My doctor was angry with me...

[memememeiii]

Okay, I am having a total up and down experience AGAIN for what must be the fourth time. I've shed 37 lbs from 233 lbs at a high, and did get as low as 186 lbs but slid back up to 196 this month - work stress. I have not been taking my diabetes or thyroid medication properly or regularly - not really at all hardly with the metformin, and I decided to come off the Janumet after reading that it's not the safest drug. My doctor, as you can well imagine, is frustrated with me. I went in to see him and get sorted, re-test, etc., and am doing those tests tomorrow. We had a chat about cholesterol...he was totally ticked off with me for not being willing to take a statin. He's given me lots of time to try and turn my results around, but as I've said...it's hard! I'm yo-yo-ing.

I'm frustrated, and tonight - this week - I've been binging on sugar. I'm not kidding. It's the truth. I'm going in for my glucose and cholesterol tests tomorrow, and tonight I just downed a truckload of sweets. What the...

What on earth should I think about the whole statin thing? I know many who are really against them. I have tried the keto diet and can't really conform to it. It's too boring. WAY TOO BORING. If I eat carbs, it seems my glucose goes up.

A shot of wisdom and motivation from this group would truly help at this point, I think. Thank you.

MM

 

[lessci]

Statins will always be an emotive issue, all I can say is do the research and make your own decision. If you can't manage a Keto diet, have you tried lchf (low carb healthy fat) If you can't manage a low(er) carb diet then weight loss and more medication is the only alternative

 

[pixie1]

You are in a difficult place, self destruct, burnout mode at the moment. Carbs pushes up glucose up, that's the fact. Depends on what you want to do. To lower cholesterol can be done low carbing, statins tends to effect people.
You have a couple of choices. Either low carb and take one day at a time or take medication.
I think some of us fall off the wagon, then scramble back on from time to time.
Someone maybe along who can be more helpful

 

[Pipp]

Oh dear, @memememeiii , you have got into a right old spiral of despair. Burnt out?
Looking at your profile it appears you have been yoyo dieting for some time? The ND worked initially but no long term plan. You have mentioned binge eating high sugar foods when you know you are having blood tests. Seems you are punishing yourself, self destruction / self sabotage going on? Possibly, unless, or until you find psychological help for your food issues nothing is going to work. Sorry if that seems brutal, but you have tried to overcome difficulties with food on your own, and each time you fall you reinforce the notion that you are a failure. Ask your GP for a referral to a psychologist, work out the issues around food, then hopefully you will see some success in your diabetes management. Your GP should be sympathetic if you can open up to him/her about your emotional issues around food.
Good luck. Be strong enough to ask for the help you need.

 

[memememeiii]

Hi all.

I am working with a psychotherapist and this has been a rough patch for sure. She’s on holiday at present, too. But yes...you nailed it, Pipp...it does then affect my self esteem. But this is hard, too. I recognize my progress and want to halt the slide back. It’s funny how you can know what to do but struggle to do it.

All along I’ve struggled with food boredom. But then I’ve also struggled with Keto. I dropped 10 lbs immediately. Then I plateaued and then I just kept breaking the diet.

LCHF seems almost the same to me, by and large - and I’m using Carb Manager to track (or was until recently). I simply find the problem one of food variety/boredom and then I start to eat out instead of cooking etc.

Of course, I’m disappointed. Equally, I’m still ahead of where I was months ago. I guess there’s nothing to do but keep trying? I’m just feeling a tad sorry for myself to have to battle this. But that won’t help, will it?

I’m confused about the discussion my doctor and I had about statins. He’s insistent that the American Heart Association is an honest broker on this issue. He also said that 1/16 diabetics die from high cholesterol. I’ve been following Diet Doctor and others who have said high cholesterol isn’t a problem - FULL STOP. That is what ticked off the doctor. He said this was phony medicine. Fake info. But I watched at least two medical presentations by respectable doctor-researchers who showed extensive research of double blind studies etc that show the number of people who die from high cholesterol. 4/100 more. Or something. Now, is that the same as 1/16? Are either of those numbers worrying anyway?

I honestly don’t know who/what to trust anymore and that is feeding my frustration. I know I need to stop the binging. It’s in my hands - that. Maybe I just need to steel myself and go on, any means possible.

Thanks for supporting, anyway, by commiseration or light kick in the pants. There’s no getting away from the fact that whether you call it diet or lifestyle...we are facing restrictions.

MM

 

[zand]

All along I’ve struggled with food boredom. But then I’ve also struggled with Keto. I dropped 10 lbs immediately. Then I plateaued and then I just kept breaking the diet.

Yes it's easy to follow any diet while it's giving results but when you hit a plateau it's so hard to keep going when you are bored with the diet and get no results.
Sorry I don't have any answers, just a lot of sympathy/empathy.

