Re: The Experiment Has Been A Bust :-(

April 8, 2005

... nothing is really out of whack. You just had a relatively high

carb day, that's all. Dried fruits are really just concentrated

sugar...probably better to avoid unless you're going to do some vigorous

exercise. Doesn't matter how thin the slice of bread was...it probably

had more carbs than you expected. Check the label.

Graham crackers are made with grain. And they have sugar too. According

to the USDA website, each 2-1/2 inch square has 5.38 grams carbs, .2

grams fiber and 2.18 grams sugar.

And you had two of those. Not an insignificant amount of carbs, see?

So no wonder your BGs didn't stay as low as you wanted.

Have you read Dr. Bernstein's book? ( " Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes

Solutions " by K. Bernstein, M.D.) If you haven't, I suggest you

check it out of the library. It will give you a good idea on how to get

your BGs where you want them to be.

Vicki

The Experiment Has Been A Bust :-(

>

> I have been on a real roller coaster today. Don't think the

> experiment has gone too well.

>

> My FBG this morning was 135. I always start the day high. I took all

> my meds except the glipizide around 10:45 and had " breakfast " around

> 11. Breakfast was 1 boiled egg, 3 dried apricots and 1 thin slice of

> bread. Obviously, the metformin couldn't handle the breakfast

> because at 12:20 my BG level was 142. So I went ahead and took the

> glipizide then.

>

> By 2pm, I was at 103. I knew we were going out for a while so I ate

> 2 graham crackers *no sugar* because I didn't want to go too low

> while we were out.

>

> When we got home at 3:15, I was down to 72. I ate a Lean Cuisine

> for " lunch " with a net carb total of 11g.

>

> I tested again at 5:50 to see why I was feeling badly and my level

> was down to 68.

>

> We have just finished supper. Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Prego

> Sauce. Don't have a carb count on this but the BG right after supper

> was up to 84. I'm sure it will go even higher.

>

> Don't think I will attempt this experiment again. Something is

> obviously out of whack.

>

> I have an MRI scheduled for tomorrow and I need to be in good shape

> in the afternoon so I think I will return to my normal schedule and

> take all the stuff in the morning.

>

> Any suggestions would be welcome.

>

April 8, 2005

Hi Vicki,

Breakfast was a total of 20.5 carbs. The bread only had 8 carbs and

the apricots had 11.5.

I wasn't concerned about how high my BG was today but rather how low

is got this afternoon. It continued to drop dramatically after the 2

sugar free graham crackers. I ate them on purpose to keep the level

up while we were out and about and yet it still dropped to 68 before

supper.

I always spike during the night. Always........... no matter what.

I only have 2 mediations to work with at the moment. I take 500mg of

metformin and only 1/2 of a glipizide tablet. I don't know the

strength of the glipizide because the doctor gave me the meds and

didn't write down what stength they were.

I was hoping by taking the glipizide later in the day to prevent the

big spike at night and lower the fasting glucose level in the

mornings. I may try it again and leave off the dried fruit and go

back to my boiled eggs with one piece of bread.

Thanks!

> ... nothing is really out of whack. You just had a relatively

high

> carb day, that's all. Dried fruits are really just concentrated

> sugar...probably better to avoid unless you're going to do some

vigorous

> exercise. Doesn't matter how thin the slice of bread was...it

probably

> had more carbs than you expected. Check the label.

>

> Graham crackers are made with grain. And they have sugar too.

According

> to the USDA website, each 2-1/2 inch square has 5.38 grams

carbs, .2

> grams fiber and 2.18 grams sugar.

> And you had two of those. Not an insignificant amount of carbs,

see?

>

> So no wonder your BGs didn't stay as low as you wanted.

>

> Have you read Dr. Bernstein's book? ( " Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes

> Solutions " by K. Bernstein, M.D.) If you haven't, I

suggest you

> check it out of the library. It will give you a good idea on how to

get

> your BGs where you want them to be.

> Vicki

>

April 8, 2005

Hi Vicki,

Breakfast was a total of 20.5 carbs. The bread only had 8 carbs and

the apricots had 11.5.

I wasn't concerned about how high my BG was today but rather how low

is got this afternoon. It continued to drop dramatically after the 2

sugar free graham crackers. I ate them on purpose to keep the level

up while we were out and about and yet it still dropped to 68 before

supper.

I always spike during the night. Always........... no matter what.

I only have 2 mediations to work with at the moment. I take 500mg of

metformin and only 1/2 of a glipizide tablet. I don't know the

strength of the glipizide because the doctor gave me the meds and

didn't write down what stength they were.

I was hoping by taking the glipizide later in the day to prevent the

big spike at night and lower the fasting glucose level in the

mornings. I may try it again and leave off the dried fruit and go

back to my boiled eggs with one piece of bread.

