[SandraO]

Okay, so I have been testing, testing, testing for over a month now. I have cut my carbs to approx. 50g per day. Yesterday was only 35g carbs for the whole day. I had two hard boiled eggs and a small piece of cheese for breakfast. I had half a salmon salad sandwich for lunch on whole grain bread that is only 17g of carbs per slice. I had a fat free yogurt for my afternoon snack. 4 oz. of beef steak and grilled asparagus for supper. Cheese and a small piece of ham sausage for bedtime snack. My number this morning was 8.9! I am also taking 500mg metformin 3 x daily. I have lost 15lbs in the last month and am drinking minimum 8 glasses of water per day and exercising as much as I can with working a full time job.

I can't seem to get that morning number, or any numbers for that matter, below 7.5 to 9.0.

What am I doing wrong????? I am so frustrated!! And I am hungry all the time. I have no potatoes, rice, pasta, refined sugars, etc. It's been over a month since I have had any of that.

FYI.....went to a birthday party for my hubby a couple of weeks ago, had a small piece of birthday cake in the evening, and my morning number was 6.3. Go figure!!!!!! First and only time I've seen that kind of number in the morning.

 

[diabetes86]

you dont have to starve.... you only need to reduce the carbs which you have done. have an omelet with green pepper cheese mushroom and bacon.

what is your before meal BG, after 1 hour, 2 hours?

no fruit, fruit juice

 

[SandraO]

My FBG numbers in the morning are between 7.0 and 9.0. Then I have breakfast. Two hours after eggs and cheese, or eggs and meat (egg whites only because of gallbladder issues) my numbers rise to 9.0 to 10.0 two hours after eating. Then they go down to between 7.0 and 9.0 again just before lunch, back up to 9+ two hours after lunch and the circle continues all day long. I can't seem to get anything lower than 7.0.........ever!

 

[Patdart]

I believe you have to give up more carbs...bread, for example and somehow you have to eat more fats. That is the ticket to low BG. What about Tb. of coconut oil 3 times a day? Sorry can't help more...

 

[Shalynne]

Evenings are sometimes more forgiving in the carb department. Or so I hear. My system can't tell time! Actually, you're doing pretty well. I can only suggest a very few tweaks.

Your portions look small to me. Eating too little can result in a condition elegantly dubbed "liver dump," where the liver thinks you're starving, panics, then dumps glucose all over your system. It does not know when to stop. Mystery Spikes ensue.

The birthday cake surprise may have resulted from both the higher evening carb tolerance and avoidance of an overnight liver dump. (Maybe you can re-create that sometime!)

The whole-grain bread would spike me, as well; all grains do. Foods labeled "low-fat," "non-fat" or "light" are typically made that way by removing nutrients and adding carbs.

Natural fats (real butter, cream, cheese and oils) will not hurt you. Nor would a satisfying portion of protein. They'll tend to fill you up before you can eat too much. It's the hydrogenated, trans-fatty, artificial stuff that's up to no good. Yogurt labels in general require careful reading; many are full of carbs (shocked me too, at first).

You may also want to carefully consider increasing your meds.

But until you can reach your doc, I'd simply opt for eating more.

[EDIT: Just read about your gallbladder issues. If you truly can't eat fat or protein, you may want to pile on more veggies and, perhaps, nuts.]

 

[SandraO]

The only thing I have found that actually irritates the gallbladder is the egg yolk. I can do the egg whites and no problem. I have actually been using the egg white you can buy in a carton. Can't remember the name of it at the moment.

I will certainly try your suggestion of maybe upping my portions a wee bit. I am definitely still trying to lose more weight so don't want to be increasing portions too much.

I am hoping I don't have to increase the metformin anymore, as I have a real hard time with tolerance. It seems to cause a huge amount of gastro irritation. I suggested the slow release metformin to my doc and he really didn't seem to know what I was talking about. I have looked for coconut oil but can't seem to find it in any of our grocery stores here in Canada eh!

 

[Shalynne]

Coconut oil can be bought online. I just completed an unsuccessful search for something else on Netrition.com, but they do have coconut oil.

