Quick question?

Type 2
1

Hi Guys…

I just have a quick question regarding my home readings. I took my reading when I woke up and it was 5.1 mmol/L and then I had 1 serving of Cheerios ( 1 cup = 1 g of sugar and 20 g of carbs) and 1 piece of seven grain toast (20 g of carbs)… My reading 1 hour after spiked up to 12.8 mmol/L and then 2 hours after it came back down to 4.6 mmol/L.

Are these good numbers or is the spike bad? I’m just trying to understand what is going on with my levels. I had pasta last night and 2 hours after my level spiked up to 14mmol/L but did come down to normal 3 hours later. Should I not be eating pasta anymore?

It seems like almost everything has either sugar or carbs in it so I’m not sure what a good breakfast choice would be for me…

Thanks in advance for your input… Paul

2

sorry I’m not familiar w/ those units but you should talk w/ your doc about educated on how to use your meter and what the results mean and how the doc would like you to handle them

you can have carbs but you may have to limit the number to keep your numbers in check or increase your meds/exercise to prevent a high reading. for breakfast I usually go w/ yogurt or eggs/bacon/sausage and try and limit the number of carbs I take in. hope that is helpful

3

Hi Paul,
the short answer is yes. Those spikes are bad. Even if your levels go back to normal relatively quick, a normal person would never reach 12mmol/l after eating, even if they ate all the sugar in the world. The spikes in blood sugar can damage your eyes, feet or kidneys in the long run. I’m just taking a guess here, but it sounds like your insulin response is shot and your pancreas takes too long to produce the necessary insulin.

It seems like almost everything has either sugar or carbs in it

And that right there is the dilemma of every diabetic I know. I know it’s mine. :wink: Especially breakfast can be extremely high carb, especially cornflakes (don’t forget to count the milk, if you use any) cause horrible spikes in a lot of people. I suggest you look into a low carb diet. There are a lot of books and recipes out there that offer alternatives to the normal stuff. Adding more protein to your breakfast should also help.

You just have to start experimenting to see what food and in which amounts causes the worst spikes, so you can avoid them. Maybe you will be fine without the cheerios and two pieces of toast? It is different for everybody.

I recommend you take a look at Blood Sugar 101. It has a lot of useful information.

Kat

4

Hi Paul. I have found that I can handle only a few carbs in the morning so breakfast was an issue for me as well. I try to do more protein than carbs. I usually have an egg white omelet with cheese and veggies (sometimes I add turkey sausage or canadian bacon and occassionally I will also have a couple of pieces of turkey bacon ), or a couple of peices of low carb bread with peanut butter. Today I am having cottage cheese with strawberries.

5

Are you using insulin or oral meds?

You’re right that almost everything has sugar or carbs. I avoid cereal for breakfast and I miss it a lot. If you’re going to have cereal, skip the toast. If you’re going to have toast, skip the cereal.

A low carb breakfast I often eat is a cheese omelet, bacon and half a fruit or tomato.

As for pasta - yep, it will spike you every time. You’re going to have to avoid it, or learn to get by on very small amounts.

Terry

6

Yep, you need to avoid these foods. Since you’re not on meds or taking insulin, you need to do whatever you can to keep BG normal.

Good that you’re coming back down, but the spikes are high & damaging.

I stick to protein for breakfast–eggs, cheese or meat.

7

HeyPaul,My sugar would gpo way up with pastahow big of a serving?If I have ONLY a 1/2cup be ok

8

I forgot I am taking metformin during that

9

Hi Kat,

Thanks for the link. There is some very interesting info on that site. I am going to try no cereal tomorrow and give the cheese omelette a go…

10

Hi Terry,

Thanks for the reply… Yes, I was shocked at how high my levels were an hour after the pasta. I guess I’m going to have to learn to do without those foods or really cut down the portions. I’m going to give a cheese omelette a try tomorrow…

Thanks, Paul

11

You should always test 2 hrs after eating. 2 hrs is at the top of my numbers unless I go into 300’s then I’m toast. Read labels, I eat a high fiber whole wheat that has 15g of carbs, sugar has to be low too. I like 2 eggs, 1 toast and small fruit like canteloupe. Omelets are great especially with veggies mixed in, I pre-cut mine up and baggie them in the fridge so all I have to do is mix up the eggs. Yogurt is good with granola with no sugar added in the granola. They have low carb pasta. Sometimes mine goes up even if I am well within the limits, it’s the disease.
Remember everyone responds differently, some can handle more of something you cant, and vice versa. Just do your best.

12

The spike is bad. You should avoid these foods.

