Another slightly freaked out newbie

[New Haven Neil]

Well I got the result from my A1c today, 6 weeks since diagnosis at 51. I was 41...so low carb-ish works for me. Just keep off the potatoes Neil! Really pleased with that result it is the same as my last routine test in 2015. Woooo! I have to keep the good work up now

 

[Rachox]

Very well done Neil, and that’s only on six weeks worth of new red blood cells! Keep up the good work and the next one should be lower still!

 

[New Haven Neil]

Very well done Neil, and that’s only on six weeks worth of new red blood cells! Keep up the good work and the next one should be lower still!

Thanks - I won't give up the good work, I want to get totally on top of this. Note on Patient Access says 'tell OK'. Informative and encouraging, eh? I think I have learned more on here and in self research than from health professionals...…

 

[jjraak]

Thanks - I won't give up the good work, I want to get totally on top of this. Note on Patient Access says 'tell OK'. Informative and encouraging, eh? I think I have learned more on here and in self research than from health professionals...…

and that is the nub of it.

there for the Info.."You got it."..next

here for the info...
"What IS IT.".and "how do i deal with it".... how can we help.?

They Should just compliment each other, in a normal society.

But until the dark age of type 2 passes, and the light is seen.
we exist on the edges.

Only those brave enough to think they deserve to get better,
dare wander this far...
( or so it seems..)

The dream is one day we'll ALL get the same chance......

One day

 

[jjraak]

I usually skip breakfast and postpone my "brunch" for as long as I feel I can, without feeling icky.

I did try the 24-hour fasts with it being broken at dinner,
but I couldn't keep them up twice a week.

No idea why, it just didn't work for me.

I'm one of those very few who gets a gnawing hunger in spite of the "after a while you don't feel hungry anymore" rule. (And before anyone jumps in, no, the many liters of tea I drink don't help at all. Alas. It's not simply thirst disguised as hunger.)

Hi @JoKalsbeek

thats me too.

tho never done the 24 hours fast..

longest was a hard 20 hour no eat after 8pm..7 hours sleep, then a very late brunch,,

but by then shaky and feeling ill.
so not worth the pain going further.
i want to cure not endure.

So i might be one of the very few you mean..

10 months in, still can't do.
and happy to say so.

 

[JulianneG]

Soooo, I've been doing really well - up until a family trip to Zizzi. I really didn't fancy fish and I was curious to see what pasta would do, I have the odd experiment. I didn't go for my favourite, I got the crab cannelloni as there's less pasta in the dish. Big mistake! Still waaaaaay too many carbs and I could feel it in my body as I was eating it, so much so that I stopped eating before I was finished and I wasn't enjoying it anyway. My BG spiked predictably but came down again pretty quickly, but I've noticed that since then my hunger and craving levels have ramped up and I'm not fasting at the moment, I'm just too hungry. Is this all normal? My Mum insists I couldn't possibly feel carbs burning around my body, but I did feel peculiar. I've also noticed that my stomach/bowel wasn't happy the next day and I was somewhat windy, something that I only realised has lessened over the last few weeks of low carb eating. I also had my first headache in a few weeks too. Am I imagining it all this as my family seem to think?

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Soooo, I've been doing really well - up until a family trip to Zizzi. I really didn't fancy fish and I was curious to see what pasta would do, I have the odd experiment. I didn't go for my favourite, I got the crab cannelloni as there's less pasta in the dish. Big mistake! Still waaaaaay too many carbs and I could feel it in my body as I was eating it, so much so that I stopped eating before I was finished and I wasn't enjoying it anyway. My BG spiked predictably but came down again pretty quickly, but I've noticed that since then my hunger and craving levels have ramped up and I'm not fasting at the moment, I'm just too hungry. Is this all normal? My Mum insists I couldn't possibly feel carbs burning around my body, but I did feel peculiar. I've also noticed that my stomach/bowel wasn't happy the next day and I was somewhat windy, something that I only realised has lessened over the last few weeks of low carb eating. I also had my first headache in a few weeks too. Am I imagining it all this as my family seem to think?

You're not imagining it. The headache, the bloating, and even feeling the spike coming up during the dinner, that's all, 100% NOT in your head.

Trust your gut. This is real.

And your cravings and hunger are back because you had carbs, so you'll have to kick it again. (A junkie or alcoholic can't just have "one", as your body tends to get right back into the addiction. Carb addiction's no different, alas.)

 

[jjraak]

sadly @JulianneG , @JoKalsbeek is spot on.
can't vouch for noticing the spike, myself, but makes sense.
but the taste for carbs once more is real.
and if you went cold turkey and got that low, sickly feeling for a few weeks
you'll understand the power of sugar over us.

keep on keeping on.
it's a long road, but so worth it.

 

[HSSS]

Am I imagining it all this as my family seem to think?

No. It’s quite common for someone low carb to experience all of the things you list if they have a carb binge. You’ve become much more aware of them. Your family who eat them all the time are “nose blind” to something they are swimming in daily

 

[JulianneG]

It's good to know I'm not going crazy and imagining things! Thank you for the feedback everyone. It seems that pasta and I are to be strangers, whereas I can get away with a small amount of potato on occasion and don't have the same reaction at all.

