# What am I doing wrong?



## Janis Blondel (Jun 26, 2021)

I have just completed a 20 minute walking work out and my sugar level has gone up to 7.7 what am I doing wrong? I thought this would have brought it down not put it up. Nothing I seem to be doing at the moment is working. I had two boiled eggs for my tea last night and that pushed my sugar level up past 7 too. Can someone help me?????? I am very disheartened.


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## Ljc (Jun 26, 2021)

Hi . Exercise can temporarily affect affect your BG levels either way , your liver  may need to provide your body with some extra fuel , so it raises your BG levels a bit. but the overall effect of regular exercise will help lower  your BG levels .

What was your pre boiled egg and pre  exersize BG level .


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## Janis Blondel (Jun 26, 2021)

Pre-boiled egg was 5.7 and pre exercise was 7.7. Thank you for answering I am really trying to keep my levels down and no matter what I do they just bounce right back up again. I am going to bed starving because I am so worried about what I eat. It is getting ridiculous.


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## Lucyr (Jun 26, 2021)

If you were 7.7 before exercise and 7.7 after exercise then the exercise didn’t increase your blood sugar levels, they stayed the same which is fine


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## Janis Blondel (Jun 26, 2021)

You are right, I am just getting myself worked up for nothing. I need to relax more and stop worrying. Thank you for your help I really appreciate it.


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## Ljc (Jun 26, 2021)

OurhBG levels fluctuate quite naturally throughout the day, non Ds do too .
So please don’t expect your BGs to remain level or even in the same ball park, it’s not normal and it’s slo next to impossible. 
Your levels are absolutely fine , ok .


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## Janis Blondel (Jun 26, 2021)

Thank you. I appreciate all the advice I am given.


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## Leadinglights (Jun 26, 2021)

Janis Blondel said:


> Pre-boiled egg was 5.7 and pre exercise was 7.7. Thank you for answering I am really trying to keep my levels down and no matter what I do they just bounce right back up again. I am going to bed starving because I am so worried about what I eat. It is getting ridiculous.


Going to bed hungry is probably not helping as your body believes it is in starvation mode and releases glucose to keep your body going in the night. You would do better to have a proper low carb meal with protein and fats so you will not be as likely to feel hungry. Otherwise have low carb snack like nuts, full fat yoghurt, cheese are a few suggestions.
Have a look at the thread What did you eat Yesterday and you will see that people Type 2 folk are having filling tasty meals whilst keeping carbs low. If you are testing you can check what you can tolerate so your 2 hours after meals if less than a 3mmol/l increase is fine for you. If more then modify your portion of the high carb foods and add extra salad or veg.0


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## Drummer (Jun 26, 2021)

My meal last night was three chicken thighs, a small serving of peas, a tomato, couple of sticks of celery and a whole bag of mixed salad with some coleslaw, then coffee with cream.
I was very sensitive to carbs, but now I can eat that and not get even 2 numbers increase these days. I've not eaten anything since.
An ordinary type two can eat any protein and fat, it is all to do with the carbohydrates, but if you are starving yourself then your body will do its best to survive, breaking down proteins to glucose - but then you have no source of materials for repairs to muscles. 
Eating what is normal, and good for a type two diabetic is likely to resolve various problems and you'll see normal BG levels more and more as time goes on. You aren't doing anything wrong, but seem to have taken on the idea that your body needs to be punished for failing to deal with carbohydrates it was never intended to cope with.


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## pm133 (Jun 26, 2021)

Janis Blondel said:


> I have just completed a 20 minute walking work out and my sugar level has gone up to 7.7 what am I doing wrong? I thought this would have brought it down not put it up. Nothing I seem to be doing at the moment is working. I had two boiled eggs for my tea last night and that pushed my sugar level up past 7 too. Can someone help me?????? I am very disheartened.



