Second time around

[BB8.HG]

Hi everyone,

I posted a thread a week or so back, just having a grump. But now i'm becoming a bit concerned.

I was diagnosed over a year ago. I immediately started LCHF (averaging 40g carbs a day, usually less) and my sugars came down from high teens to between 5 and 7 within a matter of weeks.
I fell off the wagon, a combination of poor impulse control (something I've struggled with all my life), big life changes (wedding and a VERY high carb honeymoon...) and low mood (inevitably due to the poor choices...vicious cycle).

Now I'm back on the wagon, and having checked my blood sugar, i'm the same length into exactly the same regime I embarked upon so successfully last time. But my levels are hovering between 11 and 15.

I'm testing diligently and at the suggested times and crossed checked against a couple of metres, so it's all as accurate as it can be.

I suspect I was diabetic for many, many years (as many as 5) prior to diagnosis. So my recent period of high blood sugars is likely far from the longest amount of time my body has spent with horribly elevated glucose levels.
Could I be more insulin resistant now? Could my period of low-carbing followed by high sugar have sent something out of whack somewhere?

I'm confident that I'm doing the right thing in terms of diet and exercise, and I consider myself well informed about carbs etc. So i'm confident nothing is sneaking in, and I'm not getting any spikes. Postprandial readings rarely rise above my first bite reading (Might go up by 1 at most). The pattern is identical to the first time round, except it's all about 5mmol higher!

I just want a baby, but I can't wilfully put my body and (potential) baby through it when my levels are so high.

I wonder if anyone had any ideas about why I'm not having the same success in the same period of time as last time.

 

[Arab Horse]

I was probably diabetic for up to 10 years before I was diagnosed quite by chance. The longer you are diabetic the longer it takes to get any sort of control. If I stick rigidly to my very low carb diet my glucose gradually comes down but as soon as I don't, even for a day, it takes several weeks to get back in control. Stick with it and you will eventually get there.

 

[BB8.HG]

I'm determined to stick with it this time. I'm wondering if my first reduction (18 FBG on diagnosis, then down to 6s within 3 weeks or so) was a fluke and whether it's silly to expect the same rapid reduction again.

Do you mind my asking how long it took for your levels to come down?

 

[Arab Horse]

I think it was maybe because you were being very careful and now you have slipped there was not enough time for you to have reversed your diabetes, still some fat in the pancreas..

I have the problem that I am a skinny T2 so can't afford to lose any mote weight. Wten I was diagnosed and cut the carbs I lost hust under 2 stone and went down to 7 stone which put me on the verge of "critically under weight".

When I recently had my 2nd hip replacement I went down to six and a half stone so had to eat carbs as I was way too thin. I am now struggling with my glucose but am back up to 7 stone!

 

[mazza 2]

Hi everyone,

I posted a thread a week or so back, just having a grump. But now i'm becoming a bit concerned.

I was diagnosed over a year ago. I immediately started LCHF (averaging 40g carbs a day, usually less) and my sugars came down from high teens to between 5 and 7 within a matter of weeks.
I fell off the wagon, a combination of poor impulse control (something I've struggled with all my life), big life changes (wedding and a VERY high carb honeymoon...) and low mood (inevitably due to the poor choices...vicious cycle).

Now I'm back on the wagon, and having checked my blood sugar, i'm the same length into exactly the same regime I embarked upon so successfully last time. But my levels are hovering between 11 and 15.

I'm testing diligently and at the suggested times and crossed checked against a couple of metres, so it's all as accurate as it can be.

I suspect I was diabetic for many, many years (as many as 5) prior to diagnosis. So my recent period of high blood sugars is likely far from the longest amount of time my body has spent with horribly elevated glucose levels.
Could I be more insulin resistant now? Could my period of low-carbing followed by high sugar have sent something out of whack somewhere?

I'm confident that I'm doing the right thing in terms of diet and exercise, and I consider myself well informed about carbs etc. So i'm confident nothing is sneaking in, and I'm not getting any spikes. Postprandial readings rarely rise above my first bite reading (Might go up by 1 at most). The pattern is identical to the first time round, except it's all about 5mmol higher!



I just want a baby, but I can't wilfully put my body and (potential) baby through it when my levels are so high.

I wonder if anyone had any ideas about why I'm not having the same success in the same period of time as last time.

Good to hear your back on the wagon. Obviously, you are well educated about low carb and what to eat and not to eat. Was just thinking are you overweight (don't want to sound rude). It's just that some people find that when they get their weight down their sugar levels improve. Also, have you considered intermittent fasting, that also works for some people. Maybe it may be good to get a kick start. I was not overweight when diagnosed and I'm now just over 7 stone, a little underweight, and my sugar levels are a lot better but still need improvement. I was diagnosed just over a year ago too. It does take time, but all we can do is persevere and try not to get stressed. Hope things get better for you.

 

[Oldvatr]

I liken ths liver to a battery. Eat carbs and the excess glucose gets stored in the liver. Drop carbs, and the liver discharges slowly by dumping glocose back into the blood. Every carb eaten even on LC diet gets stored since this is how the bgl levels drop after a meal, and it is only when your sugar levels are very high that the kidneys start to filter it out to the bladder. So what goes in must come out eventually, and you may be paying for (1) reduced IR which makes it easier to charge that battery up, and (2) more sugar being stashed in it.

