[justjeanne1]

Hi everyone, I need some education please..As I've told you in another thread, my mother started taking a natural product to lower her blood/sugar. Apparently it is working, I guess, but since she can only go to the doctor every 3 months for blood tests, and since her blood/sugar is lower than it used to be, she is actually eating bread before she goes to bed, so that it gets high enough for her to take her insulin. What happens to your blood/sugar while you sleep? This just makes no sense to me.. Please educate me.

Jeanne

 

[onaughmae]

If her blood sugar is too low, eating carbs will raise it back up. If her blood sugar is consistently too low, she might need an adjustment in her insulin doses. She might need to call her dr office and make an appointment to see them earlier if this is the case. Different things happen to different people when they sleep. Sometimes because they dont eat for a long time their glucose gets low during the night. In this case, it is beneficial to have a snack before bed. A good snack in this case is some carbohydrate along with some protien and a little fat, like maybe a piece of toast with peanut butter on it. Some people have something called "liver dumping" where the liver releases glucose early in the morning and they wake up high. So its hard to tell what is happening with your mother without knowing what her blood sugar readings are.

 

[justjeanne1]

If her blood sugar is too low, eating carbs will raise it back up. If her blood sugar is consistently too low, she might need an adjustment in her insulin doses. She might need to call her dr office and make an appointment to see them earlier if this is the case. Different things happen to different people when they sleep. Sometimes because they dont eat for a long time their glucose gets low during the night. In this case, it is beneficial to have a snack before bed. A good snack in this case is some carbohydrate along with some protien and a little fat, like maybe a piece of toast with peanut butter on it. Some people have something called "liver dumping" where the liver releases glucose early in the morning and they wake up high. So its hard to tell what is happening with your mother without knowing what her blood sugar readings are.

Thank you for your response Pam, her blood/sugar has been consistantly low for about a week now, but she says that going to the doctor probably won't matter, because they need a 3 month average to determine her insulin intake or something. But if this stuff is actually working, I don't want her to have to wait 3 mos. to find out, what do you know about the 3 mos. averaging test, and is there another one the doctor can do just 1 mo. after her last visit that will tell him if he needs to lower her insulin..? I'll call her now and ask what her readings are, I know in the morning it has also dropped and this morning it was 117.

 

[onaughmae]

Thank you for your response Pam, her blood/sugar has been consistantly low for about a week now, but she says that going to the doctor probably won't matter, because they need a 3 month average to determine her insulin intake or something. But if this stuff is actually working, I don't want her to have to wait 3 mos. to find out, what do you know about the 3 mos. averaging test, and is there another one the doctor can do just 1 mo. after her last visit that will tell him if he needs to lower her insulin..? I'll call her now and ask what her readings are, I know in the morning it has also dropped and this morning it was 117.

117 this morning as a fasting reading is good actually. The 3 month averaging test is an A1c. That will show you how well you have been in control. What I mean by low blood sugars that might require some correcting would be if she were consistently dropping below 80 that required her to eat a snack so it would come up.

 

[breezeonby]

Hi everyone, I need some education please..As I've told you in another thread, my mother started taking a natural product to lower her blood/sugar. Apparently it is working, I guess, but since she can only go to the doctor every 3 months for blood tests, and since her blood/sugar is lower than it used to be, she is actually eating bread before she goes to bed, so that it gets high enough for her to take her insulin. What happens to your blood/sugar while you sleep? This just makes no sense to me.. Please educate me.

Jeanne

What is she taking to make her blood sugar go low? She needs to get her insulin adjusted, usually a call to the doctor might help. There is no sense in having to eat more just to take your insulin dose. What kind of insulin is she taking? She can also reduce her dose by 5% & see if that helps. There are alot of insulin dependant diabetics who adjust their own insulin.

 

[justjeanne1]

What is she taking to make her blood sugar go low? She needs to get her insulin adjusted, usually a call to the doctor might help. There is no sense in having to eat more just to take your insulin dose. What kind of insulin is she taking? She can also reduce her dose by 5% & see if that helps. There are alot of insulin dependant diabetics who adjust their own insulin.

