Acceptable Level Of Blood Glucose ?

fordy · #1 03/11/12, 01:39 PM

..............I'm a Type 2 diabetic , doc has me taking metformin(before eating) , 500mg. twice daily ! My tests say my Glucose rises from about 105-120 up to around 150-175 after breakfast ! And probably the same in the evening ! I was just diagnosed in dec-2011 and she is continuing too adjust her recommendations as time passes . I am losing weight , albeit very slowly and will start walking every morning fairly soon as the temps start to climb .
..............So , are my glucose readings within tolerable levels other things being equal ? , thanks , fordy

**Terri** · #2 03/11/12, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordy

..............I'm a Type 2 diabetic , doc has me taking metformin(before eating) , 500mg. twice daily ! My tests say my Glucose rises from about 105-120 up to around 150-175 after breakfast ! And probably the same in the evening ! I was just diagnosed in dec-2011 and she is continuing too adjust her recommendations as time passes . I am losing weight , albeit very slowly and will start walking every morning fairly soon as the temps start to climb .
..............So , are my glucose readings within tolerable levels other things being equal ? , thanks , fordy

Because you are a beginner, your blood glucose levels are really pretty good! As you prick your finger over time, you will learn better what your body needs. The diabetic diet is a starting point, but we all tweek it a bit until our blood sugars are better.

To reduce a highish after morning blood sugar, eat a little more protein and a little less carbs. If I am hungry I can have more eggs, but to keep my own personal blood sugar under control only one carb exchange for breakfast is best, so I will eat only one slice of toast with my eggs. But that might just be me.

As for your after dinner blood sugars, you might be pleasantly surprised. Mine stay pretty stable, as that is when the glucophage level is at its highest. Why don't you stick your finger after dinner and find out?

By the way, losing weight slowly is very acceptable. This is not a diet so much as it is a lifestyle. I lost 1-2 pounds of weight a month for 20 months. And, my blood pressure dropped to normal. You are not going for instant results but for results that will stay with you.

Belfrybat · #3 03/11/12, 03:02 PM

According to the ADA, your blood sugars are normal for a diabetic. But I try not to let mine to get that high. The American Association of Clinical Endocronologists (try saying that three times in a row!) state that blood sugars above 140 are damaging, so recommend that postprandials not go above that. So that is my upper limit goal. I also aim for fasting levels below 100. In order to accomplish that, I have to eat low carb (about 60-75 in a day spread out).

As to "normal". Low to mid 80's fasting and 2 hours after any meal. A normal person might spike as high as 120-140 after a carb heavy meal but the levels will fall rapidly to the mid 80's at the 2 hour mark.

BTW, you are on a very low dose of metformin. 1500 mg. a day is considered therapeutic. You might want to ask the doctor to increase the dosage.

ldc · #4 03/11/12, 03:03 PM

fordy, most docs say to wait 2 hours to 2.5 hours after eating breakfast, to test. Everyon's numbers go up right after eating. Please ask for time frame, all the best, ldc

Jennifer L. · #5 03/11/12, 08:17 PM

fordy, I agree completely with Belfrybat.

My advice is test, test, test. Find out what really spikes the blood glucose by testing and get that food out of your diet, or at least, adjust those portion sizes downward until you get a more normal BG response.

Good luck with it. When you get handed that diagnosis it's no fun.

Jennifer

Elffriend · #6 03/12/12, 12:11 AM

I would suggest keeping a food diary as well as testing, that way when you get an unusually high number, you can figure out which food is causing it.

Reducing your overall carb intake will help. Cutting carbs way back at breakfast will also help.

Alice In TX/MO · #7 03/12/12, 02:07 AM

Oatmeal may spike your blood sugar in the same way a candy bar does.

I *highly* suggest you get the book Wheat Belly, by Dr. William Davis. He's a cardiologist who got interested in his heart patients who were diabetic, too, and made some very important discoveries about diet.

http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/about-the-author/

oldmania · #8 03/12/12, 06:57 AM

Guide from A national HMO:

Fasting and before meals: 70 - 130
2 hours after meals: Below 180
At bedtime: 100 - 140

Belfrybat · #9 03/12/12, 07:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldmania

Guide from A national HMO:

Fasting and before meals: 70 - 130
2 hours after meals: Below 180
At bedtime: 100 - 140

Those are the upper limits, not the ideal. By and large, aim for normal levels by controlling carbs and taking the appropriate meds. Since levels above 140 are damaging, I would strongly suggest you try to stay below that at all times. My practice when trying out a new food is to test an hour and two hours after eating. If I spike above 140 at the hour mark, then I know that food is off my list except perhaps on a very special occasion.

