Blood Glucose Monitoring

[tutsiwarrior]

hello folks

I've been a type 2 (late onset) diabetic for 7 years. I recently started a job in Saudi (a dry country meaning no booze available rather than sparse vegetation) after laying about at home in Suphanburi drinking over a bottle of vodka per day. My previous fasting BG readings were around 175 - 200 mg/dl. Now after two weeks of no drinking I'm down to around 80 - 105. Hard to believe, but I presume that the meter doesn't lie. I've reduced my insulin from 40 to 30 units/day and have done without a couple of days to experiment with favorable results. My sugar and starch intake hasn't changed appreciably otherwise.

Now I'm wonderin' what BG level to expect one hour after meals. I presume that normal people would see a rise after meals? Or do normal people maintain the same BG level all day long? A fasting BG level > 115 mg/dl indicates diabetes; what would be the indicator 1 hour after meals?

thanks in advance for any info.

[lopburi3]

Unable to answer you question but hope that this will be a wake up call for the Tutsi - booze is not good for you in such amounts - without it the kids may have you around a lot longer.

Do be careful to not go down too low and if you start to get weak/dizzy add some sugar fast - wife has sever problems if below 90 and her normal fasting is about 130. But she does no require insulin. You have had a huge swing.

I would advise having a lab test and compare meter as they can be wrong. Last strips I bought her in Thailand I believe were fake as looked very poorly made (loose plastic) and have since seen re-calls in the US for same brand for being fake. These can provide very inaccurate readings and in our case were about 20 units higher than actually the case.

[Boo]

Everyones BG level increases after food or drink regardless of diabetes or not. In non diabetics the BG level goes back to a healthy level (between 4-7 I don't know your readings!!) approx 1hr after finishing eating. In a diabetic it takes longer which is why the amount of food & type of food has to be controlled with portions & food types. If you have cut out alcohol then this will greatly affect your BG levels as alcohol has sugar in it and also makes your body work harder to get it out of your system also affecting your bg level.

I am advised (am under weekly monitoring at diabetic clinic due to be preggers but principle is the same) that anything over 9-10 is too high 1 1/2 hours after eating. (during pregnancy this number is lower, not above 7 but in non preggers then 9 or above is too high).

If you have managed to bring your bg levels down by cutting out the booze alone & also reduced your insulin by 10 units then this has to be a big old wake up call about how much & how often you were drinking when in LOS?? Keep it up tutsi, think about what happens if you don't, loss of sight, possible amputation of feet or lower legs due to septecimia or abceses caused by mossie bites, cuts to feets or just poor circulation, liver damage due to high levels of protein in urine. All lovely side effects of a disease that you are proving can be controlled by moderate living Lecture over

As lopburi says though, keep an eye on your hypos & make sure you aren't going too low but in principle, the lower you can get your insulin the better & that means getting your bg levels down as low as safely possible. Who knows in a few months you may even be able to reduce your insulin even more.

[thaigerd]

Tutsi,

stop that stupid drinking please!!!

I am a diabetic2 and I check my blood 3x a day, sure it goes up after a meal or a drink.

I trink alcohol very rarely, last bdrink I've had was last Saturday with some members from Phuket coz it was my birthday.

Wishing u a long life and always a moderate blood level.

Gerd

[Sheryl]

As you are Type 2 and yout fasting levels are now within normal range you may well be able to go off insulin altogether in favor of an oral medication. See an internist who specializes in management of diabetes for guidance, though, don't try to do it on your own.

And learn your lesson re the booze.

As for Tutsi: a hard nut to crack. Suggest he spend some time in hospitals visiting people with complications of diabetes (amputees, blind etc) might help give him the shock he seems to need to clean upo the act before it is too late.....

[Sheryl]

Oh, and not to forget the dialysis clinic....high percentage of these folks are diabetics who didn';t control their disease adequately...

[tutsiwarrior]

tutsi sits on his magnificent new terrace but cannot admire the view as he is blind...cannot water the flowers as he is a double amputee...cannot do much of anything as he has incipient renal and liver failure...

well, I can now see the benefits of cutting out the booze; even my sleep and bowel movements have improved remarkably. Saudi is a shithole but does have medicinal value...maybe I'll turn muslim next...Makkah is only 50km away...good fer de haj...

[stickyrice]

Thank you for sharing your story Tutsi.

In the USA, we consider a fasting blood glucose over 125 indicative of diabetes and this is the usual goal. To try to get less that 125 fasting and as close to normal as possible without getting hypoglycemic (low blood sugar). The after meal goal here has been less than 200 within 2 hours. Right after the meal the reading is very sensitive to what you eat, how much you eat, what combinations of food you eat, etc. So I really think people should just eat as healthly as they can and not even consider to check till 2 hours.

People who have had diabetes for a while usually get frustrated with the number of medications they will be asked to take. But, please also be sure to control your blood pressure and cholestrol.

