High Sugars

[VickyHW]

Very new to all this as only been confirmed diabetes since earlier this week after second confirmatory blood test (first HbA1C 72, second 69). I’ve been monitoring my bloods - fasting, pre and post prandial and bedtime and done one night time. Consistently high between 10 and 15 including fasting and nighttime. Not yet finding consistent food results as things are varying day to day. Had three biscuits earlier today for first time since this started as had a desperate craving. BG went from 11 to 15 within an hour, now after dinner (whole grain pasta with beef bolognese - home made and portion controlled) it’s up at 16.4.

I can’t see my Dr till the 17th but having that usual British dilemma of not knowing whether I should push to see someone sooner. Will it make much difference if I hang on or should I seek help? Just so bloody difficult to get head round this and I am reasonably familiar with all this as I had gestational diabetes and my Dad is T2.

 

[Leadinglights]

I think you have shown by your reading that the biscuits and pasta were not such good choices as they are high carbohydrate, some something other than standard pasta to go with your bolognaise. I use black bean or edamame bean pasta which is much lower carb than wheat based pasta or just have some green veg.
I hope you have started to keep a food diary as that will give you a starting point to discuss with your Dr. Meanwhile keep a watchful eye on the amount of carbs you are having and continue to test and record that against your meals.

 

[Pumper_Sue]

With numbers that high and esp fasting and during the night I would suspect you are type1 rather than 2.
So you need to either ring the surgery tomorrow and demand to be seen sooner than next Thursday or go to A&E.
Mean while lower the amount of carbs you are eating until you are on the right treatment. Drink plenty of water to keep your kidneys flushed as much as possible.

It's more than normal in later life to be automatically diagnosed as type2 rather than looking into the possibility of you being type 1.

 

[VickyHW]

Thank you both I will contact the surgery tomorrow. I am also keeping a food diary and have started counting carbs as well. It’s leading to some surprises as I presumed bananas would raise levels but they didn’t seem to. It is early days though and thankfully I like research!

 

[Pumper_Sue]

I presumed bananas would raise levels but they didn’t seem to.

The more ripe the banana is the quicker it will spike your blood sugars.

 

[Struma]

Thank you both I will contact the surgery tomorrow. I am also keeping a food diary and have started counting carbs as well. It’s leading to some surprises as I presumed bananas would raise levels but they didn’t seem to. It is early days though and thankfully I like research!

I too tolerate the majority of fruits with minimal BG rises. For me, flour is the bête noir.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

It would be interesting to see what happened if you had a couple of days where you really restricted your carb intake as an experiment.

There are a number of swaps that some members make, like caulifllower ‘rice’ and spiralised courgette as an alternative to pasta.

Then if a very low carb day seems to have an effect, you can look at developing a more sustainable long-term more moderate approach.

 

[VickyHW]

Threw the baby out with the bath water today after speaking to an out of hours GP who my surgery had booked for me to speak to back on Friday when I felt really ill and was worried. I basically got told to stop testing and stop worrying my pretty little head, just go do some walking and eat a little better. This was after telling him that my levels overnight were up at 15 and were then at 18. So I had a cream slice and chocolate biscuit. Yes I know it’s me I’m hurting but I felt so patronised it really irked me. As a person with an existing invisible disease I thought I was used to patronising doctors but obviously not. Had a word with myself now.

 

[Leadinglights]

I think you are very justified in feeling upset, that was an appalling attitude from somebody who is supposed to be professional and empathetic with their patients.
If all GPs could be like those portrayed on GPs behind closed doors on TV.

 

[Drummer]

Threw the baby out with the bath water today after speaking to an out of hours GP who my surgery had booked for me to speak to back on Friday when I felt really ill and was worried. I basically got told to stop testing and stop worrying my pretty little head, just go do some walking and eat a little better. This was after telling him that my levels overnight were up at 15 and were then at 18. So I had a cream slice and chocolate biscuit. Yes I know it’s me I’m hurting but I felt so patronised it really irked me. As a person with an existing invisible disease I thought I was used to patronising doctors but obviously not. Had a word with myself now.

Hmmm - yes, that is not the attitude we should expect.
I can only encourage you to avoid the high carb foods, even wholemeal ones, and to keep testing. If your GP surgery can't help and you begin to feel unwell with those high numbers then calling 111 or going to a walk in clinic or even A & E might be possibilities.