Hi Janis,
I'd also add that going to 7.7 a couple of hours after eating is not a problem either.
Non-diabetics will do this as well.
10 might be a better number to set as an upper boundary post food.
More importantly, what does your blood level look like 4 hours after eating? It should have pretty much settled back down again by then.


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## Janis Blondel (Jun 26, 2021)

Thank you all so much, I feel such a fool. I am going to try and eat a lot better tonight. I really don't understand diabetes at all but I am determined to do all I can to keep it under control. What you all say makes so much sense, I think I get a bit obsessed at times trying to keep numbers down. I am a retired nurse and feel as a nurse I should never have gotten diabetes and that it is something I should be able to control. Sorry for going on but I really, really do appreciate all you say, I feel a bit cut off here in Jersey but I am so glad I have joined Diabetic UK. Thanks again.


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## Ljc (Jun 26, 2021)

We have all been where you are right now.  On here we often find that newly diagnosed T2 come to this forum having been given little or no info about diabetes and what changes need to be made .
We have even had a couple including one very recently who were not told they had T2 when they should have been .

Protein in all it’s forms are fine for us,
As are fats ,  providing you don’t have a condition that requires you to reduce fat intake , by this I don’t necessarily mean high cholesterol as quite a few of us find low carb high fat (which really means a normal amount of good fats) helps lower cholesterol levels. 

We just need to focus on carbohydrates esp the starchy ones .
Fruit can be problematic for some folks , till you find out which ones you can and can’t tolerate, stick to fruit that has berry as part of its name. .
Ditch fruit juice and grapes are little sugar bombs. 

Keep a brutally honest food diary alongside your BG pre and post meal levels ,
This will help you spot the patterns . 

So long as your 2hr post meal levels are no more than 3.0 mmol/l higher than your pre meal level  that meal was fine , gradually high pre meal levels will start to come down .
It’s best not to bring your BG levels down quickly as this can cause some unpleasant symptoms , often blurry vision but also false hypo’s . 

Try not to panic when you get a higher BG reading than you expect ie 10 or 12
Wash and dry your hands and try again as it may be something you have handled .

And ask questions here , we will do our best to help based in what has worked fir us .

Oh one more thing,  stop starving yourself and enjoy your meals ok


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## Janis Blondel (Jun 26, 2021)

I had a good meal tonight, I had scampi with a salad of tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions and lettuce, followed by a peach. My pre meal sugars were 5.7 and three hours after it was 7.5 is that better?


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## Leadinglights (Jun 26, 2021)

Janis Blondel said:


> I had a good meal tonight, I had scampi with a salad of tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions and lettuce, followed by a peach. My pre meal sugars were 5.7 and three hours after it was 7.5 is that better?


Fantastic!!!  But I would test after 2 hours as that is when most people's blood glucose will peak.


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## Ljc (Jun 26, 2021)

That’s a good result . But at three hours you might have already peaked and starred to come down.
For the time being I suggest sticking to 2hrs post prandial then later on you can do more in depth testing if you wish .


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## pm133 (Jun 26, 2021)

Janis Blondel said:


> Thank you all so much, I feel such a fool.



Oh you don't want to do that. 
There's nobody on here who hasn't done a lot worse.

I once injected insulin as a correction when my blood levels were something like 6.8
and then went to bed for the night. For some reason I thought that was a reasonable thing to do.

That was not one of my more enjoyable hypos!

But it did create something interesting to share with the forum and create a bit of a laugh afterwards. Without doing daft things and having things go wrong, there would be nothing to smile or laugh about.


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## Janis Blondel (Jun 27, 2021)

You are right, I have just noticed I joined Diabetes UK in 2018 and I am still getting it wrong. I have gone along trying to sort my diet and exercising anyway I can and still I haven't a clue. I did a 20 minute walking exercise yesterday and today I can hardly move. I tend to try and do more when my Rheumatoid is better and then I make myself worse I never seem to learn. One question though I would like to ask I have had Weetabix x 2 with small amount of blueberries and almond milk for breakfast with a cup of tea with almond milk and no sugar for a long time now and my levels have always stayed low, now all off a sudden they are changing and different every day can someone tell me why this is????