Hey Breez, hope you are doing better today.. Just talked to my mom, before reading your post, I know one of her insulins is 'lantis?', but not sure what the other one is. But she told me that she needs to take less during the day, so that she can take 35cc(?) at nite, cause that's what the doctor told her to do, and she is afraid to lower the nite amt. until she goes back to the doctor, but that's not for 2 more months.. I told her to go to doctor now and tell him what she is doing. I don't want to say what the product is yet, until my mom goes to the doctor and he tests and says this product is working, then trust me, everyone will know. I am coming to Ohio in a couple of weeks to see them, because my father, who is also diabetic, but that is the least of his problems, he has heart, lung, and liver problems much worse, but anyway, he is 2000 times better after taking this stuff, so he "walked" into church on sun. ( he had been wheelchair dependent for about the last 6 months), and people in his church want to know about this product. so I am coming.. I am willing to stop by Columbus and give some to try, then, if it helps you, you can tell everybody, cause they all know you better. If you give me your e-mail address, I will send you the ingredients so that you can check with your doctor 1st. That's what I made my parents do.

Jeanne

 

[onaughmae]

Lantus is a long acting insulin. It covers her basal need for 24 hours. If she takes 2 kinds, the other is probably a fast acting insulin that she takes to cover meals. If so, that is one that can be adjusted if she finds she is low after eating her meals. If her morning blood sugars are like you said she was this morning, then those are actually fine. Hard to tell really without knowing exactly what she is taking, what her diet is like and what her blood sugar readings are.

 

[justjeanne1]

117 this morning as a fasting reading is good actually. The 3 month averaging test is an A1c. That will show you how well you have been in control. What I mean by low blood sugars that might require some correcting would be if she were consistently dropping below 80 that required her to eat a snack so it would come up.

Yes, the 117 is good, it used to be like 150, so we are very happy, but she is eating at nite to get it up to above 150 so she can take her insulin at nite, that's what I am not understanding, but she just told me that she will take less during the day, so that she will be at 150 at nite., she used to be 180 at nite. she takes lantis in morning and nite, and humolog during day, based on what she eats..

 

[Richard157]

Jeanne, there is a test called the fructosamine that determines the average blood sugar for the past two weeks, instead of the past few months. Here is a link on that test:

Fructosamine: The Test

I can understand your mother not wanting to change her evening Lantus dosage, since she is so new at this. I have been a diabetic for 64 years and I change my dosages frequently to avoid highs or lows. Your mother will feel comfortable doing this an a few more months, if not sooner.

 

[justjeanne1]

Jeanne, there is a test called the fructosamine that determines the average blood sugar for the past two weeks, instead of the past few months. Here is a link on that test:

Fructosamine: The Test

I can understand your mother not wanting to change her evening Lantus dosage, since she is so new at this. I have been a diabetic for 64 years and I change my dosages frequently to avoid highs or lows. Your mother will feel comfortable doing this an a few more months, if not sooner.

Hey Richard, Believe it or not my mother has been a diabetic for 30 yrs., she is 73 yrs old, she just only will change if the doctor tells her too. It was hard enough to convince her to try this product, she thinks doctors have all of the answers...Anyway, thank you for your response, I atleast talked her into seeing her doctor tomorrow.

 

[justjeanne1]

Now I am more confused than ever...surprise, surprise, my mother's numbers are the same, which does make sense to me since she has basically been eating to keep them that way, but her doctor told her to keep on doing that..rather than giving her some sort of sliding scale that she could understand, like if her reading is at 150 take 35cc, if it's at 125 take 30cc or something like that,(I made up that example), but am I crazy or does this make sense to anyone..... Help

 

[Richard157]

I agree with a sliding scale. The doctor may be concerned with any insulin increas causing a hypo while she is asleep.

The best thing is to use carb counting. I use 1 unit for every 6 carbs I eat. if I need to correct a high, I know 1 unit will lower my blood sugar 12 points. Your mother's numbers might be quite different from mine though.

 

[justjeanne1]

Fructosamine test

Jeanne, there is a test called the fructosamine that determines the average blood sugar for the past two weeks, instead of the past few months. Here is a link on that test:

Fructosamine: The Test

I can understand your mother not wanting to change her evening Lantus dosage, since she is so new at this. I have been a diabetic for 64 years and I change my dosages frequently to avoid highs or lows. Your mother will feel comfortable doing this an a few more months, if not sooner.

Thank you for introducing me to the fructosamine test, my mother just went back to the doctor, and they did another A1c test instead of this, which now explains the no change in that result.. She didn't even know what that test was..

PS her current A1c number is 8.2 what does that mean?

 

[Shanny]

An A1c of 8.2 converts to average blood sugar of 214. So if she's getting down to 117 very often as she was fasting the other morning, she's also getting some REALLY high spikes in order for her average to be 214. Whatever the herbal supplement did for your dad & brother, it doesn't seem to be lowering her levels much. Or has she reduced her insulin because she believes the herbal program is helping?

