Complex Carbohydrate intolerance(CCI)

[meab2]

I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about this or are suffering with this .I wanted to ask a few questions like is this a part of diabetes or related to it or even a separate issue from it ? I've been suffering for a while with stomach issues even before I was diagnosed probably a year and a half before .Anyway way back then I thought I might be lactose intolerant so I tried the dairy free route but felt that was not the problem .I since found out I had type 2 back in September and was put on metformin 1000mg per day,and thought this is what the problem was and hopefully everything would be OK (as it can be with diabetes ). So I started my low carb journey and seemed to tolerate the metformin with only a few bouts of bad stomach's . I don't test myself so have no idea daily what my levels are but with a few blood tests at the hospital they stabilised. I feel like I could probably get away with eating a few extra carbs rather then being extremely low only because as I have said I dont test and dont really feel any different,I'm.not tired I sleep OK at night ,I don't feel the need to get up to use the toilet like many others I have read about. So since Christmas I have been eating extra but after a while my stomach issues have come back . for the past 4 days I have gone back to really low carb again and my stomach has eased greatly , I also want to point out that I'm still drinking milk and eating cheese and I feel ok but I wanted to know if maybe I should be on any other type of medication . Of course if I have to be extremely low carb then so be it but I wanted to find out first because I know nothing about it .

 

[tim2000s]

It's possible that by eating carbs, it's increasing your blood glucose levels and as a result, that's causing the issue with your stomach, rather than "Complex carb Intolerance".

 

[bulkbiker]

I would strongly suggest getting a meter and checking your blood sugar levels before and after each meal. This will give you so much more insight as to what is going on inside your body.

 

[bulkbiker]

A lot of us believe that Type 2 diabetes is "carb intolerance" and eat accordingly. Again without a meter you can't see what the extra carbs are doing.

 

[meab2]

Thanks for the advice, maybe I just need to get better control as Im still fairly new to this . If I'm honest I don't really want to go down the meter route . I will be visiting the hospital in the next few days so will ask their advice as to whether I should test everyday or not .

 

[Rachox]

I agree with @bulkbiker without a meter you’ll never know what different foods are doing to you.

 

[ixi1429]

I am with everyone else - buy a meter. That way yo can see th ffect differing foods impact your BG. It may that you can eat certain types of carbs but not others. I can recoemdnthe Low carb approach. MY HbA1c is no 44. I was diagnosed at 52 in June 2017. I started Low carb in Oct (my HbA1C then was 48).

My HbA1C is no in predaibetes zone and this was with christmas inthe way when I was alittle naughty.

 

[bulkbiker]

I don't really want to go down the meter route

Any particular reason? For me knowledge is power so the more data I can collect the better. I realise this is not how everyone thinks but it's the best way to get control.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Thanks for the advice, maybe I just need to get better control as Im still fairly new to this . If I'm honest I don't really want to go down the meter route . I will be visiting the hospital in the next few days so will ask their advice as to whether I should test everyday or not .

If you want to get better control, there are 2 ways - get a meter and let that tell you what your body is doing post meal, or completely cut out all the major carbs and fruit, and restrict things such as milk. To be honest, without a meter you are working blind in between any tests the hospital may (or may not) do. The choice is yours of course.

 

[meab2]

Any particular reason? For me knowledge is power so the more data I can collect the better. I realise this is not how everyone thinks but it's the best way to get control.

A few reasons I suppose,time and effort . I have bad eczema on my hands anyway so not sure testing my fingers everyday will cause me even more pain then I already deal with daily .I don't know if I can deal with it but I know if I want to get better control then its something I will have to do or just stay low carb . Also cost ,I live in Turkey so have no idea what it would cost and don't have the funds to order from abroad .

 

[Guzzler]

When I was diagnosed it was like a bolt from the blue. A sky high A1c and the 'threat' of insulin stunned me. When my DN said 'I don't want you to have to test every day' my reaction was to say 'I'm not sticking needles in myself all day long!'. I knew nothing about Diabetes and thought I would have to test using a syringe!

After taking advice from members here on DCUK I bit the bullet and got myself a meter and changed my diet.
With their help not only did I avoid having to use insulin but have so far not been prescribed blood glucose lowering drugs. I manage my Diabetes with diet and Metformin but given the level of knowledge I had at the beginning if I hadn't taken the advice to get a meter I beleive firmly that I would be in a completely different situation. A meter tells you in black and white what effects your food has on your bg levels enabling you to make decisions that affect your well being, without testing you can only rely on the HbA1c taken at three or six monthly intervals which doesn't tell you about any effects particular foods have.
In my opinion a testing kit is the best tool in the box. Good luck.

