Nerve Pain

[Brunneria]

I know what you mean about getting your life back - and going low carb did it for me. So I really hope it does the same for you.

As the master of your own ship, you get to decide whether you want to gradually cut back on carbs til you feel better, or whether to go straight for keto, and then see if, over time, you can increase the carbs to find your tolerance level.

Both of those may well deal with your blood glucose rollercoaster, and should prevent further damage (obviously, there are no absolutes, but the odds are good ).

HOWEVER none of us know whether that will help to heal the neuropathy you have already developed.
There are various different ideas about this.
The NHS tends to take the view that neuropathy is progressive, and can be treated with pain control. You have encountered that view already!
Members on this forum regularly report that the damage/pain can be halted with good blood glucose control and the supplements I mentioned above.
As for healing the neuropathy? Well that depends. Most people just assume that it is enough to just stop it getting worse.

But there is an American diabetes expert called Dr Bernstein who has been treating his patients for 40 years. He is firmly convinced that if you can lower your blood glucose enough, and keep blood glucose steady enough, you can reverse neuropathy.
I found his ideas very inspiring.
Here is what he says on the subject:

Really, it is up to you how you tackle this, but I will give you a link to the DietDoctor website.
It is a fantastic resource for recipes, menu plans and various sources on the subject of low carb/keto.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/recipes
I’ve no idea whether you want to lose weight, or how much cooking you like doing, but there is a wealth of keto recipes available, on dietdoctor and elsewhere, including keto porridge and cereals, breads and full meals.

Or, if you want to go the simple route, you can just cut the breads, potato and sweet fruit, and replace them with more veg, with the occasional portion of less-sweet fruit like berries. Low carb cauliflower cheese makes an excellent replacement for potatoes. Celeriac and swede can sub for potato too. Cauliflower rice can replace real rice. There are all sorts of LC cakes, desserts and sweets.

Personally, i only eat bacon and egg at weekends. Check out the DD website for a glorious selection of other breakfast options. Other options are incredibly varied, from berries and full fat greek yog, to cold meat and cheese, nut and seed muesli/granola, last night’s leftovers or avocado with crispy bacon...

You may find this thread inspiring for low carb inspiration.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/what-have-you-eaten-today.75781/page-1024

 

[Aestire]

Hey there, I was diagnosed in 2017, but had the symptoms for MANY years prior.
Earlier this year, I began to get migraines and occular disturbances that NEVER stop. But in addition, I had a burning sensation across my body, and it was worse at night. I struggle hard with CFS and so naturally, I saw a neurologist who can't explain my symptoms, but I had tried every medication OTC. Multiple headache medications, migraine medications, etc. All to no avail. Finally, he prescribed me Gabapentin, which is designed to cover nerves to prevent irritation.
This helped the best, especially my eyes. I actually DIDN'T need sunglasses to watch TV! I would definitely recommend it. I can't take it now because I'm pregnant, and my body hurts so much, I can't wait to pop so I can continue treatment. Hope this helps!

 

[Winnie53]

Jeffrey, eating low carb is fine. Just keep your carbs above 50 carbs a day and replace the carbs with healthy fats.

Have you tried making the "One Minute Keto Mug Bread" with almond flour yet? Remember to use butter, not olive oil. I posted a link to the recipe in my previous post. It's surprisingly easy. I used to slice it in half and make toast or sandwiches with it.

To eat low carb, it's important to include healthy fats and oils in your meals and snacks so your body is properly fueled, particularly if you don't need to lose weight. The links I shared in my previous post are important and will get you off to a good start in learning about which fats and oils to use, which to avoid, and how to use them.

I know it's hard to get our heads around this, but it's the convenience foods made with highly refined grains that are stripped of their nutrients combined with unhealthy oils that are making many of us ill.

Learning how to prepare and eat healthy, whole foods is the best gift we can give ourselves. The website Diet Doctor will get you off to a good start. I see that Brunneria has posted a link to Dr. Bernstein. That man changed my life dramatically for the better. I am forever indebted to him.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Brunneria]

Jeffrey, eating low carb is fine. Just keep your carbs above 50 carbs a day and replace the carbs with healthy fats.

