I have not been told I am a diabetic. I have been told Ac1 test is showing prediabetic. That number was 6.1 doctor gave me choice of using meds or eating right. My question is I don't do glucose testing but have a meter I thought it might help my diet knowing what my glucose is doing. After husband and I ate I checked our blood to see if I could get an idea what blood glucose we had. My number was 211 and his was 87. I know our glucose can go up according to what we eat. Is it ever ok to have a level be 211 after eating (1 hour)? We had bacon eggs toast. I did eat toast even though I guess I shouldn't was told to avoid starches eat more protein vegetables. I have read people reading get up in the 400 so thought 211 isn't as high as could be of course don't know why my husbands is so much lower guess he doesn't have a problem.
Ideally, your numbers should be less than 100 fasting (in the morning) and then less than 140 two hours after a meal. You will learn to eat to your meter. So if you spike too much, don't eat those foods, or eat them in much smaller portions.
"I have read people reading get up in the 400 so thought 211 isn't as high as could be"
211 is high. The more time you spend at high levels, the more damage is done. So when you hear about people being in the 400's, they are doing serious, SERIOUS damage to their bodies.
Now, if you have an occasional high number (like the 211), but you're testing a lot and it's rare to get that high, great. But if you're not on insulin (so you cannot immediately correct a high) you don't want to be running numbers that high because it will take hours for it to come down.
Cora's info on the target numbers is correct. Those are the numbers you need to see (or lower). Testing one hour after a meal isn't all that helpful, as even non-diabetics have higher numbers after eating. The difference is that their numbers come down very quickly while it takes longer for our numbers to go down. That's why they tell us to test at the two-hour post meal mark (and the timing is from when you START eating, not when you finish.)
As always, Cora's advice is spot-on. Test, test, test and test some more to see how different foods affect you, and try smaller portions of anything containing carbs.
HI Cora and SamQ, I have been testing myself after eating. I noticed that some times it comes down quickly and other times it doesn't. The night it was 211 it was still 130 the next morning and wasn't coming down. So I decided to start checking with the meter after eating everything to see if I could figure out how this works. I had a meal of brocilli, chicken, green peppers and onions I put in my ninja grounded it up and made a roll up in low carb tortias. That time the number only went to 123 and then in about a couple hours was already down to 100. I also found out if I drink a cup of hot tea and add 2 teaspoons sugar I was at 98 so at least I know I can drink that. I had peanut MM about 10 and didn't get up much past 100. But I ate pizza and the number was high and still hasn't come down. I am kind of understanding it that I am suppose to try and keep number normL for as long as I can and if it does go up come down quicker. I am not told I am a diabetic because the glucose on fasting was in normal range the last time I had the test but the ac1 test showed i was becoming diabetic. I really want to loose weight and part of my motivation is to try and see if I keep the number in normal range see if I loose weight especially in my stomach. I am going to try and see if using the glucose meter if combinding food help to keep the number normal. Thanks Linda
Hi Linda,
One of the things that will cause your blood glucose to remain high for longer is the fat content of the food. Pizza is notorious for causing high bg's that stay high for hours and hours. The crust of pizza is very high carb, but the fat content slows the absorption of the carbs so that even 4 hours later, your body is still absorbing those carbs.
You might want to ask your doctor for a referral to a registered dietician for advice regarding meal planning. If you're overweight, losing it will definitely affect your blood glucose levels for the better. Exercise is also very helpful, even if you don't lose weight, as exercise helps make the cells more receptive to the insulin your body produces. Combining a healthy diet with exercise could actually prevent you from ever developing true diabetes and, even if it doesn't prevent it, it'll delay the need for medication, often for many, many years.
SamQ, I would like to see a dietician it would help understanding how this works. That make sense about the fat wondered why it was staying so long. Thanks for the information. I don't exercise because of multiple things I have fibromyalsia, migraines that last days right now going on for 2 weeks and inner ear disease lost my balance function years ago. The doctor tells me to try things but I do a little and then don't continue. I am over weight need to loose at least 50 pounds. I can feel carrying the extra weight around is hard on the body. I do need to loose weight and figure out some thing to do to move more.
SamQ, I would like to see a dietician it would help understanding how this works. That make sense about the fat wondered why it was staying so long. Thanks for the information. I don't exercise because of multiple things I have fibromyalsia, migraines that last days right now going on for 2 weeks and inner ear disease lost my balance function years ago. The doctor tells me to try things but I do a little and then don't continue. I am over weight need to loose at least 50 pounds. I can feel carrying the extra weight around is hard on the body. I do need to loose weight and figure out some thing to do to move more.
Hi Linda,
I, too, have fibromyalgia and that alone does not prevent exercise - in fact, exercise helps alleviate the symptoms. The key to exercising with FM is to start very, VERY gradually.
Since you also have the ear problem and balance issue, I'd suggest you find some chair exercises. You can do leg raises in a chair, "bicycling" in a chair, and arm raises (with very light weights if you can tolerate them). Obviously you can't do this while you're in the middle of a migraine, but when the migraine subsides you can do some of this. Again, I stress that you must work at it gradually. You may also want to work with a physical therapist who can show you what exercises to do.
As for the migraines...as a former migraine sufferer myself, you have my sympathy, as they are awful indeed. This is just a wild stab in the dark, here, but do you often take medication for the migraines? My cousin had been taking migraine medication for years, off and on, but the migraines kept getting worse and more frequent and so, of course, he kept taking more medication. Turned out he was having rebound headaches! He ended up staying off the medications for two weeks, and his headaches stopped. Now he hardly ever gets them, and he only needs the medication maybe a couple of times a year.
Ruth, I don't take much medication. I will take Aleve when the headache get very bad. So many medications affect my balance that I stay away from them. I use to have migraines all the time when I was young and the past few years its not been much issue. This I think might be hormone related now. Haven't gone through menopause yet but been having some changes. I was prescribed Cymbalta for Fibro. My doctor actually calls it CSS. I didn't like the side affects. I seem to do better if I can get some sleep and just do topical things like massage and heat. I don't think the fibro is as bad as some people get. The first RH doctor didn't diagnosis it just said I have arthritis in my shoulder and put me on predinisone. I saw another RH doctor really for loosing my hair he did a bunch of blood work and checked me for the trigger points and said he thinks I have Fibro but also is into the CSS. Thanks for all your suggestions and input.
