Out of control blood sugars

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Hi @Bren63 and welcome to the forum. There is not a simple answer to your question, you need to work out what might be best for you.

You say your blood glucose is out of control. Can you give us some numbers? For example, do you know what your latest HbA1c result was and are you monitoring your blood glucose? To my mind that is always a good place to start.
 
Hi I can't remember but when I test on my meter it is between 15 and 20 and recently had a urine test and had too much sugar which led to a urine problem painful I might add so I'm trying to sort myself out just don't know where to start I'm not recently diagnosed but been blasé about the condition.this week I've been drinking lots more fluid and its brought it down but goes up when I eat ny lowest reading this week was 7.9 which is about normal isn't it but then up again
 
I always used to think 20 a day because of Dr Atkins, got in the mindset, but was very surprised to find peoples on here eat carbs big time. Just good carbs. Everybody is different anyway. 🙂
 
Bren63 said:
What is a good carb
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Agree it’s an odd phrase for carbs but green veg? The few in things like cheese and full fat dairy? Ie the small and incidental ones that are bundled in with quality proteins and fats or essential micronutrients.
 
By the looks of it less than you eat now. Why not start by cutting down or out the most obvious ones. Ie the actual sugar and sweet stuff, bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and cereals and see where that gets you. If your numbers are then great you are at the right amount for you. If not you need less.

Testing before you eat and 2 hrs later will show you how those particular foods affect you. A rise of less than 2mmol would be a normal response. Keeping the after figure below the 7.8mmol (identified as noticeably increasing risk over the long term and corresponding to the 48mmol diagnostic hbA1c) is another goal. Keep a record so you can look for trends.

If you are any medication that increases the risk of hypos (insulin and gliclizide being common but not the only ones - read the leaflet/talk to the dr) then lower the carbs carefully and test very regularly as the method is very effective and can quickly mean you have more medication than your new way of eating requires. A great goal, but you want to reduce meds not have hypos.
 
Bren63 said:
Hi I can't remember but when I test on my meter it is between 15 and 20 and recently had a urine test and had too much sugar which led to a urine problem painful I might add so I'm trying to sort myself out just don't know where to start I'm not recently diagnosed but been blasé about the condition.this week I've been drinking lots more fluid and its brought it down but goes up when I eat ny lowest reading this week was 7.9 which is about normal isn't it but then up again
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The place I would start is getting the base lines sorted. The spot blood glucose readings of between 15 and 20 you are getting would suggest you are well into the diabetes range and I would head for the GP to get an HbA1c done test to see exactly where you are. When you have that, you can begin to figure out where to go.

As you might guess, my instinct is not to rush around looking for solutions until the problem is accurately defined. Looking at carb consumption is likely to be part of the solution but in my way of thinking, you cannot begin to answer your original question until you know what you are trying to achieve.

By the way, I think you have passed a major milestone by recognising that you have not been serious enough about your diagnosis and now want to take things in hand. We will do all we can to help you with that.
 
Docb said:
The place I would start is getting the base lines sorted. The spot blood glucose readings of between 15 and 20 you are getting would suggest you are well into the diabetes range and I would head for the GP to get an HbA1c done test to see exactly where you are. When you have that, you can begin to figure out where to go.

As you might guess, my instinct is not to rush around looking for solutions until the problem is accurately defined. Looking at carb consumption is likely to be part of the solution but in my way of thinking, you cannot begin to answer your original question until you know what you are trying to achieve.

By the way, I think you have passed a major milestone by recognising that you have not been serious enough about your diagnosis and now want to take things in hand. We will do all we can to help you with that.
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Thankyou I'm going to ring Dr's on Monday to see what my last hba1c and go from there
 
Bren63 said:
Thankyou I'm going to ring Dr's on Monday to see what my last hba1c and go from there
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You might get some very contradictory information because there seems to have been a concerted effort to make fat the bad element, not carbs.
The good news, in a way, is that you can have carbs from organic wholemeal sources or from a cream cake and the cream cake is the one which is better for your glucose control.
To answer your original question though, the amount of carbs to eat is just a little less than you can cope with easily.
I used a glucose testing meter to find out the type of meals I could eat and not exceed 8mmol/l afterwards, at the 2 hour mark.
I ate low carb veges and berries, not grains or potatoes, no high sugar fruits and saw the numbers gradually reduce down to under 7 and even under 6, and got my Hba1c down to the top end of normal. I was eating 50 gm of carbs a day, all from foods under 11 percent carb. I did have a small amount of 95% cocoa chocolate from time to time, but only one square. Without the sugar in ordinary chocolate it is far less enticing.
I am able to eat some higher carb foods now, but tend not to as I find low carb suits me a lot better, but when out of the house on a hot summer afternoon there is the option of ice cream.....
 
Bren63 said:
Thankyou I'm going to ring Dr's on Monday to see what my last hba1c and go from there
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Sounds like a good plan @Bren63

The ‘right’ amount of carbs for you will be an individual thing - as will the sources of carbs that suit your body best.

The recommended daily amount of carbs for a healthy adult in the UK is approx 260g. But that may be difficult for a person with diabetes to cope with.

Low carb diets are usually said to start at 130g a day or lower. You can see that some members here choose to eat much lower carbohydrate levels than that - but the important thing is to find a level that works for you, gives you the results you are looking for, and is flexible and workable enough to be sustainable long-term.

There are a variety of different meal plans here which might give you some ideas - some aiming for low calorie, others for low carb, veggie, mediterranean, or budget-conscious.

Meal plans and diabetes

Eating nutritious, healthy and downright delicious food is that bit easier with our meal planners. We've created multiple different weekly meal plans to suit all types and tastes. They're nutritionally balanced, are calorie and carb counted, and can help if you want to lose weight. They also...
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk
 
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everydayupsanddowns said:
The recommended daily amount of carbs for a healthy adult in the UK is approx 260g.
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Yet the OP with blood sugars in the 15-20 range is fairly obviously not a "healthy adult" so this figure isn't especially helpful.

Do you know why this specific figure is "recommended" and by whom?
 
@Bren63, can I suggest you do not try to follow the arguments made in the last few posts? The quality and variability of GP advice and the merits of the traffic light labelling system really are not relevant to what you are trying to do. In my humble opinion describing things in this context as "scary" or "frightening" is a bit alarmist.

Maybe come back to them after you have seen your GP and then got your head around the basics. You can then get a better perspective on such things.
 
Bren63 said:
Hi I'm new on here, I was wondering how many carbs is advisable per day
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Hi There @Bren63 ! The amount of carbohydrate per day is different from person to person, so you will find your own personal target depending on your age, weight, activity levels and how resistant you are to your insulin.

Your diabetes healthcare team will help you work this out with you, along with input from a dietician if this is appropriate for you.

For more information on carb intake this may help:

Low-carb diet and meal plan

Eating a low-carb diet means cutting down on the amount of carbohydrates (carbs) you eat to less than 130g a day. But low-carb eating shouldn’t be no-carb eating. Some carbohydrate foods contain essential vitamins, minerals and fibre, which form an important part of a healthy diet.
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk
Many Thanks 🙂
 
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Carbs: I do low carb and control my diabetes with diet (not so well recently but i'm back on the regime). I try to have less than 60g of carbs a day but at the moment about 80g. I use Myfitnesspal to record my foods and keep to 1200 cal and less than 60g of carb. I'm a very office based middle aged woman so that's enough food for me. I don't drink alcohol as i'm on heart pills..... Hope you get some sense from the doctors.

i know this works as i have had my HBA1Cs and i know now after experimentation that this regime works for me.
 
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