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I’m a newbie and need a little help getting head around things
- Thread starter Eve H
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Eve H
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I have a list
Why does my blood sugar ready high first thing in the morning?
Do other people get upset when the really want something but realise it’s not good for you? I really miss crisps and chocolate digestive biscuits.
When use a finger prick test what reading should I be looking for before and after meals?
Why does drinking more, make me feel colder?
I know it’s stupid but it’s scary for me
Why does my blood sugar ready high first thing in the morning?
Do other people get upset when the really want something but realise it’s not good for you? I really miss crisps and chocolate digestive biscuits.
When use a finger prick test what reading should I be looking for before and after meals?
Why does drinking more, make me feel colder?
I know it’s stupid but it’s scary for me
Eve H
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- Type 2
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They said it was 58 and that they wanted me to try changing my diet and exercise regimen first.
I have been taking more care with what I eat and have increased my daily steps from 5000 to a minimum of 8000. I work in office so my steps are terrible I’m up to about 9500 now. I also took up yoga once a week
Drummer
Well-Known Member
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- Type 2
The high levels in the morning are down to our liver releasing glucose to start the day.
If you cut out the carbs which you can avoid then eating some of the things you crave might be OK as your HbA1c is not that much above the diagnostic level.
I used my tester to check that my levels were not going high after meals. I started off checking both before and after, but once I was seeing under 8mmol/l after eating - that is 2 hours after starting to eat, I just checked afterwards, and only if I was not certain about what I'd eaten.
Once my levels were at 8 I just kept on with the same sorts of meal and levels of carb and my HbA1c dropped quickly to 47 and then 41 at 6 months. It has stayed at the top end of normal ever since, except for a slight increase which I wasn't told about during lockdown, and I only learned about it a year later when it was no longer relevant. My GP surgery is somewhat less than informative.
If you cut out the carbs which you can avoid then eating some of the things you crave might be OK as your HbA1c is not that much above the diagnostic level.
I used my tester to check that my levels were not going high after meals. I started off checking both before and after, but once I was seeing under 8mmol/l after eating - that is 2 hours after starting to eat, I just checked afterwards, and only if I was not certain about what I'd eaten.
Once my levels were at 8 I just kept on with the same sorts of meal and levels of carb and my HbA1c dropped quickly to 47 and then 41 at 6 months. It has stayed at the top end of normal ever since, except for a slight increase which I wasn't told about during lockdown, and I only learned about it a year later when it was no longer relevant. My GP surgery is somewhat less than informative.
Eve H
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Thank you that helps
Inka
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It’s not stupid to be scared about a health condition 🙂 These are the targets:
If you have type 2 diabetes
- before meals: 4 to 7mmol/l
- two hours after meals: less than 8.5mmol/l
It’s completely normal to miss foods when you start a new way of eating. Focus on all the nice things you can still have and perhaps have some non-food treats instead.
Vonny
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- Type 2
As @Inka says, it's absolutely not stupid. It's super-scary to start off with, in fact I thought my life was over!
I was addicted to bread and potatoes and the thought of not eating them again was scary as heck. After a couple of weeks the cravings stopped, and now I'm able to eat what were my favourite food occasionally. I say "were" because they are no longer my go-to staples and while I enjoy them now and then, the craving to have them day in, day out has gone.
Many people on here say their sweet tooth has gone, and that puddings etc taste too sweet.
It's a question of finding out what balance works for you. I still keep a food diary every day: carbs, cals and cals expended as relayed by my trusty fitbit. This is really useful, but only if you're brutally honest with yourself.
All diabetics are different...you will find your own way of managing in time. Very best of luck x
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Welcome to the forum @Eve H
Sounds like you are off to a great start! And I agree with others - there’s nothing silly about being scared by a diagnosis with diabetes - it’s a serious and potentially devastating condition. But the good news is that it can usually be well managed with a few tweaks and changes, and that there are lots of options and alternatives to try which can help you manage your diabetes well.
Ah the pesky liver! There’s a long running forum joke about our cave dwelling forebears needing a bit of a boost first thing so that they could go out and snaffle a woolly mammoth for breakfast, or something like that. But yes, as has been mentioned the liver and muscles have stores of glucose which are trickled out 24/7, so glucose levels can rise even when you aren’t eating. There’s often a boost of glucose either in the early hours just before dawn (the Dawn Phenomenon) or as soon as you get out of bed (which we often can Foot on the Floor Phenomenon).
