Testing BS levels when eating fruit

[am64]

i cant totaly agree with wallys methods for myself but it works for him and if that helps just one person on the forum thats good and everyone on this forum has the right to question.... thats why this forum is so good...we can question... it promotes discussion ...I think what i have mainlly learnt that we are individuals...and by testing we can work out a lifestyle to suit our needs xxx🙂

 

[Andy HB]

Hi there.

With regards to fruit, I tend to eat it as part of a meal (usually banana at breakfast with porridge, a couple of clementines midday and an apple in the evening). Generally, I found this to work quite well for me. However, I do walk for an hour after lunch and now do 30mins on a rowing machine each evening. I find the exercise now regularly leaves me with bg in the 5's a couple of hours after eating.

One thing to be careful of though. Bananas (and I suppose any fruit) changes gi as they ripen (I presume the gl remains the same though?). Personally, I prefer the riper bananas, so tend to ignore the advice of my dietician! So far that approach has not caused me any problems!

By the way, my GP recommended exercising after eating rather than before. This helped me when I was on meds (especially gliclazide) because it avoided hypos and I think that it helps me now that I'm off the meds in that it keeps the bg low after eating.

Andy

 

[wallycorker]

........... I hate seeing individuals who have found a way to control their diabetes putting it forward as the only correct way.....................Are you a diabetic Wally ? ...........

Hi again Dave,

You'll certainly never find me putting my way forward as the only correct way. I would never even consider thinking down in that manner.

As regards wheter I am a diabetic, I was diagnosed more than nine years ago and my HbA1c gradually rose to a level of 9.4%. Moreover, if I eat cereals, bread or potatoes my blood glucose levels go into double figures. I think that most people would say that I am a diabetic. What's more, as I understand things, once I've been a diabetic that situation can never change. I wish that it could! If it is at all possible to cure diabetes then I'll certainly be trying my best to achieve that status.

Best wishes - John

 

[wallycorker]

..........and by testing we can work out a lifestyle to suit our needs.........

Hi am64 - That's a very sensible way forward indeed if I may say so!

Best wishes - John

 

[wallycorker]

That is fair enough John but newly diagnosed members do read these boards and do take on the 'advice ' that they read there on the assumption that what they are reading, from an experienced diabetic, is correct. Maybe you should put a disclaimer in your posts.

Hi again Irisdove,

As far as I am concerned, the only thing that we are talking about in this thread is testing to find out what different foods do to our blood glucose levels. Quite simply, that's all that I've done throughout my improvement programme.

Oh - and then changed my diet according to what I learnt through that testing.

Best wishes - John

 

[am64]

its the truth in my eyes xxx thank you x

 

[Irisdove]

Personally John, I've tested extensively over the many years of my diabetes. The same foods,the same weights can show different levels depending on differing conditions such as illness, stress, time of day and even hot weather. I would not like to depend on a one hour test to give me my presumed blood sugar level. You have to remember that others read your method and may take it as the correct method of testing, which it is not.

I have read many diabetic forums on the net and for the most part they all seem to want to help educate other diabetics on diabetes. I would like to think I can help others to learn the intricate management of their diabetes by correctly testing the foods they eat and building up a profile of foods which they can and cannot eat and how each one affects their blood sugar levels.

 

[wallycorker]

.........You have to remember that others read your method and may take it as the correct method of testing, which it is not............

Hi again Irisdove,

In my opinion, there is no such thing as a "correct method of testing" to cover all people with diabetes. People with diabetes need to establish for themselves through testing as to what is best for them.

Best wishes - John

 

[Irisdove]

John, In MY opinion, people should start out with the accepted method of testing till they become competent. After that it is entirely their choice what they do. If it works for you, then great.

 

[Sharpe]

Hi again Irisdove,

In my opinion, there is no such thing as a "correct method of testing" to cover all people with diabetes. People with diabetes need to establish for themselves through testing as to what is best for them.

Best wishes - John

Wally.
In your opinion there is "no such thing as a correct method of testing".
That appears to be a rather arrogant statement to make, are you medically trained Wally ? Do you have qualifications as a diabetic consultant ?