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## Leadinglights (Jun 27, 2021)

The body can change in the way it handles the carbohydrates you are having maybe because it is not able to utilise the insulin you are producing as well or a whole host of other reasons, somebody came up with a list of 42. Looking at your breakfast with 2 weetabix and blueberries, it is quite high in carbs so maybe you could try 1 weetabix or substitute the blueberries for lower carb berries like strawberries or raspberries or try full fat Greek yoghurt with berries and seeds to see if that makes a difference. I assume you have tested 2 hours after your breakfast and compared to the before reading. If no more than 2-3mmol/l it is OK.


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## Janis Blondel (Jun 27, 2021)

I am sorry to keep bothering you all but I am learning more now than I have ever known thanks to all of you. My BS levels this morning on waking were 5.8 had b/fast weetabix, blueberries, oat milk, tea with sweetners two hours later my BS levels had dropped to 4.4 had lunch, two slices wholemeal bread, lettuce, tom, 1 slice edam cheese, sugar free jelly, coffee with sweetner two hours later it has gone up to 9.8 feeling awful and have had a banging headache all day, what am I doing wrong or what can I change, don't know what to have for dinner now?????


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## Leadinglights (Jun 27, 2021)

Breakfast looked as if it was fine for you but it looks as if the 2 slices of bread for your lunch was the issue. However 4.4 is quite low so it is probably the rise of nearly 5mmol/l which is too much and making you feel unwell.  A waking level of 5.8 is good.
Make sure you drink plenty of water to flush the excess glucose from your system.
Dinner based on meat or fish with some non starchy veg should be fine. What would you normally have for your dinner?


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## Ljc (Jun 27, 2021)

Probably the wholemeal bread was the culprit . I’ve been told many times wholemeal is better than white , but my body  can’t tell the difference, my BG levels can go up quickly whichever I choose .

Try a high protein bread instead , think one is nimble but not sure


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## trophywench (Jun 27, 2021)

Ditch the bread, have a couple of Ryvitas instead and a bit more protein - you could also add a modest amount of fat, either by a bit of butter on the Ryvitas or a drop of dressing on the salad - the combination of modest amounts of protein and fat keep your belly as full and satisfied as half a ton of carb.


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## Janis Blondel (Jun 27, 2021)

I was going to have a pork chop, grilled with tomato mushrooms and cabbage. You must be sick listening to me, you are helping me so much.


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## Leadinglights (Jun 27, 2021)

Janis Blondel said:


> I was going to have a pork chop, grilled with tomato mushrooms and cabbage. You must be sick listening to me, you are helping me so much.


Looks absolutely fine, very appetising, put a dollop of butter on your cabbage to have that bit of extra fat.


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## Janis Blondel (Jun 27, 2021)

Should I ditch the weetabix for breakfast? after eating it I am still very hungry and when my levels dropped to 4.4 I felt very dizzy and headachy, maybe try some scrambled egg?


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## Leadinglights (Jun 27, 2021)

Janis Blondel said:


> Should I ditch the weetabix for breakfast? after eating it I am still very hungry and when my levels dropped to 4.4 I felt very dizzy and headachy, maybe try some scrambled egg?


Eggs in any form are always good, some people make an omelette with mushrooms, tomatoes or have some bacon or smoked salmon with your scrambled egg. You could try full fat greek yoghurt with berries and seeds. 
If you had just 1 weetabix crumbled onto some yoghurt with some berries the fat in the greek yoghurt would fill you up.


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## Janis Blondel (Jun 27, 2021)

Thank you so much, I feel so much better after having spoken to you all and getting your advice, I have been speaking to my daughter's and telling them how much help you all have given me. You are all amazing.