Good luck with everything. And allow yourself time to adjust and adapt. You are doing brilliantly so far - keep going!
Sounds like you are off to a great start! And I agree with others - there’s nothing silly about being scared by a diagnosis with diabetes - it’s a serious and potentially devastating condition. But the good news is that it can usually be well managed with a few tweaks and changes, and that there are lots of options and alternatives to try which can help you manage your diabetes well.
Ah the pesky liver! There’s a long running forum joke about our cave dwelling forebears needing a bit of a boost first thing so that they could go out and snaffle a woolly mammoth for breakfast, or something like that. But yes, as has been mentioned the liver and muscles have stores of glucose which are trickled out 24/7, so glucose levels can rise even when you aren’t eating. There’s often a boost of glucose either in the early hours just before dawn (the Dawn Phenomenon) or as soon as you get out of bed (which we often can Foot on the Floor Phenomenon).
Yep. I think everyone gets that from time to time. And allowing yourself a little freedom every so often is a good strategy. Plus finding other (BG friendly) treats that you enjoy just as much, like nuts and seeds, or olives. These changes can be harder in the early months. A lot of eating is habitual. you’ll miss them less and less as time goes on - and then can really enjoy them once in a while (or actually decide they weren’t all that nice after all, and you now prefer x or y)
@Inka has given you the recommended numbers above. In the early exploratory phase many members here focus more on before/after meal differences, than the numbers themselves. Taking a reading immediately before a meal, and 2hrs after the first bite. And looking for a ‘meal rise’ of 2-3mmol/L or less at 2hrs. So a meal that gives a rise of 8.5 before and 10.5 after (a rise of 2.0) is good, even though the numbers themselves are a bit on the high side. Keeping the meal rises low helps your numbers to gradually drift downwards over time.
Can’t answer that one - it’s not something I’ve noticed!
Good luck with everything. And allow yourself time to adjust and adapt. You are doing brilliantly so far - keep going!
Leadinglights
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That is a good strategy for testing that @everydayupsanddowns has suggested as it not only gives you an good idea of what foods your body is not tolerating well but also enables you to see what foods are perfectly fine which you may otherwise have rejected.
Have a look at this link for some good ideas for modifying your diet as there are some menu plans to suit various tastes or you can just do your own thing following the principals of reducing your carb intake. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
It is a low carb approach which is suggested as no more than 130g carbs per day, it is not NO carbs. I preferred to look upon it as the carbs per meal which I was guided as to what I tolerated by the testing regime.
Have a look at this link for some good ideas for modifying your diet as there are some menu plans to suit various tastes or you can just do your own thing following the principals of reducing your carb intake. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
It is a low carb approach which is suggested as no more than 130g carbs per day, it is not NO carbs. I preferred to look upon it as the carbs per meal which I was guided as to what I tolerated by the testing regime.
SB2015
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Welcome to the forum @Eve H
There is nothing silly about being scared by a medical condition and there is no such thing as a silly question on here. So you are in the right place to ask anything and to tap into the wealth of knowledge that is available on here.
You have already made a good start and as your HbA1c is only 58 it is great that they have given you the option of making dietary changes and increasing exercise before using medication.
They are unlikely to do a repeat HbA1c test for at least three months so using your BG test kit to knit or things as you go is very helpful and can help you make decisions about portion sizes/other changes. When we decided to reduce the amount of carbs we were eating, we found the meals looked small on our plates, so we switched to using smaller plates. Sounds bonkers but it really helped us.
Let us know how you get on and keep the questions coming.
There is nothing silly about being scared by a medical condition and there is no such thing as a silly question on here. So you are in the right place to ask anything and to tap into the wealth of knowledge that is available on here.
You have already made a good start and as your HbA1c is only 58 it is great that they have given you the option of making dietary changes and increasing exercise before using medication.
They are unlikely to do a repeat HbA1c test for at least three months so using your BG test kit to knit or things as you go is very helpful and can help you make decisions about portion sizes/other changes. When we decided to reduce the amount of carbs we were eating, we found the meals looked small on our plates, so we switched to using smaller plates. Sounds bonkers but it really helped us.
Let us know how you get on and keep the questions coming.
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