Tips on getting my count below the 9's please

[BrianHorton]

Hi, I am another Newbie, T2 since October.
I am on 2 Metformin a day but despite being really strict (well I think I am) I have been cutting out all the usual things and eating lots of pulses, fruit, veg etc, I cannot get my blood sugar below an average of 9.4.

My Diabetic nurse says the ideal is between 4 and 7 and I am not due to see her till late Jan.

Am I worrying unneccesarily at this early stage, and does anyone have tips to get my count down to the target span. Thanks

 

[Northerner]

Hi Brian, welcome to the forum 🙂 It may yet be early days to show the full improvements of your dietary changes and medication, so don't worry if you are not quite there yet. Getting levels between 4 and 7 applies to your fasting and pre-meal levels, so the thing to do is to keep a record of pre-meal and then test an hour or two hours after the meal. This way, you can start to understand how different foods affect you - what may be fine for one person can often be a no-no for another - for example, some fruit will send some people's levels high, but others will be OK.

Your doctor is probably still trying to ascertain what level of medication you need to be on, and whether other pills that act differently need to be added into the mix.

Are you able to exercise much? This can have a profound effect on your blood sugar levels generally as it makes you much more sensitive to the insulin you are producing. How were you diagnosed, and do you know what your levels were on diagnosis? A very good book to get a good understanding of how to manage your diabetes is Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker. But if there is any particular question or concern you have, please ask! 🙂

 

[am64]

hi Brian ..i do understand its very bewildering ...the trick it seems is moderation in all ...and to try and work out what is causing you to recieve the levels ...please don't be too hard on yourself ....slowly but surely make the adaptions to your diet and excercise to get improvement ...good luck 🙂

 

[BrianHorton]

Thanks Northerner

My diagnosis count was 12.

I try to walk a lot and am a Rambler but in this current weather it is hard to walk safely as I have arthritis and prosthesis I don't want to damage in a fall.

I have a relative with T2 for 10 years and he does NO exercise and his count is 6ish.

Will get on the exercise bike and see if it helps.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[Northerner]

Hi Brian, unfortunately you cannot compare yourself to your relative as diabetes is a complex disease that can affect people in all sorts of different ways. One thing to consider is the amount of carbohydrate you are eating each day. It's a useful exercise to read the packets and work out how much you are eating as it is carbohydrate that will contribute most to your higher levels. Keeping a diary will help inform your doctor's decisions and if possible you should ask to see a dietician (although their advice can vary from excellent to useless).

Type 2 diabetes is generally caused by insulin resistance, which means you are producing it but your body cannot use it efficiently. Reducing the amount of carbs will reduce the work your insulin needs to do, and exercise will make you less resistant so both will help your levels. Every little helps, so the Exercise bike would definitely be good 🙂

As I said earlier, it may be that you need more medication or it may happen that your diet and exercise changes improve the situation so that you need less - it is very much a waiting game at this time, just doing the best you can. You certainly shouldn't feel as though you are failing if you cannot attain your relative's levels without extra help.