 

[ringi]

Without your thyroid medication you are very likely to gain weight and have low energy regardless of your diet or any other medication.

 

[DCUKMod]

@memememeiii - I'd join @ringi in encouraging you to take your thyroid medication. Our thyroid glands are s major part of our metabolisms working well. If you are hypothyroid (under active as opposed to being over active) your metabolism wlll likely be less efficient, so shooting yourself in the foot twice.

I know it's easy for us on the outside to say, "just get on with it", but if you can maybe just think about putting yourself a plan together for getting on track - maybe a number of steps on it, rather than all at once - then you can start to claw this back. If you adopt that process, please prioritise your thyroid meds. With a bit more energy and brighter mood you might feel more able to face the rest.

Don't forget though that you're not likely to feel any immediate benefit from your thyroid meds as they work at a therapeutic dose, like Metformin, rather than a dose by dose basis.

 

[lucylocket61]

Maybe make a list of what you need to do, then number them in order of priority eg thyroid meds first, diabetes meds next, sort out a lowish carb plan next?

then take it gradually. Work on one for a eek, then add the next bit, and so on.

You can then perhaps, in a few weeks, think about either lowering your carbs gradually, or remove them for a week to break the carb cravings, then take it from there.

statins - I dont know. Perhaps re-visit that decision in a month, and focus on the priorities?

 

[One-Foot-Eight]

I just wondered if you've been struggling with accepting the diagnosis in the first place. I was diagnosed 2 plus years ago but could not accept it. It just felt that I didn't have it because I did not have any of the main symptoms of thirst / tiredness etc. The thing that really helped me was around 6 weeks ago when the consultant bluntly told me that if I did not do something about my blood sugars pdq then I WOULD lose my sight.

In addition to this, I had to have laser treatment in my right eye due to water starting to build up due to the diabetes. I started a diet and have lost loads of weight. The first 3 days were hard, but every time I wanted to eat "normally" just thought about what would happen if I lost my sight.

The cravings have all gone now and I realise I did actually have some symptoms of diabetes. I no longer get up in the night to go to the loo and the horrible taste in my mouth that I've had for as long as I can remember has gone. I don't know how much weight I've lost now, but I had lost 17lbs in the first four weeks.

I think the first part for you is to accept the damage that you are doing to yourself and to use this to motivate you.

 

[librarising]

he was totally ticked off with me for not being willing to take a statin.
What on earth should I think about the whole statin thing?
MM

The best thing is to educate yourself about statins. Perhaps start with this half-hour video, where in the first few minutes cardiologists (i.e. heart experts) are AGAINST them. Cardiologists vs your GP - that's a toughie.
https://www.sott.net/article/323204-Cardiology-experts-Statins-MUST-be-avoided-at-all-costs
Those FOR them are largely kept in the dark by pharmaceutical companies about their side effects, and raw data from studies kept unavailable. Your GP will undoubtedly believe he's trying to help save your life.
So there are numerous YouTube videos (we can point you in the right direction) or you may prefer to read about the subject, such as in Dr Malcolm Kendrick's The Great Cholesterol Con.
Geoff

 

[Resurgam]

If you have been off thyroid replacement for some time it might be a good idea to tell your doctor and get some low strength ones to start back on them - they really make a difference to your metabolism, just about every system in the body is affected, and returning to the full dose can result in palpitations and rapid heart rate, feelings of breathlessness and a few other rather unpleasant things.
I find that I need to take them early in the day or I get very vivid dreams, which sometimes do not stop when I have woken up.
I do urge you to get back into the habit of taking thyroid supplement as it is quite important for so much.

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

Perhaps try to not think of food as entertainment. Keto may be boring for you, but there's no reason that LCHF needs to be boring. I think maybe there's something else going on besides just being bored of what you're eating, since that has nothing to do with taking your meds or not.

 

[kitedoc]

