High Blood Sugar Levels / Type 2

[wong]

Please don't take this the wrong way and don't answer if it's too personal.

OP, you haven't mentioned what your weight, height and BMI are. Being grossly overweight will eventually lead to diabetes. Massive weight loss can sometimes mean no longer needing drugs anymore.

[P. ONeill]

On a positive note I didn’t get COVID.

[wong]

What is your height? Sometimes "massive " weight loss can "cure" previous type 2 diabetes.
You may even qualify for bariatric surgery.

[wong]

So, give yourself a target weight loss goal for 6 months. Only aim for 0.5 - 1.0 kg per week. Weigh yourself on the same scales and ignore daily variations, once or twice a week is enough.
You may even not need surgery if you are determined enough with the dieting.

[P. ONeill]

I really don’t want to have surgery, it should always be the last resort.

I’ve been away for a week’s holiday, feel good, ate well, moved a lot and only had a little amount of alcohol on Saturday night. I don’t feel an urge to drink at present and for the first time in a very long time I can safely say I am fully focused on my health and diet. Down 3kgs in a week, but will be happy with a moderate loss every week. Slow and steady.

Got up early this morning, walked the dogs and had breakfast, baked eggs with chicken and chorizo, all healthy and a cup of tea. Blood levels are going in the right direction, still a little on the high side but Rome wasn’t built in a day etc. Around lunchtime I can only describe what happened as a crash. Zero energy, felt terrible, didn’t have any of the little sticks to measure my blood levels but I had a blood pressure monitor beside the bed and it was very low 89/51. Was it some sort of a crash? I listened to my body and a glass of coke and a little bit of chocolate brought me round but it wasn’t nice and I cannot believe how disgusting coke actually tastes after a couple of weeks. Things have returned to normal now though I do feel tired.

[wong]

Well done. A first step in the right direction. You seem already to be aware that 3kg in a week is unrealistic.

Just google some stuff that you eat and be surprised - a tin of coke is ~ 7 teaspoons of sugar.
Another way is to look at some recipes and try cooking - shortbread biscuits are ~ 1/3 sugar; 1/3 flour and 1/3 butter.

[mike9009]

That sounds great, or at least a good start. You'll weigh nothing in a year's time at that weight loss rate!

You are cutting out carbs which is probably what caused your funny spell. Then topped up with the worst carbs ever, which made you feel good again. However, they probably put your pancreas under some strain, which you want to avoid.

I would advise you eat some slow release carbs (bread, whole meal pasta, Weetabix) to avoid what you experienced. Little and frequent. These carbs will provide you with the energy you need and something your pancreas will thank you for. It may also help with the tiredness.

Glad exercise is becoming part of the regime too. Eventually find something that you enjoy and gets your heart rate up substantially. This will aid with the weight loss. I have recently got back into cycling which I loved as a kid. I regularly get above 150bpm heart rate even though it is a e bike. Done just over 320miles in the last month, which shocked me a little.

It is a learning experience and you will find what works for you.

Edited by mike9009 on Saturday 2nd July 19:00

[wong]

mike9009 said:

That sounds great, or at least a good start. You'll weigh nothing in a year's time at that weight loss rate!

Glad exercise is becoming part of the regime too. Eventually find something that you enjoy and gets your heart rate up substantially. This will aid with the weight loss. I have recently got back into cycling which I loved as a kid. I regularly get above 150bpm heart rate even though it is a e bike. Done just over 320miles in the last month, which shocked me a little.

Edited by mike9009 on Saturday 2nd July 19:00

Walking the dog is great. The dog forces you to do it every day come rain or shine. Any additional exercise is good, just do something that you enjoy. Making it a habit at the beginning is the hard part.

[Ruskie]

P. ONeill said:

I really don’t want to have surgery, it should always be the last resort.

I’ve been away for a week’s holiday, feel good, ate well, moved a lot and only had a little amount of alcohol on Saturday night. I don’t feel an urge to drink at present and for the first time in a very long time I can safely say I am fully focused on my health and diet. Down 3kgs in a week, but will be happy with a moderate loss every week. Slow and steady.

Got up early this morning, walked the dogs and had breakfast, baked eggs with chicken and chorizo, all healthy and a cup of tea. Blood levels are going in the right direction, still a little on the high side but Rome wasn’t built in a day etc. Around lunchtime I can only describe what happened as a crash. Zero energy, felt terrible, didn’t have any of the little sticks to measure my blood levels but I had a blood pressure monitor beside the bed and it was very low 89/51. Was it some sort of a crash? I listened to my body and a glass of coke and a little bit of chocolate brought me round but it wasn’t nice and I cannot believe how disgusting coke actually tastes after a couple of weeks. Things have returned to normal now though I do feel tired.

You probably dipped a bit low with your medication. It can be a balancing act in the early months. You may find if you have a really active day you feel like that, as you burn off more sugar. I doubt it was your blood pressure causing that at 89 systolic.

[Slowboathome]

wong said:

Walking the dog is great. The dog forces you to do it every day come rain or shine. Any additional exercise is good, just do something that you enjoy. Making it a habit at the beginning is the hard part.

Definitely this. I was doing my best 5k times on the back of brisk hilly walks with the dog every day, and one short sharp midweek run.

Not to mention all the mental health benefits of walking the dog - easy connection with people, spending time in nature, getting out of the house.

[P. ONeill]

We bought the puppy to get me moving again, she’s wonderful and it seems to have worked, but it’s a long road. I managed to gain 37kg in 2 years, if I could lose it in a year I would be delighted.
This is one of those things that happens to someone else, I’ve heard the stories. I was healthy, fit and strong. Now my clothes don’t fit.
Thanks for the advice and support.

