Blood sugar reading--90
12:30PM
Two 1/3 pound grass-fed beef burgers with 2 ounces of cheddar cheese and 2 Tbs mayo
Fresh homegrown garden tomato slices (4)
2:30PM
Blood sugar reading--67
6:45PM
Blood sugar reading--73
7:15PM
Big bowl of salad greens with chopped tomatoes, fresh goat cheese, and Ranch dressing
4 meatballs with provolone cheese, all-natural tomato sauce, and freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
Diet Coke with Lime
10:00PM
Blood sugar reading--81
NOTE: You'll notice I've added something different to my menus blog today. One of my regular menus blog readers Stargazey from the "Low-Carb for You" blog wanted to see what was happening with my blood sugar levels just prior to a meal and then two hours after the meal. It's an interesting bit of data to collect especially in light of the reactive hypoglycemia that a 5-hour glucose tolerance test showed last year. I haven't been experiencing any of the dizziness or weakness in 2009 like I was when this was happening in 2008. But, I took up Stargazey's challenge starting today and will document the numbers here.
As you can see, my blood sugar reading prior to the first meal today was pretty normal at 90. Keep in mind that a few weeks ago when I measured my blood sugar earlier in the day (around 9:00AM), my reading was around 100. So by the time I measured it just past noon today, I'm sure it had DROPPED to 90. I'm not sure if I am experiencing the "dawn phenomenon" or not, but it seems to look that way. But then two hours after my meal, look at the drop in my blood sugar--23 points DOWN to 67. I don't know what happened in the first 30 minutes or hour after that meal, but the bottom sunk out of it for a reactive hypoglycemic response. EEEEEK! What's interesting is I didn't feel bad as it was happening.
By the time I was ready to eat supper, I tested my blood sugar again--about 6 hours after eating--and the reading was 73. I ate my meal and measured again a few hours later to see the blood sugar response had risen to 81. It never did return to the baseline reading I took this morning. This leads me to wonder what my "normal" blood sugar reading should be. Strange, very strange.
What a funky movement in blood sugar wouldn't you say? From my observations of this, here's what I see happening: my blood sugar tends to be higher in the morning, takes a nosedive after my first meal of the day, slowly works its way back up again without reaching baseline, and begins to rise again in the evening headed towards bedtime when the blood sugar level tends to go way up. Perhaps I should set the alarm to wake up at 2:00AM to measure what my blood sugar is doing at that time. Might do that sometime coming up this next week.
Any thoughts?
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22 comments:
No thoughts on what is happening with the blood sugar, but doggone Jimmy- that food looks scrumptious! I need to come eat with you guys. It would be worth the drive ;o)
Come on anytime Jenifer! :)
Jimmy this is the same Nancy who follows you on your other blog and also facebook. I know one thing about blood sugar because my aunt is a diabetic. She came to stay with us for three weeks and checked her blood sugar very very often. Because we cook alot of low carb things she had great readings, however, when she skipped her daily 20 minute walk, her blood sugar went up, about 15 pts.
She immediately knew that was why.
I wonder if your blood sugar goes down later in the day because you are moving around and at 9 am you havent had a chance yet to be active. Just a thought.
Interesting theory, Nancy! I'll keep an eye on the activity level, too. THANK YOU!
THANKS for taking up the glucose meter challenge, Jimmy!
You said, I haven't been experiencing any of the dizziness or weakness in 2009 like I was when this was happening in 2008.
I think that maybe you can get used to low blood sugars. My husband is an insulin-dependent diabetic and doesn't notice the hypoglycemic symptoms until he gets into the low 40's or high 30's.
I think your blood sugar readings look great; better than the A1c of 5.1 would indicate.
When people eat low carb, they don't typically have the normal blood sugar cycle, which peaks 1 - 2 hours after a meal. Blood sugar can be all over the place. It's also normal to have a higher blood sugar in the morning.
I was surprised by that, too, SnowDog. Since my A1c showed a 5.1 reading, that means my average blood glucose over the past three months is 103. So, how does it get to that level when all I am seeing when I test are measurements from the 60s-90s? Strange stuff to say the least.
Yikes, your numbers, especially the 67, are teetering on hypoglycemic. That means that your insulin levels are just a hair too high, probably, since high insulin and low blood sugar run hand in hand. At least you aren't experiences the usual symptoms; but what about your thirst? You've already mentioned that you have abnormally high thirst levels, which may be a sign of prediabetes, so I'm curious to know how that is.
It's quite possible the body can get used to lower blood sugar levels. And to be honest, I'd rather them be consistently below 100 than soaring above 200 regularly any day of the week. :) THANKS for issuing the challenge and I think this experiment is going to answer a lot of questions about what's happening with my weight concerns as well.
I've had a high thirst level ever since I can remember TigerEyes. From my childhood, through teenage years, to early adulthood and now, I've always had an insatiable desire to drink, drink and drink (non-alcoholic, of course!). :D
Yes, I realize this is hypoglycemia as I identified in my commentary today. But the question is how do you counter the effects of what is happening to normalize the blood sugar/insulin levels? That's what this experiment with testing my blood sugars is hopefully going to help.
Whoops, I'm a moron who doesn't read things properly the first time through. My bad!