Hi @memememeiii, As a T1D, not as professional advice or opinion.
Stress and anger can be a potent mix. As others have said the thyroid medication is very necessary if your thyroid has packed up. From my reading I liken thyroid gland's action to the controller of the idle rate of a car engine, without it the engine slows down and runs inefficiently and it can make cholesterol increase and burns sugars erratically on top of the stress trouble.
Even trying to meet your doc partway by restarting medications which you agree with is better than the current situation.
As a reference regarding low carb diets and fats/cholesterol most docs I know are impressed by the attached article by a respected American physician. Of course some docs are very conservative and it takes a long time to convince them to be more flexible.
www/sciencedirect.com/science/pii/s0899907714003323.
And regarding stress -in my experience finding the person you can best relate to in therapy is as important as the method of therapy itself.
I know that for me my stress is due to my frustration about things and is a symptom of depression - frustration is recognised by some docs as a male symptom of depression. Just something to bear in mind with your therapist and perhaps ask about.
Of course there can be all sorts of other causes/reactions to stress and sometimes there is no easy or practical solution.
Changing ourselves, our outlook, and behaviours which we have used in the past is a big ask and task!- but if it helps now and in the future? - I also know that alcohol can be a crutch we may use to get through the hard times , but ultimately it is a crutch which is rotten at the core and will let us down and injure us.
Comfort eating is another coping behaviour which may help temporarily but is another fogey.
Trying to be busy and occupied whether with a hobby, past-time done with good friends who do not use alcohol and food as crutches is ideal. But it takes work, luck and perseverance - worthwhile in the long run but needs a push to get things rolling and to stay on that bicycle. Use the local library, watch movies, anything to stay occupied.
Indulging in humour and particularly self-humour can also be productive, It sounds daft to put oneself down but in the right way it stops one from getting too serious and dwelling on things. My injection time in the morning used to be 'javelin practice'. The boss was a female dragon (although I am not sure the empty water pistol on my desk was a practical solution, just a wicked psychological one). I needed healthy snacks from home to keep me raiding the office's biscuit tin. I also found a poisonous spider picture to stick on the biscuit tin lid. I would draw some hobby design I was looking on in a note book whilst travelling to and fro work. It was my secret design and it did not matter how daft or brilliant it was, it gave me a record of what I had done and what improvements (or otherwise) had followed.
Fingers (and toes) crossed for a better future. And feeling better is a good way to prevent slipping back!!

 

[DCUKMod]

@memememeiii - How are you feeling a few days on?

 

[Martinjd]

Your not on your own believe me.

 

[Shirley N.]

Hi all.

I am working with a psychotherapist and this has been a rough patch for sure. She’s on holiday at present, too. But yes...you nailed it, Pipp...it does then affect my self esteem. But this is hard, too. I recognize my progress and want to halt the slide back. It’s funny how you can know what to do but struggle to do it.

All along I’ve struggled with food boredom. But then I’ve also struggled with Keto. I dropped 10 lbs immediately. Then I plateaued and then I just kept breaking the diet.

LCHF seems almost the same to me, by and large - and I’m using Carb Manager to track (or was until recently). I simply find the problem one of food variety/boredom and then I start to eat out instead of cooking etc.

Of course, I’m disappointed. Equally, I’m still ahead of where I was months ago. I guess there’s nothing to do but keep trying? I’m just feeling a tad sorry for myself to have to battle this. But that won’t help, will it?

I’m confused about the discussion my doctor and I had about statins. He’s insistent that the American Heart Association is an honest broker on this issue. He also said that 1/16 diabetics die from high cholesterol. I’ve been following Diet Doctor and others who have said high cholesterol isn’t a problem - FULL STOP. That is what ticked off the doctor. He said this was phony medicine. Fake info. But I watched at least two medical presentations by respectable doctor-researchers who showed extensive research of double blind studies etc that show the number of people who die from high cholesterol. 4/100 more. Or something. Now, is that the same as 1/16? Are either of those numbers worrying anyway?

I honestly don’t know who/what to trust anymore and that is feeding my frustration. I know I need to stop the binging. It’s in my hands - that. Maybe I just need to steel myself and go on, any means possible.

Thanks for supporting, anyway, by commiseration or light kick in the pants. There’s no getting away from the fact that whether you call it diet or lifestyle...we are facing restrictions.

MM

I'm not sure if anybody actually dies of high cholesterol. It's not a disease in itself, just an indication that something may, or may not, be wrong. Mine is slightly over "normal" but I do not worry about it; I just concentrate on getting my weight down and keeping my blood sugar within the non-diabetic range.
For what, if anything, it's worth, 4/100 = 1/25, i.e. less than 1/16. A fairly small fraction, given we all have to die of something.

 

[torchman2]

Okay, I am having a total up and down experience AGAIN for what must be the fourth time. I've shed 37 lbs from 233 lbs at a high, and did get as low as 186 lbs but slid back up to 196 this month - work stress. I have not been taking my diabetes or thyroid medication properly or regularly - not really at all hardly with the metformin, and I decided to come off the Janumet after reading that it's not the safest drug. My doctor, as you can well imagine, is frustrated with me. I went in to see him and get sorted, re-test, etc., and am doing those tests tomorrow. We had a chat about cholesterol...he was totally ticked off with me for not being willing to take a statin. He's given me lots of time to try and turn my results around, but as I've said...it's hard! I'm yo-yo-ing.

I'm frustrated, and tonight - this week - I've been binging on sugar. I'm not kidding. It's the truth. I'm going in for my glucose and cholesterol tests tomorrow, and tonight I just downed a truckload of sweets. What the...

What on earth should I think about the whole statin thing? I know many who are really against them. I have tried the keto diet and can't really conform to it. It's too boring. WAY TOO BORING. If I eat carbs, it seems my glucose goes up.

