Blood sugars geting higher despite low carb diet

[soozemack64]

Need some advice. Was diagnosed three years ago as type 2. Was already on healthy diet and a regular exerciser. Went low carb and had good results. I went off low carb wagon in the summer holidays due to lovely soda bread in Ireland. Nothing extreme. I ate a couple of slices of the bread per day during my week's holiday but otherwise stuck to veg and meat. My sugar levels crept up to 9 ish after meals and 8 after fasting. I went back on to my low carb diet but my levels have been steadily rising. I have fasting levels in the morning ranging from 10 to 11.7. Four hours after a meal, I can have levels of around 10. I am feeling a bit down as I have been working hard on the low carb and putting up with people rolling their eyes at my "faddy diet". I phoned my GP for advice. Basically she asked me to get the usual diabetic bloods done and then come in to "discuss options". I really don't want to go on medication. I am exercising regulary and avoiding starchy carbs. Is it possible that some diabetics, even on a low carb diet, will end up having to take medication? I am a bit of a perfectionist and feel I will have failed if I end up on medication. Has anyone else had a similar experience or rising blood sugars despite low carb and exercise?

 

[Freema]

Need some advice. Was diagnosed three years ago as type 2. Was already on healthy diet and a regular exerciser. Went low carb and had good results. I went off low carb wagon in the summer holidays due to lovely soda bread in Ireland. Nothing extreme. I ate a couple of slices of the bread per day during my week's holiday but otherwise stuck to veg and meat. My sugar levels crept up to 9 ish after meals and 8 after fasting. I went back on to my low carb diet but my levels have been steadily rising. I have fasting levels in the morning ranging from 10 to 11.7. Four hours after a meal, I can have levels of around 10. I am feeling a bit down as I have been working hard on the low carb and putting up with people rolling their eyes at my "faddy diet". I phoned my GP for advice. Basically she asked me to get the usual diabetic bloods done and then come in to "discuss options". I really don't want to go on medication. I am exercising regulary and avoiding starchy carbs. Is it possible that some diabetics, even on a low carb diet, will end up having to take medication? I am a bit of a perfectionist and feel I will have failed if I end up on medication. Has anyone else had a similar experience or rising blood sugars despite low carb and exercise?

well I am at a normal level now like non diabetic, but I think I can only achieve that when I get my 2 x 850mg of Metformin, well maybe if I went 10-20 grams of carbs but that would be horrible to me... I think it is a bit hard already now on about 80-90 grams of carbs a day
but I am proud still for all my greats results... admit I admire the ones that can do without medication... but I don´t think Metformin is that bad a medication

 

[warder100]

Need some advice. Was diagnosed three years ago as type 2. Was already on healthy diet and a regular exerciser. Went low carb and had good results. I went off low carb wagon in the summer holidays due to lovely soda bread in Ireland. Nothing extreme. I ate a couple of slices of the bread per day during my week's holiday but otherwise stuck to veg and meat. My sugar levels crept up to 9 ish after meals and 8 after fasting. I went back on to my low carb diet but my levels have been steadily rising. I have fasting levels in the morning ranging from 10 to 11.7. Four hours after a meal, I can have levels of around 10. I am feeling a bit down as I have been working hard on the low carb and putting up with people rolling their eyes at my "faddy diet". I phoned my GP for advice. Basically she asked me to get the usual diabetic bloods done and then come in to "discuss options". I really don't want to go on medication. I am exercising regulary and avoiding starchy carbs. Is it possible that some diabetics, even on a low carb diet, will end up having to take medication? I am a bit of a perfectionist and feel I will have failed if I end up on medication. Has anyone else had a similar experience or rising blood sugars despite low carb and exercise?

I believe that as you get on in age it appears your body won't be as good to help as it was to lower your levels. Low carb and a little help with some medication might well help you a lot in keeping the levels steady, I fought off medication for a long time but my health really went down hill and I then took the medication offered and it improved greatly. we all react differently to treatment so always do what is best for you and worry only makes matters worse I found.

