Rise in BG while fasting.....How??

[Cajunboy47]

Twice in the last week, I've noticed a rise of 40 & 60 points after skipping breakfast.

My afternoon BG reading before eating lunch was higher than the morning reading and I had not consumed anything by mouth other than water.

Is there an explanation for this?

I delay meals until I feel hungry and rarely skip and never noticed this before, although it may have happened. I am wondering if this is unusal or not.......

Cajunboy47

[NYNikki]

Hi Cajunboy47

For a Diabetic skipping breakfast or any meal can be dangerous.
It makes your pancreas, liver and glucose distribution go off balanced.

I eat through out my day - whether I feel the need to or not. That way my insulin levels stay study. I'm not talking big meals but rather 5-snack meal and a full dinner. My daily 5-snack meals consist of something like a handful of nuts one snack and a Greek style yogurt for another, sometimes a small salad, etc.

EVERYTHING is good hardy Low Carb so really it's not as much as it sounds. It's also a good way to feed your body nourishment & nutrients through food. And that aids in keeping glucose at an even 'safe' key.

I was never a breakfast person but now I make it a habit of eating a small bowl of 1/2 cup steel cut oatmeal with fresh ground flaxseeds and cinnamon. Sometimes, I don't finish it all but my body does have some fuel to work with until I eat or snack again.

All I can say is this worked for 'ME' - BUT I am also a Diabetic that takes NO Diabetic meds - so it may be different for some that do.

Nikki

[Nancy LC]

Your body can synthesize the glucose it needs with the liver from amino acids. Unfortunately some people are a little too good at this.

I believe we've got some diabetics or pre-diabetics doing intermittent fasting and they're getting better fasting BG results, but you should check with them to be sure though.

Oh yeah:
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?p=6454498&highlight=fasting+blood#post6454498
Also SherryJ and Stardust also reported lowing fasting BG after a few weeks of IF.

Maybe it is just an adjustment to "expected" meal times and when the meal doesn't come the body readjusts.

[Lessara]

Your body can synthesize the glucose it needs with the liver from amino acids. Unfortunately some people are a little too good at this.

I'm one of those people. I do know that sometimes its what you eat the night before that dictates if you sugar is high in the morning. For example: For me, If I Hamburger, onions, mushrooms with a 1/2 red potato one dinner and the next day have hamburger, mexican spice, cheese, onion, and peppers for dinner I get the following results for my am readings: After a dinner of a small raise in carbs, my blood sugar tests are lower. If I eat the mainly protein dinner its higher in the morning.
I also did IF and after a week, I had much lower dawn affect going for my blood tests. I had mornings below 110 which is good for me.

Ps If I eat alittle higher carb for more than a day, all my blood tests go up all through the day.

[ReginaW]

My afternoon BG reading before eating lunch was higher than the morning reading and I had not consumed anything by mouth other than water.

Is there an explanation for this?

Gluconeogenesis - your body is manufacturing its own glucose from protein stores in an attempt to keep your blood glucose stable - just doing it too well....since you're not stimulating the same type of insulin response as you would when you eat. One reason why those with diabetes are encouraged not to skip meals.

[NYNikki]

I do know that sometimes its what you eat the night before that dictates if you sugar is high in the morning.

It's his afternoon readings that are HIGHER then his morning readings.

My afternoon BG reading before eating lunch was higher than the morning reading and I had not consumed anything by mouth other than water.

[Zuleikaa]

Blood glucose will rise after a while on an empty stomach. That's why it's tested while fasting.

[dina1957]

Twice in the last week, I've noticed a rise of 40 & 60 points after skipping breakfast.

My afternoon BG reading before eating lunch was higher than the morning reading and I had not consumed anything by mouth other than water.

Is there an explanation for this?

I delay meals until I feel hungry and rarely skip and never noticed this before, although it may have happened. I am wondering if this is unusal or not.......

