Trying to understand food.......

[Ginnie]

Im getting use to trying different foods and seeing what effecta my sugar levels and somethings I can completely get but others I dont..... I cant eat porridge it send my levels so high this morning I ate 30grams with 12 units im a 2:1 ratio took my levels 3 hours later I was 14.5 :s the problem is I like porridge its not like im eating chocolate bars????

 

[Northerner]

I think it can depend on what you call 'porridge'. The instant stuff tends to be quite heavily processed and consequently hits your levels quite rapidly, but the 'proper' stuff made with whole/jumbo oats ought to be better at releasing glucose slowly 🙂

 

[trophywench]

Does this happen with ALL carbs at brekkie time Ginnie? Like if you have cornflakes or toast - or only with porridge?

And what was your BG before breakfast anyway?

eg. If it was 12 before you ate that's a different sort of prob to if it was 5.0 pre breakfast .

 

[Ginnie]

Thats what I use the real stuff the instant isnt as nice for some reason even if I do exercise after eating porridge my levels are still high which is confusing maybe im just not suppose to eat porridge

 

[Robster65]

Hi Ginnie.

Have you tried altering your breakfast ratio a bit?

Even if it's just for porridge. It may be that, with guidance from your nurse or doctor if you're not too sure, you could add a unit or two and it won't spike so high.

It's a shame to go without something you enjoy that is meant to be good for you.🙂

Rob

 

[Northerner]

I wonder if it's a timing issue? As TW says, what were you before eating? Do you inject immediately before eating? I do need to add quite a few units at breakfast to counteract the glucose my liver releases in the mornings.

 

[Ginnie]

I seem fine with everything at breakfast apart from porridge iv stuck to the 2:1 ratio but for some reason it doesnt apply with porridge this morning before breakfast I was 8.1 and iv never been spoke to about timing so usually I inject just before I eat but I do that with every meal.... Well this will be my next option is to up my units by 2 when I have porridge because nothing beats a bit of porridge on a cold miserable morning 🙂

 

[trophywench]

Hee hee Ginnie, I loathe the stuff - reminds me of wallpaper paste but I have tried it anyway, several times and not had my mind changed. Each to their own .......

Trouble with oats is this; they release their carbs more gradually. This is quite good if you want that to happen but can prove very difficult if you are T1. If you inject enough to prevent the spike at say 2 hours, then you will most likely go hypo after another hour has passed.

Before lobbing more insulin in willy nilly you could try injecting say 15 mins beforehand as suggested, or you could try having less. Say 25g or something. Play with it until it works. If nothing works well then you and porridge will have to become an occasional treat, shame though it is. I've had to do that with pasta. I concluded eventually t's a PITA but not worth the consequences of eating it regularly. So now, it's become a treat.

So that's nice and something to look forward to!

 

[Ginnie]

Is timing important then??? I love a bit of porridge but I can see where the wallpaper paste idea comes from 🙂. Shame that you cant have pasta thats my fall back meal if I cant think of anything... Its weird how different food effects us all in different ways. Yeah im going to have a play around and try to find a way that works being stubborn comes in handy every now and again plus I get to try porridge for a bit longer until it has to go on the dreaded treats list 🙂

 

[Abi]

I find that if I'm 8 or 9 pre meal then if said meal is carb based- even so called low glycaemic index- I easily spike into the teens. I get a slightly better outcome if starting off at 4 to 6.
Lots of people are more insulin resistant in the morning and find blood glucose harder to control with a carb based breakfast
It might be better if you can manage to get the pre breakfast levels a bit lower ( if you're like me, then you probably need to allow yourself slightly slacker targets as levels can vary quite a bit anyhow) or to wait a little while after the breakfast bolus before eating

 

[am64]

i cant eat porridge either ...

something us T2 are encouraged to eat ...and something i ate pre dx in muesli

 

[Ginnie]

My levels are pretty much between 7-9 when I wake up the dsn said the only way to sort this is a pump but said I didnt need one iv done night time readings and from that im not having hypos in the night and my breakfast is always carb based around 60gs just weird that porridge is the only thing that causes high sugar levels. Ewwww cant do muesli dont like it but thank you for the suggestion.....

 

[Austin Mini]

Ginnie, I eat Quaker 'Oats so Simple' Golden Syrup flavour. Beauty of these is they are a measured packet so you get the same amount day after day. Summer time I have two Weetabix and skimmed milk (always skimmed milk). Weetabix, I find, needs more insulin.

 

[Northerner]

Ginnie, I eat Quaker 'Oats so Simple' Golden Syrup flavour. Beauty of these is they are a measured packet so you get the same amount day after day. Summer time I have two Weetabix and skimmed milk (always skimmed milk). Weetabix, I find, needs more insulin.

Both of those would make my BG levels rocket 😱

 

[Ginnie]

Usually I have toast and a banana or bran flakes with semi skinned milk which is usually fine. Awww golden syrup sounds nice but usually I just have plain porridge im going to try having my insulin 15 minutes before if that doesnt work ill up my insulin for porridge and if all else fails ill have to stick with toast 🙂

 

[JohnCo]

Could the problem be that you are not taking the milk into consideration Ginnie?

 

[Ginnie]

Maybe but 30gs of oats quarter cup of milk semi skinned on 12 units would I still be completely out to make my levels as high as they were? Does a cup off milky coffe effect bgs then?

 

[Northerner]

Maybe but 30gs of oats quarter cup of milk semi skinned on 12 units would I still be completely out to make my levels as high as they were? Does a cup off milky coffe effect bgs then?

Shouldn't affect you much, I wouldn't think. One possibility is that, since you are having 'proper', plain porridge with semi skimmed (which contains some fat, as opposed to skimmed) and injecting immediately before eating, perhaps your insulin is peaking BEFORE the porridge really starts to hit your blood sugars? It's a very low GI meal and as you tested at 3 hours then it might still have been climbing after your insulin had peaked and was falling away.

I would try doing as you have done, but testing regularly so you can get a better picture of what is happening - you might find you are quite low at 1.5-2 hours.

 

[bev]

My levels are pretty much between 7-9 when I wake up the dsn said the only way to sort this is a pump but said I didnt need one iv done night time readings and from that im not having hypos in the night and my breakfast is always carb based around 60gs just weird that porridge is the only thing that causes high sugar levels. Ewwww cant do muesli dont like it but thank you for the suggestion.....

Hi Ginnie,

What reason did your DSN give for you not 'needing' a pump?🙂.A pump would make eating these sorts of foods much easier and gives you generally more freedom. Alex (14) can eat porridge but uses a 70/30 over 3 hours to help with the post-meal spike. We use a 'dual wave' for quite a few foods - one being pizza which we currently do a 45/55 over 8 hours. We normally bolus 25 to 30 minutes before eating to give the insulin a chance to start working in time with the food. I would start with the 15 minutes and work up from there by 5 minutes each time until you find what suits you.🙂Bev

 

[Northerner]

...I would start with the 15 minutes and work up from there by 5 minutes each time until you find what suits you.🙂Bev

Unless it's the problem I suggested above 😉