Hi all, I have not yet been tagged a diabetic (pre or otherwise) but because both my mother and father developed typeII in their 60's I have been on the outlook for the same in me. A couple of yrs ago I bought a test kit and occasionally test my morning BGL just to see if I could spot an upwards trend. So far I have been in the low to mid 80s almost. About once every 2 or 3 mos I have a high BGL of 138-150. I have been LC since last June and have lost 30 some pounds and feel great. Does anyone have any idea what causes this? My foods the day before were not at all different from what I have been eating for 3 mos.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Rave
232/199/130

Rave,
Are you saying that the 138-150 BGL was a fasting BGL?
If so, I would see an endocrinologist and ask for an A1c test to be done right away.

The A1c hemaglobin test is actually a MUCH better way to determine if you are pre-diabetic than just randomly monitoring your BGLs.
Call and make the appointment and in the meantime, start taking your BGL's like this:
**Fasting -- before eating or drinking anything and BEFORE brushing your teeth
**2 Hours post-prandial (2 hours after each and every meal/snack).
Keep a record of these numbers until your Dr. appointment and take them with you when you go.
Be sure to record the time of day and what you ate.

If you are staying true to LC, you *shouldn't* see any spikes in your BGLs unless there is already a problem.
HTH,

Summer


www.herstorygirl.com

Yes, that was a fasting BGL. I already have an appointment with my GP. I will start taking my BGLs more often and keep records to take with me. It is so strange because it happens so infrequently.

Rave
232/199/130

Even so, it would be good to have an A1c done. If your GP doesn't suggest it, ASK for it.
Good luck and keep us posted!

Summer

Thanks you so much Summer,
I will certainly request an A1c (got to learn this terminology). I tested again 2 hrs after Breakfast (eggs,cheese, green beans, diet splash). It was 98. Go figure. I am reading now in Bernstein's book about the "Dawn Phenomenon". Wierd and scarry stuff.

Rave
232/199/130

Hi Rave!
Welcome to the forum.

I was going to suggest talking to your endo about dawn phenomena. We have a great thread about it, and some suggestions for preventing it, on our old board. I'm hoping to have it copied over to this board by the end of the week. So check back when you can.

Do you usually eat a bedtime snack? If no, you might want to consider having a high fat protein exchange (roughly 80-100 calories) as a bedtime snack and track your am fasting BG. Most of us find that it really helps.

Another way to track what causes the spikes is to journal everything you ate, what times, any stressors (high temps, job stresses, emotional upset, etc), and all activities the day before the spike. After a few incidents you should be able to find a common denominator.

HTH



Always eat your veggies first!

Thanks BrightLady,
I do have 3 months of food on fitday but there is no keeping track of time. I have started keeping notes of when I eat so I can correlate the two. I would be very interested in seeing that thread on the dawn phenomenon. I have just gotten to that part in Bernstein's book. Mine is so erratic it's annoying. This AM BGL was 84, as it is most mornings. I have also started testing 2 hrs after each meal. I don't think I have seen anything unusual there but when I have a bit more data I may post it here for other opinions. Meanwhile I await my Dr. Appt. I am a bit ambivalent about an evening snack. I have been trying so hard to take the weight off I am hesitant to eat late, especially since there is no telling if I will need it or not. What would be an effective late nite snack?

Rave
232/199/130

My experience is that what I eat 12 hours before causes changes in my blood sugar levels. I don't have a meter ( I have metabolic syndrome not quite diabetes 2 but close enough) so I don't know what my numbers are. I do know if I go off the plan and eat cookies or candy (my favorites) 12 hours later my face turns white, I start to sweat. I haven't passed out yet, but I ache all over and generally feel yucky. Don't do it often but I thought I would share this.

I worked with a child who had unstable type I and his doctor said it was what he was eating the day before that caused his blood sugar to have these unusual spikes.

Look back further and it may help you figure out what is causing your blood sugar to spike. I have been LC for some time now and just figured out the small amount of sugar in regular mayo sets me out of sink a bit. Go figure.

LevisMom,

What you're describing - pale, sweaty, feeling bad - is a hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) event. As a pre-diabetic, your blood sugar is probably very unstable - due to various combinations of hyperinsulinism and isulin receptor resistance.

I suspect that if you keep your blood sugar stable by avoiding items that are full of sugars and/or starches, you'll not have those episodes.

Maggie
5'1" ~~ Atkins since '98 (160+)
Maintaining nicely (110 +/-)
~~ Redhead until further notice!

Thanks Maggie

Actually my point was For RaveReview when figuring out what is the contributing factor to a spike up or down in blood sugar you need to look further back than just the last couple of hours. Just personal experience and I think it may be quite common.

I don't have a blood meter so I don't know if I feel bad because the sugar level is too high or too low. Dr. has never felt that I needed one. It was not until I was working with the young man in the detention facility and his doctor told me that the instability in his blood sugar was due to what he ate the previous day.

It hasn't been until the last year that any of my doctors were able to figure out what was going on. (I moved around a bit and thank God because I don't think they would have ever found it if I had stayed in their care) My new Doc is absoluetly fabulous. The others always said it sounds like a hyperglycemic/hypoglycemic reaction but they could never "catch it" so in their minds my blood sugar was stable/ normal because it always tested that way when they took it, even when fasting. Some minor abnormailities came up on a glucose tolerance test but otherwise nothing.

Going Low carb high protien all the time is the only thing that has stopped my tendancies to have the room suddenly spin and then stop.

THanks again

Connie D

Connie, I'm jumping in at the end of this just because I saw your post. I'm so glad you are doing so much better

Blessings!
Sharron
Author of "Low Carb Cooking at Sharron's Place," and "Extreme Lo-Carb Cuisine" to be released in December

www.thelowcarbcook.com

"My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart." Colossians 2:2

Hello, First of all let me say how happy I am that I have found this site!! I knew that there had to be something out there for diabetics on low carb. I have been diabetic for 2 years now and am ashamed to say that I did not test and track my illness very well. I am changing that along with my eating lifestyle. Some of the things I have done is to schedule a doctors appointment to get my blood work done and ordered Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution book.
BTW Brightlady, I am orginally from a small farm south of Fowlerville and used to shop Brighton all the time