Struggling to reduce sugar levels.

[karenlkitching]

Hi all I am a newbie to this group but not to t2. I suppose I just never took it seriously before.
I recently had levels of 78 on long term test and my self tests are always about 10.3 give or take. My doctor recently told me to increase my metformin to 3 tablets a day which unfortunately has its side effects. My diet is generally good and I gave up alcohol a few months ago, I am very active but I am now getting increasingly worried that I can’t get my daily levels down. Does anyone have any experience of this and any ideas to help. Thank you in advance.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome.

Sorry to hear your levels are high and an increase in medication is upsetting your stomach. Sometimes with Metformin, it will settle back down after a week or two but it depends how badly it is affecting you. You can ask to try the slow release version if you are not using that as it is often kinder on the digestive system, but dietary changes are usually much more powerful in reducing BG levels so it is worth reviewing what you eat, especially if you have been following NHS dietary advice up until now.

When you say your diet is generally good, can you give us an indication of the sort of things you eat and drink in an average day.... ie typical breakfast, lunch and evening meal and any snacks.

It sounds like you have a BG test kit. When do you test and do you have a strategy with your testing to use the data it provides?

 

[karenlkitching]

Hi and welcome.

Sorry to hear your levels are high and an increase in medication is upsetting your stomach. Sometimes with Metformin, it will settle back down after a week or two but it depends how badly it is affecting you. You can ask to try the slow release version if you are not using that as it is often kinder on the digestive system, but dietary changes are usually much more powerful in reducing BG levels so it is worth reviewing what you eat, especially if you have been following NHS dietary advice up until now.

When you say your diet is generally good, can you give us an indication of the sort of things you eat and drink in an average day.... ie typical breakfast, lunch and evening meal and any snacks.

It sounds like you have a BG test kit. When do you test and do you have a strategy with your testing to use the data it provides?

i am already taking the prolonged release version of metformin. I do have a testing machine but don’t really use the data. I usually test in the morning before breakfast and occasionally before other meals. if my levels are high in the morning I try not to have much for breakfast, having said that I have tried all sorts of scenarios. I mainly eat salads,or whole meal bread/wraps for lunch and an assortment of white meats, fish, Veg, for dinner. I tend to only snack before supper. My doctor advised to severely restrict my fruit intake. I only drink no added sugar or diet drinks, mostly water through the day. i try to check carb levels of foods I buy.

 

[Leadinglights]

It may be worth totting up the amount of carb you are having at each meal plus the snacks and doing some structured testing to see if any of those foods are causing the high blood glucose level.
Testing before you eat and after 2 hours will be able to indicate if the meal is too carb heavy, you should be looking at an increase of no more than 2-3mmol/l and if you are consistently getting that then overall levels should start to come down and then you want your 2 hour post meal to be no more than 8-8.5mmol/l
Going back to basics and keeping a food diary might help you see a picture and see where the problem foods are.
Have a look at this link for some ideas for modifying your diet. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
It is easy for things to drift and portions slip so weighing everything for a while, a pain but may reveal something.

 

[karenlkitching]

Ok thanks for your help I will give that a try.m

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi @karenlkitching and welcome to the forum.
YI suspect that you (like most T2 ) don't know the difference between what the government says is a 'healthy diet' and what a Blood Glucose meter says is a healthy diet for a T2 ! There is a huge difference between the two, indeed I ate what is generally thought to be healthy for the best part of 2 decades and all it gave me was extra weight, clogged arteries ( 3x bypass) and finally T2 diabetes !

 

[karenlkitching]

Hi @karenlkitching and welcome to the forum.
YI suspect that you (like most T2 ) don't know the difference between what the government says is a 'healthy diet' and what a Blood Glucose meter says is a healthy diet for a T2 ! There is a huge difference between the two, indeed I ate what is generally thought to be healthy for the best part of 2 decades and all it gave me was extra weight, clogged arteries ( 3x bypass) and finally T2 diabetes !

Hi thanks for that i try and do research myself rather than just following conflicting government advice but I am intrigued what regime you may be following which is obviously working for you. Thanks

 

[Leadinglights]

Government advice tries to advocate a one size fits all approach whereas those managing their condition know that it doesn't work like that as there are so many differences in individuals and people have to find a regime which works for them, is something they enjoy and is sustainable.
I personally adopted a low carb approach of 70g total carbs per day but others will tolerate more carbs. It also depends on what medications people are on and how active they are.

 

[Cherrelle DUK]

Hi karenlkitching, welcome to the forum.

It's natural to be worried when your numbers aren't getting as low as you'd like but there are ways around it.
One of the tricky things about diabetes is the amount of food that contain hidden carbs. You might be eating what looks like brown bread which is actually just dyed white bread or things that say 'no added sugar' but contain another equally sugary substance.

The only real way to get a grip on what works for you is to keep a diary for a week of what you ate, when your blood sugar numbers were in the morning and two hours after each meal.

