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Starshine

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Type 2
Just want say hello. I'm feeling very very low tonight. Have been given a free trial of Libre2 and really need this to be a turning point but I've been shocked to see that the first reading, at 9pm, was 19.5. I have never to my knowledge at least, been anywhere near that level before. Tomorrow I shall start to test the meals that I love and take it from there. I am recently bereaved and that has had a detrimental effect on my self care but I really do need to get back in control. I doubt I can afford to carry on with the CGM after the trial so I need to glean all I can from it. I'm just rambling but will look around the forums tomorrow. My reading is now 15.9 and I haven't eaten since 6pm.
Goodnight, sleep well.
 
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Hi and welcome.

Really sorry to hear that you have lost someone close to you. Sincerest condolences. It is very hard during such times and I think many of us turn to food for comfort. I know I do, but of course it isn't good for our diabetes. If you can motivate yourself and you are fit to do so, walking can also be a comfort and a healthier one at that, so when you feel the need for a piece of chocolate or cake or biscuit, maybe try that instead.

As regards your high Libre reading, it is important to understand Libre (and other Constant Glucose Monitoring systems) limitations and quirks. They are designed to be reasonably "reliable" in range (4-10) but above and indeed below range they can be quite a bit further out. In general it usually exaggerates the highs and the lows (for those of us on insulin) so your 19 might actually have been nearer 15. They are also often a bit erratic for the first day or so and many of us find that applying the sensor the day before we intend to activate it can be helpful in giving our body time to respond to the foreign body which has just been inserted into it. However, you have started yours now so that is more a piece of advice for the future, should you decide to try another one..... or this one becomes faulty and you get a replacement. Often when you look at the graph later it doesn''t show the graph line going as high as 19, even though you got a reading that high and generally the graph line is closer to the actual level. You also need to be aware that is you apply a lot of pressure to the sensor like lying on it in your sleep it will give you a false low which we refer to as a "compression low", so don't panic and think you are having a hypo if the alarm goes off overnight. The advice is to always double check very high or low readings with a finger prick before taking action (like injecting extra insulin or eating fast acting carbs to treat a hypo, unless you feel obviously hypo) CGM are wonderful bits of kit but they are not totally trustworthy, so use it to give you some useful guidance but don't get too worried about the actual numbers, particularly when they are out of range.

Hopefully you will be able to start reducing those high levels with help from the info it gives you but if you are fairly consistently in double figures and you can't get it down through dietary changes, then you need to speak to your GP or Diabetes Nurse and accept some medicinal help. There is no shame in that. Some people are able to manage their diabetes through lifestyle changes but others need medication. It is a bit of a lottery, but all you can do is try it and see and seek help if you can't get levels down into range and find a long term, sustainable way of eating to keep them there. I had 6 weeks of progressively stricter dietary cuts to get my levels down until it almost felt like I was eating cardboard every day and had to accept at that point that I needed insulin. I admit that I cried because I felt like I had failed but I absolutely needed it and I could not have tried any harder, nor could I have sustained that diet for the rest of my life, so you do have to be pragmatic about it.

Best of luck and do let us know how you get on and remember it is absolutely normal for BG levels to go up and down in response to all sorts of factors, not just food and exercise and medication, but hormones and illness and ambient temperature and alcohol and lots of other stuff. The great thing about Libre is that we are looking to keep our levels within the 4-10 range 70% of the time, not 100%. If you can achieve 70% TIR (Time In Range) you are doing well, if you can do better than that, brilliant! If you can't manage 70% after giving it a good go, then perhaps you need medication or an adjustment to your medication.
 
Starshine said:
I've been shocked to see that the first reading, at 9pm, was 19.5. I have never to my knowledge at least, been anywhere near that level before.
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You might not be near that value now. With any libre reading you don’t expect you must fingerprick. Libre is less accurate for highs and lows.
 
