low carb but blood sugar creeping up

[garrya7578]

Hello everyone. I have got a question about my strange condition.

I had a blood test a couple of months ago, and the result came back as borderline. This was a shock to me, so I decided to take action. I decided to significantly reduce carbohydrate intake, which meant no foods with added sugar and no flour. Technically, I got rid of all kinds of bad carbs, such as bakery products, sweets, potatoes etc and I stuck to only legumes, vegetables and some fruits. My daily carb intake has been between 20 - 80 grams daily since then. I also increased my activity level by adding daily jogging, running and more yoga than I used to do. To compensate low carb intake, I have been consuming higher amount of fatty foods, such as nuts, seeds.

A few weeks after my borderline result I had my blood tested again and it came back as 4.6 which was great. I thought it was brilliant and my new lifestyle worked brilliantly. I even had occasions when I had too low blood sugar as I almost passed out a few occasions.

As I used to be a "carb-eater", I wanted to reintroduce some of the "bad carbs" into my diet, so I managed to buy a FED blood glucose monitor. Then I started testing my blood and most of the times it just said "Lo" which meant really low blood sugar. I did not change my lifestyle which meant I carried on on low carbs and high activity level.

Then the weird thing started. Suddenly, about a month later, when I tested my blood with that FED blood glucose monitor, it showed 5,3. I thought that was strange, but as I had learnt that many things can affect blood sugar I did not really worry about it. Then it had slowly crept up to 6,1 and the level stayed like that. It was the same in the morning, afternoon, evening even if I stayed left arm, right arm and different fingers. Then it went up to 7,6 fasting after a day when my carb intake was not more than 50 grams.

So this is where I got to the question. Why is this happening so rapidly? I know that low carb intake can interfere with how our body uses energy. I learnt, that this new lifestyle puts pressure on the body and it starts producing stress hormones, such as cortisol which is a type of sugar and this may be the problem.

Can anyone enlighten me on why my blood sugar is playing up the way like this?

 

[urbanracer]

@garrya7578 ,

It would greatly depend on what type of diabetes you have ? Do you know?

If you are a T2 then you may be able to control it by diet alone but this does not work for everybody. If you have a form of T1 that is developing slowly then diet alone will not work.

 

[psignathus]

Are you sure the test strips are not old? where they stored correctly?

 

[Squire Fulwood]

There are a few strange things about your story that I would like to know the answer to. You seem to have been going hypo when you went low carb and you don't mention medication. That's not supposed to happen. It's as if your body would only process carbs.

It is obviously processing something else now or you would be dead and it seems to be getting better at it. I am reminded of a story where Claud Bernard dissected an animal and flushed out the liver. The assistant didn't clean it away at the end of the day and Bernard did another test on it and it was still producing glucose.

I don't know what is happening in your case but this springs to mind.

gluconeogenesis
[gloo″ko-ne″o-jen´ĕ-sis]
the synthesis of glucose from noncarbohydrate sources, such as amino acids and glycerol. It occurs primarily in the liver andkidneys whenever the supply of carbohydrates is insufficient to meet the body's energy needs. Gluconeogenesis isstimulated by cortisol and other glucocorticoids and by the thyroid hormone thyroxine. Formerly called glyconeogenesis.

 

[Brunneria]

When are you testing your blood glucose?

 

[garrya7578]

@garrya7578 ,

It would greatly depend on what type of diabetes you have ? Do you know?

If you are a T2 then you may be able to control it by diet alone but this does not work for everybody. If you have a form of T1 that is developing slowly then diet alone will not work.

Hi. I didn't think I had diabetes apart from a borderline blood test. I am going to get a test done again and check it with my doctor. I had no problem with my blood sugar in september, but since then it has been creeping up. Really strange.

 

[garrya7578]

Are you sure the test strips are not old? where they stored correctly?

They are brand new strips stored at room temperature in the box they were sent.

 

[garrya7578]

Hi.

There are a few strange things about your story that I would like to know the answer to. You seem to have been going hypo when you went low carb and you don't mention medication. That's not supposed to happen. It's as if your body would only process carbs.

It is obviously processing something else now or you would be dead and it seems to be getting better at it. I am reminded of a story where Claud Bernard dissected an animal and flushed out the liver. The assistant didn't clean it away at the end of the day and Bernard did another test on it and it was still producing glucose.

I don't know what is happening in your case but this springs to mind.

gluconeogenesis
[gloo″ko-ne″o-jen´ĕ-sis]
the synthesis of glucose from noncarbohydrate sources, such as amino acids and glycerol. It occurs primarily in the liver andkidneys whenever the supply of carbohydrates is insufficient to meet the body's energy needs. Gluconeogenesis isstimulated by cortisol and other glucocorticoids and by the thyroid hormone thyroxine. Formerly called glyconeogenesis.

This is an interesting thing. I dont take medications as apart from a borderline blood test I have had no problems with my blood sugar. Your idea could actually explain what is going on. I am on less than a 1200 cals per day. This consists of soya milk, flax seeds, chia and other nuts, legumes, little fruit, loads of vegetables, some dairy and meat everyday.