13

Hi Paul,

How are things working out? Are you finding foods you can eat, and enjoy? If so, share, because this is a real bear to get a grip on. I do know that for sure.

FWIW, the numbers that seem to come up point to the notion that spikes are almost worse for your body, than running a bit high all the time. Seems to be some contention about what is the “magic number” to avoid, but for all the forums and other sources I have found, that number is 7.8 in your terminology. 140 in mine. Kind of like having to deal with the metric system and the imperial system. Drives me nuts when I work on cars, so why should diabetes be any different, right? :slight_smile:

Everyone pretty much gave the same recommendations that I would. I assume you have passed on the cereal and the pasta. Pasta has a fairly low glycemic index number and takes longer to “move through you” so the numbers may not go up as fast, but they will get there. That is why the one and two hour testing is a good thing, but you need to also be aware of what you are eating, relative to that glycemic number, so you can test appropriately.

I have found that some foods I can eat at other times of the day, and do better with them, but as I said elsewhere to you, I did have to give up the cereal and the pasta.

If you just have to have pasta, you may consider this:
http://www.dreamfieldsfoods.com/ppc_diabetes/?gclid=CMOllbyTjJ4CFQ4hDQodUDx6pw

Quite a few people I’ve met use it, and do very well with it. The cooking time has to be very precise, or else its no better than regular pasta. I haven’t used it, but the best I can figure is the pasta is ‘coated’ so that it breaks down very slowly over a long enough time, that you don’t get the jolt in your BG. Over cooking it, even a minute, will remove that “coating” and your numbers will rise like normal pasta, or so I am told.

I don’t know your personal situation, but in my case, I live alone, and find it downright impossible to find recipes and suggestions for single servings of most meals. Got lots of “diabetic diet” books, and they would be fun to try, if there was 4, 6, or 8 people to feed, but that’s not how it works for me, so I have to pass on most of what I find, and just fake it, hoping to get a good tip or idea from something. Not sure why I want to make a ten fake pancakes. Oh sure, there are recipes for brownies, but they all serve like, a dozen people, and one brownie is all I could eat. So if I make the full boat, I either have to throw away most of them away, or I will find myself in front of the idiot box, covered in chocolate, and hating myself for downing ten times more carbs than I can cope with. lol!

Hang in there, and if you find stuff that works, please share. Lots of us are in the same, ‘what do I eat?’ situation.

John

14

Hi John,

Thanks… Trying to keep on top of which foods to stay away from and yes, testing after every meal I have noticed that cereal, potatoes, pasta and bread are the biggest culprits for me. I don’t think my numbers are too bad though, I’m averaging about 81 - 104 in the mornings (fasting). One example is a meal I had yesterday… Half a large pork chop, vegetables and a small amount of potatoes… Before-104, 1 hour after-133 and 2 hours after-108… What do you think about these numbers, are they acceptable spikes?

I’m lucky in that I have a great wife who is helping me with the food choices… We have started to read every label in the grocery store and are very conscious about which foods we buy…

I get my results tomorrow from my last blood test and will be asking a few questions regarding spikes and the possibility of LADA as some have suggested here… As I’ve indicated before, I’ve lost about 15 lbs in the last 2 months but I’m unsure if that’s because I’ve cut down in the beer and carbs or other reasons…

Thanks again for your comments… I appreciate them…

Paul

15

Those numbers should be making you feel pretty good. You didn’t hit the magic 140 (+/- accuracy) so nothing to be too concerned with. Back to where you started after two hours is a good thing as well.

If you were able to maintain such numbers for the three months, your A1c should wind up under 6.0 There are several calculators online that you can put in your best guess for an average BG, and get a close estimate of your A1c.

If you stay under 140 an hour after you eat, and your fasting numbers get down under 100 consistently, shouldI think you are doing pretty well. Of course, my degree is in Electronics, so keep that in mind :slight_smile:

Do you get cinnamon every day? It makes a difference in my numbers. Look it up, and see if you think you can get it down somehow, and how much you think is right. I asked recently and got some good ideas about what I can put it on to be able to use it.

15 lbs in two months ain’t bad. Beer is not that high in carbs, or calories, so I would say its your other diet changes that have done the job. I have read more than one report that says that the “beer belly” doesn’t come from the beer, so much as it does the pizza, chips, and other snacks that go down with it during the big game. I think that makes a lot of sense.

What makes you think about LADA?

