A Month Into Low Carbing

learning2me said:

I feel your pain as I'm in a similar place at the moment.
Weight loss seems to have stopped. I'm not sleeping due to hot flushes and I'm busy packing up the house so that we can be decorated and have new carpets. I'm tired and almost permanently hungry so I must be doing something wrong. Like you, I'm tired of salads and omelettes, so I'm going in search of new recipes.
Added to all this, I stupidly forgot about the Bank Holiday when ordering new test strips so ran out for two days.

Last night I had two glasses of red wine instead of one, and I slept better!
Was at the stage of thinking that I wouldn't live long enough for my diabetes to call complications if I didn't get some sleep!

Feeling a bit of a failure right now I'm afraid.

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Oh yes, I know the feeling (hug). You've got a lot to contend with at the moment so it must be so much more difficult for you. I've got no excuse other than boredom.

I've just done the same with test strips. I put a script in on Wednesday and forgot to pick them up on Friday and my stupid pharmacy doesn't open on a Saturday (can you believe?) I think I've got 3 left til Monay. !! Trouble is, when you're retired one day is much the same as another so I forgot it was the weekend -duh!

As far as the diet goes, as I've said before, I hate cooking but even when I try something new I usually end up thinking "it was OK but not something I'd want again". e.g. I did stuffed peppers yesterday (never done them before as o/h wouldn't eat them). I made him a spag bol but took some of the cooked mince out and added garlic and my choice of spices and stuff that he wouldn't like. It was OK-ish but not something I'd rush to have again I've still got 2 more in the fridge but they are not calling to me at all ... lol.) I don't know what made me think I could suddenly turn into a good cook after all these years. I look up recipes but I've never got all the ingredients they need.

Your last bit about not living long enough for diabetes to cause problems is how I feel at the moment. Not because of sleep deprivation but because I'm in my 70s and I know this way of eating might prolong my life but there are so many other things that I could get and do I want to spend what I've got left feeling fed up and deprived.

Trouble is, my diabetic nurse was so thrilled with what I've achieved that I'd feel like I was letting her down as well as myself if I just threw it all in now Plus, even losing a stone is an achievement for me after the number of diets I've been on and not stuck to so I don't want to put it all back which would be so easy.

I wish I could say something to inspire you but all I can do is sympathise xxx

13lizanne said:

Copey I think you're flippin marvellous! I know how you feel too, my hubby keeps telling me to think of food as just the fuel that my diabetic body needs to stay healthy - this while tucking into a huge curry with a side of crisps "for texture" I'm just sticking to the same few meals till I get this low-carbing down pat, the thing that helps me the most is walking every day. That seems to lift my spirits, that & watching my BG readings fall. Best of luck you (we) can do it. X

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Aww, thanks lizanne x I just keep coming here and whinging though (blush). It certainly doesn't help when the o/h is tucking into anything he fancies and just pumping more and more insulin !! I wish I could walk off the blues but it causes me such pain that I don't do it half often enough. I seem to be thinking about food all the time but not because I'm hungry necessarily but wondering what delicious thing I can rustle up for a change.

Best of luck to you too xxx I hope we can stick to it but I'm definitely waivering.

CatLadyNZ said:

Hi Copey, I've just caught up with your thread, which I hadn't read for a while. I think you are doing great! I know it's hard but slow and steady wins the race and all that.

I think as we get older our metabolism declines and the body doesn't respond to changes as quickly or as well as it used to. Do you still have a dry mouth a lot of the time? I am wondering what is causing that, since I don't think you are on any meds for anything, are you?

I'm on several meds that cause dry mouth and I've had it for years and just sip water whenever I think of it. I have sipper bottles throughout the house and one in my handbag, lol. I only like to drink chilled water so I manage to have a freshly chilled bottle nearby most of the time.

Do you have any other signs or symptoms that might be a clue to what is going on? What is your sleep like?

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Hi CatLady x I am on water tablets along with Ramipril for my blood pressure but I've only noticed the dry mouth lately. Funny enough it seems to be since I stopped taking sugar in my tea. It doesn't seem to quench my thirst like it used to. Weird me ..lol.

I sleep great thanks, as long as I have my "dummy" ..lol. It's a little radio with earphones that blocks out the noise of the o/h snoring and takes my mind off things so I don't lay there in the dark going over things.

msmi1970 said:

perseverance is key..been on this journey just over a year. faltered many a time. draw a line & start again. don't beat yourself up about it. weight loss stalls (whether correctly perceived or otherwise) will occur throughout. trust me. i am struggling with one right now after initially losing 80 pounds in 10 months,
putting 19 back on, then losing 22 all in the space of about 4 weeks.

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Wow! that is some weight loss/gain/loss !! Well done for getting back onto it again xx

Evelynross said:

Before being diagnosed ( type 2 , 3x metformin a day) I had been trying to lose weight for years, couldn't leave carbs alone. Six weeks in and I've lost 10 lbs, only good thing about this disease, fear is a great motivator !!!

