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Original poster

What am I doing wrong?! ( blood sugar levels)

183 replies

user1471556443 · 28/07/2018 23:25

I did a fasting blood sugar test at home with a glucose meter and obtained a reading of 5.5 which is classified as being pre diabetic!!
I am very slim, 5'5 weighing 8 stones 2 with a bmi of 18.9.
I do have a serious sweet tooth and regularly eat chocolate and cake every day.
I am now going to cut down on my sugar consumption but has anyone any other ideas how I can reduce my sugar levels.
Apart from eating lots of cake, I think my diet isn't too bad but maybe I am wrong?
Breakfast - one cup of coffee, no sugar plus one banana.
Lunch - fruit and vegetables and water
Dinner - large portion of pasta / curry / fish etc.
Cake is eaten after dinner daily.
Will now stop the cake but should I be cutting down on all carbs at dinner even though I am eating v little during the day?

OP posts:
frogsoup · 29/07/2018 10:22

The answer as to what you should eat appears to be 'it depends entirely who you are'. This TED talk is amazing (it's probably on the red channel but I first watched it on YouTube) - he presents research basically suggesting that insulin responses are entirely individual, so for instance some people will react vv badly to sugar, others not at all, avocados are great for some, not for others, ditto carbs etc. Its quite shocking!

frogsoup · 29/07/2018 10:22

*Ted website I meant!

Flyingarcher · 29/07/2018 10:23

Son is diabetic. We rejoice at a level of 5.5. That is normal. Exercise is the best thing you can do and cutting out processed sugars. Your body processes carbs differently depending on type and time of day. Old potatoes have more carbs than new. Baked potatoes have the most. Cornflakes raise bloods by lots, as does rice but then different people react differently. Pasta for my son, causes a blood sugar dip so he doesn't inject until an hour later. The heat causes all sorts of probs as do hormones. There are sooooooo many variables

I think you are obsessing too much. Keep eating sensibly, exercise regularly and you will be fine.

ThePrioryGhost · 29/07/2018 10:24

Frog - anyone who’s had gestational diabetes or been newly diagnosed and had to test after every meal can confirm that you are bang on! Even more irritatingly, you can respond differently to the same food on different days Hmm

Some recent research suggests diabetes is actually 5 diseases, not 2; there’s a long way to go in understanding it, it seems!

NorthernLurker · 29/07/2018 10:25

Op you seem very preoccupied with wanting to make changes to an already fairly restricted diet. Your BMI is at the low end of normal. Everything about your posts suggest to me that you may have a n issue but it isn't with diabetes. It's with anxiety and body image. See your gp.

sunshinesupermum · 29/07/2018 10:29

flyingarcher I didn't know that heat and hormones could affect glucose levels :-( Could be why mine stayed high during my recent test as weather had been hot for a while before the test and I'd eaten very little due to being ill with a chest infection.

IJustHadToNameChange · 29/07/2018 10:35

Did you leave at least 8 hours between your last meal and the test?

If you're as anxious as you sound, you may have been too impatient and tested too early.

Is the blood glucose meter your Dad's old one?

Has it been calibrated lately?

Are the test strips in date?

What prompted you to test?

Are you overweight?

DownstairsMixUp · 29/07/2018 10:37

You have diagnosed yourself as pre diabetic on one blood sugar reading ? Bms vary for everyone, including non diabetics. I could take a blood sugar at 7am after porridge one day and have one reading then do it again two days after and I'll get a totally different reading. You need to go to your gp and ask for help. I would ask for help about your diet to as it's not great.

Original poster
user1471556443 · 29/07/2018 10:40

Blood test meter was brand new and calibrated
I left 10 hours between meals

OP posts:
Original poster
user1471556443 · 29/07/2018 10:41

I am not overweight, and if I lose any more weight I will in fact be underweight

OP posts:
BalloonSlayer · 29/07/2018 10:44

It sounds a bit like you might have a problem with eating normally and are looking for a reason to cut out a major food group.

DownstairsMixUp · 29/07/2018 10:45

You aren't a doctor or a nurse. Please go and see a professional. ConfusedConfused

BeeFarseer · 29/07/2018 10:48

OP, why are you frightened of going to the GP?

Surely if you believe you have a serious medical condition, you go and get your suspicions confirmed?

Original poster
user1471556443 · 29/07/2018 10:58

Of course I am not afraid of going to the gp,beefasser I am a health professional myself.
And obv I don't believe I am suffering from a serious medical illness. I just want to reduce my sugar levels to within the normal range? I don't know what is so objectionable to you about that?

OP posts:
BeeFarseer · 29/07/2018 11:00

You need help. Please get it.

OftenHangry · 29/07/2018 11:16

5.5 is normal.
Don't mess with your sugar until you talk to a doctor.

Original poster
user1471556443 · 29/07/2018 11:26

Help with what beefaseer?
My sugar levels??

OP posts:
DownstairsMixUp · 29/07/2018 11:37

That's quite worrying you are a health professional and this is your reaction to normal blood sugar levels Shock I think you need help with anxiety? This is all very over the top

IceCreamFace · 29/07/2018 11:38

Regardless of the BS test do some exercise and I would definitely try and have a more balanced lunch including protein and slow release carbs rather than just fruit and veg.

IceCreamFace · 29/07/2018 11:40

Out of interest have you ever suffered from disordered eating? Do you eat enough? I found when I went through a (not really eating disorder) but period of overly obsessive eating/dieting my BS levels became much more spikey.

LIZS · 29/07/2018 11:44

Do you otherwise struggle with health anxiety? Tbh it sounds as if you have a distorted eating pattern and could do with a gp review or even counselling. Eggs, dairy, pulses can all add protein but these are absent from the eating plan you describe.

user1471530109 · 29/07/2018 11:46

So, if you had tested and it was 5.4 you'd not be worried Confused? You do realise the meters are not that accurate.

I had a argument discussion with a meter company once as my meter always seemed much higher than the hospital ones. As in 2mmol difference. I was told it was within their guidelines. I responded that DVLA wouldn't be happy if I tested before getting behind the wheel and meter said 4.5 but it was infact 2.5!

If you have to do something. As a health care prof you should know that rescuing carbs will reduce bs levels. And maybe not having cake before bed would be a start. Your diet is v carb heavy. There are lots of help on the internet about this. As a healthcare prof I'm sure this isn't difficult.

DontCallMeCharlotte · 29/07/2018 11:49

OP If a normal range is 4-7, what reading were you hoping for? As an HCP you will know that anything less than 4 might be indicative of hypoglycemia which has far more dangerous implications than being pre-diabetic normal. Which would you prefer?

I am currently pre-dead which I'm quite happy with.

(I am also Type 2 Diabetic)

Oblomov18 · 29/07/2018 11:52

Very worrying thread. As a T1 for 45 years, I find some of OP's comments very odd.

IceCreamFace · 29/07/2018 11:55

I also think “prediabetic” is a bit misleading too. It’s like being a little bit pregnant. You either have a normal response to sugars or you don’t.

That's not true for type 2 diabetes.