Hi, I am new to the group but have been reading topics off and on. A little history of me, I am 48 and was diagnosed (only through A1C) one year ago. At the time A1C was 11.2. In the year since, I have started exercising 5-6 days a week, started a “lower” carb diet, lost 55 pounds and at last A1C a few weeks ago was at 5.6. I take 1000mg Met ER twice a day. Per my MD, I check my BG fasting, pre-lunch and pre-dinner. Range 101-125 fasting, 100-120 pre-lunch and 85-105 pre-dinner. MD states my #’s are great. I have greatly cut back on carbs but still want to “live” and enjoy. Only very rarely do I take a BG reading 2 hours after eating as I am always scared what it might be and discourage me from feeling like I can eat “real” food. My doctor has mentioned to try and keep it 140 or below at 2 hours. If I did this, I don’t think I would ever be able to eat anything with carbs again. Yesterday after having a lunch that seemed to be very low in carbs (6 g net tortilla, ham, turkey, cheese, small apple, 7 g net Fiber Gourmet crackers) I tested at 2 hours and was at 179 (109 before). Then 3 hours later, which included exercise, I was at 97. If I had had a more carb loaded meal I am guessing I would have been in the 300 range. I guess I really should be asking the MD, but how much do these meal spikes hurt in the long run when it appears most of the rest of the day I am where I should be? I want to be healthy, but at this early point in the game, don’t know how I could give up the occasional pizza, burger and some fries, sub, etc. And by occasional I mean maybe 2 meals a week. I am still just so terrified of not begin able to enjoy these foods anymore. Sorry for such a long first post.
Keep testing two hrs after a meal. The rest of your numbers are great now focus in on that below 140 post prandial goal.
Hi Scott
Are you on insulin?
I too have post prandial spikes. sometimes they are just inevitable. What i try to do is bolus early, so that the insulin has had an effect once the carbs hit the blood…
Maybe splitting your carbs up instead of having them all in one meal might help, e.g., have the crackers and cheese as a snack?
I am not currently on insulin, just Metformin.
The theory is that time spent above 140 damages your pancreas and over time your ability to safely metabolize carbs decreases. Having said that an A1C of 5.6 would seem to indicate you are not spending much time over 140.
You can test the meal that caused the spike by repeating but eliminating one of the carb sources and testing. By the process of elimination you can find out the problem foods.
The carb source is just as important as the net carbs. Some foods just hit your blood stream to quickly for your pancreas to keep up, and to add to the confusion everyone is different so a food that causes a blood sugar disaster in one person may not be a problem for another.
Looking at the meal you posted the first change I would test would be to eliminate the apple. The other possibilities are the crackers and tortilla’s. Low carb tortilla’s work for some but not for me. The only way to find out your tolerance is to test.
Testing is your best friend you need data to make intelligent food choices.
If you really are scared of the outcome of high carb meals, asking your doctor for meal-time insulin might be an option, a small dose before carb loaded meals could help keep your post prandial BG at bay and maybe even relieve your pancreas of the heavy work it is already doing.
Scott, another thought is to do 1/2 hour of good exercise after a meal that you feel will create a spike.
This is not a guaranteed “solution”, however. I would continue to test 2 hours after meals to figure out the foods that are responsible for the spikes and either eliminate those foods or talk to your physician about the possibility of using meal-time insulin. But be aware that for a lot of PWD, some foods cause unwanted spikes regardless of how much insulin they take or how far in advance of a meal they prebolus.
The bottom line is that you have to decide on how much risk you want to take if you want to continue eating the foods that spike your blood sugar.
I feel the same as @BadMoonT2, your A1c seems to suggest that your are not having a lot of highs. The only way to know is to test 2 hours after eating more often. If the highs are frequent it might be time to discuss them with the doc. From what I can see your meal today was not excessive, You can probably go even lower carb but at what cost to your happiness.
There is a lot more that can be done, Met ER is a starting point, more agressive treatment is possible if needed. Do some more testing then discuss your findings with your doctor. Doctors love patients that really get involved in their treatment.
Thanks fro the responses everyone.
Hi, my first thought is how many carbs are you eating.
Tortilla -20 ?
Apple 15
Crackers- 7 net carbs what is total carb?
I count my carbs every meal. Gives me a good idea of how I am eating my carbs for the day. Hope this helps. Nancy