That is quite a statement coming from just another diabetic which flys in the face of all medical opinion, and the normal methods which are taught by DSN's, Endo's and other Medical Professionals. Seems you know better than them then Wally.

For your information this is the type of information regarding testing from just one of the many internet sites about blood glucose testing:

The frequency and timing of tests will vary depending on an individual's therapy, goals, and resources. When any changes occur in food, exercise, medications, illness, or travel, more testing should occur.

Type 1: Upon waking (fasting), before meals and bedtime, 1-2 hours after meals and during night as needed.

Type 2: Upon waking (fasting), before meals and/or bedtime, 1-2 hours after meals as needed. Additional testing may be required dependent on the food eaten.

That Wally, is the "correct way".

As Irisdove has stated this place is read by many diabetics looking for help and advice, correct advice. That is not what any of them are getting from you. Just your own opinion about what YOU think is right.

I thought the idea was to help and inform diabetic's not confuse them with misguided and incorrect methods. Even if you do think they work for you.

Dave

 

[wallycorker]

...........The frequency and timing of tests will vary depending on an individual's therapy, goals, and resources. When any changes occur in food, exercise, medications, illness, or travel, more testing should occur.

Type 1: Upon waking (fasting), before meals and bedtime, 1-2 hours after meals and during night as needed.

Type 2: Upon waking (fasting), before meals and/or bedtime, 1-2 hours after meals as needed. Additional testing may be required dependent on the food eaten.............

Yes - that is basically what I do quite a lot of the time with the emphasis on the words that I've boldened - i.e. that is saying that there is no black and white correct way that is applicable to every person who is diabetic - they need to adjust their testing programmes to fit in with their own particular situation.

In any case, quite a lot of the advice that is given to people with non-insulin Type 2 diabetes such as me by healthcare professionals is "do not test". If it had have been up to my doctor then I wouldn't have been testing at all and, because of that, I wouldn't have had any idea at all of what my blood glucose levels were and what different foods did to them. I would have been having a three-monthly HbA1c and being told how much worse my situation had become.

 

[Andy HB]

Hi Wallycorker,

I was just wondering, do you get your test strips on prescription or do you buy your own?

If you get them on prescription, then I think that you're being a little profligate. That eat, test, eat, test ..... method is not telling you anything genuinely useful that you couldn't get by using the test, eat, test (1hr), test (2hr) approach that I've also heard about (perhaps altering the timings).

However, if you buy your own, then I think that what you do with them is your own business!

I'll get off your back now! 🙂

 

[Sharpe]

Wally.
So basically you know what the correct, and recommended way to test is yet you still keep insisting that your weird way of testing for fruit is correct. That is not and never will be the case. Something no one should recommend to anybody. Totally wrong and misleading. Confusing and ridiculous !

As others here have stated you are just confusing new diabetics with your odd behaviour over this fruit testing. On other forums this sort of information which is wrong and totally misleading would have been deleted or edited or even a disclaimer added to the post. I am surprised it is allowed on here without some sort of comment or editing to show that it is your personal way and not the correct way. At the very least it would have attracted comments such as my own and other members. Negative comments.

You keep insisting there is no correct way to test. Rubbish man ! Of course there is, it is before meals(fasting), and at least 1 and 2 hrs after meals. Plain and simple advice which I have found to be the 'norm' everywhere except it seems in your head. My HCP's all agree that this is the correct way to test. I have read in many places on the net and in books relating to what a diabetic should do, especially when first diagnosed. They all quote the same procedure as I have mentioned !

I think that TBH you are going to continue using this crazy testing method, I just hope that people with any sense will see this for what it is, totally flawed and obviously plain crazy !

I think it is pointless trying to get through to you as you obviously think you know better than all the thousands of HCP's in the UK who do a fantastic job day in and day out advising diabetics on the correct way to do things. I read somewhere else (a low carb forum) about you wanting to be a diabetic educator. I do hope that isn't true ? Frankly, you would be a disaster with your oddball ideas.

