I have a feeling this is going to be a rollercoaster ride until then end. I’m living from poke to poke — 4 times a day, I poke my finger to draw my blood for the glucose test, holding my breath while the monitor counts down and ultimately displays the number of the moment.
This morning’s fasting number was fine: 82 which is under my target value of 90.
However, my post-breakfast test registered me at 172 — a whole 52 points above the target of 120. Now that can’t be good. This was after two failed attempts to take the test. The first time, I didn’t get enough blood on the test stick. The second time, I think my finger was too sweaty. Unfortunately, the third time was not the charm I had been hoping for.
For lunch, I just ate a Glucerna meal replacement bar. It’s 32 grams of carbs and I’m allowed 60 grams for lunch. Surely, my glucose levels should be lower, right? We’ll see in two hours.
Until the next poke…
don’t get too hung up on the numbers … since eating only a glucerna bar doesn’t sound like a good lunch. doesn’t eating too little also cause the sugar levels to go up? well, you can tell by my size (chubbette) that i am not the dietitian …but you need to eat. you can do it … i know you can …it is a real adjustment. now you can appreciate all the diabetics and what they go thru.
btw: when i read your title i thought “she’s not eating poke, right ??”
Donna,
How long after the meal did you take the sugar reading?
Oh, and also, did you take a reading before bed the night before and what was it?
[...] was my first full day of blood glucose monitoring. After writing my previous entry entitled From Poke to Poke in which I expressed discouragement about the high reading after breakfast, I’m glad to say [...]
@lindy: Thanks, I’ll try not to dwell on the numbers too much, but that’s how I am!
I live and die by things like that… it’s just like taking a test at school, it measures how well I’m doing and I never like to be C student. I ate the Glucerna bar for lunch mostly because I didn’t have time to eat (busy with video shoots today). I’m sure I’ll get some feedback from my OB tomorrow…
@Ryan S: I waited 2 hours after I finished eating to take the test. And my last test result from last night (2 hours after dinner) was 123, just slightly elevated.
I was all prepared to hear about how long it had been since you ate poke and how you planned it for a postpartum meal. I’m sorry the post had to be about something LESS fun than eating great fish!
@Papaya Mom: That’s funny, since you’re not the only one who thought I meant po-ke and not poke.
*drooling* What I wouldn’t give for a serving of spicy ahi poke or Golden Mart’s “special” poke! Giving up raw fish has been a bummer, but it will just make it all the more delicious when I finally do get to eat it. Can breastfeeding mamas eat raw fish? Hmmm…
Are you walking after meals? Walking anywhere for 10 minutes to a a half hour really helps. Also, if you have time to plan your meals, that will help all around with your control. It is a pain in the patootie but my daughter is living proof that it helps!
FWIW, I never gave up raw fish during my pregnancy; the thought of giving up sushi AND sugar would have killed me! And yes, BF’ing mamas can eat raw fish. I eat sushi maybe twice a month and my daughter is exclusively breastfed (4 months old).
Donna,
I’d suggest trying to take one right before bed (this is separate from your post meal). I’m surprised at the targets they’re giving you. 90 seems pretty darned low (I’m a type II and not a GD–obviously, I only look pregnant, I can’t actually get pregnant–but if I’m at 90, I’m starting to feel pretty hypoglycemic).
Also consider that the meter is not perfect; if you’re getting a reading of 123, for all we know that’s about +/- 5%, so you could be actually be something like 117 or 129. This is not horrible by any means, even if it’s 129! And a reading of 172 is not awful either. I’d probably be able to tell you a bit more if I saw your diet log at the same time…
Realistically, however, you are doing great! Don’t beat yourself up for doing this well. I’m not saying that because I’m your friend, I have diabetes myself and I have a mess of clients who have it as well. If all of us who were diabetic had readings like yours there’d be a lot less dialysis, amputation, and blindness than there is right now.