Carb flu - how to get past it?

[Patch]

I'm slowly weaning myself of pasta, rice, potatoes and cereals.

Weaning is a bad idea.

You should go cold turkey. Substitute carbs for, um, cold turkey...

 

[Indy51]

I think you would be wise to watch the videos of Dr Jason Fung before going onto insulin:

As a type 2 you are most likely overproducing insulin, so adding more insulin can have consequences.

 

[Indy51]

My personal opinion is that you would be a perfect candidate to follow the Newcastle Protocol - why not devote the next 8 weeks of your life to sorting this disease out?

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/magres/research/diabetes/reversal.htm

http://www.fend-lectures.org/index.php?menu=view&id=94

@Andrew Colvin is proof that it can be done!

 

[akindrat18]

My appointment for my medication review did not happen today as apparently their was no appointment booked, even though I had a text reminder. Came back again to see the doctor at midday and he would not prescribe me any new medication without seeing the dsn which will now be until the end of September. All of this is getting too much for me and I still haven't heard back from the counsellor yet and it's been 5 weeks since my initial appointment. I can't change doctors, plus the jobcentre keeps on screwing with me and been turned down by 12 jobs today by email with no explanation. I've just had enough of it today and really craving a huge pepperoni pizza atm.

 

[ButtterflyLady]

My appointment for my medication review did not happen today as apparently their was no appointment booked, even though I had a text reminder. Came back again to see the doctor at midday and he would not prescribe me any new medication without seeing the dsn which will now be until the end of September. All of this is getting too much for me and I still haven't heard back from the counsellor yet and it's been 5 weeks since my initial appointment. I can't change doctors, plus the jobcentre keeps on screwing with me and been turned down by 12 jobs today by email with no explanation. I've just had enough of it today and really craving a huge pepperoni pizza atm.

Can you call the medical practice and ask for your DSN appointment to be brought forward? Tell them it is urgent because you are unwell, and ask to speak to a nurse instead of a receptionist if they aren't helpful. Tell the nurse how high your BGs have been and any other symptoms you have that will convince them to give you an earlier appointment.

Call the counselling service and chase them up too.

Why can't you change doctors?

If you satisfy your carb cravings you will probably feel more depressed afterwards. Is there anything protein/fat-based that you can eat instead?

 

[Alisonjane10]

Hi @akindrat18. If it's going to be some time before you get to see a counsellor, & you feel you urgently need help, then perhaps you need to be referred to your community mental health team. They will have a crisis intervention team, who you can call in the interim until you're actually seen & assessed. Sometimes, just talking things through with a specialist mental health nurse is enough to help you gain some perspective & help you reach a solution. Your GP practice may very well have regular visits by a mental health nurse, whom you can see quicker than waiting for a counsellor. It's worth exploring your options. Your first point of contact will be via your GP. Does your practice have a website that shows the services they offer. If so, you'll probably be able to locate an email address to a practice manager or equivalent. This may be preferable to you rather than phoning. Either way, you would do well to find out what can be done quickly in respect of your mental health. If I'm barking up the wrong tree, then please forgive my rambling on. But, I am just attempting to help. Best wishes.

 

[akindrat18]

Can you call the medical practice and ask for your DSN appointment to be brought forward? Tell them it is urgent because you are unwell, and ask to speak to a nurse instead of a receptionist if they aren't helpful. Tell the nurse how high your BGs have been and any other symptoms you have that will convince them to give you an earlier appointment.

Call the counselling service and chase them up too.

Why can't you change doctors?

If you satisfy your carb cravings you will probably feel more depressed afterwards. Is there anything protein/fat-based that you can eat instead?

I went back to see my doctor about bringing my appointment with the dsn forward and he said that a letter has been sent out for referral and can do no more.

I can't change doctors as I'm only allowed to be at my current doctors because of where I live. Also I will be going down to see the counselling service today.

I had nothing last night to satisfy my carb cravings as my parents had what was left off my rodda's clotted cream, sugar free jelly with a slice of chocolate gateau. They were like "sorry, but you know the rules 'everything in the fridge and freezer is for everyone'". My dad even shouted at me for wasting food as I left the rice and mini naan bread and just ate the chicken curry that my mum made last night. I went to bed starving last night as I was not allowed to have bacon or eggs and I had to go to the shop last night to get some coke, wine, chocolate mini rolls and some dark chocolate.