You may be well meaning Wally. You just need to get educated about diabetes and what being a diabetic means yourself before advising anybody on the 'correct' way to do things.

Dave.

 

[wallycorker]

Hi Wallycorker,

I was just wondering, do you get your test strips on prescription or do you buy your own?

If you get them on prescription, then I think that you're being a little profligate. That eat, test, eat, test ..... method is not telling you anything genuinely useful that you couldn't get by using the test, eat, test (1hr), test (2hr) approach that I've also heard about (perhaps altering the timings).

However, if you buy your own, then I think that what you do with them is your own business!

I'll get off your back now! 🙂

Hi Andy,

Mostly I've bought my own off eBay because my GP refused to prescribe. However, once he saw what I had achieved by testing, he has now started prescribing them at 50 per month. He says that it's much cheaper than prescribing insulin - and paying for amputations, kidney dialysis, eye operations etc.

However, these days, I do only quite a small amount of routine testing. I only really test when I'm testing out something different - i.e. experimenting. Once Type 2s on diet and exercise and metformin learn what different foods do to their blood glucose levels then, in my opinion, the need for frequent testing diminishes.

If I do any routine tests these days, I usually carry out some 'on rising' morning levels because I think that gives me a good idea of how my general control is going - those readings are usually in the 4s with a very occasional one in the 5s.

If I test after eating then I usually carry those out one hour after finishing eating again because I have found from previous testing is that is the time that I expect to see my peak. Again, these days, those readings are usually less than 7 with the occasional one just over.

Things weren't always like that before I cut back dramatically on the starchy carbohydrate - i.e. cereals, bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, pizza etc. In thos e days things were very much different.

There's no need to "get off my back" as you say - it's a pleasure talking to you.

Thanks for your interest!

Very best wishes - John

 

[wallycorker]

Wally.
So basically you know what the correct, and recommended way to test is yet you still keep insisting that your weird way of testing for fruit is correct. That is not and never will be the case. Something no one should recommend to anybody. Totally wrong and misleading. Confusing and ridiculous !

As others here have stated you are just confusing new diabetics with your odd behaviour over this fruit testing. On other forums this sort of information which is wrong and totally misleading would have been deleted or edited or even a disclaimer added to the post. I am surprised it is allowed on here without some sort of comment or editing to show that it is your personal way and not the correct way. At the very least it would have attracted comments such as my own and other members. Negative comments.

You keep insisting there is no correct way to test. Rubbish man ! Of course there is, it is before meals(fasting), and at least 1 and 2 hrs after meals. Plain and simple advice which I have found to be the 'norm' everywhere except it seems in your head. My HCP's all agree that this is the correct way to test. I have read in many places on the net and in books relating to what a diabetic should do, especially when first diagnosed. They all quote the same procedure as I have mentioned !

I think that TBH you are going to continue using this crazy testing method, I just hope that people with any sense will see this for what it is, totally flawed and obviously plain crazy !

I think it is pointless trying to get through to you as you obviously think you know better than all the thousands of HCP's in the UK who do a fantastic job day in and day out advising diabetics on the correct way to do things. I read somewhere else (a low carb forum) about you wanting to be a diabetic educator. I do hope that isn't true ? Frankly, you would be a disaster with your oddball ideas.

You may be well meaning Wally. You just need to get educated about diabetes and what being a diabetic means yourself before advising anybody on the 'correct' way to do things.

Dave.

OK Dave! Whatever you say! You seem to know best what we all ought to be doing!

I'm going to lay off responding to you now because I think other people will becoming tired of our bickering. After all, in my opinion, they come here to look for positive messages and not to read about negative stuff such as the way this thread has gone.

Instead of continuing to rubbish what I do, why not tell us about how you have dealt with your diabetes? In particular, tell us all about your own personal achievements because that is what I think most people would prefer to read about?

