Hi,
New to all this. There's a lot I want to discuss - apologies at the wide ranging topics I cover in one post - ...but I'll start with my most urgent question.
This morning I woke up (to screaming children) and at 6:09am my fasting blood sugar was 6.4 (115), which is the highest fasting level I've had since I started keeping track 2.5 weeks ago. I did not eat or take medication. Went back to bed but couldn't sleep (mind whirring) and tested again at 7:07 when I was at 5.0 (90), which is the lowest fasting reading I've ever had. Tested again still fasting at 7:32 and was at 5.7 (102). At this point, still no food, no meds, not even water.
How can this be? Is my meter faulty? I had bought a cheap second meter and just bought strips for it today. I will be using both meters together to get a reading for my morning fasting tests (I am thinking multiple fasting tests are in order now). Assuming it's not faulty meter or poor technique (as far as I know I've coded the meter correctly, washed hands etc), what on earth does this mean? I did not think fasting blood sugar could fluctuate so wildly in the space of an hour. Of course false comfort from low readings is a problem but I am worried that this may indicate something very very wrong with me beyond "just" diabetes?
Has anyone else experienced this. I've tried a couple of quick Google searches but found nothing.
Previous day's food:
07:04 1 tomato, 1 cumcumber lettuce, tiny bit of feta cheese (probably 30-40g), and 6 olives
10:20 1 pear, 1 cucumber
12:20 4 water crackers, 2 slices swiss cheese, 1 cucumber, handful of unsalted cashews
13:40 Glass of diet softdrink (pink lemonade/creaming soda)
16:00 Handful of unsalted cashews, 1 mandarine
19:30 6 crackers ("salada" salted crackers), 230g plain tuna in spring water, 2 slices swiss cheese. Small piece (<10g) white chocolate
22:10 2 slices of lite cheese, 4 eggs, 100g ham, 1 tomato (scrambled eggs)
Not my best day. Certainly not my worst.
Not sure if the rest belongs in an intro thread or not, but the background is relevant so I'm putting it here..
37, BMI approaching but not quite at 50, had terrible eating habits - 2 liters of coke a day wasn't unusual etc. though I had days where I'd go for large salads to fill the hole. (more on that later). A month ago confirmed a diagnosis of type 2 and immediately went on 500g metaformin twice daily.
For now I have managed to really cut down the garbage to small amounts a couple of times a week. Not sticking to the diabetic ideal though right now - I still can't ever imagine switching to brown bread/rice/crackers etc. even if it literally kills me (though I may consider going without altogether to avoid that). Brown stuff all literally tastes like cardboard mixed with dirt to me. I am testing regularly (only twice daily to begin with I was told). I also started keeping a food diary which is why I can tell you exactly what I ate. (I'm finding that stressful too)
Really struggling with food - I am constantly hungry, even to the point of salivating when around it and heightened sense of smell if anyone has food anywhere near me. This is making social events and even watching cooking shows extremely unpleasant. I have always considered my hunger drive broken. I had been diagnosed with IBS and can be in the middle of a debilitating bout sitting on the toilet and still feel hungry, however some illnesses do put me off food (like this chest infection, at least for a few days. I almost wish I was still really sick the hunger is that distracting and miserable). Doctors all want to refer me to a pychologist but I believe subsiding hunger during certain illness does not make psych issues a strong possibility for this hunger. I believe it is physical. I do not believe it is normal, and it is turning my quality of life to dung.
Exercise is non-existent. I use to like walking in the with a camera and did that 2-3 times a week getting off the train a couple of stops early on the way to work. But I have a bad ankle (I was told to fuse it immediately by a surgeon 2 years ago. Looked into it. Not a good option at my age based on the only long term study I found).
To complicate matters I am still trying to get over a chest infection (suspected pnemonia, x-ray was clear but doc said it could not be ruled out). I've been going 7 weeks and just finished my 8th course of anti-biotics earlier this week - I still have a cough. Cold and flu season is awful this year.
I fully realize I will have to do something about exercise but feel I need to wait until this chest infection is truly gone before taking it on.
Also further restrictions to the diet include not being able to eat garlic, onion, capcicum, and various spices. I am not allergic but my wife has severe anaphylaxis and if I eat these things and kiss her even a trace amount potentially could stop her breathing. (Hasn't happened in almost 8 years of being together but that is because we are very careful).
Other medical issues. Sleep apnea (8 years). High blood pressure (treated for about 2 years, just changed meds as my old one stopped working), irritable bowel syndrome, arthitic ankles (one with necrosis due to injury as a teenager), and apparently my kidneys had just started leaking proteins before this change of diet so hoping that whatever damage is reversible or won't progress after getting blood pressure under control. (I will not call my sugars controlled). If you think those issues are bad you should hear about my poor wife's. At least I'm still working, and she has to raise 2 beautiful but demanding children while I'm at work.
I do know this: Things need to change in some way because I honestly don't want 5 years of living the way I have for the last 2 weeks, let alone 30. Trouble is I have 2 infant children and am the only breadwinner for the family so I need 20-25 years just to get them on their own feet financially. However it is a very hard thing to live miserably and for others, even those you love.
Will be seeing a diabetic educator in 2 weeks so hope for more answers/ideas then.
In a whole other thread I will discuss the language of guilt and pride that the medical community and even diabetics use to describe their condition, the volumes of misinformation out there and the fact that even good sources of information don't agree on anything.
Thanks to anyone who read this far, and thanks in advance if you respond.