Fordy, you are going to read/ hear differing suggestions. Unfortunately the ADA is not our friend -- they are ruled by big pharma and have set the goals for diabetics at a dangerously high level.

The very best book I can recommend is Dr. Richard K. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution. He advocates that diabetics have a right to normal blood sugars and lays out a plan to achieve that. Even if you don't follow his diet strictly, the knowlege in that book is priceless. He also has a monthly webcast where he answers questions from diabetics and there is an excellent forum. http://www.diabetes-book.com/ is the main website.

If you don't want to spend the $$ to buy his newest book, you can pick up the previous issue of his book (2007) very cheaply off half.com or amazon Marketplace.

Lynx · #10 03/12/12, 07:26 AM

Read the book mentioned by Belfraybat. It is the starchy/sugary carbs that causes the spike. If you eat 10 carbs for Breakfast then you may not get much of a spike. The book will explain this. Loose the weight fast. 30 carbs a day. read the book.

James AKA Lynx

oregon woodsmok · #11 03/13/12, 04:55 PM

That's too high. Blood sugar gets tested 30 minutes after eating. I suggest that you modify your breakfast so you are eating more fiber, more protein, and fewer carbs. Something is sending your blood sugar up and you need to reduce whatever is doing it.

fordy · #12 03/13/12, 07:05 PM

...............Well , you'll have really helped me understand the levels I need to live within ! My biggest challenge is reducing the quantity of my intake , I'll eventually change all my lifelong eating habits , but it won't be easy . Thanks to each of you for your help . , fordy

Shygal · #13 03/13/12, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oregon woodsmok

That's too high. Blood sugar gets tested 30 minutes after eating. I suggest that you modify your breakfast so you are eating more fiber, more protein, and fewer carbs. Something is sending your blood sugar up and you need to reduce whatever is doing it.

No it doesnt

Everyones blood sugar goes up after eating, you need to test an hour after eating, and some doctors will tell you two hours. Not 30 minutes.

**Terri** · #14 03/13/12, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordy

...............Well , you'll have really helped me understand the levels I need to live within ! My biggest challenge is reducing the quantity of my intake , I'll eventually change all my lifelong eating habits , but it won't be easy . Thanks to each of you for your help . , fordy

Your BEST chance of reducing your blood sugar is to eat MORE!

More bell peppers, more lettuce, more celery and other salads, more lean fish, more lean chicken, more....but you get the idea. Low calorie foods like this help you to regulate your blood sugar.

Eat less prime rib, less fatty meats, less SWEET salad dressings, less high carb foods.

fordy · #15 03/13/12, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terri

Your BEST chance of reducing your blood sugar is to eat MORE!

More bell peppers, more lettuce, more celery and other salads, more lean fish, more lean chicken, more....but you get the idea. Low calorie foods like this help you to regulate your blood sugar.

Eat less prime rib, less fatty meats, less SWEET salad dressings, less high carb foods.

.............Thanks Terri , I love salad and normally use Italian dressing , but , sometimes I grab the Maries Ranch ! No sugar but lotsa fat calories I'm sure . Appreciate your help . , fordy

Wendy · #16 03/13/12, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Blood sugar gets tested 30 minutes after eating.

My mom has been diabetic for over 20 years. She has always say you test at least 2 hours after. I was watching my levels when pregnant last time & the diabetic counselor told me to check it 2 hours after a meal.

fetch33 · #17 03/13/12, 09:33 PM

Don't bother testing after a meal. Test before meals. That is what we do at the hospital. The new normals are 70-100 for fasting. I my experience, 70 as a normal blood sugar is too low. I am shaking like crazy when my sugar gets to 80 and I am not diabetic.

momx4 · #18 03/14/12, 08:49 AM

The more testing you do, the more information you will have as to how foods affect your blood glucose. The standard is 2 hours after eating (and it works for us dealing with Type 1 diabetes).

My youngest has Type 1 diabetes, so she is dependent on insulin. Due to other issues, I am the one that manages her diabetes. Breakfast is the most difficult meal for keeping blood sugar down. Insulin resistance (which also applies to Type 2) is greatest in the morning, at least partly due to increased hormones (cortisol for one, I think) which help us to wake up.