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## Janis Blondel (Jun 27, 2021)

Leadinglights said:


> Eggs in any form are always good, some people make an omelette with mushrooms, tomatoes or have some bacon or smoked salmon with your scrambled egg. You could try full fat greek yoghurt with berries and seeds.
> If you had just 1 weetabix crumbled onto some yoghurt with some berries the fat in the greek yoghurt would fill you up.


I have just taken my blood sugars again two hours after eating and they are 4.3 after being 9.8 after lunch, I will check again in two hours time to see what my chop has done to the outcome.


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## Janis Blondel (Jun 27, 2021)

Well my blood sugars two hours after are 4.6 must be doing something right. Well I am off to have a nice cup of coffee with sweetners. Thanks again.


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## everydayupsanddowns (Jun 27, 2021)

Lovely to read this thread @Janis Blondel 

And wonderful to see your determination and your openness to try different things. Checking before/after meals and looking to limit the ‘meal rise’ at 2 hrs to 2-3mmol/L is a very powerful and actionable strategy. Within a few weeks you can begin to build up a knowledgebase of the foods that suit you and your diabetes better. If the rise is more than 3, look at the carbs involved and either reduce the portion size (open sandwich with one slice not two… try seedy bread or high protein bread…) or after a few tries accept that whatever the food is just doesn’t get on with your biology / metabolism / gut biome and will have to be saved for special treats.

Good luck and keep us posted with how you are getting on


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## Janis Blondel (Jun 27, 2021)

Thank you for your lovely comments, but I can't take all the credit. I was very down when I came back on to the forum, I felt I was getting nowhere and was really very, very depressed. The thanks should go to the members who kept getting back to me, giving me advice and keeping my spirits up. Nothing was too much trouble, and I was never made to feel a failure or that I was stupid. As a retired nurse I felt I should know all the answers and was too embarrassed to ask but I am so glad I did. It goes to show you never know who is on the forum, what their problems are, how they are feeling and what their personal life is like, so I applaud your lovely members the ones on the thread who answered all my questions without any problem or fuss, and encourage anyone with Diabetes type 1 or 2 to join this group, I have learned more in the last few nights than I have in the last two years. Thank you all, I will go to bed a very happy lady tonight and much wiser.


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## travellor (Jun 27, 2021)

Leadinglights said:


> Looks absolutely fine, very appetising, put a dollop of butter on your cabbage to have that bit of extra fat.


If the op needs to bulk up, I found extra dollops of fat does indeed increase weight dramatically  for me.
Sadly, it also shoots my cholesteal up.
But, to be fair, I exercised to lose weight, so we are all different.


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## BlueArmy (Jun 28, 2021)

Janis Blondel said:


> I am sorry to keep bothering you all but I am learning more now than I have ever known thanks to all of you. My BS levels this morning on waking were 5.8 had b/fast weetabix, blueberries, oat milk, tea with sweetners two hours later my BS levels had dropped to 4.4 had lunch, two slices wholemeal bread, lettuce, tom, 1 slice edam cheese, sugar free jelly, coffee with sweetner two hours later it has gone up to 9.8 feeling awful and have had a banging headache all day, what am I doing wrong or what can I change, don't know what to have for dinner now?????


Janis, after having T2 for 2 years but still having questions, not that anyone is not happy to answer them as that is what that forum is for, but I found it very helpful to read this book which does a good job of helping to explain what type 2 is and how to wrestle it down tot the ground. I found when things were a little clearer I felt less concerned and more in control.





__





						First Year: Type 2 Diabetes: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed (Marlowe Diabetes Library): Amazon.co.uk: Becker, Gretchen: 9780738218601: Books
					

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Other less world dominating bookshops are available


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## Janis Blondel (Jun 28, 2021)

Thank you for that I will have a look. Things are much better today I woke up with a BS of 4.8 and had salmon and eggs for breakfast so I will see how that goes in two hours from now. I think things were just getting on top of me a bit. I also have Rheumatoid Arthritis and use a wheelchair to get around, I also have fibromyalgia and an underactive thyroid and have had a lot going on in my personal life, my 34 year old daughter has a brain tumour and a six year old daughter and her ex-partner is in prison at the moment so my head is all over the place. Anyway enough of me, hopefully on the right track now.