John

16

Hey John,

I’ve been about 160 lbs for about 10 years or so, give or take 1 - 2 lbs… So, losing the 15 lbs has me a little concerned…

A few of the members here suggested LADA so I looked into it and found a web site that listed a couple of symptoms:

  • Adult age at diagnosis (usually over 25 years of age)
  • Initial presentation masquerades as non-obese type 2 diabetes (does not present as diabetic ketoacidosis)
  • Initially can be controlled with meal planning with or without diabetes pills
  • Insulin dependency gradually occurs, frequently within months
  • Positive antibodies
  • Low C-peptide levels.
  • Unlikely to have a family history of type 2 diabetes.

I’m, 44, not large (6’, 150 lbs), no family history of diabetes and I seem to be controlling it with diet and exercise… I will be asking my Dr about it and if she thinks I need to get tested for it…

Re: The Pizza… have you read this document?

A member sent it to me and I was amazed at how high the pizza raised a non-diabetics levels…

Thanks, Paul

17

I did some searching after reading your last post. LADA can certainly put a scare into anyone. Makes me think twice tho, so I will be watching out for it, as I am not on any meds, just diet and exercise. I think my mom was diabetic towards the end, but have no hard proof. Before her generation, no one would know anyway, so using genetics is kind of bogus when you think about it.

I read the article, and well, just because his A1c was 5.3 doesn’t mean he is not diabetic. Actually, 5.3 is kind of high for a perfectly healthy person, as far as I have read. A non diabetic, with a healthy pancreas can eat a pizza, or a quart of ice cream, and never see his BG soar up over 200. This guy is a diabetic who doesn’t know it. My A1c is 5.5, but I am diabetic.

He should have taken a fasting glucose test before declaring his health condition. Normal folks who eat at MacDonalds are surely damaging themselves, but their BG will not go to the numbers this fellow reported, so I would take what he said, and consider that he never had a baseline to work with. What were his fasting numbers, over the course of a few weeks? With the proper testing, one cannot say they are not diabetic.

Guess its just my opinion, mixed with a few facts I have learned, and I will hope to be corrected, but a healthy pancreas can dole out all the insulin you need pretty much no matter what you eat. Again, imo, this guy is a diabetic, or if the word makes people happy, he is pre-diabetic, which is like being slightly pregnant :slight_smile:

Guess I would have to get the tests you are talking about, and along with all my other commentaries about our healthcare system, such tests should be given to just about all T2’s as a matter of course. The idea of a doctor, should be to prevent illness and damage, not to treat it after the fact. I am not scheduled to see my doctor for six months, but perhaps I will stop in after my next A1c results, regardless, and talk to him about LADA.

Thanks for sharing.

John

18

I agree with John. An A1c of 5.3 is not a normal, non-diabetic test result, nor are extreme highs after eating. I’ve tested friends & my husband after carb laden meals & they never came close to high BG. My husband after devouring a half loaf of bread has been 105-110 for a bit & then quickly back down to the 80’s.

I was diagnosed at 53, with no famliy history of diabetes (either type). Had I not been DKA, I would have been diagnosed LADA. My endo said my BG was probably creeping up high for years until I crashed & burned & nearly died. My fasting glucose had never been abnormal, but no one, including me, knew what was happening after meals. I wish A1c’s were a standard part of blood panels so that people would be diagnosed earlier.

19

Hi. I was diagnosed at age 41. I have no family history of type 1 or type 2 . I lost about that amount of weight. I would definitely get checked for type 1. My PCP didn’t suggest I get tested for the antibodies. He had me on metformin and glyburide.It wasn’t until I went to Joslin Diabetes Clinic that one doctor looked at me and said that I didn’t present like a type 2. I got tested and the results came back and I started insulin on Nov 14th last year. I have the antibodies and am type 1 afterall.

You may have peace of mind just knowing for sure. Take care and be your own advocate.

20

For you morning cereal lovers…take a look at Special K Protein Plus - 9 net Carbs
I can’t put fruit in it or drink the milk that remains in the bowl without a prolonged high (several hours)…

Highs for me are 120 to 130. Rarely do I go over 130 and I am happier if I am between 90 and 110. I try to keep tight control.
I can’t eat pasta or bread (not even a little bit) unless I get right on the bike and work some of that sugar out. My son’s favorite food is pasta so I do eat it (tonight as a matter of fact)…I just plan accordingly.

The A1C is important…however, in my humble opinion, it is given too much weight. Keep in mind that it is simply an average and a person could spend a significant amount of time with high BSG levels that causes damage and still have an acceptable A1C. Again, in my humble opinion, the key is to know your body and what certain foods will do to you. TEST…TEST…TEST and TEST some more.

I am a non-insulin using T2 and take metformin 2x day. Good Luck!