New to all this. There's a lot I want to discuss - apologies at the wide ranging topics I cover in one post - ...but I'll start with my most urgent question.
This morning I woke up (to screaming children) and at 6:09am my fasting blood sugar was 6.4 (115), which is the highest fasting level I've had since I started keeping track 2.5 weeks ago. I did not eat or take medication. Went back to bed but couldn't sleep (mind whirring) and tested again at 7:07 when I was at 5.0 (90), which is the lowest fasting reading I've ever had. Tested again still fasting at 7:32 and was at 5.7 (102). At this point, still no food, no meds, not even water.
How can this be? Is my meter faulty? I had bought a cheap second meter and just bought strips for it today. I will be using both meters together to get a reading for my morning fasting tests (I am thinking multiple fasting tests are in order now). Assuming it's not faulty meter or poor technique (as far as I know I've coded the meter correctly, washed hands etc), what on earth does this mean? I did not think fasting blood sugar could fluctuate so wildly in the space of an hour. Of course false comfort from low readings is a problem but I am worried that this may indicate something very very wrong with me beyond "just" diabetes?
Has anyone else experienced this. I've tried a couple of quick Google searches but found nothing.
Previous day's food:
07:04 1 tomato, 1 cumcumber lettuce, tiny bit of feta cheese (probably 30-40g), and 6 olives
10:20 1 pear, 1 cucumber
12:20 4 water crackers, 2 slices swiss cheese, 1 cucumber, handful of unsalted cashews
13:40 Glass of diet softdrink (pink lemonade/creaming soda)
16:00 Handful of unsalted cashews, 1 mandarine
19:30 6 crackers ("salada" salted crackers), 230g plain tuna in spring water, 2 slices swiss cheese. Small piece (<10g) white chocolate
22:10 2 slices of lite cheese, 4 eggs, 100g ham, 1 tomato (scrambled eggs)
Not my best day. Certainly not my worst.
Not sure if the rest belongs in an intro thread or not, but the background is relevant so I'm putting it here..
37, BMI approaching but not quite at 50, had terrible eating habits - 2 liters of coke a day wasn't unusual etc. though I had days where I'd go for large salads to fill the hole. (more on that later). A month ago confirmed a diagnosis of type 2 and immediately went on 500g metaformin twice daily.
For now I have managed to really cut down the garbage to small amounts a couple of times a week. Not sticking to the diabetic ideal though right now - I still can't ever imagine switching to brown bread/rice/crackers etc. even if it literally kills me (though I may consider going without altogether to avoid that). Brown stuff all literally tastes like cardboard mixed with dirt to me. I am testing regularly (only twice daily to begin with I was told). I also started keeping a food diary which is why I can tell you exactly what I ate. (I'm finding that stressful too)
Really struggling with food - I am constantly hungry, even to the point of salivating when around it and heightened sense of smell if anyone has food anywhere near me. This is making social events and even watching cooking shows extremely unpleasant. I have always considered my hunger drive broken. I had been diagnosed with IBS and can be in the middle of a debilitating bout sitting on the toilet and still feel hungry, however some illnesses do put me off food (like this chest infection, at least for a few days. I almost wish I was still really sick the hunger is that distracting and miserable). Doctors all want to refer me to a pychologist but I believe subsiding hunger during certain illness does not make psych issues a strong possibility for this hunger. I believe it is physical. I do not believe it is normal, and it is turning my quality of life to dung.
Exercise is non-existent. I use to like walking in the with a camera and did that 2-3 times a week getting off the train a couple of stops early on the way to work. But I have a bad ankle (I was told to fuse it immediately by a surgeon 2 years ago. Looked into it. Not a good option at my age based on the only long term study I found).
To complicate matters I am still trying to get over a chest infection (suspected pnemonia, x-ray was clear but doc said it could not be ruled out). I've been going 7 weeks and just finished my 8th course of anti-biotics earlier this week - I still have a cough. Cold and flu season is awful this year.
I fully realize I will have to do something about exercise but feel I need to wait until this chest infection is truly gone before taking it on.
Also further restrictions to the diet include not being able to eat garlic, onion, capcicum, and various spices. I am not allergic but my wife has severe anaphylaxis and if I eat these things and kiss her even a trace amount potentially could stop her breathing. (Hasn't happened in almost 8 years of being together but that is because we are very careful).
Other medical issues. Sleep apnea (8 years). High blood pressure (treated for about 2 years, just changed meds as my old one stopped working), irritable bowel syndrome, arthitic ankles (one with necrosis due to injury as a teenager), and apparently my kidneys had just started leaking proteins before this change of diet so hoping that whatever damage is reversible or won't progress after getting blood pressure under control. (I will not call my sugars controlled). If you think those issues are bad you should hear about my poor wife's. At least I'm still working, and she has to raise 2 beautiful but demanding children while I'm at work.
I do know this: Things need to change in some way because I honestly don't want 5 years of living the way I have for the last 2 weeks, let alone 30. Trouble is I have 2 infant children and am the only breadwinner for the family so I need 20-25 years just to get them on their own feet financially. However it is a very hard thing to live miserably and for others, even those you love.
Will be seeing a diabetic educator in 2 weeks so hope for more answers/ideas then.
In a whole other thread I will discuss the language of guilt and pride that the medical community and even diabetics use to describe their condition, the volumes of misinformation out there and the fact that even good sources of information don't agree on anything.
Thanks to anyone who read this far, and thanks in advance if you respond.