Shakes

[Sandy64]

Hi, I haven't been watching my sugars for some time, however I really have turned my eating habits around, cut out all processed foods, cut out red meat, zero sugar e.g., biscuits, cakes, pastries.
I did cut down on general carbs, ie. Potatoes and bread and pasta, and when.I do eat these its all brown.
But what im feeling after food is like an internal shake! I have started to feel sick, nausea, why is this.
My sugars yesterday afternoon was 16.6 after dinner , chicken and few veg, was 11.6, this morning when I woke was 6.6 noe I feel sick, nausea and again feel inside I'm shaking, what is going on. By way breakfast was two hard boiled eggs, low GI bread cup of tea then two strawberries, half dozen blueberries and two teaspoon of low fat natural unsweetened yoghurt. I just give up!

 

[Northerner]

Hi, I haven't been watching my sugars for some time, however I really have turned my eating habits around, cut out all processed foods, cut out red meat, zero sugar e.g., biscuits, cakes, pastries.
I did cut down on general carbs, ie. Potatoes and bread and pasta, and when.I do eat these its all brown.
But what im feeling after food is like an internal shake! I have started to feel sick, nausea, why is this.
My sugars yesterday afternoon was 16.6 after dinner , chicken and few veg, was 11.6, this morning when I woke was 6.6 noe I feel sick, nausea and again feel inside I'm shaking, what is going on. By way breakfast was two hard boiled eggs, low GI bread cup of tea then two strawberries, half dozen blueberries and two teaspoon of low fat natural unsweetened yoghurt. I just give up!

Hi Sandy, what may be going on is that, now you are paying close attention to your carb intake, your blood sugar levels are falling to levels that your body is not accustomed to. This can produce similar symptoms to a low blood sugar, even though your levels are not actually low - your brain perceives the lower-than-normal levels as potentially needing action, so it sends out these distress signals. This should ease as your body becomes more accustomed to the lower levels. At these times a small amount of carbs, e.g. a small biscuit, will raise your levels a little and the symptoms should reduce 🙂

Are you currently on any medication for your diabetes?

 

[Sandy64]

Hi, thanks for yr reply. No I stopped taking metformin in November, I hate hate hate taking medicines so decided to control this with a huge turn around of my life style, starting with diet. As I said lots changes and lost 12 kilos, and felt better. Then christmas came and I had a treat then birthday and another treat and so the story continues. But recently I've been off work really ill so decided to shake myself up and get back on track..... but feel I've hit brick wall regarding my feelings or rather the shakes I feel inside, the nausea and sleeping like theres no tomorrow. Its all so disheartening, I feel I'm looking at a mountain I need to climb and its all so wearing

 

[Northerner]

Hi, thanks for yr reply. No I stopped taking metformin in November, I hate hate hate taking medicines so decided to control this with a huge turn around of my life style, starting with diet. As I said lots changes and lost 12 kilos, and felt better. Then christmas came and I had a treat then birthday and another treat and so the story continues. But recently I've been off work really ill so decided to shake myself up and get back on track..... but feel I've hit brick wall regarding my feelings or rather the shakes I feel inside, the nausea and sleeping like theres no tomorrow. Its all so disheartening, I feel I'm looking at a mountain I need to climb and its all so wearing

Try not to let it overwhelm you Sandy, take things one step at a time and set smaller, achievable goals 🙂 If you'vve been ill then it will be hard for your body to cope with radical changes to your diet and activity. Have you read the book Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker? If not, I'd highly recommend it. If you've read it already, work through it again as though you are newly-diagnosed. It may take time, but you will get there - you're clearly determined, but it's hard when you end up feeling worse, I know. If your levels are swinging around then this will affect your mood and energy levels - are you measuring before as well as after eating so you can determine how much the meal is raising your blood sugar levels? Ideally, you want to be aiming for a rise of 2-3 mmol/l, but that's an ideal - if, however, you rise much more than this amount then you need to adjust the carbohydrates in your meal and see what happens the next time. Record it all in a diary and you will build up a picture of what you tolerate well and what you should avoid. Read Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S for a good idea of how to approach all this.

Don't despair! Keep trying and keep asking questions, we're right behind you 🙂

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Try not to let it overwhelm you Sandy, take things one step at a time and set smaller, achievable goals 🙂 If you'vve been ill then it will be hard for your body to cope with radical changes to your diet and activity. Have you read the book Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker? If not, I'd highly recommend it. If you've read it already, work through it again as though you are newly-diagnosed. It may take time, but you will get there - you're clearly determined, but it's hard when you end up feeling worse, I know. If your levels are swinging around then this will affect your mood and energy levels - are you measuring before as well as after eating so you can determine how much the meal is raising your blood sugar levels? Ideally, you want to be aiming for a rise of 2-3 mmol/l, but that's an ideal - if, however, you rise much more than this amount then you need to adjust the carbohydrates in your meal and see what happens the next time. Record it all in a diary and you will build up a picture of what you tolerate well and what you should avoid. Read Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S for a good idea of how to approach all this.

Don't despair! Keep trying and keep asking questions, we're right behind you 🙂

Where does that 2-3 come from?
Say you have sorted good control, and are maybe starting at 4, so going over 6 or 7 is really bad for you, and you will get diabetic complications?
Where is the advice that supports that from, as I've never seen any guidelines that state 6 or 7 is too high?
I've measured "normal" people that go way over that number.

 

[Northerner]

Where does that 2-3 come from?
Say you have sorted good control, and are maybe starting at 4, so going over 6 or 7 is really bad for you, and you will get diabetic complications?
Where is the advice that supports that from, as I've never seen any guidelines that state 6 or 7 is too high?
I've measured "normal" people that go way over that number.

