Can Anyone Help - Low Fasting BG, But Stays High After Meals

[Ollie1]

I am a 52-year-old female with a family history of Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes. Lately, I felt that I might be developing diabetes due to insatiable afternoon hunger (which I thought might be caused by blood sugar swings), unrelenting fatigue and a gain of belly fat where I did not previously tend to gain weight there.

So, I had my fasting insulin and glucose done, as well as a Hemoglobin A1c level. Those all came back normal, even a little low for the fasting insulin/glucose. (Fasting glucose was 86; insulin was less than 2.0 and Hemoglobin A1c was 5.3).

Still, not satisfied, I bought a glucose meter because I have been reading that you can have normal fasting glucose/insulin and still be on your way to Type 2 - the real question being how long it takes your blood sugar to drop back to normal after a meal.

The other day, I tested after three meals and got the following readings: 114 2 1/2 hours after a moderate carbohydrate meal; 122 one hour and 15 minutes after a meal with more carbohydrate and 126 two hours after that same meal. The next morning my fasting blood glucose dropped to 64.

I have read that the hallmark of being "normal" (i.e., not a diabetic) is that your blood sugar drops back to 85 within 45 minutes of a meal. That is definitely not happening to me. Quite the opposite, my BG is higher two hours after a meal than one (which might explain why I am always crazy hungry two hours after a meal).

From everything I have been reading, it seems like I need to go on a low carb diet. I just don't know how to get through the afternoon hunger where I am still at the office and have tons of work I have to power through and I literally feel like I will die unless I eat carbs.

[Cajunboy47]

First thing you need to do is "stop stressing"...

It's possible for BG to not peak till 3 or 4 hours after eating, depends on what you're eating....

It doesn't sound like you're diabetic, but a low carb diet probably won't hurt you and if you have a family history of diabetes, it won't hurt to lose the belly fat...

[eddiemcm]

I agree with Cajun.If you want even more confirmation that
diabetes is not lurking around the corner,you might consider
getting a glucose tolerance test(GTT).
Eddie

[Korban]

Aren't the hyper / hypo swings an indicator of pre-diabetes?.. i.e., eat meal, pancreas releases insulin, start of insulin resistance (from weight increase), so system releases more insulin... then excess insulin is used up slowly over next several hours to create hypo state. As IR continues to get worse with time and/or weight, insulin is produced but not able to bring BG's in line, much less to a hypo (start of type 2 and excess insulin + carb --> weight gain). My average BG's went from about 135 to about 260 with a twenty pound weight gain. I thought I was "normal" enough at around 135 so didn't test much, my cardiologist suggested I check BG's after I kept gaining weight - and it was through the roof at that point.

I would think High-Fat, Lo-Carb would be a definite help, particularly for your mid-afternoon hunger (and your hyper - hypo swings).

/smile

[lowcarbUgh]

Your blood sugars look pretty normal to me. As you probably know, Type 2 diabetes is highly associated with obesity so losing weight can't do anything but help you on a number of fronts, including cardiovascular.

If you are hungry in the afternoon, try some cheese instead of a carby snack.

[Nancy LC]

I just don't know how to get through the afternoon hunger where I am still at the office and have tons of work I have to power through and I literally feel like I will die unless I eat carbs.
It's the carbs that make you feel massively hungry like this. A low carb diet keeps that insulin driven hunger at bay. It's the drop of blood sugar, from high to lower that causes it. You might very well be pre-diabetic and it sounds like you probably have metabolic syndrome.

Hunger on low carb, for most of us, is slow to come. I can go for 4-5 hours between meals with no snacks easily as long as I get plenty of protein. When I get hungry it is pretty gentle, not the urgent, shaky feelings you get when your insulin/blood sugar are playing hide-and-seek.

I think low carb is the healthiest way to eat. We weren't meant to be eating 100's of grams of refined carbohydrates daily and it is no wonder our metabolism and blood sugars go so nuts after doing that a few decades.

You might feel uncomfortable for a couple of weeks as you transition but that is normal. You're asking your body to start burning fat for fuel rather than sugar and it takes awhile to adjust to that.

[Ollie1]

Thank you all so much for these replies! I am so glad that I found this forum because everyone seems so knowledgeable, and I hope to learn a great deal.