7 weeks low-carbing and BG still in double figures

[rowan]

It sometimes goes down to between 7 and 9.0 but most of the time it's between 9 and 16, occasionally higher.
I've been very strict with my diet, around 30g Carbs a day, although I'd say under 50g to allow for any hidden carbs I've not counted, but no more than that. Except the other day I tried 2 tiny slices of seedy wholemeal bread and went from around 9 to 19 within the hour.

I spoke to my DN today and we've decided that when I have my HBA1C next Monday they'll also do the test for LADA. I also have several severe autoimmune illnesses so it's as well to test for that too.
I know other inflammatory illnesses and viruses are also affecting my BG, but my levels are swinging wildly from high to low and back again, which is just ridiculous considering what I'm eating. (I actually got a 5.7 once but apart from that I've not gone below 7)
Has anyone else had the same problems, and did you ever get an answer as to why your levels were so very unstable?

Although I desperately don't want to go on insulin I'm half hoping the test comes back showing LADA, at least there'll be a reason for the problems and something can be done to sort it.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Yes, it may well be LADA. Don't worry about insulin. I moved to it 2 years ago and it really isn't a problem and if you have the Basal/Bolus regime (two insulins) then you have total control. The modern pens are very simple and my needle is only 4mm long and very thin; rarely do I have any pain. You just need to remember to check before driving.

 

[donnellysdogs]

Would agree with daibell. There is no reason to fear insulin... It can make you feel a whole lot better with less struggles on a longterm basis.

Not exactly answering your question(s) but if you have cut the carbs and still struggling with swings.... Check any other meds you take to see if any of them interact with blood levels and diabetes..

However, lowering carbs can stabilise blood levels... So, if yours are still swinging it does indicate that you need further medical intervention...

 

[rowan]

Yes my meds affect it too, especially Humira, but I could understand it a bit more if BG was high but around the same number, it's the huge swing in numbers that confuses me.

I'm not over bothered by injections, I've been injecting the Humira for around 5 years now, it's the having to be organised and eating on time, and in teh summer I spend a lot of time away from home up on the moors in my camper with a very unreliable fridge, and working out amounts of insulin etc, I've got discalculia, dyslexia with numbers and I don't trust myself with amounts of insulin and carbs etc.
Although if I am LADA I realise it probably will mean insulin. And would LADA mean that i can't improve it all enough to come off insulin at a later date? And I'm scared of putting on weight again, I'm only just getting to an acceptable weight after years of trying!

But apart from all that I have even less confidence in my GP diabetes team now than I did before, when i mentioned LADA to her she didn't know what it was and had to look it up on google! I;m definitely going to ask for hospital clinic appointment, especially if it isn't LADA becasue something is causing these problems and it isn't my diet.

 

[donnellysdogs]

Yes my meds affect it too, especially Humira, but I could understand it a bit more if BG was high but around the same number, it's the huge swing in numbers that confuses me.

I'm not over bothered by injections, I've been injecting the Humira for around 5 years now, it's the having to be organised and eating on time, and in teh summer I spend a lot of time away from home up on the moors in my camper with a very unreliable fridge, and working out amounts of insulin etc, I've got discalculia, dyslexia with numbers and I don't trust myself with amounts of insulin and carbs etc.
Although if I am LADA I realise it probably will mean insulin. And would LADA mean that i can't improve it all enough to come off insulin at a later date? And I'm scared of putting on weight again, I'm only just getting to an acceptable weight after years of trying!

But apart from all that I have even less confidence in my GP diabetes team now than I did before, when i mentioned LADA to her she didn't know what it was and had to look it up on google! I;m definitely going to ask for hospital clinic appointment, especially if it isn't LADA becasue something is causing these problems and it isn't my diet.

Well insulin can stay out of fridge for a month.. So unless you are away longer than a month on the moors, that isn't a problem.

The Accuchek expert meter calculates insulin once it is set up so you just tap in the number of carbs and it tells you what amount of insulin to take. You would have to ask for this specific meter though.

You don't have to eat at set times if you are on a bolus basal regime... It is meant to be flexible....

Are your meds releasing bg raising stuff to your bloods at set times after you take them?

Have you got routine in your life or are your activities random? By that I mean.... If you shop do you do this on a specific day? Would you get the same blood rises if you looked at patterns for activities? Ie I know that weekends my routine is totally different to weekdays? Do you analyse results for specific activities?

 

[Brightside]

Yes my meds affect it too, especially Humira, but I could understand it a bit more if BG was high but around the same number, it's the huge swing in numbers that confuses me.

