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Up and down like a yoyo

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Miffed

Miffed

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi Guys

My doc says I am within safe limits but my levels are up and down like crazy and I feel awful.

I haven't changed my diet what could cause this?

21st 8.4 (before bed)
22nd 14.4 (before breakfast)
23rd 11.8 (before breakfast)
24th 16 (before breakfast)
25th 6.4 (before breakfast)
 
Hello @Miffed welcome to the forum.

Yes your overnight figures are higher than we would like.

Miffed said:
I haven't changed my diet what could cause this?
Click to expand...

Not changing your diet.🙂
 
Could you give us an idea of the sort of things you are eating as that might shed more light on your readings?

Do you keep a food diary along with your readings?
 
Breakfast I have 2 x brown toast (with seeds) butter + Marmite
Lunch A steak, beef, pork or fish with small spud
Evening A salad
No snacks 2 maybe 3 coffees with full milk and sweeteners

I must keep under 1,500 and have done for the last 3 x weeks
I've kept my diet very basic and have not varied it.

The readings should be the same every day
 
I can see why you are somewhat frustrated and confused by your results in that case, particularly as it looks like you are not having any appreciable carbs on a night time and I wonder if you may be Type 1 or LADA.

Can I ask if you are carrying much/any excess weight or are you a normal/slim build?

It might be worth trying reducing your carb intake further and seeing what happens. Maybe have some creamy Natural yoghurt and berries and seeds for breakfast or an omelette or something and ditch the toast/bread from the menu and see if that has any impact.

Can you remind us what, if any, medication you are on for your diabetes?
 
I'm not fat, my BMI is normal

I have 25mg of Alogliptin and 80 mg of Glictazide a day

I exercise regularly

Maybe it's the bread?
 
In that case with those medications and that diet, I think it is highly likely that you are Type1 or LADA (Type 1.5) and I would be pushing my doctor for a referral to a specialist diabetes clinic and asking for GAD antibody and C-peptide tests to clarify your Type.
 
If your BG levels start to go significantly higher and you start to get abdominal pain or respiratory problems get yourself to hospital. Do you have any means of testing for ketones ie Ketostix that you dip into your urine. If your readings go up into the mid teens or beyond then having a means of testing for ketones will give you a much better indication of how serious your situation is. They can be bought from a pharmacist for about £5 I believe if your GP is not being helpful/supportive.
Unfortunately, many GPs do not realise that Type 1 can exhibit in older people and believe it is only something which children get, so they assume you must be Type 2 purely because you are an adult.
Hope you are able to get some better support but please do be careful and seek hospital help if you start to feel really unwell.... Unfortunately if you go to hospital too soon and you don't have really high BG readings and ketones they will likely just send you home again, so it can be useful to be able to monitor your ketone levels when your BG is high and only seek help when you get ketone readings as well.

I should point out that I am not a medical professional and I could be entirely wrong, but those would be my thoughts on your situation and sooner or later I think you will probably need insulin. Please keep seeking help from your GP or the Diabetic nurse at your practice and explain to them what you are eating and the readings you are getting, especially if they keep going higher. If you get a reading of over 30, go straight to A&E
 
Sorry to hear that you are seeing greater BG variation than you would like @Miffed

It might be helpful for your GP to know that you are limiting your carbohydrate intake - particularly in the evenings, but still seeing significant variation overnight.

There are other things that can cause BG variation - stress, illness and certain medications like steroids for example - but your GP understanding your management strategies and the results you are seeing might prompt the extra checks and confirmation of diabetes classification that @rebrascora suggests.
 
As others have suggested it would be good to get further tests. It is possible that you have T1.
It is important that your GP knows that you are eating low carbs so they cannot assume the higher levels are due to those. Some GPs will still assume that you must be T2 if you are over 40. (I was a late starter at 53, and definitely T1.)

Keep in touch and let us know how you get on.
 
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