And they can rise without me even eating! That said, I feel confident once I can get my gluten free diet under control I can concentrate on my sugars and getting them down. I've tried to do both at the same time and I felt overwhelmed. The DN was useless and simply said just stop eating food with gluten in, well yes obviously but it's not like giving up eating apples. Suffice to say I haven't been back to her since.
Personally, I think you may be making it harder doing things incrementally; GF, then blood sugars. That way, you just get used to searching for GF and lower carb ,or however else you choose to deal with your blood sugars.
Thanks AndBreath. I do cook my own meals so I know what's going in them. It's the ingredients that make meals palatable for me that I fall foul on. And there is only so much meat I can tolerate without thinking nah I don't want it and miss a meal. When i did try and do low carb, I got it down to around 100 grammes of carbs per day, I got low sugars, sometimes going into the low 2's (confirmed with a blood draw). My Dr and my DN told me to increase my carbs which did stop the lows. It's like whack-a-mole. I put it down to an absorption issue in my intestines. As for my daughter, she struggles everyday with her coeliac. She lives over on the west coast of Canada. I always figured I didn't have coeliac when compared to her. She suffers terribly with her coeliac symptoms. She keeps a totally gluten free kitchen, but of course coeliac is not just about the digestive tract those T cells can attack every part of the body. Now I have the same issues. So for me one step at a time.
As a T2, only on diet, you shouldn't be getting hypoglycaemia (The low 2's you mentioned)
How did you feel when on low carb? When your bloods were low, what were your symptoms, and how long after eating and before you would next eat were these happening?
Well, long before I started purchasing the Libre cgm's I would wake up during the night all clammy, heart racing and feeling really anxious. At the time i thought I was having bad dreams because that is what it felt like, or just general anxiety even though I had nothing to be anxious about. I thought nothing of them to be honest. It was only when I started purchasing the cgms that I realized it wasn't anxiety at all but low blood sugars. And of course I confirmed this with my test strips which correlated well with my Libre. One of the first things I did was to cut out alcohol (not that I drank a lot but I did like a shot of gin) that helped, but they still went into the high two's. So I contacted my Dr after reading that I should not be getting low sugar when not taking meds to lower blood sugar. She told me to increase my carbs. After increasing my carbs the low blood sugars stopped. Prior to increasing my carbs I also got them after exercise. I have been tested for GAD antibodies, C-peptides, lipase and something else , Amylase I think, anyways they all came back normal. I don't know what the GAD was exactly but it was below 5. The C-peptide was lower than I thought it should be but not in the flagged range. I have kept my blood sugars in the pre-diabetic range now for a good two years with diet and exercise alone but no longer. And to be clear my diet is not full of carbs. I increased the carbs just enough to stop the lows. I have no diabetes in my family history other than my brother who is T1. Autoimmune does run in my family but no T2. I feel complicated and difficult lol
I will repeat that you should not go hypo if not on meds, if you are type 2!
That is really rather odd.
And I can so understand that. If you are happy and the symptoms have decreased, then I'm not going to persuade you. Knowing where you are with your hba1c, and if you do need further advice. You know where we are.
I should also mention that my daughter tested positive for Coeliac but my symptoms were nothing like hers until recently. I put a lot of my symptoms down to lactose intolerance but it seems I was backing the wrong horse. I am lactose intolerance but it is definitely the milder of the two.
Have you increased your carbs evenly through the day, or focus on any given times?
A small amount with each meal.
Thanks Lamont D. I really appreciate your input and advice and I always find your posts really informative and helpful.
If you are only low during the night, why increase your carbs in the morning or lunchtime? Surely the purpose of raising carbs would be to try to buoy your numbers through the night?
Thanks for your advice. I get what you are saying. I was following what my Dr and DN said. I will look at rejigging that and see what happens.
Sorry I should mention it wasn't only at night, it was during the day as we had a working farm at the time and feeding our livestock, fencing and all the hard work that goes into farming. We have since sold our stock on, so life quieter.
Ooops, I think someone had given you the incorrect advice for Diverticulitis. No wonder you feel better dropping the fibre.
You could simply eat more protein at mealtimes. If you are low carb, some of the protein eventually produces blood glucose, so could work very well, by raising your bloods a bit without the steep drop that often results from carbs.
You have said you are following your doctor and dsn have advised.