 

[kokhongw]

Well I am only one year out on low carb...so I can't share any experience...

But have you considered trying intermittent fasting, eg skip dinner? Or have very light dinner? I find that helpful to maintain my fasting glucose level to < 5.5 mmol.

 

[Brunneria]

There are soooo many possibilities as to what is happening.
I agree with your doc, go and have the tests, and then reassess.

A lot of things could be going on, from the dreaded Carb Creep, to a food intolerance, to beta cell deterioration, to misdiagnosis of T2, to stress levels...

Regarding your feeling that you may have failed, please don't look at it that way.
You are just setting yourself up for bigger disappointment in the future.

None of us know what the future will hold. Many of us low carb, and diet and aim at T2 control and post here on the forum but NONE of us have a clue whether all our efforts will be successful long term, or if our T2 will progress. We simply can't see that far ahead.

And there are a huge range of different reasons why T2 progresses - other health issues, environment, shock, stress, grief, age, eating over our personal carb tolerance (which may be less than 20g carbs a day) and many more... to feel a failure because your body may be asking for help seems like a hiding to nowhere.

 

[nomoredonuts]

I too slipped a little following my first HbA1c of 41 (from 104) during the summer holiday. "Treats" after six months of strictness (and familial eye-rolling) became quite regular and I've definitely slackened off and allowed a few more carbs back in.
Despite doing a mild fast (16 hours off, then food during the next 8) I've had readings of 8+ the last 2 days, and my monthly BG graph has had an upward slant for the first time. I won't panic just yet but I'm trying to pinpoint anything that has changed in my lifestyle. More cream? Fewer walks, swims? Guinness?

 

[Robbity]

I'm fairly strict with my 30-50g carbs a day and take 2x500g metformin. Most of the time my glucose levels are pretty good and stable, but there are, as @Brunneria says, all sorts of reasons why circumstances can conspire against me - mine generally being health and/or stress, and more recently a bad fall set both my glucose levels and blood pressure spiralling in to high readings and utter chaos, and I'm still suffering the fallout - but there's not a thing I can do about it except be patient - stressing will just make it worse... And if a body broken (or as in my case also old and fast wearing out) it usually does better if it gets some help with attempts to mend things -and there's no shame in that. Even when I'm down at low pre-diabetic levels, I still take my metformin - it's my braces to my LCHF diet belt. So don't be too hard on yourself if you're doing the best you can manage, and it ends up by not being quite good enough. Remember we're frail humans - not perfectly running machines...

Robbity

 

[Geordie_P]

You definitely won't be a 'failure' if you do have to go on medication- the goal is to control diabetes, so any option that helps us do that is viable and legitimate. What sort of foods do you have now in your low-carb diet? Maybe one of the forum readers will spot something that looks innocuous but has raised their levels in the past?

 

[LincolnLizzie]

This happened to me and I found that I needed to do some exercise - 8m bike rides, a couple of times to get it back down to my previous levels, and then just 5 miles two or three times a week to keep it down. It did go up a bit initially but then went down about 12 hours later.

It was as if I had to reset the level.

I am 64 and I do believe it is getting harder to get the levels I want as I'm getting older. I have around 30 carbs daily, quite often less - so would consider that to be very low carb. Also need to watch the amount of protein I eat daily as if you eat more protein than you need, it turns to glucose. I currently aim for 75g protein daily. Hope this info is of use to you.

Sorry to have been so tardy in picking this topic up, I was away.

 

[soozemack64]

Thanks to everyone who replied to my post. Got my results back this week. Jumped from 42 in July to 58. The only change to my diet is that I have allowed the odd bit of butternut squash and sweet potato soup for lunch on cold days. I did try out some spelt flakes (very small bowl) and my levels 2 hours later were 17.6. I am normally pretty good at low carbing and exercising regularly. Have been feeling extremely tired all the time, falling asleep on my chair at 9.00 pm. This is unusual for me as I am a night owl. I work in a very cold school and also do lunchtime supervision in all weathers. Other tests relating to thyroid function, liver function etc have come back fine. Anyway the GP has put me on 500 g metformin twice a day. I guess I will have to accept this. I really wanted to stay off meds but I guess we can't always have control of things. I will be 53 in February so maybe age is a factor. I did read somewhere that many type 2's end up on meds within 2-3 years of diagnosis. I will continue to stick to a low carb diet and hopefully things will get better. Bit disappointed when I asked my GP whether I could come of metformin if my levels got back down - her reply was "No, we find this is not possible". I will try not to see being on meds as a failure and keep doing my best to be healthy.