The stuff's not cheap -- especially extra-virgin (yum!) -- but it's worth it.

Nutiva's my favorite brand, so far.

 

[Guest]

could it be that your body is stressed with the fat content you're eating considering that you have gallbladder issues perhaps? Just a thought. Maybe just trial and error trying out different type of foods for now. I personally need to eat carbs... maybe you're the same? It's just a case of finding what's best for you really. I don't think there would be a right or wrong answer, although it's frustrating for sure.

 

[d33na]

Sandra...just a thought....you could ask your doctor about the Metaformin XR (slow release)....like you I had a very hard time on Metaformin but the slow release works fine after an initial first few weeks...

 

[fgummett]

I think it is counter-productive to be hungry all the time... your body will be responding as if you are starving yourself... slowing metabolic rate, tending to store energy etc...

I know it goes against traditional "diet" thinking but at least at first I'd personally ignore calories and keep yourself satisfied with safe low-carb choices: eggs and bacon at any time of the day, peanut butter (real unsweetened) straight off the spoon, pork scratchings, dark (70% cocoa or higher) chocolate, boiled eggs, cold (home cooked) meats, raw nuts. Eat substantial meals... no need to overdo it but eat until satisfied, rather than weighing and measuring portions and not enjoying your food -- learn to listen to your body again

The other point about higher Fasting BGs is to keep it in perspective: how are your BGs the other 95% of the day?

I find Coconut oil (Omega Nutrition around $10 for 454g) in the health food section of my local Superstores -- don't neglect the butter as well... steamed greens with plenty of melted butter helps to satisfy my appetite!

And meds (including insulin even if only short term) can be powerful tools to help with BG management.. it is no admission of failure to use them when diet fails to achieve the desired results.

 

[jwags]

It sounds like you are doing a low carb, low fat diet. That is very difficult. In order to get my bgs lower I had to go to 30 carbs a day and totally cut the bread out. Many of us get silent inflammation from wheat which raises our bgs. Also as said going hungry is not a good option, because your liver will kick in extra glucose to keep your bg higher. In the beginning I had to tons of bg testing to find I was spiking when I wasn't eating. I increased my metformin to 2550 mg and ate every 3 hours or so. I still do pretty low carb but I make sure I eat protein and fat at every meal. For diabetics it is the fat that helps regulate bgs. I use the Coconut Oil, real butter, real high fat greek yogurt, real olive oil and beef. Days when my fat intake is low my bgs are the highest. I do know lots of diabetics have Gall Bladder issues but usually can slowly increase their fat after removal of their gall bladder. Also if you go to the maximum of metformin and still can't get bgs down you may want to consider insulin.

 

[Horsewhisperer]

Okay, so I have been testing, testing, testing for over a month now. I have cut my carbs to approx. 50g per day. Yesterday was only 35g carbs for the whole day. I had two hard boiled eggs and a small piece of cheese for breakfast. I had half a salmon salad sandwich for lunch on whole grain bread that is only 17g of carbs per slice. I had a fat free yogurt for my afternoon snack. 4 oz. of beef steak and grilled asparagus for supper. Cheese and a small piece of ham sausage for bedtime snack. My number this morning was 8.9! I am also taking 500mg metformin 3 x daily. I have lost 15lbs in the last month and am drinking minimum 8 glasses of water per day and exercising as much as I can with working a full time job.

I can't seem to get that morning number, or any numbers for that matter, below 7.5 to 9.0.

What am I doing wrong????? I am so frustrated!! AHi nd I am hungry all the time. I have no potatoes, rice, pasta, refined sugars, etc. It's been over a month since I have had any of that.

FYI.....went to a birthday party for my hubby a couple of weeks ago, had a small piece of birthday cake in the evening, and my morning number was 6.3. Go figure!!!!!! First and only time I've seen that kind of number in the morning.

