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Advice desperately needed

deb1960

Well-Known Member
Messages
159
Location
Stockport
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Ignorant, homophobic, racist people
I have been doing the lchf diet for about 3 weeks and I'm not sure what to do with the low blood sugar readings I'm getting before bed. Usually around 4.1. I'm still having porridge for breakfast 5.4 before breakfast 7.4 two hours later so I'm sticking with that. I tend to eat it around 10ish and don't eat again till dinner. Bs before dinner around 4.1 to 5. I don't have much appetite and don't manage much dinner..salad tonight with eggs, ham and cottage cheese but managed less than half. We go to a pub quiz on a Monday and I had sparkling water and a cup of tea (I know how to have a good time )! When I got home my bs was 4.1 and I was hungry so I had two scrambled eggs. I initially lost about 7lb but am struggling to lose any more weight .is it okay to go to bed with a bs of 4ish or can you suggest something I should eat to raise it a little? I'm waiting to see my dn but it's not till 1st February
 
In answer to your last question, unless you are taking any drugs to lower your excellent BS, you don’t have to do anything, your liver will cope nicely although some people eat a bit of protein or cheese to try and prevent a rise in BS in the morning.

Your body is still adjusting to your diet and is changing from burning carbs to using fat and ketones. Hang in there...
 
I forgot to mention in my post that I used to take 60 units of insulin twice a day and 2x 500 metformin twice a day. I am still taking the metformin but have gradually reduced the insulin to 30 units twice a day. I don't think my dn will be happy that I've taken this on myself. She advocates low gi carbs 4 times a day...not faddy diets
 
With regard to you weight Loss it is often the case that after a run of weight loss we get a pause I suppose your body is readjusting to the new normal after a while it starts up again. Congratulation looking at your figures Id say you don't need to change anything just keep on doing what you are doing and the weight loss will eventually resume. Keep an eye on your BS levels .
Just seen your post about meds. Its your body and the Doctors and dn are really just giving advice albeit informed advice and in the end its your choice. Although I would tell them what I've done
 
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Hi. Sounds like you're doing well to me. The rise of 2mmols 2 hours after some porridge is find and still inside the recommended max of 8.5. I don't think I would get away with that...then again, I hate the stuff! 4.1mmols may seem low but it's simply very good (in my opinion). To be honest, I would see 4.1 as a good excuse for a couple of squares of Lindt 90% cocoa chocolate or "worse". I think I'd be more concerned with levels under 4. have you had any hypos ? It's not impossible as some think but, as @wiflib says -, unless your are on drugs (eg. gliclazide), it's more likely you'll be fine. In the event of feeling rubbish on 4mmols or a wee bit less...have a sweetie or two ! Sounds good to me. Keep us posted.
 
Thanks for your replies. I find that a bowl of porridge will see me through till dinner. Is it okay to go 7 hours or so without food? I used to be a health care assistant in a hospital and remember that the diabetics always got a digestive biscuit in the afternoon and before bed!
 
deb1960 said:
I forgot to mention in my post that I used to take 60 units of insulin twice a day and 2x 500 metformin twice a day. I am still taking the metformin but have gradually reduced the insulin to 30 units twice a day.
Click to expand...
I'd be concerned about a bs of 4.1 for someone on insulin.... I might be tempted to reduce the insulin some more....? Have you considered setting an alarm clock so you can do a middle of the night test. You don't want to go hypo over night....
 
Have you any idea of your situation with your own insulin - were you prescribed insulin to lower your readings, or because you do not produce any or too little of your own.
You really need to have your doctor or nurse assist - the low carb diet is hardly a fad as doctors have been advising against it for well over a hundred years due to it successfully controlling weight and type two diabetes, but you can be in the situation of needing to eat high carb foods, like the porridge as other wise you'll be having hypos and be in real danger - you must eat enough carbs to keep yourself safe if you go on injecting insulin.
 
I was prescribed insulin to bring my numbers down and even on the maximum dose it was still high so I was prescribed dulaglutide (trulicity ) which finally brought them down to a reasonable level. I rang my dn at the beginning of this month to ask her advice but she was only interested in my eating low gi carbs and couldn't get me an appointment until 1st February. I didn't want to wait as I was feeling rotten and was keen to start losing weight and lowering my bs.
 
I take no medication at all - but with your DN being about as useful as a chocolate teapot I can only emphasize, you must eat carbs to counteract the insulin as it will be dangerous to allow your BG levels to go so low.
 
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