[Diabetes-talk] Spike.

Wed Mar 7 06:07:07 UTC 2012

I'm a brittle type II diabetic and on tablets. I have very good sugar 
control with just the tablets. This year, as from 1 January to the 
present, for instance, I have only had 3 readings over 180 compared to 
the 5 of last year at the same time. I manage this control without 
starving myself and, to give you a good idea of the sort of control I 
have, my average for the last 180 readings is 119. This is a bit higher 
than the norm that I set myself, namely anywhere between 90 and 117, 
although my averages, when compliant, seldomly drop below 108.

I must stress that my sugar control is one that works for me, and that 
it will not necessarily work for the next diabetic. What I am saying 
here, therefore, is not intended as a definitive solution to the 
problem, but is intended as presenting avenues to explore.

Having said that, there are a number of factors that a type II has to 
bear in mind when controlling his/her sugars. The most important factor 
is to try and determine what your sugar management norms are. These, as 
I already indicated, will differ from person to person. The only way in 
which you will find out what your norm is, is to test regularly, keep a 
thorough diary of your results and then to try and identify patterns.

Once you have identified your patterns, you need to try and refine the 
diet you have been given, in order to re-inforce that pattern, that is, 
assuming that the pattern is a good one. If the pattern is not a good 
one, i.e. if sugars are too high or too low, then various things will 
need to be fine tuned. You may need to vary your diet, or you may need 
to change your medication. Bear in mind that the generic diabetic diet 
simply does not exist in the sense that what may be good for one 
diabetic, may not necessarily be good for another diabetic. As an 
illustration of my point, I have found that I get better blood sugars if 
I use rice as my starch rather than potatoes. While I love potatoes, I 
only have those as a treat. For the rest, I stick to rice. I agree that 
the potato thing may not be a problem for other diabetics.

Consequently, in the light of what I have just said, I personally, 
totally reject out of hand, the notion of "fits one, fits all" when it 
comes to sugar management. The general norms laid down for sugar 
management, is therefore, only a point of departure--nothing more.

In short, I manage sugars through diet and exercise and I deal with 
spikes as and when they arise. The advantage of keeping a diary is that 
it is often possible to deal with the cause of spikes whenever these arise.

I know that David Mendosa and I would not agree, but I also use fruit as 
a means of controlling blood sugar. I have a fruit at breakfast, a fruit 
for my midmorning snack and a fruit for an afternoon snack. As far as 
the late night snack is concerned, I have a far greater lattitude as to 
what I can or cannot have. The fruit I usually have is an apple.

Apples have a low glycaemic index value and a high glycaemic load which 
means that the overall effect of apples on blood sugar management, is to 
sustain blood sugar levels from one meal to another, so that they will 
not drop too low.

Another factor that could impact on the possibility of sugars spiking, 
could be the medications you are on. These may not necessarily be 
diabetic medication, but could instead, be medication you take for other 
problems.

As I intimated in an earlier post to the list, I have recently gone onto 
probiotics because my immune system has effectively been fried by the 
quantities of antibiotics I had been taking of late. I have learnt that 
probiotics do tend to lower blood sugars, but other medications again 
may tend to raise blood sugars, thus causing sugars to spike.

In such cases, in the same way as I have to also do, one needs to change 
the diet to suit the conditions, but one must make sure that you don't 
starve yourself in the process either.

Spiking blood sugars could also be due to infection. You may not have 
the classical signs of infection, but that does not mean that you must 
rule out the possibility of infection.

If you are about to see the doctor, a test done to measure your blood 
cell count, will be a definite tell-tail sign of infection if your white 
blood cell count is up.

There are numerous factors that could bring about a spike in blood 
sugars, both environmental and personal/emotional, but I don't want to 
try and make a complete list of the possible causes here.

The question that remains is the question, what to do if my sugars 
spike? I am going to assume here that spikes are in the vacinity of 180 
to about 280.