Cajunboy47
Get in habit of eating breakfast as soon as you are up, and you will avoid further BG rise. I must eat or Bgs will continue to rise, for the same reasons as we have high Bgs after a meal, skipping meals means no new insulin made. Since we don't have "stored insulin" (phase I response), we must eat to avoid gluconeogenesis (stop live from charning glucose). ATMOF, I have better Bgs afterr a meal, then if I skip it, espceially in the morning.
Diabetes is not only about pancrease, but also very much related to liver function, and in our case, liver does not get proper "feed back" (insulin resistance) from blood sugar readings. Most of the glucose we get, comes from the liver via glucogenesis and gluconeogenesis (with or without food), and liver is very effective in turning everything into glucose (even our own muscle and fat) when we skip a meal. This is truly diabolic desease no matter how you put it, catch 22 IMHO.

[dina1957]

Blood glucose will rise after a while on an empty stomach. That's why it's tested while fasting.
No in normal insulin sensitive folks, only in IR and diabetics. Healthy ppl have perfect BGs even while fasting.

[Zuleikaa]

No in normal insulin sensitive folks, only in IR and diabetics. Healthy ppl have perfect BGs even while fasting.I did mean in diabetics.

[Cajunboy47]

Gluconeogenesis - your body is manufacturing its own glucose from protein stores in an attempt to keep your blood glucose stable - just doing it too well....since you're not stimulating the same type of insulin response as you would when you eat. One reason why those with diabetes are encouraged not to skip meals.


Ok, ReginaW and others, we've opened up a reality check here. I have always had a higher morning reading then my evening reading. I hear many diabetics refer to it as the dawn pheonomena.

If by skipping breakfast my BG goes up, then I believe from what most of you are saying, is I am extending my dawn pheonomena.

I am not talking about a higer morning BG caused by what was eaten the night before. Regardless of what I ate the night before, I always experience the morning pheonomena.

I will study this Gluconeogenesis that has been referred to, not that the word is new to me, just never tried to understand it and now I see, I have done myself a disfavor. I guess there is no end to learning about diabetes and the sneaky way it attacks us.

I hope each of you will give more input and let's try and figure this thing out. I know I need to LC diet to keep my BG lowered without the meds. I am now wondering if a late night protein snack might not lower my morning BG count.

I always keep a bunch of test strips on hand, but now I can see where I need to stock up more as I will be testing the effects on me of many aspects of eating and not eating and how much I'm eating and how often I'm eating and what I'm eating as opposed to what I'm not eating. There is a more concrete answer that is common to all of us, there has to be. We all eat differently, that is probably why it is so hard to get it right, but in my thinking at this time, there has got to be some stability for all of us by following certain prescribed patterns of eating certain foods.

I've heard people say, our bodies all respond different. I somehow don't think that is true. I think we all need to be more alert to our similarities and find the links that provide positive answers.

Thanks all, I appreciate all of you so much!!!!!

Cajuyboy47

[Cajunboy47]

to Dina1957, thank you for your input. what does ATMOF mean???

You raise a question. If an early breakfast stops the morning rise, wouldn't eating (for eg; 1/2 boiled egg) in the middle of the night when most of us get up at least once to go to the bathroom reduce the rise we see in the morning reading????

Call me stupid, but I am going to test this out on myself. Stay tuned, it might be a few days before I post results...

[dina1957]

to Dina1957, thank you for your input. what does ATMOF mean???
As The Matter Of Fact

You raise a question. If an early breakfast stops the morning rise, wouldn't eating (for eg; 1/2 boiled egg) in the middle of the night when most of us get up at least once to go to the bathroom reduce the rise we see in the morning reading????
Yes, it will, tried and true at least, for me. But... I would rather sleep through the nite, then get up to eat at 2 am to have a snack. I also prefer to give my stomack deserved break at night.;)
DP depends on many factors, not linear: cortisol level, amounf of alcohol consumed night before, stress level, overall health status, etc. etc. One thing I can tell, after almost 5 years since being Dx I am still struggling with DP, some days more than others.
If you want to find out for sure if it is indeed DP and not a major lack of basal insulin, you may want to check your Bgs every 2 hours starting at dinner time throughout the nite. But keep in mind, that waking up at night causes stress response, which can raise your Bgs too.
But good luck trying. I used to test alot (when I used to pay $20 for 200 strips), and got my poor fingers were so badly abused, that I could squeeze a drop of blood even without pricking, LOL. It did not help though with lowering fasting Bgs a bit. Now I just test mostly before breakfast, this is my highest reading of the day. After that, Bgs come down and stay in a resonably good range until after 2 am.
Regards,
Dina

[Cajunboy47]

LOL................ our poor little fingers.......

now,what the hec is DP? I need to get a book on abbr for this forum, :)

It sounds like you've done your homework and still are doing it. Your courage to continue gives me and I am sure others to continue....