Thanks!

> ... nothing is really out of whack. You just had a relatively

high

> carb day, that's all. Dried fruits are really just concentrated

> sugar...probably better to avoid unless you're going to do some

vigorous

> exercise. Doesn't matter how thin the slice of bread was...it

probably

> had more carbs than you expected. Check the label.

>

> Graham crackers are made with grain. And they have sugar too.

According

> to the USDA website, each 2-1/2 inch square has 5.38 grams

carbs, .2

> grams fiber and 2.18 grams sugar.

> And you had two of those. Not an insignificant amount of carbs,

see?

>

> So no wonder your BGs didn't stay as low as you wanted.

>

> Have you read Dr. Bernstein's book? ( " Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes

> Solutions " by K. Bernstein, M.D.) If you haven't, I

suggest you

> check it out of the library. It will give you a good idea on how to

get

> your BGs where you want them to be.

> Vicki

>

April 8, 2005

No it hasn't, it has given you some valuable information.

1 - The metformin held you steady (no appreciable difference between 135

and 142) even after you ate.

2 - An hour and a half later, the glip brought you down to 102, maybe

even sooner. It would be nice to have an exact time for this. Then you

will know how soon before a meal to take your glip.

3 - It was more than you needed because of the late lunch. By the time

you ate, your pancreas was already " on a roll " and gave you too much

insulin.

4 - Less carb at breakfast and more with lunch will even out your numbers.

5 - The experiment should be repeated with a few changes. A lower carb

breakfast. Glip no more than an hour before lunch, preferably even

closer to meal time. Move some of the breakfast carbs to lunch. With

the medication you should wind up with a good number. Test! Test! Test!

More frequent testing than today will give you more information.

Do the repeat on a day when your schedule will permit you to stay home,

so you can monitor yourself during the day.

When are you taking your metformin?

Helen

April 8, 2005

No it hasn't, it has given you some valuable information.

1 - The metformin held you steady (no appreciable difference between 135

and 142) even after you ate.

2 - An hour and a half later, the glip brought you down to 102, maybe

even sooner. It would be nice to have an exact time for this. Then you

will know how soon before a meal to take your glip.

3 - It was more than you needed because of the late lunch. By the time

you ate, your pancreas was already " on a roll " and gave you too much

insulin.

4 - Less carb at breakfast and more with lunch will even out your numbers.

5 - The experiment should be repeated with a few changes. A lower carb

breakfast. Glip no more than an hour before lunch, preferably even

closer to meal time. Move some of the breakfast carbs to lunch. With

the medication you should wind up with a good number. Test! Test! Test!

More frequent testing than today will give you more information.

Do the repeat on a day when your schedule will permit you to stay home,

so you can monitor yourself during the day.

When are you taking your metformin?

Helen

April 8, 2005

No it hasn't, it has given you some valuable information.

1 - The metformin held you steady (no appreciable difference between 135

and 142) even after you ate.

2 - An hour and a half later, the glip brought you down to 102, maybe

even sooner. It would be nice to have an exact time for this. Then you

will know how soon before a meal to take your glip.

3 - It was more than you needed because of the late lunch. By the time

you ate, your pancreas was already " on a roll " and gave you too much

insulin.

4 - Less carb at breakfast and more with lunch will even out your numbers.

5 - The experiment should be repeated with a few changes. A lower carb

breakfast. Glip no more than an hour before lunch, preferably even

closer to meal time. Move some of the breakfast carbs to lunch. With

the medication you should wind up with a good number. Test! Test! Test!

More frequent testing than today will give you more information.

Do the repeat on a day when your schedule will permit you to stay home,

so you can monitor yourself during the day.

When are you taking your metformin?

Helen

April 8, 2005

Hi Helen,

I take my metformin before I eat breakfast....... whatever time that

might be. And yes, you are right. I did learn something today. My

2 hour after dinner number was high, 140, but by 4 hours, it was down

to 104. That is the lowest it has been for that time of day. It

will be interesting to see what the FBG is in the morning.

Thanks so much for your insight. I can't see the forest for the

trees on somedays!

> No it hasn't, it has given you some valuable information.

>

> 1 - The metformin held you steady (no appreciable difference

between 135

> and 142) even after you ate.

>

> 2 - An hour and a half later, the glip brought you down to 102,

maybe

> even sooner. It would be nice to have an exact time for this.

Then you

> will know how soon before a meal to take your glip.

>

> 3 - It was more than you needed because of the late lunch. By the

time

> you ate, your pancreas was already " on a roll " and gave you too

much

> insulin.

>

> 4 - Less carb at breakfast and more with lunch will even out your

numbers.

>

> 5 - The experiment should be repeated with a few changes. A lower

carb

> breakfast. Glip no more than an hour before lunch, preferably even

> closer to meal time. Move some of the breakfast carbs to lunch.

