LCHF and high blood sugars

Natalie1974

Well-Known Member
Messages
871
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi All...not sure if this is a daft question or not...but figure I'll ask it anyway.

Over the last couple of days I've been struggling to get my blood sugars at a sensible level. I woke up yesterday with a shocking FBS of 15.7 with apparently no rhyme nor reason and struggled to get it down all day. I was feeling quite nauseous so didn't really eat an awful lot...really only a couple of coffee's with cream and a small piece of cheese. In order to get BS to a normal level I did a few correction doses at the advice of my DN...because I wasn't really eating she advised a few small doses to bring it back into range but to keep testing and make sure I didn't drop too low. This seemed to work and by lunchtime I was down to 8.6, which although not great...I was reasonably happy with. I had low levels of ketones...1.5 according to the ketostix scale. Blood sugar remained reasonably stable for the duration of the day and when I went to bed it 8.9...did my normal basal dose...and again woke up with FBS of 15.0. Feel a little better than I did yesterday...no nausea which is good but despite repeating the DN's advice of small doses of insulin I'm still not seeing any significant drop in my BS...currently sitting at 13.8. So to get to my point...it's my understanding that you remain in ketosis so long as you stick to low levels of carbs and there are only low levels of insulin in your system. I'm assuming that all those tiny doses should have kicked me out of ketosis so despite the ketones in my system I shouldn't be at risk of DKA. Obviously I'm keeping close checks on my BS but at what point should I be worried?
 

bellabella

Well-Known Member
Messages
136
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
What dose of basal insulin are you on?
Waking up with high bg despite going to bed with reasonable sugars is consistent with dawn phenomenon.... Have you had this before?
The alternative is that you are coming down with something which may be causing the high sugars too

If you're not feeling up to eating still it might be the perfect time to do some basal testing first of all so you can address that and make sure you're on the right dose

The thing about lchf also is that even though you're not eating much carbs, in a low carb meal the protein needs to be taken into account when bolusing
As long as you're keeping a close eye on your sugars and ketones you should be fine from a dka point of view
 

bellabella

Well-Known Member
Messages
136
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
How long have you been doing lchf for and is this the first time you've had ketones in your blood?
It's more likely related to the low carb and not eating much but it's important to monitor ketones all the same simply for your own peace of mind
 

Spiker

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,685
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Most likely cause I would think is sickness. Yes the insulin may kick you out of ketosis, may not, but don't worry about that, deal with the high BG first and get it down. I'm assuming you've never seen this pattern before. But as you have been on LCHF a while (I think?) I doubt it's associated with LCHF.

Re DKA, continue to follow the rules - test ketones any time you are 13+ BG and feeling unwell. Your ketone scores are in the nutritional ketosis range at the moment and not the ketoacidosis range, but keep an eye on it. Never be afraid to use corrective insulin for high BG because you are worried about coming out of nutritional ketosis.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people

noblehead

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
23,618
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
Disrespectful people
@Natalie1974, have you tried changing your insulin cartridges, particularly your basal insulin. When you experience a prolonged period of high bg levels (and feel well in yourself) you should always look at the obvious like a faulty insulin cartridge or pen.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people

Natalie1974

Well-Known Member
Messages
871
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Thanks for all the advice.
Basal dosage has been spot on for months up until this...current dosage is 10 units at night and 18 in the morning...not had any problems for a long time so am reluctant to tweak it just yet. And thinking about it...I started a fresh cartridge just last night so fairly sure it's not down to the insulin. Dawn phenomenon is a possibility but still quite a big jump...usually only goes up by 2-3 units but 7 units would imply that it's more likely something else.
I've probably been doing LCHF for around 6 months now and have been in ketosis for the most part albeit at relatively low levels. I'm not too worried about coming out of ketosis...more the combination of ketosis and high BS...reluctant to go eat a sandwich to kick myself out as this will further raise my BS so hoping raised levels of insulin will have the same effect.
I'm actually quite surprised how bad I feel at such high levels given that it was pretty much the norm for me this time last year...not so much in an ill sense...just so exhausted and sluggish.
Had a chat with the doctor today to see if she could shed any light...have had a few girlie issues recently and wondered if that could have an effect...again a possibility. Anyway she seems to think I have something brewing bug wise so have delivered a urine sample to see if that turns anything up. In normal range now so fingers crossed for a normal(ish) FBS in the morning
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people

LucySW

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,945
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Good luck Natalie.

Can you borrow a CMG and find out what is going on overnight, i.e. if it is DP?
 

Juicyj

Expert
Retired Moderator
Messages
9,018
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
Hypos, rude people, ignorance and grey days.
I've found it's difficult to assess how I feel physically when running high, as there can be so much crossover with symptoms, however experience tells me that running high and illness go hand in hand, one can trigger the other etc.

Hopefully its just a temporary blip and your back to normal soon ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 people

Natalie1974

Well-Known Member
Messages
871
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Good luck Natalie.

Can you borrow a CMG and find out what is going on overnight, i.e. if it is DP?
Would be great if I could but unfortunately not...still waiting on referral to Diabetes clinic...since December...:rolleyes: my doctors are useless.
 

Natalie1974

Well-Known Member
Messages
871
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I relented and tweaked my basal a little last night..only by 2 units but FBS this morning was 10.7...not great but a definite improvement...sadly it's still on an uphill sprial and struggling to keep it at a good level...but definitely feel much better than I have the last few days.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people

Sallycook

Member
Messages
13
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
People who talk down to me, cruelty of any kind.
Hi All...not sure if this is a daft question or not...but figure I'll ask it anyway.

Over the last couple of days I've been struggling to get my blood sugars at a sensible level. I woke up yesterday with a shocking FBS of 15.7 with apparently no rhyme nor reason and struggled to get it down all day. I was feeling quite nauseous so didn't really eat an awful lot...really only a couple of coffee's with cream and a small piece of cheese. In order to get BS to a normal level I did a few correction doses at the advice of my DN...because I wasn't really eating she advised a few small doses to bring it back into range but to keep testing and make sure I didn't drop too low. This seemed to work and by lunchtime I was down to 8.6, which although not great...I was reasonably happy with. I had low levels of ketones...1.5 according to the ketostix scale. Blood sugar remained reasonably stable for the duration of the day and when I went to bed it 8.9...did my normal basal dose...and again woke up with FBS of 15.0. Feel a little better than I did yesterday...no nausea which is good but despite repeating the DN's advice of small doses of insulin I'm still not seeing any significant drop in my BS...currently sitting at 13.8. So to get to my point...it's my understanding that you remain in ketosis so long as you stick to low levels of carbs and there are only low levels of insulin in your system. I'm assuming that all those tiny doses should have kicked me out of ketosis so despite the ketones in my system I shouldn't be at risk of DKA. Obviously I'm keeping close checks on my BS but at what point should I be worried?
Hi Natalie. I've got the type of diabetes that sometimes flies away without any reason whatsoever. Try putting up your basal dose by 2 and see what happens. Then another 2 if necessary. Mine usually comes down after a couple of days. Once I start with the hypos again, I can lower the basal dose back down. Good luck!