Best wishes as always - John

 

[Steff]

Sharpe I think the way anyone tests is very personal to them, I for example test my BG after 1 hour of my evening meal and then again after 2 hours and find that works for me.If i chose to do it after 2,3,4 hours then it would be my choice, telling someone there way of testing is wrong is abit of an attack on the individual,I have said already if it works for wallycorker the way he tests then he is doing something right.Like has been said lets not turn this into some kind of slanging match(my own words) where someoine attacks the way antoher goes about there testing habits.

 

[Andy HB]

I agree with you John, once you've got a handle on bg levels as a type 2, the testing should diminish on a regular basis. Personally, I am only testing now if I do something out of the ordinary (e.g. eat out etc). But I still do the odd one (around once a week) to make sure nothing nasty is building up!

Of course, it all depends on my next HbA1c reading in a couple of weeks.

Did you find that the testing strips that you bought off EBay were OK? I always feel uncomfortable about buying medical stuff off the internet!

Andy

 

[HelenM]

John, I've just read another post of yours in which you say.

Personally, I was diagnosed with a fasting blood glucose just over 7 mmol/l and an HbA1c in the 5s.

You also seem to have few problems with insulin release, in fact what you are describing seems to be a very normal pattern eat food, insulin deals with it and you are back to normal within the hour
.
This interested me, as I'd just read something that might be relevent???

I'm by no means an expert and I may be miseading what you've written but from what I read, many, probably most people with type 2 have undiagnosed problems with post prandial blood glucose levels long before their fasting levels exeed 7mmol.
However, what you describe sounds very much like this 'variant' mentioned by Jenny Ruhl.

There are a small number of people, often men, whose fasting blood sugar rises quite high, perhaps even into the diabetic range, while their post meal blood sugars remain normal or neal normal. This appears to be a slightly different syndrome. Scientists speculate, that these people may have a defect that affects their ability to secrete the basal insulin release that takes place during fasting and sleep

The whole article is worth reading I'm not sure that I am allowed to link but it is entitiled 'How Blood Sugar Control Works--And How It Stops Working' and is on Blood sugar 101.

If you still have reasonably good post prandial insulin release and have lost weight, thus reducing your insulin resistance it would help explain why you are able to eat a succession of fruits without a cumulative effect.
and why indeed other peoples mileage may vary.

 

[am64]

Wally.
.. On other forums this sort of information which is wrong and totally misleading would have been deleted or edited or even a disclaimer added to the post. I am surprised it is allowed on here without some sort of comment or editing to show that it is your personal way and not the correct way.


......You keep insisting there is no correct way to test. Rubbish man ! Of course there is, it is before meals(fasting), and at least 1 and 2 hrs after meals.

....I read somewhere else (a low carb forum) about you wanting to be a diabetic educator. I do hope that isn't true ? Frankly, you would be a disaster with your oddball ideas.

......You may be well meaning Wally. You just need to get educated about diabetes and what being a diabetic means yourself before advising anybody on the 'correct' way to do things.

Dave.

Dave...
Firstly Wally IMO has always indicated in his posts that it is in his opinion ....all posts on the forum are in someones personal opinion that is why this is a forum not an information web site.
On this forum discussions are not edited /deleted by the admin and mods unless they are seen as offensive or a direct attack, as everyones opinion is regarded as valid and promotes discussion.

secondly you say the correct way to test is 1hr-2hrs after meals ...isnt that what wally has said ?

thirdly your refer to comments made on another forum which is mighty confusing as we are seeing it out of context.
This now seems to take your thread into the personal attack definition. Insinuating that Wally is not educated in diabetes or knows what is is to be diabetic is a personal attack as how you do know whether he is or not ?
am64

 

[Northerner]

Diabetes is a complicated disease. How many times have I read the phrase 'we are all different', or 'what works for me may not work for you'? John has cited his own personal experience, and what he does works for him. The tone of some of the posts in this thread is aggressive and confrontational - bullying - and will not be tolerated. Things can be discussed with civility without resorting to name-calling and derision. This is a friendly forum, if we disagree we put forward our point of view so that other readers can make their own assessment, so please bear this in mind and read through carefully before posting - I don't feel as though I should have to go through every post editing and censoring.