 

[akindrat18]

Hi @akindrat18. If it's going to be some time before you get to see a counsellor, & you feel you urgently need help, then perhaps you need to be referred to your community mental health team. They will have a crisis intervention team, who you can call in the interim until you're actually seen & assessed. Sometimes, just talking things through with a specialist mental health nurse is enough to help you gain some perspective & help you reach a solution. Your GP practice may very well have regular visits by a mental health nurse, whom you can see quicker than waiting for a counsellor. It's worth exploring your options. Your first point of contact will be via your GP. Does your practice have a website that shows the services they offer. If so, you'll probably be able to locate an email address to a practice manager or equivalent. This may be preferable to you rather than phoning. Either way, you would do well to find out what can be done quickly in respect of your mental health. If I'm barking up the wrong tree, then please forgive my rambling on. But, I am just attempting to help. Best wishes.

Thanks for the advice and my doctors does have a website, where I can help myself, talk to a doctor online or make a call to a 111 clinician.

 

[ButtterflyLady]

I went back to see my doctor about bringing my appointment with the dsn forward and he said that a letter has been sent out for referral and can do no more.

I can't change doctors as I'm only allowed to be at my current doctors because of where I live. Also I will be going down to see the counselling service today.

Sorry, I misunderstood, and didn't realise the DSN is with the specialist service. Why not give them a call directly?

My understanding is that if you are unhappy with your GP you can contact the NHS and they can allow you to register with a different practice. But it sounds like he is ok, and it was a problem with the diabetes service?

 

[SunnyExpat]

I went back to see my doctor about bringing my appointment with the dsn forward and he said that a letter has been sent out for referral and can do no more.

I can't change doctors as I'm only allowed to be at my current doctors because of where I live. Also I will be going down to see the counselling service today.

I had nothing last night to satisfy my carb cravings as my parents had what was left off my rodda's clotted cream, sugar free jelly with a slice of chocolate gateau. They were like "sorry, but you know the rules 'everything in the fridge and freezer is for everyone'". My dad even shouted at me for wasting food as I left the rice and mini naan bread and just ate the chicken curry that my mum made last night. I went to bed starving last night as I was not allowed to have bacon or eggs and I had to go to the shop last night to get some coke, wine, chocolate mini rolls and some dark chocolate.

I'd have bought some rodda's clotted cream, and sugar free jelly with the change.

Not understanding what you mean when you say you 'went to bed starving last night as I was not allowed to have bacon or eggs'

Do you normally have this for supper?

 

[akindrat18]

The shop was out of rodda's clotted cream and sugar free jelly. What I meant by not being allowed bacon and eggs is that I was still hungry after just having chicken curry, missing out the rice, chips and naan bread. I don't normally have bacon and eggs unless its a fry up.

 

[SunnyExpat]

Is it a little corner shop you walk to?

 

[britishpub]

You have to take control of your life son.

 

[SunnyExpat]

My personal opinion is that you would be a perfect candidate to follow the Newcastle Protocol - why not devote the next 8 weeks of your life to sorting this disease out?

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/magres/research/diabetes/reversal.htm

http://www.fend-lectures.org/index.php?menu=view&id=94

@Andrew Colvin is proof that it can be done!

Definitely this!

 

[Celeriac]

I think you need to get your nan on side to deal with her son or daughter. You have a chronic condition which means that your body has a severe intolerance of carbohydrate.

Frankly, if my parents ate my low carb food, I would be questioning how much they loved me. It's almost like they're trying to sabotage you. They're making having diabetes much worse for you.

If you were under eighteen, social services in some counties would remove you from that house for your own well-being.

It depends entirely where you live, but you may be able to get a health visitor from the Troubled Families Programme run by Public Health England, to come talk to your parents and explain how they are undermining your health. If it's running and you're eligible, your local council should know.

 

[akindrat18]

I think you need to get your nan on side to deal with her son or daughter. You have a chronic condition which means that your body has a severe intolerance of carbohydrate.

Frankly, if my parents ate my low carb food, I would be questioning how much they loved me. It's almost like they're trying to sabotage you. They're making having diabetes much worse for you.

If you were under eighteen, social services in some counties would remove you from that house for your own well-being.

It depends entirely where you live, but you may be able to get a health visitor from the Troubled Families Programme run by Public Health England, to come talk to your parents and explain how they are undermining your health. If it's running and you're eligible, your local council should know.

They are not trying to sabotage me, they just don't get why carbs are bad. They were really confused when I added butter and cream to my morning coffee with a toasted lchp roll from lidl. I had no lunch apart from snacking on what was left of my bag of root veg crisps with some cream dip. Then for dinner I refused it as it was a small lamb chop with lots of gravy, potatoes, peas, carrots and a massive Yorkshire pudding. When I refused we had a massive discussion about this forum and I showed them everything. I even got my nan involved and even she agreed with my parents of what is so wrong with having carbs once a day. My sister even got involved and said that her personal trainer who was type 2 diabetic had been eating carbs daily with a bowl of pasta salad every morning for breakfast and no carbs after 2pm. I just cant win this fight, I don't know what else to do that will convince them that low carbing is helpful.