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You're not wrong there Evelyn. Fear and knowledge. Keep going xx

13lizanne said:

Morning Copey, it's another low carb day for us - go get em! X

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Hi Lizanne. I should have a great big blush smiley here now because I fell off the wagon real bad today Got up late and o/h dragged me off to a carboot sale before I'd had a chance to eat anything. I resisted the burger van stall but then we went on to a local bikers meeting place. My son and his partner are usually up there and we sit out in the sunshine and have a chat. By the time we got there I was starving but the little cafe there didn't cater for low carbers and after dithering about what to have I opted for a sausage (cold, chopped up with mustard) in a burger type bun. I even picked a few of o/hs chips. Shock horror, BS 15.6. OMG. Re-tested about 20 mins after and 11.5.

When I screw up I don't do it by halves .. lol.

Luckily I had a few more testing strips left than I thought at first glance (they tend to stick together) so will test again later and hope it's more reasonable.

Oh well, tomorrow is another day and I'm determined not to do that again.

13lizanne said:

That wasn't a big falling off Copey, your sausage was probably low carb☺ If you'd had double chips and two burgers -that would have been a bit of a slip. I've just finished an early dinner with our oldest son I had loads of dbl cream on my sugar free jelly, hubby & son had Vienetta with their jelly! We're just off for a walk in our local country park, enjoy your dinner, guilt free. X

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You were good then. Double cream is allowed and you didn't have the Vienetta. Well done xx I'm not going to beat myself up about it. Just straight back on the wagon

CatLadyNZ said:

Maybe the water tablets are making it hard to lose weight? Usually they are necessary so I'm not even remotely suggesting you think about asking your doctor about going off them. I'm just wondering if they could explain what's happening.

Next time you're seeing your GP you might want to ask if either med could be associated with weight gain or high BG. Just out of interest really. There might be alternative drugs that are better in this area, I don't know.

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Hi CatLady x I don't know why I didn't mention it above but I think it was because we were talking about my dry mouth which is a recent occurrence and I've been taking Atorvastatin for the last 15 years and one 5mg Diazepam at night now.

I think I read that statins were associated with raised BG and Diazepam is known for weight gain. I have a bit of "history" to explain. In 1999 I lost my beloved eldest son to a heart attack. He was 36 (I had him when I was just 19) and about to get married I'd not long lost my dear mum suddenly due to a stroke. We were all tested for signs of genetic heart disease and I was put on the statins.

I went completely off my head. Couldn't deal with it and the next few years I was out of it. They tried me on so many antidepressants that just made me feel worse. The side effects were horrendous. In the end I took an overdose after the latest antidepressant made me feel like someone was sticking hot pokers up my spine I just wanted it all to stop. I was sent to the local mental hospital.

When they let me out I was still suffering panic attacks and my life was awful. I finally persuaded my GP to give me Diazepam Just to dampen everything down. They hate prescribing them because they are so addictive (they say) but they worked for me and I started to claw back my life. I managed to wean myself off two lots of Diazepam and just took the night time one. I tried to stop taking that one once but about a week later I was a panic ridden gibbering wreck again so I keep taking it.

So if those 2 are interfering with my BG and weight loss then I'm stuck with it.

CatLadyNZ said:

Thanks for that info, and I'm so sorry to hear about what you went through, and for the loss of your dear son and mum Hugs.

Diazepam is really effective, as you have found. But there is another class of medicines that may help, without some of the side effects (they have their own but they might be different). Atypical antipsychotics can help, but I'd recommend the likes of ziprasadone, amisulpride and aripiprazole over olanzapine and quetiapine, because the latter are known for piling weight on.

Just something to consider. I know you're probably caught between a rock and a hard place with meds and weight gain. It may be that the current state of things is about as good as it can get. I don't know, just speculating of course.

Hang in there, mate.

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Thanks CatLady x I do appreciate what you say and for trying to help but I really don't feel I can rock the boat with new meds at the moment. I am definitely "pill phobic" when it comes to new meds as I've had so many allergic or bad reactions in the past that I literally tremble before even trying anything new.

I'll just carry on regardless .. lol. It may take longer but hopefully I'll get there.

13lizanne said:

Hi Copey, just thinking about you. I see CatLady has given you some info that might help and sent hugs too so that's double hugs for you this morning - here's mine huuuuug x

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Thanks Lizanne x I need hugs today because I've just had my retinopathy results and it says there is "evidence of some background diabetic retinopathy" . Doesn't appear to be reversible but just another good reason to keep the BS and weight under control to prevent it getting worse.

Need to go out and pick up my testing strips so catch ya laters xxx Oh and ((((hugs))) back at you both.

Have a good low carbing day girls xxx

ickihun said:

Hi. Out of interest - did you reduce your fat and lose weight?
Thanks

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Hi, no I didn't significantly reduce the fat really but then I don't overdo it.

I'm just really fed up with it all at the moment. I don't think I can cut down on the carbs any more than I have already and not only is my weight still 11st 6lbs but I'm getting BS readings of 7+ both fasting and after meals !!!

Something's not working for me compared to the results reported by others. I know we're all different but it's a bit disheartening when I think I'm doing the right things. I'm thinking of going on the dreaded Metformin to see if that helps.