I'm not over bothered by injections, I've been injecting the Humira for around 5 years now, it's the having to be organised and eating on time, and in teh summer I spend a lot of time away from home up on the moors in my camper with a very unreliable fridge, and working out amounts of insulin etc, I've got discalculia, dyslexia with numbers and I don't trust myself with amounts of insulin and carbs etc.
Although if I am LADA I realise it probably will mean insulin. And would LADA mean that i can't improve it all enough to come off insulin at a later date? And I'm scared of putting on weight again, I'm only just getting to an acceptable weight after years of trying!

But apart from all that I have even less confidence in my GP diabetes team now than I did before, when i mentioned LADA to her she didn't know what it was and had to look it up on google! I;m definitely going to ask for hospital clinic appointment, especially if it isn't LADA becasue something is causing these problems and it isn't my diet.

Yes Rowan thats very odd....all the meds you on and if you are low carbing then it should be impossible for you to have high BS....there has to be something else....only other thing I can suggest is exercise ie burn the sugar away but with your BMI you probably already onto that.

 

[LucySW]

It sometimes goes down to between 7 and 9.0 but most of the time it's between 9 and 16, occasionally higher.
I've been very strict with my diet, around 30g Carbs a day, although I'd say under 50g to allow for any hidden carbs I've not counted, but no more than that. Except the other day I tried 2 tiny slices of seedy wholemeal bread and went from around 9 to 19 within the hour.

I spoke to my DN today and we've decided that when I have my HBA1C next Monday they'll also do the test for LADA. I also have several severe autoimmune illnesses so it's as well to test for that too.
I know other inflammatory illnesses and viruses are also affecting my BG, but my levels are swinging wildly from high to low and back again, which is just ridiculous considering what I'm eating. (I actually got a 5.7 once but apart from that I've not gone below 7)
Has anyone else had the same problems, and did you ever get an answer as to why your levels were so very unstable?

Although I desperately don't want to go on insulin I'm half hoping the test comes back showing LADA, at least there'll be a reason for the problems and something can be done to sort it.

I second Daibell and DD: I was very scared of taking insulin and put it off for six months, but when I did take it it was a huge relief. Much healthier and happier now. Injecting really, really doesn't hurt. 30g a day and still getting high figures, I think you must be LADA. The only other possible explanation is if you have a hidden infection that is driving your BG up - see Bernstein on those. You ought to be right down in the 5's.

It's rotten luck, but just try insulin. It's been a lifesaver for me.

Lucy

 

[rowan]

Well insulin can stay out of fridge for a month.. So unless you are away longer than a month on the moors, that isn't a problem.

The Accuchek expert meter calculates insulin once it is set up so you just tap in the number of carbs and it tells you what amount of insulin to take. You would have to ask for this specific meter though.

You don't have to eat at set times if you are on a bolus basal regime... It is meant to be flexible....

Are your meds releasing bg raising stuff to your bloods at set times after you take them?

Have you got routine in your life or are your activities random? By that I mean.... If you shop do you do this on a specific day? Would you get the same blood rises if you looked at patterns for activities? Ie I know that weekends my routine is totally different to weekdays? Do you analyse results for specific activities?

Well thank you, that's set a few worries aside, I really know nothing about insulin and bolus etc, and even if I'm not LADA the tablets don't seem to be working for me and my doctor did want to put me on insulin in Jan. Now I've seen that no matter how strict I am my BG stays high I might have to consider it after all. My weight is still going down slowly so the diet itself doesn't seem like the problem.
I've dreaded the idea of insulin since I was in infant school and my friend got Type 1. She was a real dainty petite little thing but ballooned hugely in a very short time and looked really ill and I always remember her saying it was the injections...

I contacted the drug company about the raise in BG and apparently although they know it raises levels they don't know exactly when and for how long, they've done no studies on it They did say that as it's a fortnightly injection it is designed to stay in the body for a long time so he guessed it was a permanent thing. I haven't noticed a difference in the days following teh injection apart form being extra tired.

Weekdays and weekends are all the same to me, food shopping is done online and delivered to me. I'm not very active because of disabilities but I do go for a slow walk with the dog, that's about the most exercise I can do, which I know probably doesn't help much. I can walk further some days than others but the 10+ mile walks we used to do when he was a pup have long gone.

