Type 2 Carb Alert - Success or just a fluke???

[Daphne917]

I was diagnosed about 3 years ago with an hba1c of 48 which increased to 53 after taking Statins but began reducing again after I stopped taking them. My hba1c in August last year was 42, December 41 and this July it was down to 36. My FBS in the mornings are usually between 5.1 and 4.6.

Last week I had a 5 day break in the New Forest on a Dinner, Bed and Breakfast basis which I was initially nervous about. However as my hba1c is fairly good I decided I would not worry too much and each night had a 3 course meal and, although the starter and main options were relatively low carb the sweets definately were not and included, in no particular order, Profiteroles, Chocolate Fondant and Apple and Pear Crumble. It was therefore with some intrepidation that I tested my levels but had a pleasant surprise as the readings 2-2.5 hours after the meal were as follows - Sun - didn't have the courage to test!! Mon 5.6, Tues 5.1, Weds 6.2 but 5.0 after 2.5 hours, Thurs 6.5 after 2 hours and 5.9 after 2.5 hours. I also had a surprise today when I tried a Warburtons Thin for the first time in ages because they tended to spike my BS and I was 5.8 after 2 hours and 5.3 after 2.5 hours. I realise that it is probably a fluke but could it be that I am beginning to tolerate higher levels of carbs?

 

[AndBreathe]

I was diagnosed about 3 years ago with an hba1c of 48 which increased to 53 after taking Statins but began reducing again after I stopped taking them. My hba1c in August last year was 42, December 41 and this July it was down to 36. My FBS in the mornings are usually between 5.1 and 4.6.

Last week I had a 5 day break in the New Forest on a Dinner, Bed and Breakfast basis which I was initially nervous about. However as my hba1c is fairly good I decided I would not worry too much and each night had a 3 course meal and, although the starter and main options were relatively low carb the sweets definately were not and included, in no particular order, Profiteroles, Chocolate Fondant and Apple and Pear Crumble. It was therefore with some intrepidation that I tested my levels but had a pleasant surprise as the readings 2-2.5 hours after the meal were as follows - Sun - didn't have the courage to test!! Mon 5.6, Tues 5.1, Weds 6.2 but 5.0 after 2.5 hours, Thurs 6.5 after 2 hours and 5.9 after 2.5 hours. I also had a surprise today when I tried a Warburtons Thin for the first time in ages because they tended to spike my BS and I was 5.8 after 2 hours and 5.3 after 2.5 hours. I realise that it is probably a fluke but could it be that I am beginning to tolerate higher levels of carbs?

I agree with both statements, that it could be fluke, and also the likelihood of your ability to handle carbs a bit better these days. Without knowing what constituted the rest of the meal, it's potentially a bit tricky to comment on your 2 hour scores. For instance, for me, as I was working on my diet, I used to find that pasta took ages to raise my bloods, which it did, and it stayed raised (for me) for longer than almost any other food. Others have reported rice as giving scores that are bizarre, in that they might experience a rise and drop, as expected after eating, but then a further rise some time later. I recall one T1 admittedly reporting rice raising his levels something like 5 hours after eating it. High fat meals can also slow rises.

On the plus side, the better tolerance of carbs is not too unusual, once bloods are moderated - particularly if the individual has lost weight and either reduced or eradicated the fatty stores in their liver and pancreas. Similarly, when our bodies are struggling to deal with the carbs/sugars, our bodies go into a bit of overdrive, producing additional insulin, which it maybe required, due to the insuline resistance resistance that is so common in T2 (and some T1s). If we are able to give our poor battered pancreases a bit of a rest or a let up, they can sometimes perk up and become more efficient.

So, all in all, there are a few reasons you may be coping better with carbs, but as you can see by the reasons, it's unlikely to be good for us to go back to our former ways - whether that be eating as many carbs as we did before diagnosis, or regaining the weight we may have trimmed off. That's certainly not to say that you might not be able to increase carbs a bit without any ill-effect. Nobody can tell you that, due to the personal nature of the condition.

 

[Daphne917]

I agree with both statements, that it could be fluke, and also the likelihood of your ability to handle carbs a bit better these days. Without knowing what constituted the rest of the meal, it's potentially a bit tricky to comment on your 2 hour scores. For instance, for me, as I was working on my diet, I used to find that pasta took ages to raise my bloods, which it did, and it stayed raised (for me) for longer than almost any other food. Others have reported rice as giving scores that are bizarre, in that they might experience a rise and drop, as expected after eating, but then a further rise some time later. I recall one T1 admittedly reporting rice raising his levels something like 5 hours after eating it. High fat meals can also slow rises.

On the plus side, the better tolerance of carbs is not too unusual, once bloods are moderated - particularly if the individual has lost weight and either reduced or eradicated the fatty stores in their liver and pancreas. Similarly, when our bodies are struggling to deal with the carbs/sugars, our bodies go into a bit of overdrive, producing additional insulin, which it maybe required, due to the insuline resistance resistance that is so common in T2 (and some T1s). If we are able to give our poor battered pancreases a bit of a rest or a let up, they can sometimes perk up and become more efficient.

So, all in all, there are a few reasons you may be coping better with carbs, but as you can see by the reasons, it's unlikely to be good for us to go back to our former ways - whether that be eating as many carbs as we did before diagnosis, or regaining the weight we may have trimmed off. That's certainly not to say that you might not be able to increase carbs a bit without any ill-effect. Nobody can tell you that, due to the personal nature of the condition.

@AndBreathe apologies for taking so long to respond but gardening and life got in the way! The meals were fish or meat with veggies and either fondant, dauphinois or sauted potatoes and the starters were seafood, pigeon or belly pork with 'salad leaves'. I have lost about 3 stone in the last year or so and am wondering whether this has made the difference as I can also eat small portions of cereals, porridge and re-heated rice or pasta w/out raising my BS too much.

 

[AndBreathe]

@AndBreathe apologies for taking so long to respond but gardening and life got in the way! The meals were fish or meat with veggies and either fondant, dauphinois or sauted potatoes and the starters were seafood, pigeon or belly pork with 'salad leaves'. I have lost about 3 stone in the last year or so and am wondering whether this has made the difference as I can also eat small portions of cereals, porridge and re-heated rice or pasta w/out raising my BS too much.

Losing a "significant" amount of weight makes a massive difference for diabetics whose pancreas still works pretty well, but whose liver and pancreas have been somewhat fat clogged, resulting in insulin resistance, or further insulin resistance.

I wrote "significant" in the way I did, because the significant is personal, as highlighted in Professor taylor's work at Newcastle, and the journalist Richard Doughty's experience. Most of Prof Taylor's subjects lost a lot of weight, whereas Richard Doughty found he was back across the line to stay after less than two weeks on the ND: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/may/12/type-2-diabetes-diet-cure