Thursday, June 23, 2011

foods that make you go hmmm

Have you ever noticed how certain food seems to mess with your blood sugar? You give yourself the correct dose and it doesn't matter. I don't know what it is, but those foods do not comply with the rules of your programmed ratio.

This happens when I eat certain granola bars, like Odwalla. No matter what, I always need a few more units because I always end up a little on the high side.

And it happens with chips. All I had for lunch was a tuna fish sandwich on wheat (26g) and Kettle Honey Dijon chips (30g for the bag). I'm feeling fine right now, but my sensor is showing me in the 250s and it's been 2 1/2 hours since I've eaten. So I check and my meter says I'm actually 290.

Shit. Not good. I should not be 290. Correction says 1.5 units.

That's like eating another 18g of carbs (for me). So where does this 18g of carbs come from? I know my ratio is right (or so I think) because it works fine with other foods. I've noticed I'm a little on the high side after lunch, which could be work stress...so maybe I just need more insulin, but 1.5 extra units? This always seems to happen with chips...even the "healthy" kind that don't have as a many carbs.

Do any of you (or your kids) have foods that throw a wrench in your ratio? And I'm not talking about eating a bunch of foods in a row...obviously it is a little more difficult to bolus when you eat several things with varying levels of carbs/fat/protein. I'm talking one food item that does serious damage...that makes you say, "really?" when you check your blood sugar 2 hours later.

I'm tempted to just not eat these foods, but maybe I should just be paying attention to them and bolus more since I know they will mess with me every time.

8 comments:

  1. Donuts and oatmeal are the killers for Bryce. No matter what we do, they send him sky high for hours.

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  2. PIZZA. I adore it, I dream about it. I live in Chicago, we are overflowing with awesome pizza, and it all makes my sugars soar. I wouldn't mind giving up granola bars, but pizza?!?!? :)

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  3. There's a restaurant here in Canada called Swiss Chalet that does it to Emma everytime! Just your average restuarant...nothing unusual...but always WHAMO sky high later on! I still haven't attempted that one since she's started pumping, I'm hoping a combo bolus will take care of that problem...:o)

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  4. Tuna is strange for Matthew.

    If he has a tuna sandwich at lunch, he's fine.

    Give him the exact same meal at dinner, and he's well into the 200's.

    I don't get it.

    Diabetes can be really weird sometimes.....

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  5. For me it's the bread at this bakery where I go to school. It's the only place to go out for breakfast and the whole grain bread is so good, but it always sends me soaring! Another is frozen yogurt, but the thing is I don't go high until 6 hours later. I always trick myself into thinking I'm not going to go high this time, but it always comes. It's just delayed!

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  6. Oh and to answer your question about Odwalla bars and bolusing- no, I don't subtract fiber. Foods like bars (especially with 41 carbs) are more likely to make me high than low, so I don't worry about the extra insulin I get for those grams of fiber :)

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  7. Corn products! Less so actual corn, but corn tortillas, tortilla chips, and popcorn all do wacky things to my numbers.

    And from your question on my post, I am authorized (finally) to test 10 times/day. I thought I had a script for 8, but Medtronic only had me authorized for 4!

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  8. Corn on the cob / sweet corn! Popcorn has virtually no effect on my blood sugar, bur corn on the cob makes me sky rocket.

    I also have the same problem with lunch and dinner. I could eat the same meal at lunch and be fine, even lower. But dinner.... it seems like I'm always high unless I have under 15-20 carbs. For me, (I will be switching to a pump soon) my NPH peaks around lunch, but not dinner so that could be why.

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