LCHF Diet Newbie - High Blood Sugars

[fittaedae]

Hello,

I'm a Type 1 Diabetic have been for 38 years.

I have recently started doing the Low Carb High Fat regime, but I am constantly getting High Blood sugars!

I asked my diabetes team who were horrified that I'm cutting back on carbs and instructed me to eat more carbs... My GP is not a fan of LCHF either and the Diabetes Specialist Nurse at my doctors practice is always off ill!

I tried upping my background insulin to no avail, I am concerned that I may be causing myself damage, I cannot understand if i'm not eating carbs then why are my sugars rising.... no hypos, rarely get single figure resuts since I started this.

Any advice would be appreciated..

Currently taking 10 units Lantus in morning and 14 Units of Lantus at 8pm, then Humalog as and when needed if I eat carbs. I have done DAFNE, and it changed my life for the better, but cannot understand what is happening right now!

 

[jack412]

there are a few LCHF T1 here that can help


i'm lchf but T2, from what they have said and to fill in time till they see your post, have a look at TAG total available glucose, where your bolus for the protein and fat as well as the reduced carb. they say you need your basal testing right too

 

[novorapidboi26]

I would simply get your background tested, best to start with the overnight dose.....

how much did you up your background? you need to up till your BG starts to drop.......

 

[KittyKatty]

Are you Type 1 or 2, Fitta?

 

[Brunneria]

What are you eating?

Sometimes, with low carb we are eating hidden carbs without realising.

Other times we can have weird idiosyncratic reactions to particular foods (with me, it is sweet potato, any grain no matter how tiny the portion, and yogurt).

 

[fittaedae]

Hi,

I'm type 1.

I only eat brown rice and sweet potato when I do eat carbs and measure and take insulin to cover it. I seem to be doing constant corrections

I upped my background by 2 units morning and then 2 units at night but my sugars seemed to go even higher! Its quite upsetting for me as my healthcare professionals who supposed to help are not! My way of thinking was that if I cut out the carbs and sugar then I would need less insulin... not more, think I've got it wrong somewhere!?

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Yes, I can understand you being surprised. We all have different metabolisms so need to avoid generalising too far but I agree the body can't produce glucose other than thru eating carbs or by converting fats or proteins thru ketosis. What are your typical meal patterns e.g. how much fat and protein do you typically have? Do you have any meds such as steroids which can be a blood sugar nightmare? Do you have any illness currently which will increase blood sugar? It would be interesting to see what happens if you start increasing the carbs again. I bet your blood sugar will go even higher

 

[jack412]

do you bolus for the protein, some bolus for 50% of protein and 10% of fat
as @novorapidboi26 said, retesting your basal might be worth doing too
this link has been suggested before http://www.diabetes-support.org.uk/info/?page_id=120

 

[fittaedae]

Under a lot of stress and currently signed off work due to the stress affecting my blood sugars... bad case of workplace mobbing, so Doctor advised I get out of the situation to try and get sugars stabilized. Yes I think that's exactly what would happen if I ate more carbs they would go through the roof. I've just googled TAG and did not even know this existed... and its a bit difficult for me to understand.

There is not many apps for LCHF or just food diaries (was using My Fitness Pal but half of the items dont accurately record the Carb count, just the calories.

My bolus was set by the hospital and I asked them for assistance, they just scolded me and told me to eat more carbs! I'm really sorry jack412 but I don't understand what you mean by bolus for protein! So I need to take insulin for Protein too... ? Feeling thick here!

 

[jack412]

I can't advise as I'm T2, I'm repeating what the guys who do know have said. so I would wait for them before acting.and if you are upset, it may be better to chill out first.
basically as I gather, they take about 1/2 the grams of protein and bolus for it, ...say 20g carb and 30g protein. protein is halved, so its a 20g and 15g and a total 35g bolus, every person is different and your percentages will be needed to be worked out.

would it be easier for you for the time being to go back to your normal diet?
see the Dr for a note off work

 

[fittaedae]

The LCHF has made me less bloated and appears to have sorted out a heap of issues I was having, was on meds for GERD but dont need them now. Just my control I'm battling with! Signed off for next three weeks so I'm gong to get reading your link and see if I can suss out the TAG and bolus. The strange thing is when Im away from the stuff at work I'm much happier and less stressed! Just trying to find an alternative job and that may be stressing me more than I think!