I did say it was an 'ideal' to aim for, and obviously it's not disastrous if you fall outside this, particularly given that meters aren't completely accurate and blood isn't entirely homogenous. The chief aim is to avoid spikes, which are thought to be potentially more harmful, particularly to the very small blood vessels, than sustained but stable higher levels.

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-t...-9VZO-DVjCB9ozVBLvyh2TDxoCuRoQAvD_BwE#glucose

 

[Deleted member 21371]

I did say it was an 'ideal' to aim for, and obviously it's not disastrous if you fall outside this, particularly given that meters aren't completely accurate and blood isn't entirely homogenous. The chief aim is to avoid spikes, which are thought to be potentially more harmful, particularly to the very small blood vessels, than sustained but stable higher levels.

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-t...-9VZO-DVjCB9ozVBLvyh2TDxoCuRoQAvD_BwE#glucose

What is the mechanism that causes damage? I use the official advice you quoted, and interestingly, even for a normal person, it is reasonable to rise from 3.5 to 8, so a rise of 4.5 is ok. Is it wrong?
I have never heard of this causing any problems to them. Are there other studies not quoted here? But then again I have no issue with these numbers either. But undoutably running high all the time does cause complications, as diabetes proves.
So what is the difference in the actual damage caused, what do I have to look out for, is in gradual damage, or sudden irreparable harm?
Does it show in normal diabetes annual testing, or is there a different test needed?

 

[Northerner]

What is the mechanism that causes damage? I use the official advice you quoted, and interestingly, even for a normal person, it is reasonable to rise from 3.5 to 8, so a rise of 4.5 is ok. Is it wrong?
I have never heard of this causing any problems to them. Are there other studies not quoted here? But then again I have no issue with these numbers either. But undoutably running high all the time does cause complications, as diabetes proves.
So what is the difference in the actual damage caused, what do I have to look out for, is in gradual damage, or sudden irreparable harm?
Does it show in normal diabetes annual testing, or is there a different test needed?

No need to bite my head off 🙄 Regular spikes in blood sugar levels are thought to particularly affect the tiny blood vessels in the eyes and kidneys. I wouldn't classify a rise of 4.5 as a spike, just slightly elevated from the ideal, and again I would say that meters simply don't have 0.5 mmol/l 100% accuracy, nor is blood 100% identical - you can get 3 different readings from the same finger at the same time. I was talking about guidelines, not absolutes. If you have levels that vary between 4-8.5 mmo/l then your HbA1c is almost certainly going to be well below the levels at which complications are likely to occur, so single instances of larger variations are fairly irrelevant - but they provide information that you can use in order to assess your tolerances for a particular meal choice, which is what I was originally explaining.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

No need to bite my head off 🙄 Regular spikes in blood sugar levels are thought to particularly affect the tiny blood vessels in the eyes and kidneys. I wouldn't classify a rise of 4.5 as a spike, just slightly elevated from the ideal, and again I would say that meters simply don't have 0.5 mmol/l 100% accuracy, nor is blood 100% identical - you can get 3 different readings from the same finger at the same time. I was talking about guidelines, not absolutes. If you have levels that vary between 4-8.5 mmo/l then your HbA1c is almost certainly going to be well below the levels at which complications are likely to occur, so single instances of larger variations are fairly irrelevant - but they provide information that you can use in order to assess your tolerances for a particular meal choice, which is what I was originally explaining.

I wasnt biting your head off, it was a genuine question.
You stated two to three was ideal, and I simply asked why?
Again you imply there are guidelines stating this, as a diabetic I am obviously interested in reading them, and understanding why a rise of maybe 4 or 5 is worse than running at say 9 or 12 constantly, as obviously if the official guielines are missing something, I don't want to harm myself.

 

[Martin Canty]

You stated two to three was ideal, and I simply asked why?
Again you imply there are guidelines stating this, as a diabetic I am obviously interested in reading them, and understanding why a rise of maybe 4 or 5 is worse than running at say 9 or 12 constantly, as obviously if the official guielines are missing something, I don't want to harm myself.

As diabetics we are not able to process BG correctly, as T2's we have Insulin Resistance so the bodies mechanisms of controlling BG don't work as efficiently as a Non-D hence elevated BG levels & Higher spikes....
You are correct in your assumption that running at 9-12 or higher is bad but spikes are also bad (going back to the fact that our mechanisms for controlling BG are shot), our aim is to have spikes low & slow (a rise of 6 ending in an hour or 2 is worse than a rise of 2-3 lasting a few hours.)

 

[Deleted member 21371]

As diabetics we are not able to process BG correctly, as T2's we have Insulin Resistance so the bodies mechanisms of controlling BG don't work as efficiently as a Non-D hence elevated BG levels & Higher spikes....
You are correct in your assumption that running at 9-12 or higher is bad but spikes are also bad (going back to the fact that our mechanisms for controlling BG are shot), our aim is to have spikes low & slow (a rise of 6 ending in an hour or 2 is worse than a rise of 2-3 lasting a few hours.)

I agree entirely.
It's this "rise of two to three" I can't understand. Especially if you start from say four?
Obviously arise of six will take you over the guidelines, so should be avoided.
But starting at four, and rising to seven, is well within a normal response.
But a rise of even four and a half could still be well within the normal response, and doesn't appear to be any scientific proof any harm can be caused.
So I may be breathing easier again, as I must admit, I was worried that there was something I was doing wrong, and obviously that would be something I want to sort out.