 

[rowan]

I second Daibell and DD: I was very scared of taking insulin and put it off for six months, but when I did take it it was a huge relief. Much healthier and happier now. Injecting really, really doesn't hurt. 30g a day and still getting high figures, I think you must be LADA. The only other possible explanation is if you have a hidden infection that is driving your BG up - see Bernstein on those. You ought to be right down in the 5's.

It's rotten luck, but just try insulin. It's been a lifesaver for me.

Lucy

Thank you. LADA would make sense, it probably wasn't thought about when I was first diagnosed because it was just a few weeks before my first autoimmune illness was diagnosed, Generalised Pustular Psoriasis, which turned serious very quickly and had me in hospital in less than a year fighting for my life; it can lead to multiple organ failure (remember The Singing Detective? That's what I had) That's pretty well under control now with the Humira, which itself has dangerous side effects (lymphoma being one of them!), but it's just my soles and palms affected now, not nice but not life threatening like the Generalised PP is so it's an improvement.

I appear to have a low grade infection on my body all the time now, it shows in all my blood tests and they've never found what it is, and I've also got Crohn's Disease which affects BG a lot too.

I really expected to be down in the 5s by now. When I was diagnosed my A1C was around 13, like it was this january, and I got it down really quickly to normal levels (and I'd never heard of LCHF!), and they only started rising again as the Generalised Pustular Psoriasis took hold and that's when the diabetes took a back seat, and it's never been taken seriously enough since. It didn't seem nearly as serious as the rare psoriasis which was extremely painful, I looked like a burns victim over my whole body, and totally disabling with my soles just being a mass of huge infected pustules so I couldn't put my feet on the floor at all. Luckily it's not that bad anymore, but still sore all the time.

Bit of a complicated medical background, but I still thought a strict diet should sort the diabetes out

 

[LucySW]

Yes, I do remember The Singing Detective! Great drama, if dreadful situation ..

I was scared of putting on weight too. But I don't think you humanly can if you're on low carb, because that is always low calorie without your having to think about it. Even 80% fat (180g for me) comes in at a daily total of less than 2000 calories. One can't put weight on with that input. And I haven't. I would freak out if I did!

As you've got a general auto immune situation, what about trying Terry Wahl's diet and dropping dairy too ( except butter)? Google her - she's the doctor who got MS and reversed it through researching what foods would support her mitochondria. There's a YouTube video and she has her own diet initiative. It's the same as low carb, but no dairy except, as I say, butter.

Insulin will help you. Or rather, better BG will help you. Once the psoriasis goes, the infection will go down too won't it?

Good luck Rowan. Lucy

 

[rowan]

Yes, I do remember The Singing Detective! Great drama, if dreadful situation ..

I was scared of putting on weight too. But I don't think you humanly can if you're on low carb, because that is always low calorie without your having to think about it. Even 80% fat (180g for me) comes in at a daily total of less than 2000 calories. One can't put weight on with that input. And I haven't. I would freak out if I did!

As you've got a general auto immune situation, what about trying Terry Wahl's diet and dropping dairy too ( except butter)? Google her - she's the doctor who got MS and reversed it through researching what foods would support her mitochondria. There's a YouTube video and she has her own diet initiative. It's the same as low carb, but no dairy except, as I say, butter.

Insulin will help you. Or rather, better BG will help you. Once the psoriasis goes, the infection will go down too won't it?

Good luck Rowan. Lucy

I really don't think I could give up dairy too, I've had to give up so much already for various reasons (not just the carbs) and I'm relying on cream and cheese more than ever now.

The psoriasis is very unlikely to ever go away, there's no cure although if you're lucky you can get remissions, but it always comes back. I don't get the usual psoriasis at all, I get the 5 rarest types, each one rare but all together is apparently almost unheard of, trust me to be different It is a lot of inflamation but not the cause of the low grade infection, they don't know what's causing that.

And the Crohn's Disease won't go away either, it's another one you get for life, although having my colon removed took away the worst bit, and the next surgery will take a bit more away, but there's plenty more places it can affect.

So with all that I expected it to be a bit more difficult than it is for a lot of people, but I still expected more of an improvment in BG than I've had.

 

[rowan]

I was scared of putting on weight too. But I don't think you humanly can if you're on low carb, because that is always low calorie without your having to think about it. Even 80% fat (180g for me) comes in at a daily total of less than 2000 calories. One can't put weight on with that input. And I haven't. I would freak out if I did!

But fat is high in calories and it wouldn't take much more than that to put weight on, especially if you're disabled so not very active.