Hi Can I ask you to do a urine ketone test and PM me the result if you don't want to post it here What are your bg's before bed and do you do a overnight one occasionally? Your blood sugars will be up if your body is hungry as it goes into survival mode if you are not supplying the needed carbs and nutrients. The body starts to use muscle to meet it's needs.

 

[Shanny]

The other point about higher Fasting BGs is to keep it in perspective: how are your BGs the other 95% of the day?

Hey Sandy? This is the part I finally had to shrug off & accept - my morning numbers are higher than I like, but I can manage the rest of the day just fine. My A1c is still dropping, and while I guess it would drop more quickly if I weren't afflicted with dawn phenomenon, I've just tried to stop fussing about it. Today I clocked 146 (8.1), but we've been on the road for two days running & had both lunch & dinner in restaurants yesterday - however careful I can be, it's still somebody else's cooking.

 

[SandraO]

Well, this morning I woke up with a FBG of 8.1. I decided to try an experiment to see if it was the bread that was spiking my numbers. I made french toast for breakfast which consisted of two slices of whole grain bread and two eggs. I then topped the french toast with butter and sugar free raspberry jam. After thoroughly enjoying my breakfast, I couldn't wait to see the results. An hour after breakfast, my BG was 7.8. Two hours after breakfast my BG was 6.3. That is only the second time ever that I have had that low a number. The only other time I got it below 7.0 was after I had had birthday cake at a birthday party.

So no rhyme nor reason to all of this. I try to eat low carb, do what I need to do and my numbers are all out of whack and high. I eat two slices of bread or birthday cake, and I get below 7.0.

I give up!!!!

 

[Shalynne]

Soaking that bread in eggs, then frying it in fat, then buttering it -- yum, by the way -- likely covered a few carbs for you! Many of us use that "slather it" trick when we're eating carby stuff.

With the birthday cake, as I posted previously, it was probably timing. Evenings are more carb-forgiving for many of us. Whatever else was eaten that day may also play a role.

Seems you've stumbled upon a couple of tricks for dealing with carbs!

Mystery spikes may mean it's time to talk meds with your doc.

(Oh, and I give up all the time. Completely. Once a week, minimum.)

 

[Guest]

Well, this morning I woke up with a FBG of 8.1. I decided to try an experiment to see if it was the bread that was spiking my numbers. I made french toast for breakfast which consisted of two slices of whole grain bread and two eggs. I then topped the french toast with butter and sugar free raspberry jam. After thoroughly enjoying my breakfast, I couldn't wait to see the results. An hour after breakfast, my BG was 7.8. Two hours after breakfast my BG was 6.3. That is only the second time ever that I have had that low a number. The only other time I got it below 7.0 was after I had had birthday cake at a birthday party.

So no rhyme nor reason to all of this. I try to eat low carb, do what I need to do and my numbers are all out of whack and high. I eat two slices of bread or birthday cake, and I get below 7.0.

I give up!!!!

It just may be that a bit more carbs in your diet works better for you too. Remember we're all different. The low carb/high fat doesn't work for everyone... I know it doesn't work for me. The only way to find out what works is to continue experimenting... don't give up. This disease can cause us a lot of frustration at times... just remember to smile at the storm.

 

[Horsewhisperer]

Sandra...just a thought....you could ask your doctor about the Metaformin XR (slow release)....like you I had a very hard time on Metaformin but the slow release works fine after an initial first few weeks...

D33na may have hit the nail on the head so look into trying the slow release Metaformin as it stops the liver producing extra glucose. Reason I asked for a ketone test using a urine sample is that this test is a historic test as it tells us what has happened over night.

as was explained to me eons ago the liver requires energy to convert protein to glucose so it uses fat which in turns produces a by product (ketones). If I have really low bg's overnight and body responds I have a trace of ketones next morning

So a positive ketone reading indicates that you need to adjust meds to convince liver your body doesn't need glucose over night which is what the metaformin does. A late snack before bed also works for my Aunt who had issues with high fbg's in the mornings but has had success with the slow release metaformin and carb/protein snack before bed. Remember as others here have said we are all different and what works for one may not work for another.

Here's to lower morning fbg's for you