Cajunboy47

[dina1957]

Ok, ReginaW and others, we've opened up a reality check here. I have always had a higher morning reading then my evening reading. I hear many diabetics refer to it as the dawn pheonomena.
it can be due to DP ( Bgs rise in the dawn hours :4-8 am) or it can be due to lack of basal insulin (this way your Bgs will start rising right after midnight) and stay high all night long.

If by skipping breakfast my BG goes up, then I believe from what most of you are saying, is I am extending my dawn pheonomena.
Yep, you do, the longer you go, the harder it is for Bgs to come down on their own, and exercise on empty tank won't bring it down, actually, they will go up. I went swimming this morning on empty stomach (did not feel like eating at 6:30). Came back after an hour of swim, to see my Bg 30 points higher than before, and if I would lift weights, I would see up to 70 points hike.:D

I am not talking about a higer morning BG caused by what was eaten the night before. Regardless of what I ate the night before, I always experience the morning pheonomena.
Ditto for me.

I will study this Gluconeogenesis that has been referred to, not that the word is new to me, just never tried to understand it and now I see, I have done myself a disfavor. I guess there is no end to learning about diabetes and the sneaky way it attacks us.
Search this forum on DP and you will find tons of info.

I hope each of you will give more input and let's try and figure this thing out. [quote]
We already tried and most still struggle, LOL. This is a truly wicked desease, lately, I believe everything I read about how diabolic diabetes is, and I may sound pessimistic, but it is more a reality check. it is either high 2 hour pp BGs, or higher fasting for me. Keeping carbs too low fires back with hiher FBG, eating more cabrs at a meal - higher pp readings. Go figure, I start thinking that without ANY MEDS it is really hard to manage.
[quote] I know I need to LC diet to keep my BG lowered without the meds. I am now wondering if a late night protein snack might not lower my morning BG count.
Sometimes snack before bedtime makes a bit difference, actually, eating some slow digested carbs with protein works ocationally for me. The earlier I eat dinner, the higher my FBG will be. But it is not a rigid rule, I could never find a positive link. As I said, my FBG has a mind of it's own, and is affected by many many factors.



I've heard people say, our bodies all respond different. I somehow don't think that is true. I think we all need to be more alert to our similarities and find the links that provide positive answers.


I believe that similarity is the fact we have T2, the differences: how and why we become T2. This is how I can only explain why one can better manage DP while another one - struggles. It is enough for one person to drop carbs and loses weight and -voala, no longer diabetic and no DP. This is a clear indication that bad food choices were to blame.
OTOH, some struggle for years and still can;t achieve perfect numbers without meds or insulin. For me it is a sign that there is something else to it.
But YMMV, so good luck in your fight, and please, keep us posted. Newly Dx is like a breath of fresh air, LOL, this forum came to a screeching halt lately. So, keep stirring things up!;)

[dina1957]

LOL................ our poor little fingers.......

now,what the hec is DP? I need to get a book on abbr for this forum, :)
Dawn Phenomenon ;)
http://www.diabetic-talk.org/dp.htm

It sounds like you've done your homework and still are doing it. Your courage to continue gives me and I am sure others to continue....