 

[Kristin251]

Squash and sweet potato spike me crazy. Could you have warm tea instead of that soup or bring something warm in a thermos? I've mixed up chicken chunks, green beans or asparagus or any other lc veg Im in the mood for, drizzled with olive oil or butter and a touch of broth in a thermos. I know the feeling of wanting warm food. There are plenty of ways to make lc soups with just protein answers veggies and some fats. If I don't have ample fat in my meals I will spike. So some oil or butter would be good. Or some avocado on the side.

 

[kittypoker]

Thanks to everyone who replied to my post. Got my results back this week. Jumped from 42 in July to 58. The only change to my diet is that I have allowed the odd bit of butternut squash and sweet potato soup for lunch on cold days. I did try out some spelt flakes (very small bowl) and my levels 2 hours later were 17.6.

It sounds like a little carb creep has snuck in. Maybe try testing and updating your food diary more often to see what each of these foods is doing to your bgl.

You absolutely are NOT a failure and your doctor is being unnecessarily negative. Remember, your drug regime is up to you and you can question anything. Metformin isn't a disaster and may be helpful in other respects so, really, don't get to worried about it all. You're doing so well.

 

[Resurgam]

Any sort of potato is best left alone, they are above the percentage carbs I allow myself - perhaps making a soup with lower carb veges, or eating cauliflower cheese - with melted cheese not a sauce, is very good on a cold day. I have vege mixes from the frozen section of the supermarket which are down at 3percent carbs and very handy for a heat and blend soup

 

[Nicksu]

Thanks to everyone who replied to my post. Got my results back this week. Jumped from 42 in July to 58. The only change to my diet is that I have allowed the odd bit of butternut squash and sweet potato soup for lunch on cold days. I did try out some spelt flakes (very small bowl) and my levels 2 hours later were 17.6. I am normally pretty good at low carbing and exercising regularly. Have been feeling extremely tired all the time, falling asleep on my chair at 9.00 pm. This is unusual for me as I am a night owl. I work in a very cold school and also do lunchtime supervision in all weathers. Other tests relating to thyroid function, liver function etc have come back fine. Anyway the GP has put me on 500 g metformin twice a day. I guess I will have to accept this. I really wanted to stay off meds but I guess we can't always have control of things. I will be 53 in February so maybe age is a factor. I did read somewhere that many type 2's end up on meds within 2-3 years of diagnosis. I will continue to stick to a low carb diet and hopefully things will get better. Bit disappointed when I asked my GP whether I could come of metformin if my levels got back down - her reply was "No, we find this is not possible". I will try not to see being on meds as a failure and keep doing my best to be healthy.

Sounds like it may be the butternut squash and potato soup - plus the naughty soda bread. I find even if I have more than one breadroll a day (even wholemeal) it has an adverse affect on my levels the next morning. We all have our Waterloo and it sounds like they are yours. Sorry!

 

[robertconroy]

May be some foods you are still eating are high glycemic load. Get a phone app or little book on glycemic loads of foods. Three worst are - rice cakes (puffed rice), corn flakes (all grain products), and dried fruit (especially raisins and dried dates)

 

[THEBOT74]

I think that the butternut squash and sweet potato soup might be the bad boy here. I would omit the potato and try another soup such as broccoli or asparagus or carrot and coriander. If I have any carbs at all during the day would try and have that in just one meal but limited and have the others just have veggie based meals. It's really just a case of having a sensible balanced diet and limiting your carbs intake. I am looking to go vegan in the new year and have a high protein and low carb strategy with good fats such as olive oil in it