One of the things I have often come across in diabetes forums both here 
in South Africa and around the world, is the quick fix solution and I am 
afraid that I would not want to be seen dead near some of the solutions 
that have been proposed. The idea is to strike the right balance between 
intervention and non-intervention and I personally am of the view that 
if intervention is necessary, it should be an intervention which should 
be as conservative as possible. If the intervention is drastic, this 
could at best contribute to very unstable blood sugars and in the worst 
case scenario, could even drive blood sugars down to dangerously low 
levels. This could most likely be the case, especially if you cannot 
ascertain the cause of the spike in the first place.

Obviously, if you are on insulin and the doctor has given you a sliding 
scale to administer insulin in the case of a spike, it is OK to use that 
sliding scale. One would assume that the doctor would take all factors 
known to him, into account when prescribing a sliding scale for the 
administration of insulin.

The sort of intervention which is the safest for type II diabetics not 
on insulin, is just to insure that you drink enough water and if the 
sugar levels don't drop, to make a plan to see the doctor.

Obviously, if you are recording readings say, in excess of 280, you will 
most likely find yourself on crisis territory and the doctor may have to 
be contacted sooner or later.

What to do if your sugars spike? One of the most important lessons that 
my nurse care-giver has taught me, is to learn to listen to my body and 
as far as it may be appropriate, to just do what my body feels like 
doing. If your sugars are spiking or if they go the other way, and you 
feel tired, that is perfectly OK.

Let me mention that I basically manage my sugars through diet, tablets 
and exercise. My exercise program has been designed by a biocheneticist 
and having familiarised myself with what a competent biocheneticist can 
do, I would strongly recommend that every diabetic should see a 
biocheneticist as part of the treatment.

Michael Park.
I am not an expert, because "ex" means "has been" and "spert" is "a drip under pressure".

On 2012/03/07 00:08, Bridgit Pollpeter wrote:
> Yeah, I think some studies are showing that the sooner type 2's are
> placed on insulin, the better management they experience. I don't know
> how many doctors are considering this, and most type 2's I know on
> insulin were put on it only after the oral meds were not working as
> well. Is this something a patient can request even if their doctor isn't
> prescribing it? I'm very unfamiliar with type 2 other than type 2's have
> some level of functioning of the pancreas.
>
> Sincerely,
> Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
> Read my blog at:
> http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
>
> "History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
> The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org
> [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of William and
> Bernadette Jacobs
> Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2012 3:53 PM
> To: Diabetes Talk for the Blind
> Subject: Re: [Diabetes-talk] Spike.
>
>
> What are you eating?  Anything different?  Many times cold cereals can
> be a
> horrible culprit: pasta, breads, even some barbecue sauces, Are you on
> oral
> meds? or just insulin?  From my experience, I find my control,
> personally,
> is much better with Insulin.  I use Rapid-acting 15-20 minutes before
> meals,
> (on sliding scale) then I use Lantus at night.  I myself have felt much,
>
> much better taking insulin.  If I had it to do all over again, I'd've
> gone
> straight to insulin in the first place.
>
> Bernadette M. Jacobs
> 1st Vice-President of Diabetes Action Network
>
> Please consider making a donation to the Diabetes Action Network because
>
> Diabetes is the leading cause of Blindness
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Alan Wheeler"<awheeler65 at windstream.net>
> To: "'Diabetes Talk for the Blind'"<diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2012 4:38 PM
> Subject: [Diabetes-talk] Spike.
>
>
>> Hi everyone,
>> For the second time in about a week, my blood sugar spiked into the
>> 190-200
>> range. I am going to my doctor on Friday, but in the mean time, what
> do I
>> do
>> when my sugar has spiked like this? Do I sleep it off (which is all I
> feel
>> like doing), or is something else recommended?
>>
>> Thanks in advance.
>>
>> Alan
>> "The kind of work God usually calls you to is the kind of work that
>> you
>> need
>> most to do and that the world most needs to have done.The place God
> calls
>> you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's  deep
> hunger
>> meet."
>> - Frederick Buechner's definition of "vocation" in his little book
>> "Wishful
>> Thinking"
>> Psalms 33:3 Psalms 150:5
>>
>>
>> Alan Wheeler
>> Lincoln, Nebraska
>> awheeler65 at windstream.net
>> http://twitter.com/#!/Country_Storm
>>
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