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## Leadinglights (Jun 28, 2021)

Janis Blondel said:


> Thank you for that I will have a look. Things are much better today I woke up with a BS of 4.8 and had salmon and eggs for breakfast so I will see how that goes in two hours from now. I think things were just getting on top of me a bit. I also have Rheumatoid Arthritis and use a wheelchair to get around, I also have fibromyalgia and an underactive thyroid and have had a lot going on in my personal life, my 34 year old daughter has a brain tumour and a six year old daughter and her ex-partner is in prison at the moment so my head is all over the place. Anyway enough of me, hopefully on the right track now.


You certainly have a lot to cope with at the moment, this must feel like the last straw.
Stress is one of the many things which will affect blood glucose levels so don't be too hard on yourself and take things day by day. Do remember to try to take some time for yourself as well. 
There is a relaxation strategy which my daughter has found very useful recently as a frontline worker in the NHS called Headspace, I'm not sure if it is free or not.


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## Janis Blondel (Jun 28, 2021)

Thank you. Yes it has been stressful lately and what I have mentioned is just the tip of the ice berg there have also been court cases for custody of the little one too and other things which I can't even mention. Well much better today my BS at breakfast was 4.8 and two hours after salmon and eggs it is 4.9. so I think the weetabix will be getting the big E, (well two anyway)  I think I have got the hang of it now, again I am so grateful for all the help. I will give you good people a break now, you must look at the threads and think, Oh! no not her again, ha ha ha ha. Love to you all.


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## Leadinglights (Jun 28, 2021)

Janis Blondel said:


> Thank you. Yes it has been stressful lately and what I have mentioned is just the tip of the ice berg there have also been court cases for custody of the little one too and other things which I can't even mention. Well much better today my BS at breakfast was 4.8 and two hours after salmon and eggs it is 4.9. so I think the weetabix will be getting the big E, (well two anyway)  I think I have got the hang of it now, again I am so grateful for all the help. I will give you good people a break now, you must look at the threads and think, Oh! no not her again, ha ha ha ha. Love to you all.


Those are levels a lot of us would envy, never even approached such low levels despite HbA1C being 36mmol/mol. Don't feel you need to give a break unless you want to. But just keep us posted and do ask for any further help if you need to, as we all know things do change with this condition.


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## Janis Blondel (Jun 28, 2021)

I will keep in touch, I can't not now that you have all helped me so much. I know there will be ups and downs, good days and bads and that I am a lot more lucky than some poor souls out there, I just don't want you all to get sick of me and I think it is time to give someone else a chance, but I will not be leaving, not a chance. ha ha ha.


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## Janis Blondel (Jun 30, 2021)

BlueArmy said:


> Janis, after having T2 for 2 years but still having questions, not that anyone is not happy to answer them as that is what that forum is for, but I found it very helpful to read this book which does a good job of helping to explain what type 2 is and how to wrestle it down tot the ground. I found when things were a little clearer I felt less concerned and more in control.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Just to let you know my daughter had bought me the book and I had forgotten all about it. It was when I was first diagnosed and I put it on the shelf and forgot (tried to forget) all about it. Well I found it yesterday and I have read it from cover to cover. You are right it has covered all the questions I had and I wish I had found it sooner. Thank you for that, you have helped a lot.


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## BlueArmy (Jun 30, 2021)

Janis Blondel said:


> Just to let you know my daughter had bought me the book and I had forgotten all about it. It was when I was first diagnosed and I put it on the shelf and forgot (tried to forget) all about it. Well I found it yesterday and I have read it from cover to cover. You are right it has covered all the questions I had and I wish I had found it sooner. Thank you for that, you have helped a lot.


Awesome!


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