Thank you both. I am taking Metformin 500mg and my last HB1ac level was 50.
When I look at the graph as suggested the average since applying the meter is 15.3.
I have just eaten my first meal which took me from 7.3 to 13.6 after an hour and an waiting for the two hour reading.
Rebrascora, thank you for the detailed reply. I shall read it through again and take some notes.
 
Starshine said:
Thank you both. I am taking Metformin 500mg and my last HB1ac level was 50.
When I look at the graph as suggested the average since applying the meter is 15.3.
I have just eaten my first meal which took me from 7.3 to 13.6 after an hour and an waiting for the two hour reading.
Rebrascora, thank you for the detailed reply. I shall read it through again and take some notes.
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Those sound quite high reading if your HbA1C was only 50mmol/mol. When I was diagnosed at that level my waking readings were 7.5 - 8.5. Once I had made dietary changes to low carb my 2 hour post meal were generally all below 8.
It was by keeping a food diary of everything I ate and drank and estimating the carbs that I was able to make changes to cut out all the high carb foods to achieve that. My HbA1Cwas down to 42mmol/mol in 3 months.
It certainly looks like your meal was too high in carbs so you might want to look at this linkto give you some ideas for low carb meals, there are some meal plans but it was by following the principals that I was able to make the changes. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
 
What was the meal you ate? Obviously that is a much larger rise that is ideal, so it is likely that something in that meal is spiking you and needs cutting down on the portion size or replacing with an alternative. If you can tell us what you had we might be able to suggest alternatives which should be more BG friendly.
 
Thank you all.
My level is 9.7 after 2 hours.
I had one slice of Hovis granary bread with a slice of roast beef and 1tsp horseradish sauce. I only ever have one slice of bread but may have to give that up too. It is one of my favourite lunches so I thought that's the best thing to do - test them all and learn from it.
 
That doesn't look too bad at all then if your pre meal reading was 7.3. I'm afraid I misread your post and didn't spot that the 13.6 was just 1 hour after eating. The important thing is that your body has managed to bring it down quite promptly and if you can stick with meals like that then your starting levels should gradually start to come down into range and the height of the peaks will reduce. So yes, it looks like one slice of Hovis granary is probably OK for you.
 
Starshine said:
Now down to 8.2
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That is getting more reasonable, so don't ditch things just yet until you have tested a few times with the same meal.
Bread can be challenging for some people but you may find a lower carb bread, there are some around which will give you a better outcome. Your aim is 4-7 before meals and no more than 8-8.5 2 hours post meal.
 
You have both given me a boost! Yes I shall test that meal again. I also need to test my porridge which I eat fairly regularly to help with digestion problems. I have it at lunch time as I tend not to have breakfast. Tonight's final meal will be chicken with some roasted peppers and courgettes.
I have felt very foggy headed lately and wake up feeling absolutely worn out so I'm hoping I will start to feel better if I can get to a good place with my bloods.
 
High BG levels do make you feel foggy and dull, particularly if they are high overnight, so hopefully these meals will all work out for you and help you to keep those levels down in single figures. Having porridge at lunchtime or in the evening might make it easier for your body to cope than at breakfast as we are all usually a bit more insulin resistant in the morning, so having a carb rich food like porridge then, can make our levels high to start the day and then we can be fighting a losing battle. Porridge was the last carb rich food that I gave up to get my levels down and some testing showed me it is like rocket fuel as far as my body s concerned and no sign of the slow release reputation it is supposed to have. You can however make a kind of porridge from other lower carb ingredients if you find it does spike you too much..... things like ground almonds and psyllium husk provide lots of helpful fibre and protein and healthy fats without the carbs, or you can try making it from oat bran which is higher in fibre but lower in carbs instead of milled whole oats. There are always plenty of other options if something doesn't work. I now really enjoy creamy Greek style natural yoghurt with mixed seeds and cinnamon and mixed berries or currently stewed rhubarb and instead of sugar or sweetener in the rhubarb, I have been adding a spoon of dark rich homemade Seville marmalade which I was given. Yes, it contains a bit of sugar but in my couple of dollops of rhubarb that I have in my yoghurt there are only a couple of grams of sugar but lots of flavour and enough sweetness to take the edge off the rhubarb. I have come to the conclusion that a little bit of sugar might be preferable to using lots of sweetener which I was doing.... and not particularly enjoying the result anyway.
 
