G's sugars are occasionally in the right place now, but still manage to wobble off on a big Hi now & again. He's also suffered a couple of (not too serious) lo's during which he gets extremely arsey and yells at us (fun), plus he has an infection which is apparently common.
We went down to Chapters today and bought a couple of books on diabetes. I need to learn more about the 'Glycemic Index' so that I know what I can cook for him. We have learned already that cornflakes, despite the insulin and the correct carb count, seem to send him off on a hi, and I read today that they have a really high GI so I'm guessing that's why. One of the books I bought is a recipe book which has good, easy cook recipes for diabetics and includes all the GI / carb counting stuff for each meal. Ive just made a list of ingredients and am off to the supermarket to stock up on diabetic foodstuffs. D and I will be eating healthily with him from this point so maybe there's good will come out of this (although once this baby is born I can't promise not to sneak off for a bar of chocolate now and again lol).
Did a little more maternity shopping today, got a couple of t-shirts (after ruining a couple), and some short-dungaree-overall-things. Not convinced my legs should be bared to the world at this point in pregnancy but it's so damned hot otherwise!
Also bought a couple of really cute little newborn outfits from Baby Gap this afternoon. I want Boswald (not his actual name!) to have a few things new of his own, although we do have enough baby boy clothes for several children at once already!
Posted by katie at May 16, 2004 03:41 PMThe GI will affect how quickly things get absorbed into the bloodstream... so (to take some completely theoretical comparisons) Basmati Rice has a Low GI, it is absorbed slowly and gently into the blood system. White Rice however has a very high GI and it will be in and out of your bloodstream quite fast.
Note that you should have a mix of GI type foods. My dietician was telling me about another diabetic here who was telling her
"Look you'd be proud of me I was eating all the right things, multigrain bread, basmatic rice, chicken (irrelevant but it seems a strange meal if I leave it out), followed by fruit... yet 2 hours after my meal I was having a hypo. Why?"
The answer was that all those are foods that have a low GI so they take time to get into the bloodstream, so for to current hyper fast acting insulins (like Novorapid just to take a relevant example) the insulin will be hitting before the food gets there.
Don't worry though it won't take long before its all second nature to you :)
Posted by: Aka at May 17, 2004 05:05 AMI think I read it's the other way around, high GI means longer in body (hence sugar hi later on).... no? I could be wrong, trying to assimilate far too much info here all at once !
Posted by: katie at May 17, 2004 10:58 AMThe foods which are absorbed into the bloodstream quickly are known as 'high glycaemic index' (or high GI) foods. these tend to cause a sharp, high rise in your blood glucose levels.
Foods which are absorbed slowly are known as 'low GI' foods. These produce a much more gentle rise in your blood glucose levels.
One of the suggestions which may help you to improve control of your diabetes is to choose a low GI food at 2 meals in the day, for example at breakfast and evening meal.
Source: "The Glycaemic Index" - Beta Cell Dietitians, Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust - Published April 2000
I stand corrected!
Posted by: katie at May 17, 2004 11:18 AMDon't worry too much if it doesn't feel like you're both getting it "right" at the moment... as you are fast finding out there's not one hard and fast right way to do things... "going with the flow" and slowly adjusting what you're doing until it feels as if you are in the right ballpark is the long term strategy to managing type I successfully.
I know it's frustrating as I know you feel there must be a "right" way to do it, there is, but what that is in G's particular case is something that will take quite some time for you to a. discover and then b. become comfortable with!
:)
It can be done though
:)
Don't forget, too, that how much of a sugar rush you get off a food depends not only on its GI but on just how much carbohydrate is in it in the first place! An example I saw recently is that carrots (I think it was carrots) have a high GI - but other than indigestible fiber, there's very little in the way of carbs in them, so you'd have to eat a huge serving of 'em for them to have much of an effect on your blood sugar.
A lot of foods here have weird little symbols on the packages to help diabetics figure out good meal choices. See http://www.diabetes.ca/Section_About/foodfaq.asp for the details.
Posted by: Steve at May 17, 2004 01:34 PMThis we do know!
The weird thing is that cornflakes affects him far more than a bowl of shreddies, despite calculating the carb content before eating and having the exact same number of carbs. That's why we're blaming the GI :)
Those little symbols have been hung on the wall in my kitchen for a while now :)
Posted by: katie at May 17, 2004 01:43 PM