Thoughts

[Amy_Parsons]

I think I’ve decided I need to talk to a different endocrinologist. I went to one a few weeks ago, and he pretty much brushed me off - saying that the spikes to 165-180 after eating aren’t a big deal. I’m not convinced. When I asked him about what to eat, he said he didn’t know about carbs - just to watch my caloric intake. That answer doesn’t align with anything I’ve heard elsewhere. My regular dr seemed concerned at the spikes after eating - enough so to give me a prescription for test strips. And she said that those spikes were to diabetic levels. Just feeling a little helpless right now - the dr who sees those higher levels as an issue won’t put me on meds or anything until my A1C gets to 7, but it’s at 5.6 now. And I’d kinda like to keep it around there.

I know I haven’t given it much of a chance, but everytime I get any physical activity, my pre-meal bg goes a lot lower, to around 85 (down from 100-110), but if I eat anything carb-heavy, it goes right back up after I eat, just as high as if the pre-meal bg were at 110. That means the spike after eating is more significant if I DO get exercise. I can’t see that as a good thing. It seems like I have to get my bg to a certain level before my body will do anything about it. Makes me think maybe exercise isn’t doing me any good - all it’s doing is lowering the pre-meal bg, thus making the A1C look more normal. But the jump after eating is more drastic, which is definitely not a better thing - a jump of 80-100 rather than a jump of half that…

Just curious if anyone else has been in this situation - does consistent exercise make the after-eating numbers improve too? Do I just need to get some exercise regularly, rather than once a week or so?

[Gerri]

Hi Amy,

Great advice from Judith!

Exercise is very important. Aside from the other health benefits, it improves insulin sensitivity. 85 is perfect & normal. Have you tried eating a less carb heavy meal after exercise to see the effects? How many times have you tested after exercise & eating to be sure this is a real pattern & not random?

Agree that you need a new endo. A doctor who wants to wait until your BG is higher & tells you just to count calories doesn’t have your welfare as a priority. 160-185 after meals is too high. Good for you taking charge of your health!

[Elizabeth6]

“he said he didn’t know about carbs”?? And this guy treats diabetes? Yeah, I’d say you need a different endocrinologist all right. Calories don’t have JACK to do with it. It’s all about the carbohydrates (and to a certain extent the fats) that you eat in relation to your ability to process them. Have you met with a nutritionist who knows diabetes? Someone like that might give you better information than an endocrinologist. You can keep your BG levels post-eating in better ranges only if you have a good understanding of what causes BG to spike and that’s information a nutritionist would be better able to give you than an endocrinologist.

There’s a lot of good information available, but Judith is totally correct that everyone is different and you’ll have to do trial and error to find out what works for you. But regular exercise is key; it increases insulin sensitivity, and that will bring your numbers down.

[Amy_Parsons]

Thanks for all the responses. I’m glad to see that everyone seems to be saying the same things I’d been reading - that these spikes are not ok. And that reducing carbs is necessary. I was really surprised to hear him say that calories were all that matter. He told me if I’d lose about 15lbs, I’d feel a lot better. That was his only recommendation, besides continuing to watch my bg levels and come back in 6 months.

It does sound like a good idea to talk to a dietitian - I’d gotten myself into a bit of a mess, of not wanting to eat anything at all, for about a week, lost about 7 lbs in 4 days, and then went right back to eating like I had before (which really is pretty good, but a little high on carbs)

It seems that this endo has a lot of diabetic patients, but he doesn’t seem too good at listening - answers his own questions, etc. I’m pretty sure he thinks I thought I was hypOglycemic, because I said that was the sort of feelings I was having that led me to start checking my bg levels. I’m going to call another endo later this week - really need to get this to a point where I’m comfortable with the kind of responses I’m getting from drs - answers that align with things I read/hear everywhere!

Judith - I’ll look for those books.

And I’ll try giving exercise more of a chance - I’ve only experimented with the interactions between exercise (i.e. walking) and food / bg a couple times. I’m slightly hesitant to try too much to get my bg where I want it, consistently, until I find an dr I feel I can trust, since I really need them to be able to see what I’m saying the problem is… but I probably shouldn’t use that excuse for too long…

[Christalyn]

Get another endo quickly…he in california there are several Clinics dedicated to diabetes. My endo freaks out when my numbers are around 130…it is a pain but I like that she cares. when I was diagnosed I was seeing a PCP. This guy didn’t do a whole lot for me but refill my prescription every month. Never told me about anything really but gave me this 4 grade food chart and told me to follow this for my eating. He did tell me to lose 50 pounds and i would be allright.

If the doctor is not giving you the right care than get the away from them. You are to valuable of a person to be around that silliness. American Diabetic Association website has a doctor referral on it. I have never used it but give it a try…

Take care.
~C