Cajunboy47

nah, I am sick and tired of constantly being stressed and obsessed with my numbers and FBG, to the point that I skip checking the morning. I am rather discouraged at this point, and seriously started to think about Byetta and Symlin, I don't belive that diet alone can lower by FBG any further. It seems that I am getting really good numbers throught the day but then at night, I am not in charge.
Hope you find your peace of mind with this condition, cuz I can't.
best,
Dina

[eddiemcm]

Dina,your abbreviations are driving me nuts.
What's wrong with spelling things out?
GNTA
Eddie

[Rosebud]

Dina,your abbreviations are driving me nuts.
What's wrong with spelling things out?
GNTA
Eddie
Eddie, you can find a list of abbreviations here: http://www.lowcarb.ca/tips/tips003.html :)

Rosebud:rose:

[dina1957]

Dina,your abbreviations are driving me nuts.
What's wrong with spelling things out?
GNTA
Eddie
Eddie,
Did you mean:
GMTA Great minds think alike?
For common phrases it is easier to abbreviate, saves typing time. ;)
Here is more:
http://www.loganact.com/tips/afaik.html

[Cajunboy47]

GNTA = Glucose Number Tolerance Acceptable

[Rosebud]

I thought it was good night to all. :D

Rosebud:rose:

[RobLL]

Don't know why I hadn't go in this forum before. My FBG floats just above or below 100. After a session with retinopathy Opth. sent me back to Internest to get other blood check, A1C 5.7, very steady in testing, and drink the junk test 126. Still I got retinopathy. Both doctors tell me I should consider myself pre-diabetic, and stay low carb. I have eaten low carb for four years.

I have, per stats in corner, a fairly low body fat, I weight lift and do high intesity interval runs, bikes, swims. Age 66, 5" 7", 190 lb, very muscular. I kind of would like to drop another 10 pounds.

My frustration:

BFG does not go down, even from my measurements from before starting to low carb.

Second: A1C of 5.7 mean, I understand, an average BG of 120. Is that good, bad, OK

Third: It seems like I should consider having my doctor prescribe the testing apparatus and actually see what my body is doing

Fourth: typical carb consumption: 20 grams just before very heavy workouts, another 15 from a low carb piece of bread, and as much low carb veggies as I want. Plus 12 oz of red wine (any studies on this, as opposed to old puritan tsk tsk-ing). So should I consider any medications at this point?

Please feel free to steer me to other appropriate threads. Thanks

[Cajunboy47]

posted by robLL:
I have, per stats in corner, a fairly low body fat, I weight lift and do high intesity interval runs, bikes, swims. Age 66, 5" 7", 190 lb, very muscular. I kind of would like to drop another 10 pounds.




I suggest starting a new thread in either general low carb or Dr Berstein's diabetes forum.

Your A1C indicates normal readings. I am shocked you have retinopathy if your BG was never out of control. You mention that you've been LC dieting 4 years, so I presume your BG has been controlled that long also.

I am just learning about this Dawn Pheonomena (DP, so maybe you can check into it too. I am experimenting with a late night protein snack, which some have said helps reduce the DP.

If your body fat is at 14% and you're at 180, you're very muscular and that just may be helping you to keep this diabetes at bay. If you routinely exercise, please don't stop as once you're out of step with that, it is very difficult to get it back and if your Doctor thinks you're pre-diabetic, staying in shape and eating as you do is the right thing to do.

Good luck with the retinopathy, that's very serious.

Cajunboy

[dina1957]

I suggest starting a new thread in either general low carb or Dr Berstein's diabetes forum.

Your A1C indicates normal readings. I am shocked you have retinopathy if your BG was never out of control. You mention that you've been LC dieting 4 years, so I presume your BG has been controlled that long also.

I am just learning about this Dawn Pheonomena (DP, so maybe you can check into it too. I am experimenting with a late night protein snack, which some have said helps reduce the DP.

If your body fat is at 14% and you're at 180, you're very muscular and that just may be helping you to keep this diabetes at bay. If you routinely exercise, please don't stop as once you're out of step with that, it is very difficult to get it back and if your Doctor thinks you're pre-diabetic, staying in shape and eating as you do is the right thing to do.

Good luck with the retinopathy, that's very serious.

Cajunboy
This is how diabolic this condition is. Many drs will tell you that Hb1C of 5.7% is not diabetic range ot the best a diabetic can achieve, and this is what I had when Dx, and for the past 4 years my H1C did not go higher than 5.7%.
Dr.Bernstein states that normal H1C is 4.5 - 4.7% which I am convinced is not easy to achieve being T2 without meds. Having said this, I had my eyes checked recently and no retinopathy found (knock on wood), so I would imagine that may be there is something other than just high BGs in this case.
Overall, regardless of diet, exercise, and good Bs numbers, once the condition settles, it does it diabolic job silently and invisibly, and there is very little we can do about it.
Good luck with your eye, hope everything turns out OK.

