Gest. Diabetes readings

[nkenward]

Hi all,

Just wondering whether anyone was getting high readings after eating very low sugar foods?

I have usually been under the minimum levels for break. lunch & dinner. But every 3rd day I am to take it before breakfast - and it is over the minimum 5.5.

Take last night - I had 1/2 sausage and steamed vegies. I forgot to test last night (fell asleep). But this morning it was 6.3 before breakfast. I then had 3 weetbix & milk - no sugar and with skim milk - I then had a reading of 8.3.

Can stress play a major role?

Thanks.

[~Emmylou~]

It could have been the weetbix - I found that cereal of any sort would send me way over and 3 would probably be enough to do it.

The best thing I found for keeping it down after breakfast was the Bergen Soy-Lin bread. I could even have baked beans or spaghetti with it and readings were still good.

Unfortunately it's a bit of a trial and error thing to find what works for you because it seems to be different for everyone.

Good luck :)

[Tabby]

My understanding was its not just sugars its also your carbs and fats intake as well that you have to watch.
I found that if I had any fried food my reading was higher than should be.so maybe it was a combination of the last nights sausage and weetbix. Maybe look for a lighter alternative?
If I was naughty I would go for a walk right after it and before the next reading to get it back down again.

[Ky]

Protein and fat have no bearing on your blood sugars .. you are just told to limit fats as they are not good for you in high quantities. At the same time, you are encouraged to eat some healthy fats each day ie. peanut butter and walnuts.

Look for foods that are under 25gm carbohydrate per 100gm on the food analysis panel. You will find that basically the only cereal you can eat without it being too high GI is Rolled Oats (not quick oats) and one serving is 1/3 cup uncooked oats.

I have to keep my bsl's between 4.0 and 6.7 so am on a very strict diet and am also on very high doses of insulin. If your bsl is higher than 5.0 in the morning, it means that your sugars have been too high overnight and it increases your risk of a very large baby with problems with low blood sugars at birth.

The reason my diabetes is being so carefully monitored this time is that although it was well within the normal range (3.5 - 8.0) with my ds, I still ended up with him being 5.94kg (13lb 2oz) at 36 weeks.

Stay away from rice, pasta, most breads (I can only eat Tip Top 9 Grain original) and keep serving sizes small. Potato is high GI and although sweet potato is a lower GI option, sometimes even this is too much for a body with insulin resistance. There are also some other veges and fruits that will quickly effect your blood sugars.

You should be able to get help from your local diabetes educator and dietician - they will give you a list of foods, thier GI rating and how to assess other foods to see what category they fit into.

I now have my diabetes under control and my HBA1C blood test went from an average bsl of 8.1 last month to 5.2 this month. Hopefully, I won't have such a big bub this time.

[sueb31]

I agree with what Elias said and would just emphasise that it sounds like you need to be testing more regularly. If it were me I woudl at least be testing the before breakfast reading every day as it has been so high. There has been recent research to say that this level is very important in whether you get problems or not.

The levels Elias mentioned are the standard ones for everyone with diabetes (pretty much). In fact, in the normal population 90% of people's before breakfast reading is 4.5 or less and their 2 hour reading is 5.5 or less.

Sorry if I sound militant, I am in a similar situation to Elias and this is the second time I have had it too.
HTH
Sue

[nkenward]

Thanks all for your replies. I have really tried to watch what I eat and when I eat etc. And the results during the day have been heaps better, especially if I have been walking a bit.

It is just the before breakfast that has been concerned. Last night I had a low reading of 5.4, but this morning I had a reading of 2.7 - I thought that was a little bit strange as I wasn't giddy or feeling sick etc. I did it again and it said 6.3. So I am not sure which is more accurate.

Not sure why it would increase during the night. So the other question would be - can it increase during the night? I have read that your liver can produce glucose during the night and that having a snack during the middle of the night can help. Can anyone support this?
I really don't want to go insulin, as my daily results are within the required range.

[Ky]

Yes, your readings can increase overnight ... there is sometimes no rhyme or reason to it - my endocrinologist says that it seems to be a side effect of pregnncy hormones.

Pregnancy can also really mask the warning signs of a hypo extremely well - you will not always feel "grotty" at the time ... there have been a few times this pg that I have tested and found myself to be really low and had had absolutely no warning.

Do you have a snack before you go to bed? This will usually stop your sugars plummeting during the night, but strangely enough will often not contribute to a higher reading in the morning.

The routine that I have to stick to is ...

before breakfast test 7:15am at the latest

breakfast (2 portions carb) less than 10 minutes after giving insulin - usually around 7:30am

morning tea (2 portions carb) approx 10am

lunch (2 portions carb) between 12pm and 1pm

afternoon tea (1 portion carb) around 3pm

dinner (2 portion carb) around 6-7pm

supper (1 portion carb) at 11pm after overnight insulin dose.