At the moment, I am currently away from my family, staying at a hotel and have just ordered some bacon and sausages as I am extremely hungry.

 

[SunnyExpat]

Look for your own place?

 

[Alisonjane10]

They are not trying to sabotage me, they just don't get why carbs are bad. They were really confused when I added butter and cream to my morning coffee with a toasted lchp roll from lidl. I had no lunch apart from snacking on what was left of my bag of root veg crisps with some cream dip. Then for dinner I refused it as it was a small lamb chop with lots of gravy, potatoes, peas, carrots and a massive Yorkshire pudding. When I refused we had a massive discussion about this forum and I showed them everything. I even got my nan involved and even she agreed with my parents of what is so wrong with having carbs once a day. My sister even got involved and said that her personal trainer who was type 2 diabetic had been eating carbs daily with a bowl of pasta salad every morning for breakfast and no carbs after 2pm. I just cant win this fight, I don't know what else to do that will convince them that low carbing is helpful.

At the moment, I am currently away from my family, staying at a hotel and have just ordered some bacon and sausages as I am extremely hungry.

Your frustration is coming across hun. I can understand why. Many people, unless they are diabetic or have some sort of human biology/nutrition education, know very little about how the body uses carbs. They think diabetics can eat anything apart from sugary foods like sweets, cakes & biscuits. I don't know how many times I've seen people say something like, "oh, such & such can't have cake because they're a diabetic...as they then pass them a huge hotdog in a big white bread bun with a fruit scone to follow (no jam coz they're diabetic!!)

It's pointless trying to educate others if all it does is make you frustrated because they just can't grasp what you're trying to tell them. Your mum & dad are probably a bit like mine...they were brought up in the days when tea (not dinner) was usually meat, potatoes & a couple of vegetables mopping up the gravy with bread & butter. Probably followed by tinned fruit with evaporated milk or some other sugar laden pudding. That's just how it was.

Perhaps the easiest thing to do to help your parents understand is to make a list of the foods you can freely eat, what you can eat a little of & what you're avoiding. You don't need to give a reason why, just make the list for them. Let's face it, your explanations haven't worked so far.

It's not easy for others to understand why it's ok to eat the butter, but not the bread. It goes against everything they've been brought up to believe after all. Why don't you take a look at the food & nutrition forum to see what others are eating, and write down some meal suggestions when you make your "ok to eat" list. You could even do a posh printed list on the computer, with pictures if you want, perhaps in a Green, Amber, Red set-up, so the visual cues are there. There's always a solution to a problem. Sometimes, it just takes a bit of help to reach that solution. Good luck. I wish you well.

 

[vintageutopia]

I agree with Allison. Creating a list of foods that you CAN eat, may help avoid some of those misunderstandings or hurt feelings among your family when you choose not to eat certain foods they have prepared. If they see the list on the fridge and still choose to make something you can't have, that is their prerogative, but they need to understand that you will need to refuse.

Some people equate making a home-cooked meal with showing love to those they care about. Others feel a bit defensive when they see someone they care about starting to make positive changes in their life...as if, you are judging them for making different/unhealthy choices.

Stand firm. We have your back. You CAN do this, but you are the only one who can actually do it. We all have barriers in our lives that make certain things challenging. Food wise, I struggle with time, because I am a mom of three and have a busy career. It is EASY for me to just grab something on the go, but it isn't what is best for me. It's hard...trust me, I get it. But, we believe that you can do it, if you really want to. That doesn't mean that it will be easy, though.

Come here for support and talk to your Nan. It sounds like she may be your biggest IRL supporter right now.

Hugs

 

[ButtterflyLady]

Don't give up on your Nan. She cooked perfect food for you when you stayed for the weekend. It sounds like she may have agreed with them because of family dynamics, which sound pretty tense at the moment. I still think your best bet is to move in with her for a while (because I know you can't afford to live alone yet).

Give up trying to educate your parents though. As an adult, you don't owe them explanations for any of your choices. Maybe avoiding discussing food at all would be a good idea for a while.

At the moment I think it would be better for you to get onto a nurse-approved basal/bolus MDI carb counting insulin regime like I've talked about before. On this regime you can probably get away with eating normal-ish carbs for a while, which would take some of the pressure off at home. The insulin would protect your body from the damage done by high BGs while you find longer term solutions. Going onto insulin does not mean you will have to stay on it. If you can get into a living situation where you have more control over your food, then you can reduce carbs and eventually come down off insulin and other meds.

So, you need to call and get your nurse appointment brought forward, IMO. It will be Friday when you read this, so please make it a priority to do this before the weekend. If you have an earlier appointment in place, that may boost your mood over the weekend. Re-read my post above where I gave you some tips for when you talk to them. Sometimes we need to exaggerate a bit to get what we need from nurses and doctors.