That will hopefully give you an insight on the impact your meals are having on you and you can adjust accordingly . You can find out more about testing on our main site. https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/managing-your-diabetes/testing

 

[Drummer]

Hello @karenlkitching. Welcome to the forum.
I suspect that as you are testing before eating you are missing vial information. We need to know what the meal has done, so testing 2 hours after starting to eat gives far more information and hints on where things can be improved.
When I was diagnosed I lowered my carb intake by cutting out high carb foods such as anything made from grain. I knew long before that such foods made me feel unwell - but was pressured to eat them because they are 'healthy'.
By eating meat, fish, seafood eggs and cheese along with salads, low carb veges and fruits I reduced my BG levels to normal.
These days I eat twice a day at about 12 hour intervals, and a maximum of 40 gm of carbs a day, as that is what keeps me just at the top of normal levels, and I have lost weight from the almost spherical situation I'd reached at diagnosis.

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi thanks for that i try and do research myself rather than just following conflicting government advice but I am intrigued what regime you may be following which is obviously working for you. Thanks

Just like others, I eat mainly meat, fish, eggs, cheese and low carb vegetables. I have tested with a Blood Glucose meter and so know that I get too big a BG spike 2 hrs after eating potato, sweetcorn, carrot, parsnip, peas and all beans except ones like runner or French beans where you also eat the pod.
I usually eat around 40gms of carbs per day, but on some days as little as around 20gms, but that is just based upon what I want that day. For example I know that if I eat a few squares of 85% cocoa chocolate or more berries than usual then I cut down on other carbs so as to keep the total down to around 40gms.

 

[karenlkitching]

Thanks all for your input. I can see this is more complicated than I thought.

 

[Nige13]

It may be worth totting up the amount of carb you are having at each meal plus the snacks and doing some structured testing to see if any of those foods are causing the high blood glucose level.
Testing before you eat and after 2 hours will be able to indicate if the meal is too carb heavy, you should be looking at an increase of no more than 2-3mmol/l and if you are consistently getting that then overall levels should start to come down and then you want your 2 hour post meal to be no more than 8-8.5mmol/l
Going back to basics and keeping a food diary might help you see a picture and see where the problem foods are.
Have a look at this link for some ideas for modifying your diet. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
It is easy for things to drift and portions slip so weighing everything for a while, a pain but may reveal something.

Great link - thanks for sharing 🙂

 

[Nige13]

Government advice tries to advocate a one size fits all approach whereas those managing their condition know that it doesn't work like that as there are so many differences in individuals and people have to find a regime which works for them, is something they enjoy and is sustainable.
I personally adopted a low carb approach of 70g total carbs per day but others will tolerate more carbs. It also depends on what medications people are on and how active they are.

I started eating less carbs around three weeks ago to around 130 but now down to under 100 which for me is amazing 🙂and for the first time in many a year my bloods can be between 4.5 and 7.5 🙂 My diabetic nurse will have heart attack when I see her in October ( that's if I'm good when I go away on hols next month ).

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I started eating less carbs around three weeks ago to around 130 but now down to under 100 which for me is amazing 🙂and for the first time in many a year my bloods can be between 4.5 and 7.5 🙂 My diabetic nurse will have heart attack when I see her in October ( that's if I'm good when I go away on hols next month ).

Sounds really promising @Nige13 🙂

 

[NikyAndro]

It may be worth totting up the amount of carb you are having at each meal plus the snacks and doing some structured testing to see if any of those foods are causing the high blood glucose level.
Testing before you eat and after 2 hours will be able to indicate if the meal is too carb heavy, you should be looking at an increase of no more than 2-3mmol/l and if you are consistently getting that then overall levels should start to come down and then you want your 2 hour post meal to be no more than 8-8.5mmol/l
Going back to basics and keeping a food diary might help you see a picture and see where the problem foods are.
Have a look at this link for some ideas for modifying your diet. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
It is easy for things to drift and portions slip so weighing everything for a while, a pain but may reveal something.

Very good advise.

 

[NikyAndro]

Very good advise.

Advice

 

[Nige13]

Sounds really promising @Nige13 🙂

Thank you

 

[Mrs Mimoo]

It may be worth totting up the amount of carb you are having at each meal plus the snacks and doing some structured testing to see if any of those foods are causing the high blood glucose level.
Testing before you eat and after 2 hours will be able to indicate if the meal is too carb heavy, you should be looking at an increase of no more than 2-3mmol/l and if you are consistently getting that then overall levels should start to come down and then you want your 2 hour post meal to be no more than 8-8.5mmol/l
Going back to basics and keeping a food diary might help you see a picture and see where the problem foods are.
Have a look at this link for some ideas for modifying your diet. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
It is easy for things to drift and portions slip so weighing everything for a while, a pain but may reveal something.

That is v sound advice from LeadingLights. Try a diary as you may be having too many carbs by accident. I try to stick to 60g a day max. Myfitness pal helps me do this - its a free app.

Wholemeal bread may be a no no- can you try Liv Life bread or the per slice 43cal 8g carb crustless bread from kingsmill?

try snacking only on cheese or ham, or a few nuts? I like a low fat babybel myself. or celery and hummus. Best of luck