Question:

Carroll-Mann) writes: I had pizza for dinner, and hit 135 after 2 hours, and was under 100 at the 3-hour mark. I hate you.  I can’t even be in the same room with a pizza. ;-) Robin G. The untrue never is; the true never isn’t.         Krishna

I’m sorry.  Forgive me.  :-( On a more serious note… yeah, I’ve been lucky (so far) in what I can eat, which is why my breakfast spikes came as such a shock.  I’m also very aware that the current state of affairs may not last.  I was diagnosed less than 3 years ago; who knows what will happen in 5 more years (or 25 or 50)? I know, from reading this newsgroup, that many others are much more restricted in what they can safely eat.  I suppose that ought to make me feel better about the stuff I can’t eat, but (human nature being what it is), it just ain’t so.  Not long ago, I sat in a restaurant and watched my husband scarf down the contents of an appetizer sampler plate: nachos, potato skins, mozzarella sticks, and fried chicken wings.  I had been unable to find anything on their menu that was suitable for my evening snack, so I sipped a diet coke and hated him for being able to eat what I could not.  It didn’t help that I was feeling hungry.  At one point, my feelings bubbled up so strongly that I went into the ladies’ room, because I was afraid that I might start crying at the table.  On the way out, I told my husband what I was feeling.  He understood, bless him, that I didn’t really hate him — I was just feeling resentful over the unfairness of the situation.  He asked me if there was anything he could do — did I want to stop somewhere else to get a snack?  I thanked him for his concern, and asked him just to take me home so that I could eat something there. I’m the classic Type 2, with a lifelong history of obesity.  Although I’ve shed the excess pounds, I still have a load of issues about food and deprivation and restricted diet.  So I can easily understand that you might "hate" me for eating pizza.  It’s okay. regards, Harper Robin Carroll-Mann To email me, remove the fish from my address Type 2, dx’d 8/96, low-fat diet & exercise "Mostly Harmless" — Douglas Adams

Response:

Carroll-Mann) writes: I had pizza for dinner, and hit 135 after 2 hours, and was under 100 at the 3-hour mark.

I hate you.  I can’t even be in the same room with a pizza. ;-) Robin G. The untrue never is; the true never isn’t.          Krishna

Response:

I know by charts what bs levels should be two hours after eating, but have no idea what they should be 1/2 hour after eating.  Does anyone know?  I always wait 2 hours because I can tell how I am doing by the chart I have, but would have no idea what it should be 1/2 hour after eating.

As far as I know, those charts are only estimates.  The issue for me is not the timing of the peak, but how high it is.  Depending on the quantities and the glycemic index of the food eaten, the highest post-meal blood sugar can occur at different times.  When I eat pizza, the peak comes after 2 hours.  For breakfast, 30 minutes seems to be the high point. 175 is as high as my doctor wants me to go after eating, so a peak of 193 — regardless of when it occurs — is A Bad Thing, especially since I’ve been eating the same breakfast almost every day for many months. Regards, Harper Robin Carroll-Mann To email me, remove the fish from my address Type 2, dx’d 8/96, low-fat diet & exercise "Mostly Harmless" — Douglas Adams

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Cream of Wheat with raisins was one of my very favorite breakfasts, but it always sent my bgs through the roof.  My morning bgs are always high, and eating a meal that sent them higher generally set me up for a lousy day.  I found that the only thing I could do was eat an almost no-carb meal for breakfast — an omelet, or an "Egg-McMuffin" without the muffin, or a protein shake, which would allow my bgs to come down over the course of the day.  I have a little more carbs at lunch (a small salad or something), cheese and crackers or a Balance bar for a mid-afternoon snack, and then a regular dinner (meat, vegetables and, sometimes, pasta).  

Wendy, Thanks for the suggestions.  I have an appointment to see my doctor on Tuesday.  It seems to be a purely morning problem — that certain foods cause me to spike, even though my fasting BGs are pretty low. As I said, I’m normally pretty carb-tolerant.  I had cream of wheat *with* raisins last night for a snack, and I peaked at 118 — no problem.  I had pizza for dinner, and hit 135 after 2 hours, and was under 100 at the 3-hour mark. I’m going to keep experimenting.  This morning, I got satisfactory results from Fiber One (a bran cereal) with a chopped raw apple and lf milk.  Tomorrow, I will try cheerios and blueberries, an old favorite of mine.  I will keep testing, and I will change what I have to change. Thanks for replying to me.  I was pretty much in a panic yesterday.  I guess I had been in a kind of denial.  Although I have taken diabetes seriously from the beginning, and did all the healthy things I was supposed to, I never before felt like a "real diabetic".  I was diagnosed while still borderline, and have never seen very high readings.  Nor have I had any problems eating any food in moderate quantities.    I rarely go over 140 after meals.  So seeing 193 Regards, Harper (who went for a lovely hike today and is feeling *much* calmer) Robin Carroll-Mann To email me, remove the fish from my address Type 2, dx’d 8/96, low-fat diet & exercise "Mostly Harmless" — Douglas Adams