[Cajunboy47]

posted by Dina1957

I am really learning the lesson of how diabolic it is.... Today was a horrible day for me, filled with anger at the extreme difficulty to achieve the slightest weight loss and keep BG levels down in normal ranges..... grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..... I hope to wake up in the morning and realize it was one bad dream....

[RobLL]

Cajunboy, Dina - thanks so much for the responses. I will edit my post and start a new thread on the Dr. Berstein section. Incidentally, after reading posts on this section I did order the book from the library. I probably will buy the book later.

Cajunboy - see we are somewhat similar in age and sizes - aty least compared to most people on this and on the jpfitness forum, my other health favorite. Sorry you're having a rough time. I just started really serious weight lifting earlier this year. I love it, its challenging, and always appropriate. Rob

[AuntJoyce]

Hi Rob: That's cool you do the interval training. I've been weight training twice a week and have recently kicked it up with intervals and very little rest between sets.

Definitely get a meter and check several times a day at first. Especially test 1 and 2 hours after eating so you can see the effect of foods you eat. I use the Freestyle where I get blood from the forearm which saves my fingertips.

You might consider going Paleo and doing without bread and dairy. Cut out fruit if you haven't already. Fructose = Bad. I've been visiting the Performance Menu site. They don't seem to advocate 'carbing up' so much. In fact, they like intermittent fasting and working out on an empty stomach. They say it can build muscle and improve insulin resistance. I've either worked out or did a bike ride at the end of a 24-hour fast several times and I felt strong. You probably won't set sprinting speed records though.

http://www.theperformancemenu.com/

Keep fighting the fight, CajunBoy! Are you able to cut any more carbs out or portion size of protein while keeping the fat?

[Lisa N]

Your A1C indicates normal readings. I am shocked you have retinopathy if your BG was never out of control. You mention that you've been LC dieting 4 years, so I presume your BG has been controlled that long also.



Diabetes is not the only cause of retinopathy. Other causes include vein occulusion, vein inflammation, high blood pressure and viral damage.
Retinopathy is not all that uncommon in non-diabetics as well. :idea:

[dina1957]

I've been visiting the Performance Menu site. They don't seem to advocate 'carbing up' so much. In fact, they like intermittent fasting and working out on an empty stomach.


I wonder if they suggesting for T2 to workout on empty stomach, cuz when I do (I do without little or no rests between sets too), my Bgs shoot up 60-80 points, can go as high as 180-190 after an hour of exercise (depending what was my Bg upon arising). FWIW, it is not the best advice for diabetics both T1 and T2. I have been working out for a while now, and learned to have a small protein /carb snack before any exercise (cheese with bran cracker, or peanut butter, or even small protein shake) to prevent BGs spike.
As for IF, this is I belive is what made me diabetic in a 1st place. I used to skip meals, either BF or lunch or both, and then ate large dinner since I was hungry and headachy after a day of fasting, so dinner was my biggest meal of the day. :thdown:
Actually, Sumo wrestlers do exactly the same thing to... gain weight. They eat no BF, lite lunch and then large dinner before going to bed.
Well, now I eat 3 meals daily and one snack, and this keeps my Bgs more or less even. I also try to make my lunch meal of the day.

[Whoa182]

As for IF, this is I belive is what made me diabetic in a 1st place

No it didn't make you a diabetic, absolutely no way. Fasting for 20-24 produces significant beneficial metabolic changes.

