange

Also, so far I dont seem to have been above a reading of 7, so I am not sure where my high HbAc1 results, which indicate and estimated average of 7.8 over the last 3 months, if I understand correctly.

So, can anyone help me shed some light on this? Specifically:

1. How am I getting such strong 'hypo's when the reading say I am still in the normal person limit?
2. If my levels are always lower than 7 and seem to be mostly around 5, how did my HbAc1 results get so high (although I impatiently am posting before I have checked at lunch and dinner)
   

 

[trophywench]

Mmmmm - the HbA1c test for un-needed glucose which had adhered to red blood cells for the last 90-ish days, reflects the state of your BG every second of every day during that time, not just around mealtimes. To get such 'violent' hypo symptoms it usually means that your body is used to running at much high levels of BG for quite a while. Hence if only testing before and after meals, there are a lot of seconds when you're not testing, aren't there?

What you could do is planned testing and do a test say every 2 hours, to try and see what's happening ?

 

[Essex]

Thanks @trophywench

Interesting that 'phantom' hypo symptoms could be due to history of high BG levels, I did overindulge for years on Portuguese pastries (easy to do) and eating in general and got a bit overweight.

Could my previous heavy and frequent history of (social) drinking have sent my BG set points (thermostat) out of wack?

Yes, what I understand is that the test points are just snapshots and the HbAc1 test is a 'moving' average with a 'window' from approx three months before the blood sample is taken

I think it is probably that in the 3 months before my last HbAc1 test I had given up and added sugar and cakes etc but was still eating a lot of carbs.

At the moment my BG seems to be low (unless there are any spikes I missed) but anyway, the area under the curve is pretty normal AFAICT and gives an average reading that is way below the estimated 7.8 of my last blood test (which isnt actually that high at all I am beginning to think)

Yesterday:


Today I homed in on the post breakfast spike by taking a reading after half an hour, as well:

Doing this it was obvious that today's post breakfast BG's are significantly higher - same breakfast but I also had a glass of oat milk with my Weetabix today.

No added sugar in that oat milk (ALDI) but for the 250ml glass it says 23g carbs (of which 12 sugars), compared to the 2 weetabix which says 26g carbs (of which 1.6 sugars)

So I think that this means that the oat milk is pretty high in sugar - especially as I normally drink a big glass of 500 ml?
Well, it significantly raised my BG compared to yesterday anyway.

But after 2 hours I was back down to 6.6 again

 

[rebrascora]

Great looking graph for your first days readings and it looks like you are already getting to grips with how your body works and looking at nutritional information and deducing things from that. The only thing I would say is not to draw any conclusions from one single incident. So try the oat milk again another day with the same breakfast and see if you get consistent results before you ditch it.
You may be interested to know that cream has less carbs than milk, so you might experiment with a little cream on your Weetabix instead. The fat in the cream will slow down the digestion of the carbs from the Weetabix and it makes it more enjoyable and it provides slow release energy throughout the morning. I tend to have cream in my coffee every morning and I have creamy Greek yoghurt with nuts and seeds and berries for breakfast, but you are getting great results from your Weetabix, so stick with that if you enjoy it.

 

[Essex]

update, definite hypo coming on, difficult to put strip in machine and touch to drop of blood with shaking
not worried but wanted to catch the BG, its not even too low - 3.6



will eat now

 

[rebrascora]

That looks like a touch of Reactive Hypoglycaemia, where your pancreas is working a little slowly and then over compensating by producing too much insulin when it does kick in. You might be better with a lower carb breakfast option like eggs scrambled/ boiled etc with maybe just one small slice of seeded toast or yoghurt and berries and seeds like i mentioned above. Worth trying for a couple of mornings to see what happens.

 

[Essex]

Thanks @rebrascora
I was thinking of moving more to greek yoghurt etc, but I am lactose intolerant so have to find a lactose free version without too much sugar
By the way, I am in Portugal, so not same stuff available as in UK. ALDI only has lactose free yoghurt, its where I shop as its close

 

[rebrascora]

I wonder if the Newcastle diet/Fast 800 diet might not be more effective for you.

My thinking is that perhaps your liver and pancreas are bound up with fat and not communicating properly. That sudden drop and good post meal readings suggest that you are not suffering much insulin resistance but there is a problem regulating your insulin response. I'm guessing a bit of fatty liver might be going on. I think you might benefit from the rapid weight loss program to strip your body of that visceral fat and enable better communication between liver and pancreas effectively putting you into remission, by those organs being able to work effectively and balance things better rather than going the low carb route. You might want to do some research on Prof Roy Taylor's work. I think it is probably particularly effective if you are carrying weight around your upper abdomen ie where the liver and pancreas are located.
I know I had developed a hard area there which was making it difficult for me to bend down and tie shoelaces etc. It had developed over time so I didn't really notice it but I certainly noticed it when I lost it. It was like a solid block preventing my rib cage and torso from bending there. Funny how you don't notice things until they are gone!

Anyway, those are my thoughts mostly because that graph suggests that you are not showing any obvious insulin resistance.

 

[Essex]

Thanks @rebrascora !
I think that may well be very interesting!
Funnily enough my mate from home (deepest NORTH Essex - I'm an Essex snob 🙂) who's wife did her master's dissertation on this type of stuff recommended Prof Taylor's work (from Newcastle Uni I think) He sent me a BMJ article 'Nutritional Basis of Type 2 diabetes remission' I must read.

My Liver enzyme values have been out for a while now, and have a fatty liver. Its not over the top in terms of normal size etc but its fatty, apparently.
When my new med insurance kicks in I am booked up to have a scan with brand new equipment that can tell how much fatty, fibrous etc material is there.

It was pursuing this and the bloating that I had (shoelaces no go!) - which is now sorted as was my acid reflux (no pantoprazol for ages) when my great gastro doc helped me realise that I was lactose intolerant 🙂 - that flagged up the HbAc1 levels.

I am 5'3", 54, and was always around 8 stone when younger,
I got to 11 stone 7 (helped by lifestyle, age etc) 😱
But now I am down to 10 stone 1

However, I still have fat around my stomach from epigastric-umbilical and in suprapubic regions (I just looked them up 🙂 )

Anyway, everything you say 'clicks' with my thoughts and observations!

Exercise has lapsed recently too ....