Have had high unexplained after dinner BG numbers recently???

[provlima 42]

Have been monitoring my numbers since May and have learned much from this board. Been on a LCHF diet which has brought my numbers down and  have lost 10 lbs in that time.

 

My post dinner numbers 1.5 to 2 hrs after a LC meal have been between 120 to 135 but for the last three nights have been betw 149 and 168.

 

I cannot understand this as I have continued my to be  very careful and mindful of what Im eating for dinner

Tonite had a salad some sateed zucchini and baked chicken  with some garlic hummus for a dipping garnish.  No bread.  Diet  soda and sugar free jello.

 

This is very typical of my meals yet my 2 hr BG number was 168.  Has anyone else experienced unusual spikes for no apparent reason?

 

Don't know what may be causing this. I thought it might be my Relionmicro meter, but my pst breakfast numbers are normal and I tested it with their test solution.

Have not been unde any stress.. The only other thing I can think of is I have been on a regimen of Prednisone prescribed my my dermatologist since last Tuesday for a neck rash.  Any ideas??

[dowling gram 6,388]

increases in blood glucose are common in people taking prednisone and other steroids. OIf your use of prednisone is going to be short lived I wouldn't worry about it. OR-- you can ask your Dermatologist if there is something else you can take besides steroids

[samuraiguy 4,981]

Steroids can raise blood glucose levels, which usually revert to normal after you stop using them.

[Caravaggio 998]

My doctor advised me that steroids will cause your BG to rise and, depending on the dose, can cause your BG to swing wildly.

 

I recently suffered Bell's palsy and my doctor and I talked about steroids. After explaining that, if I take steroids, he wanted me confined at the hospital for at least 10 days because of the anticipated BG swings, we decided not to take that route.

[stevenal 297]

No doubt the prednisone is the primary suspect. I did note, however, your dinner included a double dose of artificial sweetener. See http://www.webmd.com/diet/20140917/artificial-sweeteners-blood-sugar .

[William V 1,897]

Not surprised as Prednisone is nasty stuff. it knocks back the immune system also. Any "bugs" on board are greatly amplified. An ear infection can end in a burst eardrum within 48 hours of its start.

[provlima 42]

Thanks for your informative posts.  Stevenal,  I was alarmed about the study on artificial sweeteners indicating they  may raise blood glucose levels. I will eliminate the sugar free jello and see if that brings my post dinner BG levels down.  Wonder if the same would hold true for sugar substitutes like truvia which comes from a plant.

[Barry6547 143]

Now, every person may have a different take on sweeteners, and not everyone responds the same way.  For me, I found that some non-sugar sweeteners did in fact raise my bg.  I used to use Splenda all the time, but after testing I found it was elevating my readings.  The two I use that do not influence my bg are SweetLeaf and Equal.  SweetLeaf is more expensive than some....it is called the "natural stevia sweetener."  I have also just tried Stevia, but find this particular product to have zero effect on me.  One packet is equivalent in sugar sweetness to 2 teaspoons of sugar.  On the box it says:  "No erythritol, No methanol, No aspartame, No Sucralose, No Maltodextrin, No Dextrose, No additives, period."  That said, the Equal I use is in tablet form and does contain aspartame which some people shy away from, but it is convenient dropping a tablet into coffee, for example.  The tablet does not dissolve easily in cold liquids.  According to good 'ole Dr. Bernstein, a number of sweeteners in packet form have added ingredients just to increase volume in the packet..and that often adds stuff that can increase your blood sugar...so he highly recommends Aspartame in tablet form, hence Equal.  So Equal (tablet form) and SweetLeaf in the packets work for me.

[TX_Clint 18,855]

This may help.

Sweetener Net Carbs (Per 100g) Calories (Per 100g)

Stevia                 5                               20

Inulin                  1                             150  

Monk Fruit      0 – 25                      0 – 100

Erythritol            5                              20

Xylitol                60                            240

Maltitol              67                            270

Sucralose          0                                0

Aspartame        85                            352

Saccharin          94                            364

 

So Stevia, Inulin (I've not seen this), Monk Fruit? (I'm not familiar with this either), Erythritol, Sucralose and Truvia (combo of stevia and erythritol) are the good guys and most of the others not so good. Of course a 100g is a lot of sweetening.

This also does not take into account the amount necessary to equal sugar. In this I know Stevia and Erythritol are great but Xylitol and Maltitol are not very good.