Have you tried making the "One Minute Keto Mug Bread" with almond flour yet? Remember to use butter, not olive oil. I posted a link to the recipe in my previous post. It's surprisingly easy. I used to slice it in half and make toast or sandwiches with it.

To eat low carb, it's important to include healthy fats and oils in your meals and snacks so your body is properly fueled, particularly if you don't need to lose weight. The links I shared in my previous post are important and will get you off to a good start in learning about which fats and oils to use, which to avoid, and how to use them.

I know it's hard to get our heads around this, but it's the convenience foods made with highly refined grains that are stripped of their nutrients combined with unhealthy oils that are making many of us ill.

Learning how to prepare and eat healthy, whole foods is the best gift we can give ourselves. The website Diet Doctor will get you off to a good start. I see that Brunneria has posted a link to Dr. Bernstein. That man changed my life dramatically for the better. I am forever indebted to him.

Best of luck to you.

Hi Winnie,

I just question your comment to Jeffrey telling him to keep his carbs above 50g a day.

That seems too definite to me.
He may be able to tolerate carbs as high as that without RH symptoms. I hope he can! But he may not. I can’t. We are all so different.

I think it is better for an RHer to find a way of eating low carb that works for them, and then stick to it, rather than suggesting numbers in a kind of blanket recommendation.

 

[Winnie53]

I agree with you Brunneria. The ketogenic diet will give Jeffrey the best results. I know that based on my experience with disease progression. From, in my case, hypoglycemia, then to pre-diabetes, and then to type 2 diabetes. He doesn't understand that the longer we allow the disease to progress, the harder it is to manage, and that it will continue to worsen until he stops the progression by changing his diet.

I was listening to physician and functional medicine practitioner Mark Hyman's newest podcast this morning on YouTube, The Doctors Farmacy. He said when he's able to persuade his patient to do his 10 day detox diet, which is an elimination diet, they feel so much better, they want to continue finding ways to live healthier.

Not sure what his detox diet is but I'm confident it includes eating real, whole foods, and eliminating sugar, starches, and replacing unhealthy fats and oils with healthy fats and oils.

The low carb ketogenic diet changed the course of my life. I am so much healthier and happy now. And my brain works so much better!

Today, my diabetes is well controlled most of the time thanks to chaning my diet.

But Jeffrey hasn't experienced that yet. My hope is that he'll choose to do the ketogenic diet first by hopping onto the Diet Doctor website and beginning his re-education. But if that's too big of a step, using the low carb diet will at least get him started. All that said, I agree, the low carb diet alone probably won't be enough to reverse his symptoms. Nothing in my experience works better than the ketogenic diet to reverse symptoms and complications.

I'm right in the middle of an annual fundraiser for our local senior center, so gotta go...

 

[Winnie53]

I haven't written about his yet, but here's an outline of the "The Six Stages of Change" created by Ann Salerno and Lillie Brock:

Stage 1: Loss to Safety
Stage 2: Doubt to Reality
Stage 3: Discomfort and Discovery
Stage 4: Discovery to Perspective
Stage 5: Understanding the Benefits
Stage 6: Experiencing Integration

My diabetes group is made up primarily of those who came to us with significant, life changing complications. It would be interesting to do a book study with our group using Salerno's and Brock's book, The Change Cycle: How People Can Survive and Thrive in Organizational Change: A Practical to Guide to Navigating the 6 Stages of Change. I read and used their work in the 1990's. I need to go back and read it again.

Not sure where Jeffrey is in the change cycle. I can only speak for myself. As a diabetic, I'm in stage 6 but I bounce around the stages too, particularly when I've got too many plates spinning. But as a diabetic advocate, I think I'm in stage 3. Helping late stage diabetics is the hardest thing I've ever done.

Thanks for supporting Jeffrey. Change is challenging, but with practice and support of people like you Brunneria, we get better and better at it. There is hope. Change is possible.