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Recently, it occurred to me to test 1/2 hour after breakfast, and I was distressed by the results.  172 — and this was starting from an a.m. fasting of 91!  I got a similar reading from Special K.  Adding protein (1 oz. string cheese) or fat (.25 oz.  almonds) did not change the results. I have tried omitting the raisins, which on a couple of days brought me down to a more respectable 155-165. However, today’s half-hour reading was 194.  I know some people would consider that good, but it’s quite a jump from an a.m. fasting of 83) and it’s the highest reading I have *ever* seen since being diagnosed 2-1/2 years ago. A low-fat diet, 130+ pounds weight-loss, and regular exercise have been keeping me well-controlled.  My A1cs are excellent, my other postprandial readings rarely go over 150 (and are usually lower than 135), but this breakfast spike is freaking me out just a little bit.  Any thoughts on why this is happening and/or suggestions for other breakfast foods?  I love cereal, but not at the cost of readings like this.  I do have a call in to my doctor’s office, but would appreciate some feedback from the ng. Regards, Harper

Harper, our cases differ, so I don’t know if this will help you, but this is my experience:   Cream of Wheat with raisins was one of my very favorite breakfasts, but it always sent my bgs through the roof.  My morning bgs are always high, and eating a meal that sent them higher generally set me up for a lousy day.  I found that the only thing I could do was eat an almost no-carb meal for breakfast — an omelet, or an "Egg-McMuffin" without the muffin, or a protein shake, which would allow my bgs to come down over the course of the day.  I have a little more carbs at lunch (a small salad or something), cheese and crackers or a Balance bar for a mid-afternoon snack, and then a regular dinner (meat, vegetables and, sometimes, pasta).   Wendy

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Recently, it occurred to me to test 1/2 hour after breakfast, and I was distressed by the results.  172 —

Ok, I know by charts what bs levels should be two hours after eating, but have no idea what they should be 1/2 hour after eating.  Does anyone know?  I always wait 2 hours because I can tell how I am doing by the chart I have, but would have no idea what it should be 1/2 hour after eating.  ^–^ { ‘.’}cathy-to send e-mail, delete edyclub    `   <A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Cottage/8060/index.html"My~WEB!</A<BR<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Cottage/8060/PCOS.html"PCO-HOPE FOR CYSTERS</A</HTML

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As I’ve commented before, I’m reasonable carb-tolerant.  I’ve been careful to test myself after eating a variety of suspect foods.  The occasional bagel or pizza doesn’t send my BGs sky-high.  However, recently I have noticed a problem with breakfast.  The food plan my dietician gave me calls for 3 carb exchanges (45 grams) at breakfast.  My standard breakfast is some combination of cereal (hot or cold), fruit (fresh or dried), 1% milk and coffee.  My favorite this winter was cream of wheat (farina) with a tablespoon of raisins and 1/2 cup milk.  I’ve done quite a few post-prandial tests 1 hour after breakfast, and usually found them to be an acceptable 135-155. My doctor wants me to stay under 175 after meals. Recently, it occurred to me to test 1/2 hour after breakfast, and I was distressed by the results.  172 — and this was starting from an a.m. fasting of 91!  I got a similar reading from Special K.  Adding protein (1 oz. string cheese) or fat (.25 oz.  almonds) did not change the results. I have tried omitting the raisins, which on a couple of days brought me down to a more respectable 155-165. However, today’s half-hour reading was 194.  I know some people would consider that good, but it’s quite a jump from an a.m. fasting of 83) and it’s the highest reading I have *ever* seen since being diagnosed 2-1/2 years ago. A low-fat diet, 130+ pounds weight-loss, and regular exercise have been keeping me well-controlled.  My A1cs are excellent, my other postprandial readings rarely go over 150 (and are usually lower than 135), but this breakfast spike is freaking me out just a little bit.  Any thoughts on why this is happening and/or suggestions for other breakfast foods?  I love cereal, but not at the cost of readings like this.  I do have a call in to my doctor’s office, but would appreciate some feedback from the ng. Regards, Harper — Harper *** Robin Carroll-Mann harper at idt dot net type 2, diet & exercise .sigless at work

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