Getting to Grips with the new" test kit"

[Philrocks2020]

Well i bought a blood test monitor gluco Navii after reading the comments on testing yourself whilst waiting for the 3 month Hba1c.
My GP. test was 6.8 last time previously 6.6 and due in again in may. So i have been working on my carb count (another spread sheet) and have that about 122 per day .Now i did a morning test yesterday before eating it registered 8.2 then today i waited till 10.00 after going out in the garden and planting a few small trees still no meal . Then the reading was 9.4 So my question for anyone is what is happening is it normal or what?
Any ideas
Thanks Phil

Diabetes 2
Medication 1 x pill after dinner at night 7.30pm

 

[Ljc]

Hi. The Hb1ac and fingerpick tests measure different things and use different measurements.
The Hb1ac measures the glucose that has adhered to your red cells over the last three months.
and measures in mmol/mol or the very old % which they seem to have given you

Our fingerpicks are an on the spot test and tell us near enough what our BGs are now , they measure in mmol/l .
It can be very confusing when your are given your Hb1ac in the very old % as the results look like our own tests and they are not.
Here is a conversion chart between the old and the mmol/mol Hb1ac

http://baspath.co.uk/Hba1c_table.pdf

To find out how the various carbohydrates affect us so we can make informed choices is.
Test directly before eating then two hours after the first bite, if you are no higher than 3=mmol/l that meal was fine for you , initially your BGs will be high , ie pre meal say 9.0 , 2 hrs post meal 12.0 yes both are high but that meal was fine as it’s not over 3.0 higher, gradually your ore meal levels will come down.
It’s not a good idea to bring your levels down too quickly as that can cause unpleasant problems which mostly are temporary, but not always so.

The waking test if you choose to do it should be immediately on waking.

Keep a good log of your results with a food diary @nd you will soon spot patterns as well as learning what you need to cut down on, cut out and what is fine, in time you won’t need to test so often, just when your trying something new o4 to keep an eye on things.

I hope the above helps.

 

[Ljc]

Oops meant to say exercise can affect our BGs up or down.
Our BGs tend to go up in the mornings it can start anytime after 3am it’s to give us the energy to go out hunting fir our brekkie this is called DP(dawn phenomenon) .

 

[Maca44]

I would take the Metformin just before you eat give it a chance to mix with your food.

 

[Ljc]

I used to take my Metformin in the middle of a meal

 

[rebrascora]

The general advice with taking Metformin is to take it with or after food to reduce the risk of gastric upset, so I wouldn't recommend it be taken before food.

Your higher reading is likely down to Dawn Phenomenon or Foot on the Floor Syndrome where your liver releases glucose into the blood stream to give you energy to start the day. Eating food actually shuts down this process, so skipping breakfast isn't always the best plan.

As regards testing, you need to adopt a more rigorous strategy to see any benefit from it, testing before and then 2 hours after eating a meal, so that you can see how that meal affected your BG levels. It is a tried and tested system used by many people on the forum to tailor their diet to their own body's individual response to food and their personal tastes. Random tests don't take into account all sorts of other factors which affect BG levels and it is normal for levels to vary quite significantly throughout the day and night due to a large number of factors (there is a list of 42 somewhere). Food has the largest impact on levels followed by exercise but there are lots of others, Dawn Phenomenon/Foot on the Floor can raise my BG levels by 5 or 6 mmols in a matter of an hour or less. As a Type 1 I have to inject insulin to counteract it.

 

[Philrocks2020]

So once again ,thank you all for your comments, Its great to converse with all of you and it is helping me to understand more and also hopefully help others that read this.. So today i did another test, Morning test blew me away at 9.2 and probulary increased my anxiety level and upped every thing else felt sorry for my self and slightly defeated . So in a calm mind i did a test late afternoon after lunch. And whoopee well chuffed at 5.2 So your all right plan and measure and i will find that level of food vs everything else!! I think i have the carb bit sorted but with that reduction i am loosing weight. I was a year ago 11.5stone then i dropped to 10.9stone now i am 10.7stone so that's the next stage i guess carbs vs calories don't now yet what the right diet is.

Ta for now phil.

 

[Ljc]

Hi . Many people find that they lose weight just by reducing carbohydrates, so just give that a try first, as reducing carbohydrates which you do need to do with diabetes and reducing calories as well may be a little to much for you and the last thing you want to do is set yourself up to fail.
Having said that some people do need to do both 5o achieve weight loss.

Please don’t panic about high BGs first thing in the morning, as said earlier it’s usually due to DP or foot on the floor and the high morning readings are often the last to come down .
Remember too ,this morning ris is normal and the figure you gave is actually not too bad at all.

 

[rebrascora]

If you are concerned about weight loss, then adding more fat into your diet is key to stabilising things. Many of us have real double cream in our morning coffee and a chunk of cheese before bed, with or without a glass of red wine/port 😉 Choosing whole milk (blue top) over semi skimmed and creamy Greek natural yoghurt over low fat options. Have a handful of nuts as a snack. Walnuts, Brazils, hazelnuts and pecans are the lowest carb nuts. Be careful with peanuts as they are higher carb so important to restrict portion size with those particularly and they are moreish! Avocado with your salad and creamy coleslaw or full fat mayonnaise. Eggs are a great low carb food but high in protein and fat and can be eaten boiled as a snack with a dollop of mayonnaise or as a main meal in a variety of ways. Omelettes are my favourite as you can use up whatever is in the fridge as a filling and cooked in butter again adds more fat. These are the foods that those of us who follow a low carb diet use to give us energy and keep our weight stable.... and make our menu enjoyable and therefore sustainable for the long term.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Sounds like you are making great progress!

Oh, and happy birthday @Philrocks2020 🙂

 

[Philrocks2020]

Hi everyone. Just taking a bit of time reading your comments. First off thanks for the birthday wishes (lockdown 2 birthday).
Looks as though i need to eat a bit more fatty content and find some quick snack low carb things ..Been to work today breaking out concrete posts for my mate for 6 hours god hard work .I am retired landscape builder but do people favor's now and then. My diet today was porridge then egg sarnie and apple lunch .quick one back to it. Thought i would test myself at 5.00 when i got home just to see .Well weirerd 7.2 thought i would have burnt all the BG out strange...
Another mystery.

 

[Ljc]

May not be a mystery , exercise affects our blood glucose too, up or down.
It takes a while to spot the patterns.

What bread did you have
For some people porridge can be problematic.
If you test just before eating then two hours after the first bite, if that meal etc is no more than 3.0 higher than your pre meal level then that meal was fine for you

 

[trophywench]

... and your body DOES need plenty of fuel to actually do strenuous work like that - it doesn't know for the next week you plan on impersonating a couch potato - or anything else!