I found it took me 3 months to drop from 20+ levels to the 7's and 8's, and a further 2 years to get into remission but must admit that I was not ultra low carb, and not totally strict with my diet, but I got there in the end. Its a marathon , not a sprint.

 

[BB8.HG]

Good to hear your back on the wagon. Obviously, you are well educated about low carb and what to eat and not to eat. Was just thinking are you overweight (don't want to sound rude). It's just that some people find that when they get their weight down their sugar levels improve. Also, have you considered intermittent fasting, that also works for some people. Maybe it may be good to get a kick start. I was not overweight when diagnosed and I'm now just over 7 stone, a little underweight, and my sugar levels are a lot better but still need improvement. I was diagnosed just over a year ago too. It does take time, but all we can do is persevere and try not to get stressed. Hope things get better for you.

I am overweight. I'm sure that factors in.

I've lost 100lbs but still have another 100 to go! So a long battle. I lost weight first time round, but have just maintained since then. Not put any on.

Perhaps you're right, weight loss could help bring it down again.

Just disheartening to get such different results this time when they went down so quickly last year!

IF is my next step, I think. I am just over the low carb flu and my appetite is kept in check by the metformin, so it feels more achievable now.

Thank you for your advice and for being kind.

I so hope they start to drop soon.

 

[BB8.HG]

I think it was maybe because you were being very careful and now you have slipped there was not enough time for you to have reversed your diabetes, still some fat in the pancreas..

I have the problem that I am a skinny T2 so can't afford to lose any mote weight. Wten I was diagnosed and cut the carbs I lost hust under 2 stone and went down to 7 stone which put me on the verge of "critically under weight".

When I recently had my 2nd hip replacement I went down to six and a half stone so had to eat carbs as I was way too thin. I am now struggling with my glucose but am back up to 7 stone!

That sounds like a really tough balance to strike. I'm impressed. In some ways I think it might be easier to be overweight as you're battling to get everything down and low carb is just so good for weight loss so it's two birds with one stone.
But you've got to strike that balance of weight and BG, which must be tough!

 

[Bluetit1802]

Keep going because it will happen. You will start to lose weight and see lower blood sugars. It can take time, it is just a matter of plodding on and being patient. It is perfectly possible that after being off the wagon for a period your insulin resistance has worsened. Try intermittent fasting, and then maybe some longer fasts. Keeping food out of your body gives the old pancreas a rest and not much insulin is produced. The less insulin in your blood stream, the better the insulin resistance will get.

 

[Arab Horse]

Forgot to say. I find by eating just breakfast and lunch helps although my glucose is still high in the morning but it is a lot better in the evening. If I just have breakfast it is better but I can't do it every day because of the weight loss but do it two or three times a week.

Good luck with your weight loss. You need to eat lots of protein and non starchy veg with some fat do you are not hungry.

 

[Brunneria]

Hi @BB8.HG

I think it is fairly true to say that each time we fall off a wagon (booze, diets, low carbing for t2 blood glucose control) then it gets harder to climb back on. Especially if the blood glucose levels have been high enough to to cause damage. This is certainly true for me.

It is one of the reasons why I try very, very, very hard to avoid falling off again...

Sorry, I know that is not what you wanted to hear. But it is something I find tremendously motivating to help me not lapse again.

 

[jpscloud]

IF is definitely the best tool in the box for me. I need to get my head around some longer fasts (the longest I've managed is 4 days so far) as they - I'm aiming for up to 3 weeks - are the way to get my body back to health. I'm a bit of a wobbler, in more ways than one!! I am very overweight and I also lapse with my diet at times, but I'm still getting a steady, if very slow, weight loss and inches lost from my waist. My mood is also vastly improved.

If you're already low carbing, try skipping breakfast. I don't know about you but I had "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day" "If you skip breakfast you'll slow down your metabolism" and "Breakfast should be the largest meal of the day" tattooed in my brain, until I read differently here from forum members, then read some books they recommended and found all those ideas to be false.

I used to carb up like crazy at breakfast, and just to add another level of danger, I'd eat it in the car on the way to work. Now I never eat breakfast, just have coffee with cream, and honestly don't miss it at all.

It's really important to check with your Dr about fasting if you're on medications. I'm on two blood pressure meds, metformin, januvia and trulicity, a statin and some others, but I continue taking them when fasting and have only dropped as low as 3.9 on a four day fast. I'm just ready to drop one medication now, after six months with HbA1c 42, so we've chosen januvia as the one to go after the holidays.

24 hours is good to start with, then try 2 or 3 days if you feel it's right for you. Some people get good results from One Meal A Day (OMAD) too.

Jason Fung's The Obesity Code, The Diabetes Code and The Complete Guide to fasting are what I'm basing my way of eating on, with help from some amazing forum members here as well.

 

[Arab Horse]

There have been papers on weight loss stalling on long fasts as your metabolism slows down when you are in starvation mode. I can't remember the exact details as it wasn't relevant to me - I would disappear!!! I think it was 2 days fasting, day of eating.

 

[Resurgam]

Although they are not all diabetic by any means, there have been lots of discussions on the low carb forums I've been on about people who fall off the wagon, even though they were doing well, and then find that their body doesn't respond the same way when they try to get back on track.
We are not clockwork - obviously there is an alteration as a response to the first run of low carb and then the change back to a more 'normal' diet.