GD - So far Insulin isn't working

[Mapleroo]

My numbers have been fine except for after breakfast so earlier this week I was put on Humalog fast acting insulin. The first day I had the highest number ever! Nothing has changed with what I have been eating for breakfast. I was told that I could increase my dose by 2 every two days if it wasn't working. Today I increased and still really high. I just don't understand why my numbers are higher on insulin??

 

[Wannabe Mommy]

What are you eating, are you taking metformin alongside the insulin, how many units are you up to and what are your fasting levels like?

 

[Mapleroo]

For my breakfast meal I have to eat 3 carbs, 1 protein. The protein is generally an egg (hard boiled) and the carbs are usually a whole grain cereal or bread (I make the bread and so know exactly what goes into it, rye, whole grain flour-no white) and milk. Sometimes I have fruit, sometimes I don't, it doesn't seem to matter. One breakfast on my first week gave me a level of 7.6 (I have to be under 7.8) so the next morning I had exactly the same thing and it was 9.6. I have been having a hard time eating all that I'm supposed to and lost weight the first week and got in trouble. I wanted them to drop some carbs but they wouldn't. I'm not on metformin (what is it?). Started at 6 units of insulin, now on 8. If my numbers are still high tomorrow I have to go up to 10 the following day.

 

[Mapleroo]

Oops and my fasting numbers are good. Usually around 4.3 ish.

 

[Wannabe Mommy]

Bread is a killer for me. No matter how good the bread is it takes me above my levels and I've tried a few different types including dark rye which is supposed to be super good for diabetics.

Oats seem to lower my numbers so you might want to try including them in your breakfast or in your bread recipe to see if it helps.

The nutritional it's never gave me any guidelines on having a certain number of carb units per meal so I tend to go for a no carb breakfast or porridge which has a low GI then have carbs at lunch which works better for my body . Check out low GI websites for bread alternatives.

Also ask about metformin by itself it doesn't lower your sugar levels but it helps your body use the insulin it has more effectively. I take 1 tablet with my evening meal and 4 units of nova rapid and that got my numbers from 7+ to under 6.

 

[Mapleroo]

The bread was what gave me my first good numbers but the following day it was high again. I have oats in the bread also, but haven't had porridge yet so I tried it this morning and still high. I really don't understand the whole carbs thing but my nutritionist is very strict about how many I need to have at every meal and wouldn't let me drop them even for my evening meal when I have a hard time eating (just not hungry for some reason). I have my next apt on Tuesday so I will ask about metformin. I'm starting to get nervous about this getting under control. My babies have all come at 37 weeks so I don't feel like I have lots of time to get this figured out before this lil guy arrives. Thank you so much for all your advice! It's great having someone to talk to that has experienced it themselves

 

[lovebabyhopes]

If I had bread, fruit or cereal for breakfast, my numbers would be through the roof. I get a half a piece of whole grain, sprouted toast and that's it. I have 1 egg with it and 1 serving of veggie sausage (fake meat..)

Sugar is a no go in the morning. I can handle a piece of fruit any other point of the day, but if I start with it, my number spikes. Cereal is off limits completely. It's the worst thing you can possibly eat with GD. Cereal = pure sugar (even a "whole grain".)

 

[Mapleroo]

Cereal/no cereal, fruit/no fruit it hasn't made a bit of difference for me.

 

[lovebabyhopes]

IMHO it's the amount of carbs they have you on. My doctor didn't tell me how many carbs i had to have, she just said to make sure that I eat an equal portion of protein for any carb intake. This slows the process of converting carbohydrate to sugar. Without enough protein, this isn't going to happen. 1 serving of protein to 3 servings of carbs isn't going to help in GD department. You can go with your docs' guidelines or experiment on your own to see what works for you and try upping the protein.