My carbs conundrum

Lally123

Well-Known Member
Messages
231
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi guys you have all been really helpful before but I am getting so confused with this carb thing. I was really low carb for a while and last week a dreadful week with sugars jumping into the high 20s even on carb intake less than 30g a day. So have experimented with having more carbs and trying to eat more often. Put my carbs up to 100-120g a day and guess what my sugars although still high have stabilised at around 10-15. No more massive jumps. This morning as I am on a day off I had 40g porridge for breakfast with milk and cream. FBG was 11.2. 2 hrs after breakfast my bg is 7.0!!!!! Does this mean that for me a moderately low carb diet is better than an ultra carb diet and why is this???? Utterly perplexed.
 

Lally123

Well-Known Member
Messages
231
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Oh and also I am due to pick my gliclazide prescription up today so my sugars could.easily pop.back into normal.range soon!
 

Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,849
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
I stopped all medication and after a while - some weeks - of low carbing my numbers were all up and down, but not so high as yours.
I suspect it is all part of the way low carb affects things, and that it is perhaps the liver doing things we know wot off - after all no one seems very much interested in any sort of research into low carb, so how it affects diabetics is so far over the horizon it is off the map - past even the 'here be dragons' and the mermaids.
We can only keep on trying things out and testing, and with any luck end up with numbers under 7 after eating - I get them too now, I just kept on trying until things settled down. I can't tell if it was something I did or it is just something that happens, but so far so good.
 

magjam

Member
Messages
12
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
I was told to stop testing two hours after eating by my diabetic nurse. Have now been put on Jardiance. On 10mg once a day, but rising to 25mg in a couple of days time. Haven't seen much difference, but will see what happens when it's upped. Any one any experience of these things?
 

mentat

Well-Known Member
Messages
419
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
I was really low carb for a while and last week a dreadful week with sugars jumping into the high 20s even on carb intake less than 30g a day.

Sugars can do strange things for all sorts of reasons. The most obvious is illness. You may have an infection that is not creating any symptoms but still the body is fighting it and this can up your blood sugars.

Or perhaps you are going through a hormonal change at the moment.

Either way, perhaps the cause of the problem went away at the same time you changed diet so that it appeared to be caused by the diet change.
 

kpol2016

Member
Messages
20
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi guys you have all been really helpful before but I am getting so confused with this carb thing. I was really low carb for a while and last week a dreadful week with sugars jumping into the high 20s even on carb intake less than 30g a day. So have experimented with having more carbs and trying to eat more often. Put my carbs up to 100-120g a day and guess what my sugars although still high have stabilised at around 10-15. No more massive jumps. This morning as I am on a day off I had 40g porridge for breakfast with milk and cream. FBG was 11.2. 2 hrs after breakfast my bg is 7.0!!!!! Does this mean that for me a moderately low carb diet is better than an ultra carb diet and why is this???? Utterly perplexed.

Good morning Lally

First relax.

I was rushed to hospital about six weeks ago, with pain in my stomach. Turned out to be a fatty liver. Control was goodish, but had been getting higher and higher readings over the last year. I take metforman , novarapid and levimar (sorry about my spelling). I had been following carbs vs insulin instructions, from some ten years back.

It was a wake up call for me.

Since coming home, I have been on a low carb diet , ranging from 80-130 carbs per day. Still getting my insulin levels sorted out, and a few below 4 readings, but was surprised that a few days I did not fall below 12. But this down to having a cold, and stress at work.

My average reading are now 80 % plus in the 4-8 range, much better .

You need some carbs, so don't try and go to low, cut down, or cut out some carbs, I no longer eat spuds, rice or crisps, and I have lost 6 kg !

I do love my spuds roasted, but eating more veg and protein with my meals, and only a small amount of carbs.

Go low , but not ultra low, more walking and more veg, whole fruit(not juice), fish 3 times a week if possible, and cook from scratch no tinned sauces.

Our dog is getting walked a lot more now, which is good for him and me !

Some days , I have only had 50 carbs, and that is ok for a day , but as I am insulin, I have noticed that my readings go below 4, if carbs are only 50 a day, for more than a day.

Take one step at a time, eat less overall, cut carbs down, walk more , seems to be working for me, but everyone is different, and you need to find what works for you.

Take care, and best of luck.
 

Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,849
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
The idea that some carbs are essential is a complete myth - only protein and fats are essential parts of our diet - but it is a lot easier to make meals if you have at least some carbs in the form of salads and low starch veges, plus a few berries to add to the sugar free jelly and splodge of cream.
I keep my numbers low just by counting carbs and watching my meter, so after 5 months I hardly need to test but the threat of high numbers makes me careful with the grapes and strawberries.
 

emmay

Well-Known Member
Messages
69
Type of diabetes
Type 1
At the beginning of the year I was aiming to eat less than 70g of carbs a day this worked well and my sugars were quite consistent. However I noticed when I ate lunch which was carb free that my sugar still went up, I have now come to the conclusion that protein for me without any carbs raises my sugar, maybe this is the case with you also??
 
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Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,849
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
I always eat some carbs - following what I see on the meter.
I eat twice a day, but I also eat fats, which seems to push aside the use of protein as fuel.