Hi all.Im'e relatively new to diabetes only diagnosed a few months ago with t2.I bought myself a metre (GlucoZen.auto AGM-4000) after a friend tested me at work and my reading was 18mmol (at the g.p's my blood test was 19mmol),my levels have come down some what but fluctuate like mad, going from around 5:2 up to around 9:8/10+,its all a little confusing still.I don't really know what to eat /what not to eat although I have looked at various sites, but again one say's one thing and then I will get contradiction's from other sites / sources. Im'e currently on metformin 1500mg a day. Thanks for taking the time to read this.Any info or web sites on food meals ,how to try and stabilize my blood sugars etc would be really appreciated. Many thanks Ade
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Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
TYPE 2
- Thread starter Ade
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Kaylz
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hi there 🙂
Its carbohydrates our bodies don't tolerate too well so to see how many and what your body can deal with we test before eating and then again 2 hours later ideally looking for a post meal level no higher than 2-3mmol
So things to be wary of - cereals, breads, pasta, rice, potatoes etc
xx
Its carbohydrates our bodies don't tolerate too well so to see how many and what your body can deal with we test before eating and then again 2 hours later ideally looking for a post meal level no higher than 2-3mmol
So things to be wary of - cereals, breads, pasta, rice, potatoes etc
xx
Docb
Moderator
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi @Ade and welcome to the forum. Also welcome to @hdee, just seen your post in the newbies section.
One thing that us old hands know but newbies don't is that your blood glucose goes up and down during the day. If everything in your system is working well, when your blood glucose goes up, your pancreas kicks in and produces insulin. The insulin allows your body to absorb the glucose and when things are behaving the high level is controlled to somewhere around 10 on your meter. As the glucose is absorbed, your blood glucose falls and will bottom out around 5 on your meter. A normal person would expect to see readings of between 5 and 10. If it goes out of that range on the high side so that your blood glucose rarely drops below 8 and spends significant periods in double figures then you get the diagnosis of diabetes. The object of treatment is to get things back into the normal range.
Various things make your blood glucose go up but the thing which has the biggest and most predictable effect is what you eat. Food contains carbohydrate, the gut turns this into glucose and the glucose gets in the blood and causes the numbers on your meter to go up. In a normal system the pancreas deals with this and keeps the maximum blood glucose under control. If your system is not working well and does not react to the increased blood glucose, the glucose builds up and will give readings into double figures on your meter. That is not a good thing, especially if your system cannot get the readings back down for a significant portion of the day. Prolonged high blood glucose can cause damage to various bits of the body and so early treatment to get it back into a normal range is sensible. If your blood glucose gets up towards 30 on your meter then that is a different kettle of fish altogether and a trip to A&E may well be on the cards.
So what you need to think about is to keep your blood glucose in a sensible range - I aim for it to be between 5 and 10 - and not to worry too much about the wanderings. It is at its lowest (around 5) before I eat and at its highest about an hour afterwards. I want to make sure it does not go above 10 and so I think about what I eat to make sure that does not happen (often). The key to it is carbohydrate.
It is easy to illustrate this with an example.
I have just had my lunch. It was low carbohydrate, home made veg soup (no potatoes in it) ham salad and four small crackers. Total carbohydrate under 25g. Before lunch I was at 4.7 and after lunch 6.6. All in target and good. Supposing for my lunch I had had a tin of supermarket veg soup and a ham/salad sandwich on white sliced with a dollop of potato salad on the side. That would have been 50+g of carbohydrate and experience tells me that would have pushed my blood glucose into double figures. Out of target and not good.
So what I, and many on here find is that by keeping a check on carbohydrate intake you can keep your blood glucose in a range that is not going to do permanent damage to your system. The trick is to find out what carbohydrates and how much you need to control. This varies considerably from person to person. It will take a little time to work out what works for you, but do a food diary and check on blood glucose rises on eating and you will soon get to see some patters and then adjust what you eat to eliminate the highs.
Sounds easy but it needs a bit of work, and we can help with encouragement and ideas. One member attributed their success to a bit of "dogged determination" and that is something I can agree with!
One thing that us old hands know but newbies don't is that your blood glucose goes up and down during the day. If everything in your system is working well, when your blood glucose goes up, your pancreas kicks in and produces insulin. The insulin allows your body to absorb the glucose and when things are behaving the high level is controlled to somewhere around 10 on your meter. As the glucose is absorbed, your blood glucose falls and will bottom out around 5 on your meter. A normal person would expect to see readings of between 5 and 10. If it goes out of that range on the high side so that your blood glucose rarely drops below 8 and spends significant periods in double figures then you get the diagnosis of diabetes. The object of treatment is to get things back into the normal range.
Various things make your blood glucose go up but the thing which has the biggest and most predictable effect is what you eat. Food contains carbohydrate, the gut turns this into glucose and the glucose gets in the blood and causes the numbers on your meter to go up. In a normal system the pancreas deals with this and keeps the maximum blood glucose under control. If your system is not working well and does not react to the increased blood glucose, the glucose builds up and will give readings into double figures on your meter. That is not a good thing, especially if your system cannot get the readings back down for a significant portion of the day. Prolonged high blood glucose can cause damage to various bits of the body and so early treatment to get it back into a normal range is sensible. If your blood glucose gets up towards 30 on your meter then that is a different kettle of fish altogether and a trip to A&E may well be on the cards.
So what you need to think about is to keep your blood glucose in a sensible range - I aim for it to be between 5 and 10 - and not to worry too much about the wanderings. It is at its lowest (around 5) before I eat and at its highest about an hour afterwards. I want to make sure it does not go above 10 and so I think about what I eat to make sure that does not happen (often). The key to it is carbohydrate.
It is easy to illustrate this with an example.
I have just had my lunch. It was low carbohydrate, home made veg soup (no potatoes in it) ham salad and four small crackers. Total carbohydrate under 25g. Before lunch I was at 4.7 and after lunch 6.6. All in target and good. Supposing for my lunch I had had a tin of supermarket veg soup and a ham/salad sandwich on white sliced with a dollop of potato salad on the side. That would have been 50+g of carbohydrate and experience tells me that would have pushed my blood glucose into double figures. Out of target and not good.
So what I, and many on here find is that by keeping a check on carbohydrate intake you can keep your blood glucose in a range that is not going to do permanent damage to your system. The trick is to find out what carbohydrates and how much you need to control. This varies considerably from person to person. It will take a little time to work out what works for you, but do a food diary and check on blood glucose rises on eating and you will soon get to see some patters and then adjust what you eat to eliminate the highs.
Sounds easy but it needs a bit of work, and we can help with encouragement and ideas. One member attributed their success to a bit of "dogged determination" and that is something I can agree with!
adrian1der
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi Ade
There is a book by Gretchen Becker called "The First Year: Type 2 Diabetes" which is well worth a read if you can get hold of a copy
There is a book by Gretchen Becker called "The First Year: Type 2 Diabetes" which is well worth a read if you can get hold of a copy
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Welcome to the forum @Ade
Many members here find a ’test review adjust’ approach very helpful when trying to see how their body is coping with various different meals.
loraldiabetes.blogspot.com
Good luck and let us know how you get on 🙂
Many members here find a ’test review adjust’ approach very helpful when trying to see how their body is coping with various different meals.
Test, Review, Adjust
Managing blood glucose levels for type 2 diabetes. Learning how to achieve long term control by testing and diet.
loraldiabetes.blogspot.com
Good luck and let us know how you get on 🙂
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