[tutsiwarrior]

during the day I'll do another BG reading at 1730 hrs when I get home from work and it is sometimes even LESS than the fasting level, having eaten lunch at about 1230. I have now been smoking a pack of Marlboros per week rather 1+ per day when I was drinking so I'll bet that my blood pressure has seen the benefit (150/100 before I left Thailand).

Saudi Arabia...land ob de two holy sites of Islam and world health farm extraordinaire...

[cathyy]

You might need small afternoon snack, Tutsi. Congrats on the fabulous BG readings!

I recall my doc being very pleased when my 2-hour post-prandial BG was routinely under 150. My fasting BG is now back in the 99 to 103 range. I had to increase my Glucophage to the full dosage (1275mg bid) to get it there. It was only up to 123-126 or so, but I want better control than that. I like being able to see, and walk, and do cross-stitch, and all that kidney stuff.

[Boo]

try to have a mid afternoon snack to prevent your bg level going to low. 5 hrs between food is too long but well done on cutting out the smokes too.

[tutsiwarrior]

You might need small afternoon snack, Tutsi. Congrats on the fabulous BG readings!

I recall my doc being very pleased when my 2-hour post-prandial BG was routinely under 150. My fasting BG is now back in the 99 to 103 range. I had to increase my Glucophage to the full dosage (1275mg bid) to get it there. It was only up to 123-126 or so, but I want better control than that. I like being able to see, and walk, and do cross-stitch, and all that kidney stuff.

yeah...Glucophage...now that I'm not drinkin' I could go off the insulin and use oral medication. Any side effects from high dosing on Glucophage (constipation, sleeplessness, etc)?

without drinking the nicotene craving is considerably reduced so, as I said, an added benefit. However without drinking my libido has disappeared, don't even have the urge to pleasure myself. Not that there is any available talent that I can see locally anyway. No biggie...the urge has dropped off dramatically over the past year anyway...the equipment has just plain wore out I reckon...

thanks to all for your observations/comments...

Edited April 9, 2007 by tutsiwarrior

[cathyy]

yeah...Glucophage...now that I'm not drinkin' I could go off the insulin and use oral medication. Any side effects from high dosing on Glucophage (constipation, sleeplessness, etc)?

I absolutely must take it with food, or else I get really nauseous.

If you want to start on Glucophage, see your Doc. You don't just start popping it. He needs to run a liver panel and check renal function to help him assess your risk for lactic acidosis, which is an uncommon but potentially lethal side effect of taking Glucophage. Then he will gradually increase your dose until good control of BG level is reached.

[Ijustwannateach]

A year or two I checked my fasting blood sugar and it was borderline (about 110, I think)- got me back up on the exercise machines and I've been trying to watch what I eat more. I've been too afraid to keep checking, though. Glad I read this thread; suddenly I feel like some more treadmill.

"S"

[tutsiwarrior]

A year or two I checked my fasting blood sugar and it was borderline (about 110, I think)- got me back up on the exercise machines and I've been trying to watch what I eat more. I've been too afraid to keep checking, though. Glad I read this thread; suddenly I feel like some more treadmill.

"S"

IJWT, if you fear that there is a possibility that you may be diabetic get right in there with the bg monitoring until you can conclusively identify your positive/negative condition or go see an endicrinologist/diabetes specialist. I was diabetic for at least 6 months before I happened to go to the doc for a check up for a new job and he broke the news. By that time I had developed keto-acidosis which is life threatening. I felt OK, had lost some weight suddenly and had the frequent pissing and thirst but did not want to contemplate the inevitable.

The doc looked at the bg meter (320 mg/dl fasting bg level) and calmly said 'you are very ill and require immediate hospitalisation' (mild mannered Indian chap). I said whaaa? I don't feel sick. He just said 'your condition is life threatening...'. The keto-acidosis diagnosis came later with further tests...ketones in the blood.

There are lotsa diabetics walking around that are unaware that they are sick...be aware...

Edited April 11, 2007 by tutsiwarrior

[Sheryl]

A year or two I checked my fasting blood sugar and it was borderline (about 110, I think)- got me back up on the exercise machines and I've been trying to watch what I eat more. I've been too afraid to keep checking, though. Glad I read this thread; suddenly I feel like some more treadmill.

"S"

I'm in exactly the same boat (mine was 109 at my last physical), gave me a much needed impetus to lose weight. I'm down 5 kg now and will shortly go back for follow up blood work; with the extra weight off I'm optimistic that I'll be back below 100.

If you've increased your exercise and lost even a little weight there's every reason to hope for good news. And if the news isn't good, hiding from it won't make it any better...so as Tutsi said, get it checked!!! (Or check it yourself if you prefer...one advantage to getting it checked at a hospital or clinic is that you can also get your cholesterol & triglycerides checked at the same time. The same people prone to high BS are also prone to elevated lipids.