 

[garrya7578]

When are you testing your blood glucose?

I normally test them morning, bit later, afternoon, before food and 1-2 hours after.

 

[Brunneria]

I normally test them morning, bit later, afternoon, before food and 1-2 hours after.

Thanks, only from your post it looks as though you are just testing once, and trying to compare the results across time.
Are you averaging your daily results or something?

Blood glucose varies a lot, both during the day, and across days, depending on individual things like liver dumps, stress levels, activity, and of course food.

Some people like to compare their first morning fasting levels to see how they are doing, but I am someone who has morning fasting levels that hop about like a pea on a drum (usually based on stress and how well I slept) so I never take my fasting levels as anything more helpful than pinning a tail on a donkey.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

Hi.

This is an interesting thing. I dont take medications as apart from a borderline blood test I have had no problems with my blood sugar. Your idea could actually explain what is going on. I am on less than a 1200 cals per day. This consists of soya milk, flax seeds, chia and other nuts, legumes, little fruit, loads of vegetables, some dairy and meat everyday.

I suppose you are steadily losing weight while all this is going on.

 

[garrya7578]

I suppose you are steadily losing weight while all this is going on.

I was about 13 stone back in August. Now I am 10 st 9 pounds.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

That's a lot of weight in two months. You may be overdoing the good behaviour. With your early readings and your activity level I think you might disappear by Christmas if you don't lighten up a bit. You were not very diabetic to begin with but I understand why you don't want it to get any worse.

If the weight loss continues you have to ask your doctor if anything else is going on.

 

[garrya7578]

That's a lot of weight in two months. You may be overdoing the good behaviour. With your early readings and your activity level I think you might disappear by Christmas if you don't lighten up a bit. You were not very diabetic to begin with but I understand why you don't want it to get any worse.

If the weight loss continues you have to ask your doctor if anything else is going on.

You may be right. Others have also told me that I may be overdoing the "good things". I have been digging into the topic of gluconeogenesis and it is quite possible that I have overdone the "good" and my body is feeding on its tissues and producing glucose using certain amino acids etc. And some research suggest that when people are in that state, the insulin production is not encouraged or inhibited and this is why the higher blood sugar. I have burnt way too much calories and after I had depleted my glucose stores I still kept exercising without adding sufficient amount of fuel to keep me going. As a result my body had to turn to alternative energy sources and it needed a lot as I kept burning the calories constantly. I am just hoping that this is the case. I will try to incorporate some more carbs into my diet to see if that reverses this. And I have already decided on changing my exercise regime.
I have had another blood test and I will see the result within a couple of days and discuss it with my doctor.

 

[Tala_2015]

That's a lot of weight in two months. You may be overdoing the good behaviour. With your early readings and your activity level I think you might disappear by Christmas if you don't lighten up a bit. You were not very diabetic to begin with but I understand why you don't want it to get any worse.

If the weight loss continues you have to ask your doctor if anything else is going on.

I would see the doctor and a diet expert, we all need a balanced diet, diabetic or not, but we do need some carbs, sugar etc...

I lost equivelant of 16 bags of sugar 16kg before diagnosis over 2 years, I was on a changed diet for my previous Chloresterol but I did not reduce sugar or carbs tooo much. I think my body just switched to type 2 virtually over night and my blood sugar just built up, which I ignored!!!! Do you feel thirsty, want the tiolet more or have sweet or chemical flavoured breath now? (Pear Drops maybe) See your doctor if you do....

Oh very high sugar as well as low sugar can result in Coma and death, be careful with your food intake, I am just learning myself, but nearly passing out is not good, take care, hope you sort it out...

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

I would see the doctor and a diet expert, we all need a balanced diet, diabetic or not, but we do need some carbs, sugar etc...

I lost equivelant of 16 bags of sugar 16kg before diagnosis over 2 years, I was on a changed diet for my previous Chloresterol but I did not reduce sugar or carbs tooo much. I think my body just switched to type 2 virtually over night and my blood sugar just built up, which I ignored!!!! Do you feel thirsty, want the tiolet more or have sweet or chemical flavoured breath now? (Pear Drops maybe) See your doctor if you do....

Oh very high sugar as well as low sugar can result in Coma and death, be careful with your food intake, I am just learning myself, but nearly passing out is not good, take care, hope you sort it out...

No, you don't need carbs or sugar. Well, I don't.

 

[Resurgam]

I have been low carbing for a very long time - only gave it up on dr's orders as it is the only way to lose weight I have ever found.
I have to keep to the lower rungs of the Atkins carbohydrate ladder - even when matching carbs by number, if they are from grains, starchy vegetables or legumes they seem to have more impact. Remember too that nuts contain carbs, and should be weighed and included in the carb count. You might be experiencing what is known as carb creep, where the daily intake rises gradually and goes unnoticed.