I've been doing the same thing all these years, only not with junk food but with "healthy carbs." The effect is the same.

Eating low carb and checking your glucose postprandial BG or fasting BG isn't going to tell you if you still have a problem. To see if you're not metabolizing glucose properly, just emulate the glucose tolerance test at home.

- Take your fasting blood glucose before you eat
- Eat a very high carb meal...like white pasta with garlic bread...really splurge
- Check your BG at the one hour mark after you started eating
- Check your BG at the two hour mark

If you're under 140 at the 2 hour mark, you're fine. Some people would say that to be classified normal, that one hour mark number shouldn't be over 140 either, but I think that might be up for debate.

When I was still in the 160s at the two hour mark, I kept checking on the hour to see how long it would take me to get back down to normal.

Loved your line, "eat to your meter".

That is what works BEST for me and I AM a full fledged diabetic for years.

While I do pay close attention to nutrition labels and the amount of carbs listed, I have found that my meter is the BEST guide of what my body likes and doesn't like as far as its ability to deal with food consumption of various types.

Portion control will also affect my meter readings. I can eat something with almost NO carbs, but if I don't watch the portion (false thinking that I can eat more of it since it has little or no carbs), quantity will also create high post prandial numbers.

The endocrine system is very complex. My meter is my guide.

It sounds like you're doing exactly what the "eat to your meter" people told me to do. Their instructions are below.

I'm using a ton of test strips, but thankfully mine are cheap. Rather than give up some things all together, I'm working on portion size to see if I can reintroduce some things.

From www.diabetesforum.com....

Technique for eating to your meter:.
*edit* per that sites copyright & terms.. ( you may link to the specific post or thread for members)

Great info and I thank you. If I eat a big meal like I used to there I am over 140 and last I checked around 160. I'm assuming I will have to eat very consciously for the rest of my time here.

I have hope my system will normalize, though if I eat too many carbs or an odd occassion of not considering sugar I pay in a myriad of ways.

I am in the prediabetic zone A1C wise, but I have not found any comfort in improvement. I think I have improved my grade of descent, though. A parachute of sorts.

I know I blindly consumed in the past and if not for a conscious decision to do anything reason or unreasonable (though not dangerous) was where I needed to get.

I am leaning toward adding some seafood soon. I have always enjoyed it, though I'm picky. A lot of seafood in the market these days has dubious quality.

No comfort in improvement? Have you at least stabilized at your current pain level?

My numbers getting better have not translated to any improvement in symptoms.

I know I'm speaking the obvious here, but at least you're doing what you need to to prevent further damage. And maybe with more time, you'll start to see improvement.


I found this really good blog article that seems to summarize well what I've read all over the place. I'm excerpting the sections of real importance (with permission by the author):

http://diabetesupdate.blogspot.com/2...ou-can-do.html

"Everything changes when you define "tight control" to mean "Maintaining post-meal blood sugars below the level where neuropathy begins." That level turns out to be 140 mg/dl (7.7 mmol/L). Lower your blood sugar to this level, meal after meal, and your nerves sill start to heal.

This is a good 40 mg/dl lower than the dangerously high 180 mg/dl two hours after eating which the ADA officially defines as "tight control." And when you bring your blood sugars down below 140 mg/dl and keep them there for a few months, your feet will get better. "


"The take-away lesson here is this: It is post meal blood sugars that cause neuropathy. People can get identical A1cs with very different post meal blood sugars which is probably why the research finds there is no clear correlation between A1c and the presence of neuropathy, especially when A1c is below 8%.

Your fasting blood sugar, which is the only blood sugar many out-of-date doctors monitor, is also worthless in evaluating your neuropathy risk, because it is possible to have extremely high post meal blood sugars and completely normal fasting blood sugars. I did that myself years ago when I had fasting blood sugars of 98 mg/dl and post meal blood sugars at every meal over 250 mg/dl.

This 140 mg/dl post meal blood sugar target is very mainstream--the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists has been recommending it for five years now and I have heard rumors that some of that organization's members would like to see it lowered even further. "

__________

Right. The reason I continue is it is possible and even likely that less control is likely to make it worse.

If I found the approach I am on difficult, I might change. But I don't and I actually feel so much better with lower caloric intake, no matter what sort.

I am prescribed 4 strips a day. I tend to horde them and do 8-12 tests a day tracking a full days progression- before meal, 1 hour and two hours after meal, more if the numbers are funny.

I also test after exertion of a mile walk or so.

I wonder if there is more that a diabetic angle, but I can't ignore it has a place at my table.

That's pretty much where I am. I didn't have typical "slow creep" onset that I think most diabetics have...mine was pretty sudden and acute. Regardless, my postprandial spikes were certainly not helping the situation, so I'm changing my ways for good diet-wise.