 

[BridgetteA]

Hi all
I really hope that I can help some of you with the info I share. Contrary to what we have all been told - we DO need to fear insulin. Diabetes T2 is a disease cause by excessive insulin levels in the body - it is the insulin resistance that drives the BG up in the first place and giving more and more insulin is only making the Diabetes worse - not better.

I would like to really encourage all of you to have a look at the video talks by Dr Jason Fung. He is a nephrologist in Canada who has a clinic specifically for the treatment of Diabetes - and by treatment I mean reversal .
Being a nephrologist 70% of his patients are diabetic and a few years back he started to question why the patients never got better - they just progressively deteriorated .
This is what we are all told right ? That Diabetes is chronic and progressive - but it does not have to be.
I feel very strongly about this. I am a health care professional and was pre diabetic . My HbA1c is normal , my fasting insulin is now normal and my cholesterol is normal . I have lost 25kg and my blood pressure has returned to normal .
Please people , have a look at what Jason has to say - it could make a huge difference in your lives .
http://intensivedietarymanagement.com/two-big-lies-type-2-diabetes-video-lecture/

 

[chri5]

Hi all
I really hope that I can help some of you with the info I share. Contrary to what we have all been told - we DO need to fear insulin. Diabetes T2 is a disease cause by excessive insulin levels in the body - it is the insulin resistance that drives the BG up in the first place and giving more and more insulin is only making the Diabetes worse - not better.

I would like to really encourage all of you to have a look at the video talks by Dr Jason Fung. He is a nephrologist in Canada who has a clinic specifically for the treatment of Diabetes - and by treatment I mean reversal .
Being a nephrologist 70% of his patients are diabetic and a few years back he started to question why the patients never got better - they just progressively deteriorated .
This is what we are all told right ? That Diabetes is chronic and progressive - but it does not have to be.
I feel very strongly about this. I am a health care professional and was pre diabetic . My HbA1c is normal , my fasting insulin is now normal and my cholesterol is normal . I have lost 25kg and my blood pressure has returned to normal .
Please people , have a look at what Jason has to say - it could make a huge difference in your lives .
http://intensivedietarymanagement.com/two-big-lies-type-2-diabetes-video-lecture/

The other posters on here are trying to give a little reassurance to someone who is obviously worried and scared, and here you go undoing all that with your first sentence. You may well have a valid argument but you might also want to think twice about how you advance it.

 

[rowan]

The other posters on here are trying to give a little reassurance to someone who is obviously worried and scared, and here you go undoing all that with your first sentence. You may well have a valid argument but you might also want to think twice about how you advance it.

Thank you Chris. I must admit that I skipped most of that post, it looked more like a 'spam' post tying to sell something than a genuine reply.

 

[chri5]

Thank you Chris. I must admit that I skipped most of that post, it looked more like a 'spam' post tying to sell something than a genuine reply.

Yeah, you`re probably right.

 

[BridgetteA]

Thank you Chris. I must admit that I skipped most of that post, it looked more like a 'spam' post tying to sell something than a genuine reply.

Ok guys , I am REALLY sorry that came across badly , it was definitely not my intention and I really am wanting to help. I actually feel really upset that you took such offense to my post . My intentions are good.
I do hope Rowan that you will go back and have a look. There is absolutely nothing for sale - its just a video talk on reversing diabetes by a specialist.

What I was trying to share Rowan , is something positive and hopeful and I hope you won't brush my post off a second time.

I was recently at a medical conference at which Dr Fung spoke. What he explains is really valuable and I hope that you will consider watching the link I shared .
Jason Fung is a nephrologist in Canada , diabetes is his specialty. We have started to use a similar protocol on our diabetic patients with really good results.
Jason Fung - you can google him , he has a number of video talks on YouTube as well as a website and blog that is really worth reading.

 

[Ali H]

The OP has an inkling they might have LADA, or Type 1. There is no reversing it, you can maybe help your levels and reduce insulin use with diet, exercise etc but as it is also antibody related at some time or another insulin is usually needed just like in Type 1. Some say better sooner rather than later because of Beta Cell depletion.

Ali

 

[rowan]

Thank you Ali Am I right in thinking that if it's LADA and I'm out on insulin, that it's unlikely I'll be able to come off it again?

 

[LucySW]

But fat is high in calories and it wouldn't take much more than that to put weight on, especially if you're disabled so not very active.

Well actually, no. Try it out with a calculator. Fat is 9 cals per gram, protein and CHO 4 cals. That was my point. Your decisions are yours, of course.