A shot of wisdom and motivation from this group would truly help at this point, I think. Thank you.

MM

Hi Meme

I tried Keto and LFHC for many years too.

Now i'm just doing small, regular meals, mixed with protein, some fat, and carbs. I'm around 40%, 20%, 40% in that order.

I eat regularly, 3 meals a day plus balanced snacks, or I suppose you could just call it 5 small meals a day. Calories around 2000 across 5 meals.

If I do this, my fasting BG stays within 5.5 without insulin. If I don't do this, it can shoot up to 10/12 sometimes.

Most BG spikes come from the liver, not from exogenous (added) glucose - called Gluconeogenesis (aka creting new glucose).

The reason to say this, is it's not the food that spikes the BG per se, but more the consistency and the liver not doing its function. So just eating fewer carbs, or taking Metformin, doesn't fix the underlying issue.

Wiki defines it as "generation of glucose from non-carbohydrates…such as pyruvate, lactate, glycerol, amino acids, and odd-chain fatty acids.”

The major issue with this comes from not full oxidative metabolism, so the body is stuck in glycolysis. So the goal is to create full oxidative metabolism. The liver senses that the cells are not making full use of glucose, ie they are stuck in glycolosis, and it gets stuck in a negative feedback loop of having to convert the lactic acid produced through glycolysis back into glucose.

So don't get so down on yourself for not sticking to restrictive diets. The brain runs mainly on glucose, for example. We need it. Whether we add glucose or not, the body will create it through gluconeogenesis.

Things that help with full oxidative metabolism, ie to fully break down glucose into CO2 and Oxygen (and ATP), include potassium, magnesium, sodium, biotin, niacinamide, etc. Also, not overloading the body with large meals, and keeping consistency and regularity of meals. The other benefit of oxidative metabolism is it produces more energy (ATP):

"Glycolysis produces only 2 ATP molecules, but somewhere between 30 and 36 ATPs are produced by the oxidative phosphorylation of the 10 NADH and 2 succinate molecules made by converting one molecule of glucose to carbon dioxide and water, while each cycle of beta oxidation of a fatty acid yields about 14 ATPs"

 

[Guzzler]

Hi Meme

I tried Keto and LFHC for many years too.

Now i'm just doing small, regular meals, mixed with protein, some fat, and carbs. I'm around 40%, 20%, 40% in that order.

I eat regularly, 3 meals a day plus balanced snacks, or I suppose you could just call it 5 small meals a day. Calories around 2000 across 5 meals.

If I do this, my fasting BG stays within 5.5 without insulin. If I don't do this, it can shoot up to 10/12 sometimes.

Most BG spikes come from the liver, not from exogenous (added) glucose - called Gluconeogenesis (aka creting new glucose).

The reason to say this, is it's not the food that spikes the BG per se, but more the consistency and the liver not doing its function. So just eating fewer carbs, or taking Metformin, doesn't fix the underlying issue.

Wiki defines it as "generation of glucose from non-carbohydrates…such as pyruvate, lactate, glycerol, amino acids, and odd-chain fatty acids.”

The major issue with this comes from not full oxidative metabolism, so the body is stuck in glycolysis. So the goal is to create full oxidative metabolism. The liver senses that the cells are not making full use of glucose, ie they are stuck in glycolosis, and it gets stuck in a negative feedback loop of having to convert the lactic acid produced through glycolysis back into glucose.

So don't get so down on yourself for not sticking to restrictive diets. The brain runs mainly on glucose, for example. We need it. Whether we add glucose or not, the body will create it through gluconeogenesis.

Things that help with full oxidative metabolism, ie to fully break down glucose into CO2 and Oxygen (and ATP), include potassium, magnesium, sodium, biotin, niacinamide, etc. Also, not overloading the body with large meals, and keeping consistency and regularity of meals. The other benefit of oxidative metabolism is it produces more energy (ATP):

"Glycolysis produces only 2 ATP molecules, but somewhere between 30 and 36 ATPs are produced by the oxidative phosphorylation of the 10 NADH and 2 succinate molecules made by converting one molecule of glucose to carbon dioxide and water, while each cycle of beta oxidation of a fatty acid yields about 14 ATPs"

And yet there are those of us who find that the fewer insulin responses per day i.e the fewer times we have meals the better. Hyperinsulinemia is a great problem when it comes to insulin resistance as well as being inflammatory itself. I eat twice per day, some people do very well on OMAD and others see great results with IF. No use studying the Krebs cycle if you do not put the basics into action first.

 

[bulkbiker]

The reason to say this, is it's not the food that spikes the BG per se, but more the consistency and the liver not doing its function. So just eating fewer carbs, or taking Metformin, doesn't fix the underlying issue.

So what in your opinion is the "underlying issue"?