[Hugo Stiglitz]

I find I go through phases with my diet.

In the last two weeks I've eaten ALOT of white bread. 8 fresh bagels over past 3 days for instance. Then I'll have periods of no wheat/bread.

I then suffer a sort of sugar crash.

However reading this topic.... Am I pre diabetic?? Yes yes I need to cut the bread out first for a good comparison however I get the sugar crashes which can't be just bread?


I'm also very stressed at the moment as I have a interview at work!

[Red9zero]

Anyone else found diabetes support lacking lately ? The nurse wants to see me after a recent blood test, but I can't get an appointment. Tried four times now but nothing available in the two week window they book in.

[mike9009]

Hugo Stiglitz said:

I find I go through phases with my diet.

In the last two weeks I've eaten ALOT of white bread. 8 fresh bagels over past 3 days for instance. Then I'll have periods of no wheat/bread.

I then suffer a sort of sugar crash.

However reading this topic.... Am I pre diabetic?? Yes yes I need to cut the bread out first for a good comparison however I get the sugar crashes which can't be just bread?


I'm also very stressed at the moment as I have a interview at work!

Only way to tell if you are pre-diabetic is a HBA1C test through your doctor. A simple early morning blood glucose test can give an indication though (available over the counter from pharmacists). The result should be somewhere between 4 and 7.


The 'crash' as you describe it, is not classic symptoms of diabetes. Thirst, lethargy, fatigue, excessively passing urine, etc. can be indicators of diabetes, but due to too many sugars in your system. A 'sugar' crash is an indication you don't have enough of the right carbs/ sugars in your body...resulting in a low blood sugar. Untreated diabetes results in abnormally high blood sugars, not low blood sugar.

Hope that makes sense? I ain't a medic, so if something is wrong do check with a professional.....

[mike9009]

Red9zero said:

Anyone else found diabetes support lacking lately ? The nurse wants to see me after a recent blood test, but I can't get an appointment. Tried four times now but nothing available in the two week window they book in.

I think it depends where you are in the country. My diabetic clinic have been brilliant in the last two years during COVID etc. I was prescribed Freestyle Libre (a game changer for me) and have changed both my long acting and short acting insulins for modern equivalents ( having been on the same regime for 25 years odd).

Consequently my control is far better than it has ever been in the last 40 years.

Keep pestering, sometimes a cancelled appointment comes up and you might get lucky.....

All I said was that I was having more hypos than normal (never debilitating), and it seemed to put me on a conveyer belt of heightened care....

[P. ONeill]

Things are coming along nicely. Diet very much under control. No alcohol. Regular exercise with a bit of resistance training. Weight coming down steadily.
Numbers are well down, had my lowest reading on Saturday evening at 5.2, but I’m still getting higher readings than I’d like in the morning. I know it’s the ‘dawn phenomenon’ but is there any way around it or is it just one of those things. Wife says I shouldn’t bother taking a measurement in the morning.

[mike9009]

P. ONeill said:

Things are coming along nicely. Diet very much under control. No alcohol. Regular exercise with a bit of resistance training. Weight coming down steadily.
Numbers are well down, had my lowest reading on Saturday evening at 5.2, but I’m still getting higher readings than I’d like in the morning. I know it’s the ‘dawn phenomenon’ but is there any way around it or is it just one of those things. Wife says I shouldn’t bother taking a measurement in the morning.

I have not found away around the dawn phenomena. I cycle 13 miles to work. In the morning I don't eat anything and cycle the 13 miles and usually my blood sugar Is still rising. Conversely when I cycle back at the end of the day, I need half a pack of dextrose and my blood sugar still falls through the floor.

If not cycling I inject a few units of insulin to temper it a little. I realise this is not possible in your scenario.

So even exercise in the morning does not calm it down, but it must help.....

There might be a solution for T2D...... Which might be just to ignore it!

[mike9009]

This is me now. No exercise, bowl of porridge and 7 units of insulin, 30 minutes prior to eating...... Damn dawn phenomena

[Red9zero]

Still struggling to get an appointment with the diabetic nurse here. Blood tests seem easy enough to get, phone appointments once in a blue moon, but not had a face to face appointment since before Covid. Luckily my levels seem OK at the moment, but a check up would be nice sometime.

[P. ONeill]

mike9009 said:

P. ONeill said:

Things are coming along nicely. Diet very much under control. No alcohol. Regular exercise with a bit of resistance training. Weight coming down steadily.
Numbers are well down, had my lowest reading on Saturday evening at 5.2, but I’m still getting higher readings than I’d like in the morning. I know it’s the ‘dawn phenomenon’ but is there any way around it or is it just one of those things. Wife says I shouldn’t bother taking a measurement in the morning.

I have not found away around the dawn phenomena. I cycle 13 miles to work. In the morning I don't eat anything and cycle the 13 miles and usually my blood sugar Is still rising. Conversely when I cycle back at the end of the day, I need half a pack of dextrose and my blood sugar still falls through the floor.

If not cycling I inject a few units of insulin to temper it a little. I realise this is not possible in your scenario.

So even exercise in the morning does not calm it down, but it must help.....

There might be a solution for T2D...... Which might be just to ignore it!

I went for a short walk this morning, 3k ish and tested my bloods about 30 minutes later. 6.2, not bad. Could be my new routine, walk before breakfast, not after. Or it could be a one off, we’ll see.