 

[1spuds]

It's good to know I'm not going crazy and imagining things! Thank you for the feedback everyone. It seems that pasta and I are to be strangers, whereas I can get away with a small amount of potato on occasion and don't have the same reaction at all.

I can eat 3-4 french fries on a rare occasion.Not interested in getting back into carbs at all.

 

[Mal S]

Well I got the result from my A1c today, 6 weeks since diagnosis at 51. I was 41...so low carb-ish works for me. Just keep off the potatoes Neil! Really pleased with that result it is the same as my last routine test in 2015. Woooo! I have to keep the good work up now

Hello Neil. I was wondering if you take any meds? My A1c was 45% this July. I'm going to try the low carb high fat diet too but I dont want to lose weight. I've already lost 3 stone on the Metformin I was on until this week and look skeletal...which is why I have stopped taking it. Well done by the way..

 

[Debswj]

Hi I'm prediabetic on the Healthier You NHS 9 month course at week 2, I've been on the low carb diet for 3-4 weeks lost over 10kg, the last 2 weeks has also been non dairy, non fat, as I have a fatty liver & gallstones & need this settled to have my gallbladder removed in approx 6 weeks. I am also gluten free.

Any good recipes we got a spiralizer to do butternut spaghetti/noodles & other veg

 

[New Haven Neil]

Hello Neil. I was wondering if you take any meds? My A1c was 45% this July. I'm going to try the low carb high fat diet too but I dont want to lose weight. I've already lost 3 stone on the Metformin I was on until this week and look skeletal...which is why I have stopped taking it. Well done by the way..

Hi Mal, thank you. No medication, just diet and a modest increase in exercise. Low ish carb and not too high fat! I still need to lose weight (was 14st 4lb, now 12st 13lb) so I'm not much help, sorry! Potatoes and pasta are the culprits for me having high BG, as well as breads. Eating no sugary foods of course, no cake, biscuits etc, no sugar in my coffee now. I don't understand 45%, is that the USA measurement? I was 6.8% (51) and am now 5.9% (41) in our measurements.

 

[New Haven Neil]

Hi I'm prediabetic on the Healthier You NHS 9 month course at week 2, I've been on the low carb diet for 3-4 weeks lost over 10kg, the last 2 weeks has also been non dairy, non fat, as I have a fatty liver & gallstones & need this settled to have my gallbladder removed in approx 6 weeks. I am also gluten free.

Any good recipes we got a spiralizer to do butternut spaghetti/noodles & other veg

Hi Debs. I haven't used any fancy recipes, just eating meat and salads basically. Living in a relatively small island community we don't have access to a lot of the fancier things we read about on here. 10kg though - wow! Well done! I don't have an of your other issues you are facing, best wishes with the gall bladder.

 

[Route 66]

Well I got the result from my A1c today, 6 weeks since diagnosis at 51. I was 41...so low carb-ish works for me. Just keep off the potatoes Neil! Really pleased with that result it is the same as my last routine test in 2015. Woooo! I have to keep the good work up now

Well done Neil - Great result.

 

[JulianneG]

I've just got back from 2 weeks in Devon and it was TOUGH. I didn't eat any pasties or cream teas or anything silly, (oh but I wanted to!) but eating out was problematic and I had to try and work around the carb issue constantly, with varying degrees of success and it was so frustrating not to be able to eat what I wanted to when temptation was all around. I found that it was OK for the first week, but on week 2 my BG fluctuated up and down a lot and my first readings of the day were really high again, also my average went up from 6.7 to 7.5. I had to start daily fasting again, which is hard when you've had some carbs and the appetite/hunger cycle has kicked in again. I've learned that chips taste amazing when you haven't had any for ages, but you're going to pay for it in hunger pangs in the next few days. I've also noticed that the lower I push my daily carb level the more my body responds to the carbs I do consume, is that a fair assessment? When I first started lowering carbs I wasn't reacting much to the odd slice of wholemeal bread, but now I really do, it's like my whole system has become hypersensitive to them. I can't have done too badly though, I lost another 4 pounds whilst on hols, which has never happened before, that's an 8lb loss overall so far.

 

[VashtiB]

Hi and welome to the site. Congratulations on the results of the holiday losing weight while on holiday is great. You have articulated my fears around holidays. I think I would find it hard to resist the temptation. It's interesting to hear about the increased response to the carbs and also how hard it is to give up the carbs again.

Good luck for the next few weeks- keep posting and congratulations on the weight loss so far.

 

[New Haven Neil]

I have found that as time goes on (3 months) on a low carb (but not no car) diet that the occasional naughty SMALL (very!) fish and chips does not now case too high a spike. It did take me to 10-11 but now maybe 8-9 level with a return to 'my normal' 5.4 ish in another hour. It doesn't cause any more hunger cravings either now - maybe I am lucky!

 

[JulianneG]

Neil you are lucky! Maybe I'll get there too as time goes on. I couldn't tolerate the Metformin, so I'm doing it on diet alone and my weekly average is 7.1 at the moment, it's still gradually coming down after Devon, but it takes longer to come down than it did to go up! I wasn't even that naughty. Sigh.