It makes for a long day, but keeps my bsl's constant as they are monitored constantly and I have a regular intake of carbohydrates.

Another question I have for you is ... are you keeping your intake of carbs low to try and keep your bsl's under control so you don't have to go on insulin? If you are doing this, you are probably causing more harm than good. Your body and bubs need a regular intake of carbs throughout the day and if to get your intake up to the level required to sustain a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby at birth you require insulin - this is a small price and inconvenience compared to other possible outcomes.

My gd wasn't diagnosed with ds until 30 weeks as I had mistakenly thought that I was doing the right thing keeping my carb intake low, keeping my bsl's under control and losing rather than gaining weight. As it turned out, my ds was born so big because my diet had been masking the symptoms of gd for too long and he had taken a lot of what he needed from my body, leaving me drained and causing him to gain a lot of weight and his blood sugars to be very low at birth. It may be a funny sight seeing a nearly 6kg baby in neo-nates next to the really tiny bubs, but he was at just as much risk as they were.

Just remember ... if you do eventually need to go on insulin - you haven't failed in any way! You are being a great mum who is doing everything you can to make sure that you and bub remain healthy.

[pickles]

make sure you always wash your hands before testing. I totally freaked one day when i had a readingof 17. Ii then realised i had just made ny husband a cordial and obviously had residue on my hands. Re did the BSL and it was within the normal range. I have a friend who does her blood testing with her ear lobe - apparently it hurts less and gave more accurate readings but i do not think this is scientifically proven.

Pickles

[nkenward]

No I try to eat carbs at every meal for sure - otherwise it is very hard to stay full as such - but I do try for the low gi type carbs though. I also have at least 2-3 small portions of fruit during the day. But for the past week, I suppose from trial & error - all the results have been under 6.5 for during the day.

But it is just the reading before breakfast - it was interesting to see you have a snack at about 11pm - I probably stop eating generally at about 8ish - and sometimes i don't have a snack at all. Maybe having a snack later on might as you say improve the morning readings. But as lately I am fast asleep by 9:30. Connor has been waking up at about 5ish ready to start the day - so I am absolutely buggered by the end of the day. Might have to get up and have something!

Thanks again for your experiences it helps to see how others have dealt with it. All I can say is I have 7 weeks to go - and I hope it goes by very quickly. But as my Mum has said - it has been a good wake up call for the future.

[KatieKitten]

hi guys

im testing this week to see if i need insulan. i though i was being very good with my diet, but my reading was just 7.8 :(

before breakfast it was 4.1
i had bowl of yucky "all bran" with low fat milk, and 1/4 unripe banana on top, with 1 strawberry.

i also had a glass of that expensive orange juice that is meant to be 100% natural "no added sugar" i looked at label and it said 8g per 100ml

is that what caused it, or is o/j fine??

HELP!!!!

[SuperFrog]

Orange juice used to cause my readings to sky-rocket. If you really feel that you need to drink juice, try some cloudy apple juice (unsweetened) and dilute it with water.

Remember, you'd probably squeeze about 4 to 5 oranges to get a glass of juice.

[firsttimemum1]

when I had gestational diabetes in my first pregnancy (had bub two months ago), i was told to exercise after breakfast, which did help and lowered my levels, snacks inbetween breakfast, lunch, dinner, and have supper just before going to bed.

I also was told that sausages were okay so long as they weren't flavoured. Drink wise, diet cordial or water, no orange juice but once I got my levels under control I had a occasional juice. Weetbix were out so I managed to find a cereal which suited me whih was the Healthwise Digestive and Bowel Cereal. I thought one day i'd try the red box which relates to your heart but that put my readings through the roof. So I went back to the green box.

In relation to the levels being high prior to testing in the morning, I was told your body producing the higher reading not what you ate for supper the night before. If that cannot get under control then you would need to go on insulin.

If you have any questions, please go ahead and ask.

Shel :wave:

[nkenward]

Hi Katie,

yeah I would say it is the oj - unfortunately even though there is 'no added sugar', there is still natural sugar in oj and as the previous person mentioned - a glass = 4-5 oranges. you could try diluting it - maybe with some soda water. Just remember exercise is important, but it took me a good 2-3 weeks to sort out what works for me.

well I have worked out the whole morning thing - yes your liver will produce glucose during the night - which indicated that i wasn't eating enough at dinner to last throughout the night. I now have a larger portion of a low gi food with dinner - ie: a larger portion of potato, pasta, rice or even baked beans - that seams to have settled my morning readings.

But i now have all my readings under control, and the doctor said today that with what i have I should not have any issues, and won't need insulin. And should I indulge in a piece of cake - I will be able to explain the high readings. I have also lost 4.5kg - but I have been told not to lose anymore - and to increase my snacks during the main meals. Very happy about that.