You've also been overweight due to chronically high insulin levels your whole life, remember? =P Oh wait, you've said in the past that you WERE classified as prediabetic before you started low-carb. Just in the nick of time! =D
Hmm, the meal you ate before your reaction doesn't seem to be particularly carby either... Hmm, maybe the fresher tomato had more sugar in it? They sure are yummy though, I tell you what... You lucky duck, you.
Bah, I dunno. I'm just spitballing.
Spitballing is what we're all doing here, TE! :D
Possibly the tomatoes are connected, but I've seen the same thing happen when I eat virtually no carbs in a meal. Strange stuff! I'm gonna figure this out and maybe write a book about it someday.
Excessive fat intake causes hypoglycemia. Yeah, I know it sounds crazy since we've always been told the opposite, but fat actually robs the bloodstream of sugar. Before going low-fat (mostly) myself I had terrible hypoglycemia problems.
Jimmy, I noticed your first meal isn't until 12:30 pm. Are you up late the night before? Hope you're not going too long in the morning without eating. This might set your blood sugars on a roller coaster the rest of the day and your body might be trying to "catch up" and can't, hence the hypoglycemic readings. Just a thought.
Rian, thanks for your comments. I know you're not a low-carber, but do you have any scientific studies in support of the position that fat consumption leads to hypoglycemia? This is a fascinating topic I'd like to explore further. I have a lot of expert friends who can help hash this out for us.
Interesting observations, skiredgirl! No, I'm not up so late that I don't wake up until noon--that would be my wife Christine. :D
I'm usually up around 8:00AM and I'm just not that hungry waking up. My blood sugar levels are relatively high in the mornings, so perhaps eating something to bring them down (sounds strange, but that's my world) might be a curious exercise to try.
So your theory is that by not eating when I'm not hungry, I am setting off a chain reaction with my blood sugar that is unable to find some semblance of stability? And that by eating something earlier in the day, my blood sugar set point can be much better established? Hmmmm, it's definitely a consideration. I'd love to see evidence of this from the research world if it exists.
I'm reading Dr. Atkins's original "Diet Revolution", and one thing he mentions is that he tells people to eat until they're satisfied and not eat when they're not hungry...EXCEPT in the case of breakfast, which he believes is crucial, whether you're hungry for it or not. He also mentions hypoglycemia in Ch. 14, and he says, "I prescribe megadoses of B complex, C, and especially E vitamins. I have found through clinical experience that Vitamin E seems to be very useful in coping with the symptoms of low blood sugar on this diet."
Some thoughts....
Hyperinsulinemia/hypogycemia--not eating in the morning, too much protein at one time (such as 1 1/4 lbs. at one meal) or not spacing the protein out enough through the day. Too much protein can turn into glucose. Perhaps a return to the Metformin is needed until problem is under control, weight loss resumes?
http://lowcarb4u.blogspot.com/2008/07/gluconeogenesis-and-insulin-resistance.html
Perhaps you could consume some coconut oil in the morning if you aren't inclined to eat a meal, to supply your body/brain with fuel/break/fast.
The fact that your post prandial blood sugar fell below your pre-prandial level suggests hypoglycemia. The definition of pre-diabetic is fasting levels > 100. You do not appear to be pre-diabetic based on these reading.
You might see if you have the same blood sugar readings with smaller meals. If you do not get the same results that suggests your body is putting out too much insulin with larger meals. Protein does cause an insulin response though not necessarily a rise in blood sugar. In any case one day does not make a prognosis. Keep checking and maybe take some one hour readings as well.
THANKS JD! Right, I knew what I was experiencing is hypoglycemia, but the question is why. I have talked with Christine about what impact smaller meals would have and I consciously did eat less food for the readings today. Maybe I'll back off even more to see if there is a difference.
The point about breakfast is an interesting one someone else discussed. I may try to eat breakfast to see what is happening there, too. It will be interesting to see the differences from day to day, let alone meal to meal. My suspicion is the numbers will be all over the place, but we'll have to wait and see.
If these strips weren't so dang expensive, I'd LOVE to test at one hour too. Stargazey is sending me some in the mail, but I'm running out of my stash. This will be some amazing data to look at over the course of time, though. THANKS for your comments!
THANK YOU DHG! I appreciate you bringing in the term "hyperinsulinemia" because that is what this boils down to--too much insulin production. Yes, the meals where I consumed over a pound of beef possibly gave me too much protein although the fat content in those burgers was about twice that of the protein. But it is the total protein that needs to be spread out throughout the day. Working on that.
Yes, I know about protein turning into glucose because of gluconeogenesis and that Metformin basically turns off this process to decrease the impact of hyperinsulinemia. But if I went back on that prescription drug which I only took for 10 weeks late 2008/early 2009, when would the "problem" be "under control." I didn't really see a lot of progress made weight-wise when I was on the drug, although the hypoglycemia may have been improved while I was taking it.
As for the coconut oil in the morning, I'm doing one better--I take a tablespoon of MCT Gold every morning as part of my daily supplementation. So I am already getting the morning boost you suggest. THANKS so much for sharing your comments! We'll get this thing figured out yet.
I can't explain it - but it resembles my levels nearly identically. The only difference, I drop much lower -- after eating food that contains carbs -- which you're not so much doing.
*shrug*
Hungry now.
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