With

> the medication you should wind up with a good number. Test! Test!

Test!

> More frequent testing than today will give you more information.

>

> Do the repeat on a day when your schedule will permit you to stay

home,

> so you can monitor yourself during the day.

>

> When are you taking your metformin?

>

> Helen

April 8, 2005

> I can't see the forest for the

> trees on somedays!

, when you are close to the trees, they are all you can see.

That's why we are here, to get insight from others who have a little

distance between us and our trees.

With these interesting numbers, I wonder if you would be just as well

off with more metformin, no glip, and maybe some insulin sensitizing

supplements. Less rollercoastering.

Helen

April 8, 2005

> I can't see the forest for the

> trees on somedays!

, when you are close to the trees, they are all you can see.

That's why we are here, to get insight from others who have a little

distance between us and our trees.

With these interesting numbers, I wonder if you would be just as well

off with more metformin, no glip, and maybe some insulin sensitizing

supplements. Less rollercoastering.

Helen

April 8, 2005

Helen, my doctor debated about the glipazide but decided to try it. It

does work quickly and can really cause lows which she warned me about.

But the lows come so quickly. I have tested 10 times today so far and

will test again before bed. I really want those morning numbers to

come down and I thought taking the glip later in the day might work.

Guess I will know more in the morning.

Thanks again,

> > I can't see the forest for the

> > trees on somedays!

>

> , when you are close to the trees, they are all you can see.

> That's why we are here, to get insight from others who have a little

> distance between us and our trees.

>

> With these interesting numbers, I wonder if you would be just as well

> off with more metformin, no glip, and maybe some insulin sensitizing

> supplements. Less rollercoastering.

>

> Helen

April 8, 2005

Helen, my doctor debated about the glipazide but decided to try it. It

does work quickly and can really cause lows which she warned me about.

But the lows come so quickly. I have tested 10 times today so far and

will test again before bed. I really want those morning numbers to

come down and I thought taking the glip later in the day might work.

Guess I will know more in the morning.

Thanks again,

> > I can't see the forest for the

> > trees on somedays!

>

> , when you are close to the trees, they are all you can see.

> That's why we are here, to get insight from others who have a little

> distance between us and our trees.

>

> With these interesting numbers, I wonder if you would be just as well

> off with more metformin, no glip, and maybe some insulin sensitizing

> supplements. Less rollercoastering.

>

> Helen

April 8, 2005

, why don't you ask her about Prandin? It also stimulates the

pancreas, but it acts more quickly, then stops after a couple of hours

when the meal is digested and the need for it is gone. It works very

well for me, and I've had only one low while on it, and that was when I

absent-mindedly took it two hours before I ate, instead of the usual 30

minutes. I used to take something similar to glipazide, but the Prandin

works much, much better. Sue

>

> Helen, my doctor debated about the glipazide but decided to try it. It

> does work quickly and can really cause lows which she warned me about.

> But the lows come so quickly. I have tested 10 times today so far and

> will test again before bed. I really want those morning numbers to

> come down and I thought taking the glip later in the day might work.

> Guess I will know more in the morning.

April 8, 2005

, why don't you ask her about Prandin? It also stimulates the

pancreas, but it acts more quickly, then stops after a couple of hours

when the meal is digested and the need for it is gone. It works very

well for me, and I've had only one low while on it, and that was when I

absent-mindedly took it two hours before I ate, instead of the usual 30

minutes. I used to take something similar to glipazide, but the Prandin

works much, much better. Sue

>

> Helen, my doctor debated about the glipazide but decided to try it. It

> does work quickly and can really cause lows which she warned me about.

> But the lows come so quickly. I have tested 10 times today so far and

> will test again before bed. I really want those morning numbers to

> come down and I thought taking the glip later in the day might work.

> Guess I will know more in the morning.

April 8, 2005

- I don't know if it is any help or not, but I usually wake for the

first time around 5 am and make a potty stop. I also have half a glass of

" light " grape juice - about 3 grams of carbs. I go back to bed and usually

when I get up later my bg number is between 85 and 100. I used to have as

high as 135 but I think I had dawn phenomenon and the little bit of juice

keeps the liver from starting the glucose pump and keeps the number low. I

am not really very educated on this matter, but I just know what has worked

for me so far. I'm sure someone more knowledgeable can add to this.

Barb in NH

Re: The Experiment Has Been A Bust :-(

>

> Helen, my doctor debated about the glipazide but decided to try it. It

> does work quickly and can really cause lows which she warned me about.

> But the lows come so quickly. I have tested 10 times today so far and

> will test again before bed. I really want those morning numbers to

> come down and I thought taking the glip later in the day might work.

> Guess I will know more in the morning.

>

> Thanks again,

>

April 8, 2005