Thanks for your help jack412! Appreciated! Thought I was going nuts

 

[jack412]

you could have a look at the free online course and workbooks and links as a refresher
Free to register
http://www.bdec-e-learning.com/


http://www.diabetesinscotland.org.uk/Publications/9224 Overview

Workbook 1
http://www.diabetesinscotland.org.uk/Publications/9225 Carbohydrate Counting.pdf
Workbook 2
http://www.diabetesinscotland.org.uk/Publications/9226 Carbohydrate Counting the Next Steps.pdf

Carb list
http://www.diabetesinscotland.org.uk/Publications/9227 Carbohydrate Tables A6.pdf

Diary
http://www.diabetesinscotland.org.uk/Publications/9228 Free Diary Portrait A4.pdf

Basal testing
http://www.diabetes-support.org.uk/info/?page_id=120

Sick day rules
http://www.diabetes-healthnet.ac.uk...flet_-_Sick_Day_Rules_for_Type_1_-_Nov_13.pdf
Sick day rules flowchart
http://www.leicestershirediabetes.org.uk/uploads//documents/Type1 Sick_day_rules_InsulinV3.pdf

 

[jack412]

The LCHF has made me less bloated and appears to have sorted out a heap of issues I was having, was on meds for GERD but dont need them now. Just my control I'm battling with! Signed off for next three weeks so I'm gong to get reading your link and see if I can suss out the TAG and bolus. The strange thing is when Im away from the stuff at work I'm much happier and less stressed! Just trying to find an alternative job and that may be stressing me more than I think!

Thanks for your help jack412! Appreciated! Thought I was going nuts

everyone is nuts with diabetes, what works this week, didn't work last week and wont work next week
those links I put up will cover a lot of stuff as a refresher

 

[fittaedae]

Hi Jack,

Thanks for that. I have my DAFNE course workbook still but its probably out of date now and its been a few years since I did the course, work were being a pain about me taking time off to do a refresher. I have a lot of reading and testing to do. Thank you

 

[robert72]

I've been t1 for 42 years and have been doing LCHF (around 30g/day) for about a year now. I have to bolus for protein, as @jack412 says, at around 50% of protein content. I use MFP to work out macro nutrients. If the listing only contains calories then try and find a similar one with complete nutrition info. I found that my basal went down a little when I switched to low carb but maybe you need more at the moment due to your stress. Obviously best to get the basal right and then work out your boluses after that.

 

[Brunneria]

@robert72
I was just thinking of you, and wondering whether to recommend your contributions to this thread.

@fittaedae
Robert 72 does fab food, plus pics. Very inspirational!

 

[robert72]

@robert72
I was just thinking of you, and wondering whether to recommend your contributions to this thread.

@fittaedae
Robert 72 does fab food, plus pics. Very inspirational!

Really just basics - with a bit of artistic license

 

[fittaedae]

Fab Food... this sounds interesting. Thanks for bringing my attention to this @Brunneria I'm currently filling a binder with recipes I am finding.

@robert72 will have to love a look

I know its gonna take me a bit of studying and tweaking with my doses and stuff... but it will be worth it in the long run!

Cheers!

 

[Heathenlass]

Just an observation.... a DAFNE educator once told me that I should not bolus for vegetables. Given that veg are the mainstay of my diet, I would then hardly ever need to bolus, apart from protein
Reality check - vegetables contain carbohydrate, in varying amounts, and they add up ! There is a brilliant app called "Cook and Count" that you can input your own recipes or even one ingredient, and it will total the carbs for you. It's very, very useful , and an eye opener as to where some "hidden" carbs lurk .

Signy

 

[fittaedae]

@Heathenlass Thank you! I'm away to download that app right now... maybe just what I have been looking for