Wow - just got my highest reading

[Shannonsnail]

I'm having momentary shock right now. I've been testing for educational purposes for the last week and honestly, have not seen much to get excited about...in fact, was beginning to wonder why I paid for the meter, etc. (has to come out of pocket since I'm pre-D) but just now I had a one hr reading of 178! It's hard to say what caused it since my meal included more than one primarily carb item (rice, watermelon and cherries). Other than this reading I have only had one other high (159) and I had drank sweet tea with that meal - since then I've gone back to only water and unsweet tea!

[princesslinda]

Shannon, it could have been any of the items you ate....you might do okay with any of them alone, but together it was just too many carbs. I'd encourage you to try each individually and see how they affect your blood sugars.

How were your #s at the 2 hr point?

You might be surprised to see how quickly those #s will come down after a little exercise. You're not supposed to exercise if you have a reading over 250, but if I get in the 160 range, I find just taking a short brisk walk helps a great deal.

Gretchen Becker has a new book about pre-D....I haven't read it, but her "The First Year, T2 Diabetes" was a great resource, so this one will probably be good as well.

[Shannonsnail]

Linda: My 2 hour just now was 131 so it is coming down. I've not had a 2 hr over 120 in my brief time of testing so this is rather interesting. I do agree that there is no way to know what actually spiked me without testing each item individually plus I did not have much protein in this meal (poor planning for lunch when we had no leftovers leftover from dinner last night!) and my meals normally do. What was also interesting about this is that so far, in my educational pricking, I have been able to tell physically when I get to ~130 or higher by how I feel but today I was much higher and felt fine....that I was not expecting. I guess though that goes to show that you cannot entirely depend on your physical feelings/symptoms. (PS. I even pricked again b/c I was so shocked at the high number, about 10 min later, and it was 161 so I think this was a true spike and not some meter or finger issue)

I will look into Gretchen's book - I had heard of the T2 book mentioned before, did not know she had a new pre-D book - that would definitely be helpful!

[princesslinda]

I can generally tell when i'm higher than usual, but there have been times i've been high and felt fine...that's why it's always good to test.

Recently, I've had some BS issues....the first few days of higher #s, I could really feel a difference...after a few days, however, I felt fine. Guess that's how so many folks go undetected....there bodies adjust to whatever numbers they have most frequently, so they don't feel bad and don't seek medical help.

Might be interesting to see if your fasting level tomorrow is a few points higher as well. I always see a higher fasting the next day after a high #.

In looking at your list, i'm thinking rice may have been the culprit...at least in my personal experience, I could tolerate watermelon better than rice. But, we're all different, so testing is the only sure fire way to know.

[Larry H.]

Shannon,

Are you new to the whole possible issue? I know your testing so something had to prompt that. I would say that as a pre diabetic, in my opinion at least, that you could easily have something like the rice throw the numbers up. When I first got here, which was two years ago now, I was having after meal readings that spanned about 135 to 190 off and on. As I got into loosing some weight and walking regularly I started to see better numbers. Also by testing after eating you start to see which items are bothering you. Another thing is the amount of what your eating. The way I used to eat I would have caused a much larger raise in numbers than the smaller sized portions I have mostly become used to eating. That is especially true of things that like others, I have found my numbers to be adversely effected by.
The good thing for me and perhaps for you too is that by catching the problem in its beginning stages it seems that you can ward off, at least for some time, the worsening numbers that others may have if they have already worn out the bodies ability to use the glucose when they get here. It gives us a bit more flexibility in what and how much we can eat and not trip the really severe numbers.
It will take some time to see how things are going, so watch what happens. I would use the two hour test timing as most seem to think it the more reliable as far as a general idea where your at.
I can easily have the same thing happen and recently did. I have been able to enjoy a nice evening meal and sometimes see numbers in the 115 area. But one evening I ate a serving of some beans that maybe I ate a few too many of. The number came in at 158. Lower than it might have been at first, but higher than my normal highs now. So it proves it is still out there waiting. I am just glad that so far I have figured out how to keep the problem at arms length for a while. Hopefully you will too.

[jenb]

Watermelon does it to me everytime! Tragic in my little life, since it's my favorite fruit but not worth eating because of the spikes it causes. (What a whiner - this should be my worst life problem....)

Jen

[Grunch]

You're not supposed to exercise if you have a reading over 250

Why not?

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[GayleM]

Shannon, how long after eating are you testing? In one post you mentioned a number a 2 hours...most of us find our peak time after eating and test then. Normal folks never go over 145 at any time, no matter what they eat, so that is the highest most of us ever want to see. Docs usually talk about the 2 hour mark, but that is for their benefit to see how it comes down. Any time we go over 145 we can start to damage beta cells.

When is your peak time? And do you test at that time?

YOu may want to consider dropping the "pre" from your diagnosis. It's like being a little bit pregnant :) It only means we are at the beginning...it won't go away. But, hopefully, with strong control, exercise and good eating we can stave off the progression longer.

Have you had an A1C done or a glucose tolerance test? YOu might want to ask for those as the glucose test (given what you've shared in your numbers) I suspect would be educational and likely show you are not pre, but diabetic.

Take care!