Hallo everyone

[Carmen_Miranda]

I have been a Pre-Diabetic (or Impaired Glucose?) for over a year now and I am managing fine with blood testing and diet etc., I think? However, I seem to be an oddball in that whilst I get a delay in insulin response after eating, with a spike peaking at one hour, I am back to normal after two hours, sometimes lower than pre-prandial. From what I gather, delayed insulin is normally associated with a delay at the back end to normal postprandial, so that, in effect, the two hour period is shifted to the right. It's as though I am getting a big burst of insulin (albeit a bit late), and I am left with a level of insulin higher than necessary after two hours, if that makes sense. I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas on how I can manage this better.

 

[Mark T]

Welcome to the forum Carmen_Miranda 🙂

I'm sure some one very clever will be very helpful with your question soon - but the only thing that popped into my mind was - are you eating Low GI / Low GL?

 

[LeeLee]

Hello Carmen_Miranda, welcome to the forum. Sorry I can't answer you either. With test strips rationed the way they are for many of us T2s, I've only ever tested at 2 hours.

 

[Northerner]

Hi Carmen_Miranda, welcome to the forum 🙂 I think this delayed response is quite common in pre-diabetes and Type 2, so you are not alone. Ideally, you should try and eat meals that will release energy slowly so that your tardy pancreas gets a chance to catch up with the digestion of your food and its conversion to glucose. What sort of things do you tend to eat? Are you familiar with the Low GL/GI Diet? If not it would be worth getting hold of a copy of The GL Diet for Dummies, which is a good introduction 🙂

 

[Carmen_Miranda]

Thanks for welcome and thoughts already!

I eat what I would call a normal diet so it is a mix of low, medium and high GI, but I couldn't be precise about the split. I've only just learnt about GL so am not sure about that ... will have to do some more work on it.

I am a small, slim lady (size 6) and I never eat anything before lunchtime (just fags and coffee ... I know!). I'm wondering if I should try eating little and often (graze) to reduce spiking and, therefore, insulin 'burst' and residue, and also give any remaining insulin something to work on through eating more frequently. My work would allow me to eat this way.

 

[Northerner]

I eat what I would call a normal diet so it is a mix of low, medium and high GI, but I couldn't be precise about the split. I've only just learnt about GL so am not sure about that ... will have to do some more work on it.

I am a small, slim lady (size 6) and I never eat anything before lunchtime (just fags and coffee ... I know!). I'm wondering if I should try eating little and often (graze) to reduce spiking and, therefore, insulin 'burst' and residue, and also give any remaining insulin something to work on through eating more frequently. My work would allow me to eat this way.

It sounds like you may have 'reactive hypoglycaemia'. It would probably help if you 'spread the load' a bit. The most important thing, of course, is what you are eating and how it affects you personally. Everyone has different tolerances to different foods, so what one person is fine with, another may struggle with. If you have good access to test strips, it would be well worth following a comprehensive testing strategy so that you can learn your tolerances and patterns and then adjust accordingly. Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S is a good description of how to do this efficiently 🙂

How about exercise? Getting regular exercise will make you more insulin-sensitive and may lessen the spikes. 🙂

 

[Carmen_Miranda]

Reactive Hypoglycaemia

It sounds like you may have 'reactive hypoglycaemia'. It would probably help if you 'spread the load' a bit. The most important thing, of course, is what you are eating and how it affects you personally. Everyone has different tolerances to different foods, so what one person is fine with, another may struggle with. If you have good access to test strips, it would be well worth following a comprehensive testing strategy so that you can learn your tolerances and patterns and then adjust accordingly. Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S is a good description of how to do this efficiently 🙂

How about exercise? Getting regular exercise will make you more insulin-sensitive and may lessen the spikes. 🙂

Just took a look at reactive hypoglycaemia from your link and it seems to fit my experience. It suggests little and often and also to make sure there is protein in each meal, which is not necessarily the case with me.

There is definitely a delay in my insulin production and I can drop below the starting point within 2 hours, although usually more, sometimes with a reading below the 'official baseline' of 4.0 and with mild hypo symptoms. I'll give this a try and let people know how I get on. Thanks for suggestions.