 

[Rachox]

A few reasons I suppose,time and effort . I have bad eczema on my hands anyway so not sure testing my fingers everyday will cause me even more pain then I already deal with daily .I don't know if I can deal with it but I know if I want to get better control then its something I will have to do or just stay low carb . Also cost ,I live in Turkey so have no idea what it would cost and don't have the funds to order from abroad .

I can’t answer how much testing would cost you in Turkey, but if you can possibly afford it, it’ll be money very well spent, time and effort well spent too. As for pricking already sore fingers, with some meters you can prick other sites. My meter the SD Code Free has an alternate site testing tip for the lancet. Have a read about alternate site testing from page 44 onwards in the SD Code Free manual here:
https://www.homehealth-uk.com/PDF Test Instructions/User_Guide_UK_final.pdf

 

[bulkbiker]

A few reasons I suppose,time and effort . I have bad eczema on my hands anyway so not sure testing my fingers everyday will cause me even more pain then I already deal with daily .I don't know if I can deal with it but I know if I want to get better control then its something I will have to do or just stay low carb . Also cost ,I live in Turkey so have no idea what it would cost and don't have the funds to order from abroad .

Others have mentioned alternate testing sites and I note that the meter supplier I use presumably will send to Turkey

"Please note however that we have found deliveries to certain locations such as Brazil, India, Israel, Turkey, Russia, UAE and most of northern Africa can be very slow and will take several weeks to arrive."

But as with everything it's your call. I'd be lost without testing and in no way in control.

 

[DCUKMod]

@meab2 - I won't comment further on what the others have said about testing, but will ask you a bit more about the carbs you reintroduced to your diet. Could you tell me what you reintroduced?

The things you introduced; had you actually stopped eating them completely , or had you cut them down a bit?

 

[ickihun]

Testing and diet is more useful then any diabetes drug. I know because I've been on them.

As an 'old dog' in testing and now unavoidable insulin. I can assure you testing and appropriate diet is cheaper (and, for many, more effective) than insulin which needs testing due to its dangerous side affect.

Insulin is for when no diet or med works. In some type2 their pancreas is burnt out. My insulin is trying to prevent that.

I can eat reheated complex carbohydrates without them spiking me but without a meter you will never know...will you?

 

[Dark Horse]

It's worth pointing out that 'not needing to use the toilet' does not mean that blood glucose levels are not causing damage. Increased urine volume and thirst are symptoms that generally occur when blood glucose levels are above 10mmol/l: complications of diabetes such as retinopathy can occur at blood glucose levels much lower than this.

 

[Kentoldlady1]

Another vote for getting a meter. I doubt that the hospital will say you need one, unless you take drugs to increase insulin. And I also, had none of the symptoms of t2d. Still diabetic though.

 

[ickihun]

@meab2 do what you can. We understand in far more difficult circumstances. If you stop complex carbs could you then be able to afford strips? I have a few old meters I could send you which aren't from NHS which you could sell and buy your strips? Message me if you think could help you. I could message you the meter's make and models and you could keep the best one for you, for battery cost and strip costs. I cannot help with strips nor any money.
Message me if any help. They won't be in their original boxes and royal mail are funny about batteries so the batteries may need declaring and in a separate delivery, if at all?
They'd only be going to a recycle plant otherwise.
Shame manufacturers in UK didn't do a second hand redistribution service!

 

[meab2]

Others have mentioned alternate testing sites and I note that the meter supplier I use presumably will send to Turkey

"Please note however that we have found deliveries to certain locations such as Brazil, India, Israel, Turkey, Russia, UAE and most of northern Africa can be very slow and will take several weeks to arrive."

But as with everything it's your call. I'd be lost without testing and in no way in control.

I could get a meter sent to my mums address in the UK that shouldn't be a problem and she could bring it out to me I'm sure ,but she only visits once a year so my problem would be the strips .I don't think i could afford to bulk buy. I will do some more research here and see what I find out ,it might even be reasonable to buy from over here .

 

[Lamont D]

Hi @meab2

I am literally carb intolerant but I have a condition that needs really good control!
So I would echo everyone that you need a meter.

I believe the reason why you don't get the symptoms of fluctuations in your blood glucose levels is because of you have no awareness of these symptoms.
What is normal for you, others who have better control would notice them.

Unfortunately, testing and experimentation is the only way forward, to find those carbs you are intolerant to. Also never mind what to avoid, it is what you can actually eat. Being in Turkey, fresh food is vital for a healthy diet for you.
Because being intolerant means you have to be so careful.
Most of my food is freshly prepared.

Best wishes