See this study

Effect of intermittent fasting and refeeding on insulin action in healthy men
"To our knowledge this is the first study in humans in which an increased insulin action on whole body glucose uptake and adipose tissue lipolysis has been obtained by means of intermittent fasting. This result is in accordance with previously reported in rodents (2, 32). In these studies, fasting every second day increased the insulin sensitivity approximately sevenfold according to the homeostatic model assessment (2) and decreased the incidence of diabetes"

"In conclusion, the findings that intermittent fasting increases insulin sensitivity on the whole body level as well as in adipose tissue support the view that cycles of feast and famine are important as an initiator of thrifty genes leading to improvements in metabolic function (6). We suggest that a fasting-induced increase in circulating adiponectin is at least partly responsible for this finding. The change in adiponectin, together with changes in plasma leptin with fasting, underlines the important role of the adipose tissue in recognizing the oscillation in energy stores"

http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/99/6/2128

[dina1957]

See this study

Effect of intermittent fasting and refeeding on insulin action in healthy men
Whoa,
You forgot that the study was conducted ON HEALTHY MEN, not diabetics. I wish you would take diabetes more seriously, and stop giving advices. So, please, keep your posts to War Zone and Media, this will give you enough room for debates without causing any damage to diabetics.There are ppl on this forum who are on meds and/or insulin, and taking your advice can put them in life threatening situations. :nono:

[AuntJoyce]

Dina: There seem to be several of us diabetics who are seeing fantastic results by doing the fast based on some threads in Protein Power and Dr. Bernstein's forum. I hit a nice 84, down from 95, and stayed there for several days (before I started eating too much again). I did not have spikes or hypo episodes either.

I found out about IF in Dr. Eade's blog and he didn't seem to think it was a problem in general for diabetics or even hypoglycemics. People can read the information and decide for themselves what to do.

[Cajunboy47]

posted by: Whoa182
No it didn't make you a diabetic, absolutely no way. Fasting for 20-24 produces significant beneficial metabolic changes.

If you're correct, then me and thousands of other diabetics who exercised on empty stomachs and saw a rise in our BG must all be dreaming and your referenced study is the "It" answer for all of us.....

If you're in med school, does that mean you're now dispensing medical advice without a license? There are enough doctors giving diabetics bad advice. I think if you're here, you should learn from our experiences and let that guide you in your education. If you listen hard enough to what we're saying, you could be the "One" that might find a cure for diabetes. Diabetes is very complicated and very difficult to control and there is much misinformation out there. Someone sharing an experience at this web site is way different than your making a statement such as "absolutely no way" based on a couple of books you read. Let me guess, your GPA is about 2.5....

Cajunboy47

[RobLL]

I opened a new thread on Bernstein - diabete, QNs from soneone on the border.

Aunt Jane - res Paleo: bread, dairy, and fruit. I am a very light consumer of all three of those foods. And almost all bread is a low carb (12 gr./slice) once a day; maybe a little cheese; and sometimes an apple after a heavy workout, usually not, I do make my own no sugar jam out of berries/sour cherries I grow. By the way I also live in Western Washington.

Lisa N - Thanks for the response, I am aware of other causes of retinopathy (but didn't know exactly what they were), but have been advised to assume blood sugars are the likely culprit. I was wrong versus date, its only been three years and a couple months that I have low carb-ed. I probably had 4-500 carbs a day for the years before that. Eye doc says that previous five years are the key to current damage.

[dina1957]

Dina: There seem to be several of us diabetics who are seeing fantastic results by doing the fast based on some threads in Protein Power and Dr. Bernstein's forum. I hit a nice 84, down from 95, and stayed there for several days (before I started eating too much again). I did not have spikes or hypo episodes either.
I am glad this worked for you. Consider you are not on meds, it would be hard to get hypo. My Bgs would stay around 110 (I did fast for almost 48 hours for colonoscopy) but did not get better results. But the problem is "before I started eating too much..." Hmm, this remainds me of something... something that I have done before I became a diabetic. Skipping meals with IF that led to overeating once the fast is over, and re-gaining everything that is lost during fast. ;) I found that steady supply of food keeps my Bgs in better range and I eat 3 average low carb meals with a small snack either early in the morning before the workout or close to bedtime if i workout after dinner.

I simply share my experience, and also I am concerned that some newly Dx and taking OHA and /or insulin can get in trouble if they take advice on IF without consulting their dr. first.
What worked for few ppl can be outright dangerous for others, and this advice should not be dispence by someone who has no medical backgorund or a diabetic himself.