Bread is also something I struggle with but for some reason Nimbe is fine I can have 2 slices, either toast with eggs and bacon and mushrooms, or a sandwich with chicken or ham, and salad. I have also discovered a really nice bread form Marks and Spencers its half and half full slices but i cut the crusts off cut down the size of the slices, and I didn't have a problem with it, strange how some breads even the same carbs have sent my BS up.its worth trying different breads, if you like a more solid brown bread you could try Sainsburys Ho Lo which is low carb and really nice.
 
Honestly, these informative replies have made such a difference to the way in feeling. There is so much to learn and I feel more determined to sit myself out. It is giving me something to focus on after losing someone very close and I thank you all for that.
I changed my plan for this evening's meal and had 98% pork sausages with poached eggs. I am stunned to see that, from a 7.1 start, my level fell to 5.6 at one hour and is at 6 after two hours! Obviously a good occasional indulgence for me.
 
So pleased you are feeling more positive about tackling this and those are excellent results tonight.
Not sure if you like veggies or not but they are good for you. Some cabbage or broccoli with your sausages and egg would be a good option. I love cabbage shredded and done in the microwave for 2-3 mins and then tossed in the bacon fat when I have bacon and mushrooms and eggs and then I serve the eggs on the cabbage so that any yolk can be mopped up by the cabbage instead of tempting me to have bread. I also buy sour cream and chive dip from the deli counter and have that with broccoli (cooked for 3.5 mins in the microwave) and that goes well with sausages or chilli. I try to fit veg in wherever I can and in fact I often break open a jar of pickled beetroot or pickled gherkins and have those with my fry up if I can't be bothered to cook veg or don't have fresh veg in the house.
 
@Starshine If you find that bread is something to avoid, try spreading the horseradish on the beef, cut it into strips and put them into a lettuce leaf with some coleslaw if you like it, wrap the lettuce leaf around to hold it all together. They are as portable as sandwiches and definitely finger food.
We had sausages for dinner tonight, and there are a couple left - I do lettuce wraps with cold sausages and sweet pickle, or cold chicken. I really do find low carb options are rather tasty.
 
Thank you both! I am loving all these suggestions and have noted them this morning. I do like veg and salad too but I must make more of an effort to prepare them as I haven't been motivated to do much actually food prep of late. The cabbage and bacon does sound delicious though! And the beef without the bread is something to try when I want to use my carb allowance elsewhere but I'm pleased that one slice was fine for me yesterday. I will test that again today. I really appreciate those of you who have given their time to help me start again.
Disappointed to see my level at 9.1 this morning before eating (haven't eaten yet) but have been reading up about that and am confident that it will be another good day. Hope you all have a good one too!
 
I have just tested yesterday's lunch again - 7.1 to 12.2 (is this too much of a spike at 1 hour?) and right down to 6.5 after 2 hours. I'm guessing I can add this to my lunches list now?
I'll be delighted if that's the case - first beef and horseradish on one slice of granary with salad.
 
Starshine said:
I have just tested yesterday's lunch again - 7.1 to 12.2 (is this too much of a spike at 1 hour?) and right down to 6.5 after 2 hours. I'm guessing I can add this to my lunches list now?
I'll be delighted if that's the case - first beef and horseradish on one slice of granary with salad.
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Don't worry about the 1hr after lunch result (Libre exaggerates 🙄 ). It is the 2 hours after which is important and shows that your body coped well and brought you down quickly to 6.5, so yes, that lunch is fine.
 
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