Making note of what you've eaten and how it affects your blood sugar will be the most helpful. You will then be able to determine what you want to eat and what you want to avoid.

**Terri** · #19 03/14/12, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordy

.............Thanks Terri , I love salad and normally use Italian dressing , but , sometimes I grab the Maries Ranch ! No sugar but lotsa fat calories I'm sure . Appreciate your help . , fordy

Remember that you are allowed a little fat at every meal. If your meal is very low fat, then you can have the fat calories in your salad dressing. If you eat baked fish with no butter and a little rice, that means that you can have a salad with the high fat dressing with it.

We all tweek the diabetic diet to suit our systems: I just found out yesterday that my fasting blood sugar is now 130. I had ALREADY started eating my morning snack with my pills and delaying my breakfast until after the pills had taken effect, but with a morning BS that high I think it best to decrease the snack I eat with my pills. So, this morning I am taking pills with 2 crackers and a glass of unsweetened ice tea, blast it!

Switching my morning snack with my breakfast kept me steady for some years, but I need to tweek my diet some more and so I have done it. I have not stuck my finger after my morning snack for months, as there are not many calories in one carb exchange so I did not bother, but maybe I should have, darn it!

I am sitting here, not satisfied with my 2 crackers for a morning snack, and so I am planning my breakfast. It is my own coping mechanism for having a snack not satisfy.

An easy over egg, I think. Maybe also a salad and a half packet of oatmeal? The cinnamon roll flavor is 2 carb exchanges per packet and so I fix half a packet per breakfast. Or, since my daughter is wanting to cook waffles I can have a slice of one to go with my egg: without syrup of course!

All diabetics, AFTER they get used to the new diet, tweek it a bit to suit them. And, with all of the changes it is hard to figure out what to eat at first. So a couple of diabetic meal ideas are below.

Meatballs with spagetti: that is enough spagetti noodles to fullfill your diet. Bell pepper strips. Dessert can be sugar free jello.

Chicken cacchiatore: Chicken with sauce and parmissan cheese and enough noodles to stay within your diet. Salad.

Baked fish with soy and enough rice to fulfill your diet. stir fry veggies with soy( I like cabbage in a stir fry but you can also use bell peppers, celery, and other free vegetables) Salt makes me want sweet and so I like this with a diet coke.

Pot roast with ketsup, carrots, and potato. If you simmer the low-fat beef with the bubbles just breaking the water for an hour you can then kick up the heat and it will be so tender you can eat it with a fork. I like a little onion flavor in this.

I also feel more satisfied with bread with it so I decrease the amount of veggies to allow this, which is not a hardship because in the evening the pills are peaking and so I can have 4 carb exchanges instead of one. Sending me home with a home test kit was one of the fest things the doc ever did: I need to be CAREFULL in the morning but I can eat a better lunch and eat my fill of healthy foods in the evening! And, if by chance I do not feel full in the evening I can drink more sugar free ice tea.

I no longer use sweetener in the tea: I discovered that if I make it half strength that it doesn't need it.

As for when to test, I have stuck my finger at random. I found that my BS was going crazy up an hour after breakfast (like 200) and that worried me, and so I adjusted my diet until it no longer did. I kept my A1C in the 5's for a long time but now I am in my low 6's, possibly because my fasting BS had gone up to 130 and my morning snack was now too large. Well, I just fixed that! I look forward to my next A1C!

I am also looking forward to my breakfast in an hour. My appetite will adjust in a few days but right now I think that I will begin the morning chores!

Elffriend · #20 03/14/12, 09:18 AM

Fordy, cut your carbs, not your fat. Fat is not the enemy and will not raise your blood sugar. Never eat a serving of carbs alone, always have some fat and/or protein to go with it. That will slow down the digestion of the carbs and cause your blood glucose to rise more slowly.

When I was first diagnosed I tested fasting every morning as soon as I got up, before I ate or drank anything, and then two hours after each meal. Now that my blood sugar is stable I test fasting every day and one other time each day at my doctor's suggestion. If you test frequently, at least in the beginning, and keep a food diary, you will quickly see which foods affect you most.

Not everyone's approach to diabetes is the same, but ultimately we all have the goal of reducing our blood sugar to normal levels. Please read the book that Belfrybat recommended.