[dina1957]

I probably had 4-500 carbs a day for the years before that. Eye doc says that previous five years are the key to current damage.
I seriously doubt that your Bgs present or previous is the culprit. If you were eating a high carb diet for a long period of time and did not become a diabetic yet, than it is hardly unlikely that your Bgs were really high during that period of time. You still are pre-diabetic, consider your FBG and GTT results, no T2 diabetic can pass GTT even after years if LC diet. I can't imagine that after years of overly high BGs that possibly caused eye damage, you are now merely a prediabetic. Could it be possible that your dr. either does not want to look any further or does not have enough expertise. You stated to be a vivid exerciser and weight lifter, I suppose your lift heavy weights. This alone can exacerbate retinopathy or even cause one if there is a weakness.
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=14775330
http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2174
Now everything is blamed on diabetes: CHD, retinopathay, kidney problems, but non-diabetics get them too.
You can get a glucometer and a set of strips and monitor your Bgs for a week or two, before and after meals and workouts but I doubt that you will see a really big spilke.
HTH

[RobLL]

.... consider your FBG and GTT results, no T2 diabetic can pass GTT even after years if LC diet.....You can get a glucometer and a set of strips and monitor your Bgs for a week or two, before and after meals and workouts but I doubt that you will see a really big spilke. HTH

Interesting. Maybe I could arrange to get at least a few weeks prescription for testing stuff, that could well be enough.

[Lisa N]

Maybe I could arrange to get at least a few weeks prescription for testing stuff, that could well be enough.

You don't give your location, Rob, but in most places a prescription is not necessary to purchase a glucometer and test strips. Many times you can get the glucometer for free after rebate but before you purchase, either see if the monitor comes with enough strips to last you a few weeks or check how much the test strips cost; the strips can be quite pricey.

[dina1957]

You don't give your location, Rob, but in most places a prescription is not necessary to purchase a glucometer and test strips. Many times you can get the glucometer for free after rebate but before you purchase, either see if the monitor comes with enough strips to last you a few weeks or check how much the test strips cost; the strips can be quite pricey.
My Ultratouch glucometer came with one vial of strip (25 count). I bought my 1st glucometer when figured that I have diabetes, since my GP did not want to claim me diabetic for some reasons. The meter is one time purchase and is not overly expensive, but the strips are costly - almost 1 buck each. Both the meter and the strips can be bought OTC and do not require Rx but once you get in a habit of testing and this is addictive, LOL, you have to watch the strips or they dissapear quickly.;)

[NYNikki]

Interesting. Maybe I could arrange to get at least a few weeks prescription for testing stuff, that could well be enough.

If you're not sure you want to invest in a meter yet, then you can also purchase a mini 'on-the-go type meter. Its small convenient and cheaply cost.

I bought one when I was out of town and realized I forgot my meter (Aviva - LOVE it) back home.

I bought it at WalMart store for $19.99 and it came with 50 strips.

I bought one long ago just to try out and found them reliable so I knew I would get generally good reading with the mini.

A meter is a good investment anyway you look at it and the meter-free rebates make it afordable but it's the replacement strip's that are costly.

[kathylee7]

I don't know whether this is true for Type 2 diabetics, but it is my understanding that for a Type 1 diabetic the basal insulin requirement is close to half of the total insulin requirement, and that with the exception of the dawn phenomenon thing, this basal requirement is pretty steady throughout the day and night, even when no food is consumed. So if you are taking no basal or insufficient basal insulin, you are going to go high even if you don't eat anything.

[RobLL]

I don't know whether this is true for Type 2 diabetics, but it is my understanding that for a Type 1 diabetic the basal insulin requirement is close to half of the total insulin requirement, and that with the exception of the dawn phenomenon thing, this basal requirement is pretty steady throughout the day and night, even when no food is consumed. So if you are taking no basal or insufficient basal insulin, you are going to go high even if you don't eat anything.

Don't quite understand your question. I am using OTC Regular Insulin, and keep my daytime readings close to 100, FBGs are another matter. But after my second appt. with new doc suspect I will switch to Lantus.