 

[justjeanne1]

An A1c of 8.2 converts to average blood sugar of 214. So if she's getting down to 117 very often as she was fasting the other morning, she's also getting some REALLY high spikes in order for her average to be 214. Whatever the herbal supplement did for your dad & brother, it doesn't seem to be lowering her levels much. Or has she reduced her insulin because she believes the herbal program is helping?

According to my mother her high in the past 3 wks has only been about 227 and that was 2 hrs after she ate pancakes and wasn't home to take the insulin and one other over 200 when she had birthday cake.. then when she tests to go to bed it gets down to 130 so she eats something to get it up to above 150 so that she can take her insulin.
She's telling me that her tests are staying between 125 and 170. could she be doing it wrong? But yes, she has been reducing her "as needed" insulin but not the morning and nite stuff.

Before this stuff, she said she would sometimes spike above 300. I can't get it through her head that she can't eat cake or sweets.

I'm a smoker, so she uses that against me when I try to help her. Yes, I shouldn't smoke either.

Now everyone should be able to understand why I need to help her... Stubborn

 

[Shanny]

Just in case I may have misunderstood you . . . you had said her numbers were still the same - did that mean her A1c had been 8.2 before, and was 8.2 again when they ran it recently? 8.2 definitely converts to 214 average BG, so there's something funny going on here.

 

[justjeanne1]

Just in case I may have misunderstood you . . . you had said her numbers were still the same - did that mean her A1c had been 8.2 before, and was 8.2 again when they ran it recently? 8.2 definitely converts to 214 average BG, so there's something funny going on here.

Yes, last month her A1c was also 8.2 that's what she told me..\
and she admits she eats cake and stuff and it does spike, sometimes as high as 300+, but only above 200 twice in last 3 wks. she says. Understand, I know she is my mother, but sometimes she tries to hide the fact that she cheats and eats stuff she shouldn't be, because her children yell at her. I'm with you, I am confused...That is part of the reason I want to learn about this stuff, so I will know when she is hiding. She has already lost hearing in one ear due to her diabetes, and she won't take care of herself.

PS. how bad is 214?

What is a normal number for a non diabetic? And does a normal person spike like that after cake?

 

[Shanny]

The A1c test determines the amount of glucose attached, as it were, to hemoglobin - red blood cells. And since those cells live roughly 90 days, the A1c test shows what the average has been over the last 90 days, only slightly weighted toward the most recent 30 days. So for at least 90 days, she's carried an average of 214.

No, non-diabetic people do not spike like that. Here is a quote from Blood sugar 101:

Post-Meal Blood Sugar (Postprandial)

Independent of what they eat, the blood sugar of a truly normal person is: Under 120 mg/dl (6.6 mmol/L) one or two hours after a meal.

Most normal people are under 100 mg/dl (5.5 mmol/L) two hours after eating.
A truly normal A1c is between 4.6% and 5.4%

 

[justjeanne1]

The A1c test determines the amount of glucose attached, as it were, to hemoglobin - red blood cells. And since those cells live roughly 90 days, the A1c test shows what the average has been over the last 90 days, only slightly weighted toward the most recent 30 days. So for at least 90 days, she's carried an average of 214.

No, non-diabetic people do not spike like that. Here is a quote from Blood sugar 101:

So It is possible that the first 70 days could have been higher and the last 20 lower, and still average 214. So she could be telling me the truth, we just won't know for another 3 mos.?
Next question, if she was properly taking her insulin, ie: before she ate cake or pancakes, would it still spike like that?
And is that what she is supposed to be doing?

 

[jer.lawrence]

So It is possible that the first 70 days could have been higher and the last 20 lower, and still average 214. So she could be telling me the truth, we just won't know for another 3 mos.?

That is a very likely explanation, yes.

Next question, if she was properly taking her insulin, ie: before she ate cake or pancakes, would it still spike like that?
And is that what she is supposed to be doing?

From what I understand, with a proper amount of insulin (the fast acting one -- the humalog), she wouldn't spike as high. She would probably still spike (unless her timing was perfect) but her levels would come back down much more quickly than they would without the insulin injection.

That's the important thing, not staying up too high for too long. Spikes aren't great for us, for sure, but the less time you spend in the high range, the better.

Sounds like you guys are certainly on the right track. Keep up the great work!

You asked how bad a 214 was -- it's not great, but it's not terrible. She certainly doesn't want to stay that high, but since it sounds like she IS working on getting it down, I wouldn't stress too much over the 214. Just get it down some.